Abi

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

<translit> ā´bı̄ </translit> ( אבי , <translit> 'ăbhı̄ </translit> ): The name of the mother of King Hezekiah, as given in 2 Kings 18:2 . Most naturally explained as a contraction of Abijah ("Yahweh is a father," or "is my father"), found in the parallel passage in 2 Chronicles 29:1 . The spelling in the oldest translations seems to indicate that <translit> 'ăbhı̄ </translit> is not a copyist's error, but a genuine contracted form. She is spoken of as the daughter of Zechariah, and was of course the wife of Ahaz.