Maachah

AI summary: This Maachah matters because the cross references present her as an influential queen mother within Judah's early royal line. Through her, the narratives connect Rehoboam, Abijah, and Asa, and later Asa's actions against her become part of his reforming profile. Her place shows how royal women could carry both dynastic legitimacy and spiritual compromise into the court. Taken together, the material presents this Maachah as a significant queen mother whose family and religious associations matter in the evaluation of Judah's early kings.¹

The daughter of Abishalom (called Absalom, 2 Chr. 11:20-22), the third wife of Rehoboam, and mother of Abijam (1 Kings 15:2). She is called “Michaiah the daughter of Uriel,” who was the husband of Absalom’s daughter Tamar (2 Chr. 13:2). Her son Abijah or Abijam was heir to the throne. ³