Abia, course of. Luke 1:5. In 1 Chronicles 24:1-31 we have an account of the division of the priests into twenty-four classes, courses, or orders, who ministered at the altar in rotation. The courses were distinguished by the name of the most prominent member of the family from which the course was taken. The eighth of these courses fell to the family of Abia or Abijah; and to this course belonged Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist.