1. The second named of the three earlier sons of Bela son of Benjamin (1 Chron. viii, 7), [see Shaha- raim,] elsewhere (ver. 4) called Ahoah (q. v.).
2. The last named of the five sons of Jerahmeel (great-grandson of Judah) bv his first wife (1 Chron. ii, 25), B.C. cir. 1612.
3. A son of Ahitub, and high-priest in the reign of Saul (1 Sam. xiv, 3, 18) ; hence probably the same ts Ahimelech (q. v.) the son of Ahitub, who was high- priest at Nob in the same reign, and was slain by Saul for assisting David (1 Sam. xxii, 11). See High- triest. In the former passage Ahijah is described as being the Lord's priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephi d. And it appears that the ark of God was under his care, and that he inquired of the Lord by means of it and the ephod (comp. 1 Chron. xiii, 3). There is, howev- er, some difficulty in reconciling this statement con- cerning the ark being used for inquiring by Ahijah at Saul's lidding and the statement elsewhere (1 Chron. xiii, 3) that they inquired not at the ark in the days of Saul, if we understand the latter expression in the strictest sense. This difficulty seems to have led to the reading in the Vatican copy of the Sept. at 1 Sam. xiv, 18, of "ephod" instead of "ark" (rb lipoid in- stead of n)v KijiujTov, or rather, perhaps, of Ti£N in- stead of yilK, in the Hebrew codex from which that version was made). Others avoid the difficulty by in- terpreting the ark in this case to mean a chest for car- rying about the ephod in. But all difficulty will dis- appear if we apply the expression only to all the lat- ter years of the reign of Saul, when we know that the priestly establishment was at Nob, and not at Kirjath- jearim, or Baale of Judah, where the ark was. The narrative in 1 Sam. xiv is entirely favorable to the mention of the ark ; for it appears that Saul was at the time in Gibeah of Benjamin, so near the place where the house of Abinadab was situated (2 Sam. vi, 3) as to be almost a quarter of Kirjath-jearim, which lay on the very borders of Judah and Benjamin (see Josh, xviii, 14, 28). Whether it was the encroachments of the Philistines, or an incipient schism between the tribes of Benjamin and Judah, or any other cause, which led to the disuse of the ark during the latter years of Saul's reign, is difficult to say. But probably the last time that Ahijah inquired of the Lord before the ark was on the occasion related 1 Sam. xiv, 36, when Saul marred his victory over the Philistines by his rash oath, which nearly cost Jonathan his life ; for we there read that
AIIIKAM
120
AHIMELECH
when Saul proposed a night-pursuit of the Philistines, the priest, Ahijah, said, " Let us draw near hither unto God," for the purpose, namely, of asking counsel of God. But God returned no answer, in consequence, as it seems, of Saul's rash curse. If, as is commonly thought, and as seems most likely, Ahijah is the same person as Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, this failure to obtain an answer from the priest, followed as it was by a rising of the people to save Jonathan out of Saul's hands, may have led to an estrangement be- tween the king and the high-priest, and predisposed him to suspect Ahimelech's loyalty, and to take that terrible revenge upon him for his favor to David. Such changes of name as Ahi-melech and Ahi-jah are not uncommon. However, it is not impossible that, as Gesenius supposes (Thes. Heb. p. Go), Ahimelech may have been brother to Ahijah, and that they of- ficiated simultaneously, the one at Gibcah or Kirjath- jearim, and the other at Nob. — Smith. See Ark.
4. A Pelonite, one of David's famous heroes (1 Chron. xi, 36); apparently the same called Eliam (q. v.) the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite in the par- allel passage (2 Sam. xxiii, 34). See David.
5. A Levite appointed over the sacred treasury of dedicated things at the Temple in the arrangement bv David (1 Chron. xxvi, 20), B.C. 1014.
6. The last named of the two sons of Shisha, secre- taries of King Solomon (1 Kings iv, 3), B.C. 1014.
7. A prophet of Shiloh (1 Kings xiv, 2), hence called the Shilonite (xi, 29), in the days of Rehoboam, of whom we have two remarkable prophecies extant : the one in 1 Kings xi, 31-39, addressed to Jeroboam, announcing the rending of the ten tribes from Solo- mon, in punishment of his idolatries, and the transfer of the kingdom to Jeroboam, B.C. 973. This prophe- cy, though delivered privately, became known to Sol- omon, and excited his wrath against Jeroboam, who fled for his life into Egypt, to Shishak, and remained there till Solomon's death. The other prophecy, in 1 Kings xiv, 6-16, was delivered in the prophet's ex- treme old age to Jeroboam's wife, in which he foretold the death of Abijah (q. v.), the king's son, who was sick, and to inquire concerning whom the queen had come in disguise, and then went on to denounce the destruction of Jeroboam's house on account of the im- ages which he had set up, and to foretell the captivity of Israel "beyond the river" Euphrates, B.C. 952. These prophecies give us a high idea of the faithful- ness and boldness of Ahijah, and of the eminent rank which he attained as a prophet. Jeroboam's speech concerning him (1 Kings xiv, 2, 3) shows the estima- tion in which he held his truth and prophetic powers. In •_' ( Ihron. ix, 29, reference is made to a record of the events of Solomon's reign contained in the " prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite." If there were a larger work of Ahijah's, the passage in 1 Kings xi, is doubtless an extract from it.— Smith, s. v. See Jeroboam.