He reigned for three years in Jerusalem …: This verse follows a common formula that states the number of years during which the king ruled and the name and origin of his mother. A similar formula is used in 2 Chr 20.31; 22.2; 24.1; 25.1; 26.3; 27.1; 29.1.

His mother’s name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibe-ah: Abijah’s mother was Micaiah (literally “Micayahu” [La Bible de Jérusalem: Nouvelle édition revue et corrigée, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, La Bible Pléiade]). Elsewhere in the Old Testament, Micaiah is a man’s name, but here it clearly refers to a woman. The name of Abijah’s mother is given in 1 Kgs 15.2 and 2 Chr 11.22 as Maacah, which is why the Septuagint and some modern versions here in chapter 13 give her name as “Maacah” (New International Version, New Living Translation, Revised English Bible, Osty-Trinquet). It is difficult to know how to understand the different texts regarding the name of Abijah’s mother. To further complicate matters, both 1 Kgs 15.10 and 2 Chr 15.16 say that Maacah was the mother of Abijah’s son Asa.

Uriel of Gibe-ah was the father of Micaiah. However, according to 2 Chr 11.20, her father was Absalom. Compare 1 Kgs 15.2, which says his name was Abishalom. Translators should simply follow the Masoretic Text here and not attempt to harmonize the information here with that in 1 Kgs 15 and 2 Chr 11. Gibe-ah, the hometown of King Saul (1 Sam 10.26), was about 5 kilometers (3 miles) north of Jerusalem. Translators may wish to make it explicit that Gibe-ah was a town or city (so Good News Translation).

Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam: Just as there had been constant war between Jeroboam and Abijah’s father Rehoboam (2 Chr 12.15), so there was continual war between the two kingdoms during Abijah’s reign. Instead of saying there was war, some English versions use the idiom “war broke out” (Good News Translation, New Living Translation, Revised English Bible). But in other languages it may be more natural to say that the two kings or their armies “started fighting.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .