This verse and the previous verse follow the customary formula for describing the beginning of the reign of the kings of Israel and Judah. The following information is provided here:

• (1) Age of the ruler at his coronation: twenty-five.

• (2) Length of his reign: twenty-nine years.

• (3) Location of his capital: Jerusalem.

• (4) His mother’s name: Abi. This name is spelled a different way in the ancient Greek version. The most common form of the name is “Abijah,” as in the parallel account in 2 Chr 29.1. It is this form of the name that is used by Good News Translation, New International Version, New Century Version and New Jerusalem Bible in this verse. It is probably better to use this longer form in both cases in order to avoid confusing the reader, who might otherwise think that two different persons are meant.

The Zechariah mentioned here is not Zechariah the late sixth-century prophet to whom the book of Zechariah is attributed, nor is it the king of Israel mentioned in chapter 15 of this book. There are, in fact, about thirty different people by this name mentioned in the Bible.

Some interpreters suggest that Abijah’s father may be the same Zechariah mentioned in Isa 8.2 since that Zechariah must have been a well-known person with influence among the people. But such an identification is only speculation. Perhaps in order to avoid giving the impression that Abijah’s father is the same as the prophet Zechariah, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente translates the last sentence of this verse as follows: “His mother was named Abi and was the daughter of a certain Zechariah.” The words “a certain Zechariah” do not mean “a specific person known by everyone,” but rather “someone named Zechariah.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .