Person Old Testament
Abijah
Also known as Abijah =ESV, NIV; Abiah =KJV
Abijah was one of Samuel's sons who served as a judge in Israel but did not follow his father's righteous ways. Mentioned in 2 verses across 2 books, first at 1 Samuel 8:2.
Why it matters. Son of Samuel, a corrupt judge
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Abijah
Abijah was one of the sons of Samuel, the last judge and a prominent prophet in Israel. Along with his brother Joel, Abijah was appointed by Samuel as a judge over Israel in his old age (1Sa.8.1-2). However, Abijah and his brother did not walk in the righteous ways of their father. They turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice (1Sa.8.3).
The corrupt behavior of Abijah and Joel led the elders of Israel to demand a king to rule over them, rejecting the leadership of Samuel and his sons (1Sa.8.4-5). This event marked the transition from the period of the judges to the establishment of the monarchy in Israel. Abijah is also mentioned in the genealogy of the Levites in 1Ch.6.28, confirming his lineage as a descendant of Levi through Samuel.
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
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
Appears in Scripture
Named in 2 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.