Person Old and New Testament
Abijah
Also known as Abijah =ESV, NIV; Abia =KJV
Abijah was the head of the eighth priestly division established during King David's reign, and Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, belonged to this division. Mentioned in 2 verses across 2 books, first at 1 Chronicles 24:10.
Why it matters. Head of a priestly division during David's reign
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Abijah
Abijah was the head of one of the twenty-four priestly divisions established during the reign of King David (1Ch.24.10). These divisions were responsible for serving in the temple in rotation. The priests were divided into twenty-four groups, each headed by a leading priest, and they would serve in the temple for a week at a time, twice a year.
In the New Testament, Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, is mentioned as belonging to the priestly division of Abijah (Luk.1.5). This indicates that the priestly division named after Abijah continued to function even during the time of Jesus, several centuries after its establishment. Zechariah was serving in the temple when he received the announcement from the angel Gabriel that his wife Elizabeth would bear a son, John the Baptist, who would prepare the way for the Messiah (Luk.1.8-17).
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
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Appears in Scripture
Named in 2 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.