Ahijah

Ahijah is a Hebrew given name appearing in the Hebrew Bible. The most prominent bearer is Ahijah the Shilonite, a prophet from Shiloh active in the late 10th century BCE during the reigns of Solomon and Jeroboam. The name is commonly interpreted as meaning “Yahweh is my brother” or “the Lord is my brother.”

Ahijah the Shilonite is described in 1 Kings 11–14 as a prophet who meets Jeroboam on the road and prophesies that God will give him ten tribes to rule in place of Solomon's united kingdom, provided he walks in the ways of the Lord. He announces that Solomon's house will be cut off because of idolatry. To symbolize the division of the kingdom, he tears his cloak into twelve pieces and gives Jeroboam ten pieces, signaling the future split of Israel into ten northern tribes under Jeroboam and the remaining two under Rehoboam. The narrative presents his prophecy as the divine sanction of the northern kingdom, and it frames the subsequent dynastic and religious tensions of the era.

Ahijah the priest, son of Ahitub, is a different figure who appears in 1 Samuel 14 during Saul's reign. A member of the priestly line descended from Eli, he is described as a priest who bears the ephod at Shiloh and is present in the early interactions with God, including Saul's consultation of the Ark. The two men share the name but play distinct roles in biblical narrative.