CONTRADICTION · GENEALOGICAL
Abijah’s mother’s name?
2 Chronicles 13:2 ⟷ 2 Chronicles 11:20
He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom; which bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.
This contradiction is relevant because it pertains to ancestry and direct family lines, something expected to be clear and unambiguous in an inerrant text. If even the name of a king’s mother can’t be consistently reported, it raises concerns about the accuracy of historical details. Such discrepancies support the view that the text has undergone human modifications or suffered from transmission errors, which is a central point in interfaith dialogues on scripture integrity.
THE CHRISTIAN RESPONSE
Apologists might argue that Michaiah and Maachah are alternate names or titles for the same person. Ancients often had multiple names, or a grandmother might be listed in one text and the mother in another, reflecting a flexible ancient genealogical practice.
THE ISLAMIC POSITION
If both verses are inspired and exact, why the confusion over the mother’s name? Such contradictions challenge the idea of a perfectly transmitted text. In contrast, Muslims affirm that the Qur’an, having remained unchanged, avoids such genealogical confusions.
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Abijah’s mother’s name?