Rehoboam’s Wives and Children

¹⁸ Rehoboam married Mahalath, the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth, along with Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab, ¹⁹ who bore him these sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. ²⁰ After this he married Absalom’s daughter Maacah, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Absalom’s daughter Maacah more than he did all of his wives and mistresses. (He married eighteen wives and 60 concubines, fathering 28 sons and 60 daughters.) ²² Later, Rehoboam appointed Abijah, his son from Maacah, as senior family leader among his brothers, since he intended to establish Abijah^[a] as king. ²³ Rehoboam^[b] was wise to distribute some of his children throughout all of the territories of Judah and Benjamin, placing them in all of the fortified cities. He allotted them abundant supplies of food and sought many wives for them.^[c]