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Easton's Bible Dictionary
father's brother.
(1) The son of Omri, whom he succeeded as the seventh king of Israel. His history
is recorded in 1
Kings 16 - 22.
His wife was Jezebel (q.v.), who exercised a very evil influence over him. To
the calf-worship introduced by Jeroboam he added the worship of Baal. He was severely
admonished by Elijah (q.v.) for his wickedness. His anger was on this account
kindled against the prophet, and he sought to kill him. He undertook three campaigns
against Ben-hadad II., king of Damascus. In the first two, which were defensive,
he gained a complete victory over Ben-hadad, who fell into his hands, and was
afterwards released on the condition of his restoring all the cities of Israel
he then held, and granting certain other concessions to Ahab. After three years
of peace, for some cause Ahab renewed war ( 1
Kings 22:3 ) with Ben-hadad by assaulting the city of Ramoth-gilead, although
the prophet Micaiah warned him that he would not succeed, and that the 400 false
prophets who encouraged him were only leading him to his ruin. Micaiah was imprisoned
for thus venturing to dissuade Ahab from his purpose. Ahab went into the battle
disguised, that he might if possible escape the notice of his enemies; but an
arrow from a bow "drawn at a venture" pierced him, and though stayed up in his
chariot for a time he died towards evening, and Elijah's prophecy ( 1
Kings 21:19 ) was fulfilled. He reigned twenty-three years. Because of his
idolatry, lust, and covetousness, Ahab is referred to as pre-eminently the type
of a wicked king ( 2
Kings 8:18 ; 2
Chronicles 22:3 ; Micah
6:16 ).
(2) A false prophet referred to by Jeremiah ( Jeremiah
29:21 ), of whom nothing further is known.
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
uncle
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(uncle)
(1) Son of Omri, seventh king of Israel, reigned B.C. 919 - 896. He married Jezebel,
daughter of Ethbaal king of Tyre; and in obedience to her wishes, caused temple
to be built to Baal in Samaria itself; and an oracular grove to be consecrated
to Astarte. See ( 1
Kings 18:19 ) One of Ahabs chief tastes was for splendid architecture which
he showed by building an ivory house and several cities. Desiring to add to his
pleasure-grounds at Jezreel the vineyard of his neighbor Naboth, he proposed to
buy it or give land in exchange for it; and when this was refused by Naboth in
accordance with the Levitical law, ( Leviticus
25:23 ) a false accusation of blasphemy was brought against him, and he was
murdered, and Ahab took possession of the coveted fields. ( 2
Kings 9:26 ) Thereupon Elijah declared that the entire extirpation of Ahabs
house was the penalty appointed for his long course of wickedness. [ELIJAH]
The execution, however, of the sentence was delayed in consequence of Ahabs deep
repentance. ( 1
Kings 21:1 ) ... Ahab undertook three campaigns against Ben-hadad II. king
of Damascus, two defensive and one offensive. In the first Ben-hadad laid siege
to Samaria, but was repulsed with great loss. ( 1
Kings 20:1 - 21
) Next year Ben-hadad again invaded Israel by way of Aphek, on the east of Jordan;
yet Ahabs victory was so complete that Ben-hadad himself fell into his hands,
but was released contrary to Gods will, ( 1
Kings 20:22 - 34
) on condition of restoring the cities of Israel, and admitting Hebrew commissioners
into Damascus. After this great success Ahab enjoyed peace for three years, when
he attacked Ramoth in Gilead, on the east of Jordan, in conjunction with Jehoshaphat
king of Judah, which town he claimed as belonging to Israel. Being told by the
prophet Micaiah that he would fall, he disguised himself, but was slain by "a
certain man who drew a bow at a venture." When buried in Samaria, the dogs licked
up his blood as a servant was washing his chariot; a partial fulfillment of Elijahs
prediction, ( 1
Kings 21:19 ) which was more literally accomplished in the case of his son.
( 2
Kings 9:26 )
(2) A lying prophet, who deceived the captive Israelites in Babylon, and was burnt
to death by Nebuchadnezzar. ( Jeremiah
29:21 )
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
a'-hab ('ach'abh, Assyrian a-cha-ab-bu; Septuagint Achaab, but Jeremiah 29:21
f, Achiab, which, in analogy with '-h-y-m-l-k, (')-h-y-'-l, etc., indicates an
original 'achi'abh, meaning "the father is my brother"): The compound probably
signifies that "the father," referring to God, has been chosen as a brother.
1. Ahab's Reign:
Ahab, son of Omri, the seventh king of Israel, who reigned for twenty-two years,
from 876 to 854 (1 Kings 16:28), was one of the strongest and at the same time
one of the weakest kings of Israel. With his kingdom he inherited also the traditional
enemies of the kingdom, who were no less ready to make trouble for him than for
his predecessors. Occupying a critical position at the best, with foes ever ready
to take advantage of any momentary weakness, the kingdom, during the reign of
Ahab, was compelled to undergo the blighting effects of misfortune, drought and
famine. But Ahab, equal to the occasion, was clever enough to win the admiration
and respect of friend and foe, strengthening the kingdom without and within. Many
of the evils of his reign, which a stronger nature might have overcome, were incident
to the measures that he took for strengthening the kingdom.
2. His Foreign Policy:
In the days of David and Solomon a beneficial commercial intercourse existed between
the Hebrews and the Phoenicians. Ahab, recognizing the advantages that would accrue
to his kingdom from an alliance with the foremost commercial nation of his time,
renewed the old relations with the Phoenicians and cemented them by his marriage
with Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre (the Ithobalos, priest of Astarte
mentioned by Meander).
He next turns his attention to the establishment of peaceful and friendly relations
with the kindred and neighboring kingdom of Judah. For the first time since the
division of the kingdoms the hereditary internecine quarrels are forgotten, "and
Jehoshaphat," the good king of Judah, "made peace with the king of Israel." This
alliance, too, was sealed by a marriage relationship, Jehoram, the crown-prince
of Judah, being united in marriage with the princess Athaliah, daughter of Ahab.
Perhaps some additional light is thrown upon Ahab's foreign policy by his treatment
of Benhadad, king of Damascus. An opportunity was given to crush to dust the threatening
power of Syria. But when Benhadad in the garb of a suppliant was compelled to
sue for his life, Ahab received into kindly as his brother, and although denounced
by the prophets for his leniency, spared his enemy and allowed him to depart on
the condition that he would restore the cities captured from Omri, and concede
certain "streets" in Damascus as a quarter for Israelite residents. No doubt Ahab
thought that a king won as a friend by kindness might be of greater service to
Israel than a hostile nation, made still more hostile, by having its king put
to death. Whatever Ahab's motives may have been, these hereditary foes really
fought side by side against the common enemy, the king of Assyria, in the battle
at Karkar on the Orontes in the year 854, as is proved by the inscription on the
monolith of Shalmaneser II, king of Assyria.
3. His Religious Policy:
Ahab's far-sighted foreign policy was the antithesis of his short-sighted religious
policy. Through his alliance with Phoenicia he not only set in motion the currents
of commerce with Tyre, but invited Phoenician religion as well. The worship of
Yahweh by means of the golden calves of Jeroboam appeared antiquated to him. Baal,
the god of Tyre, the proud mistress of the seas and the possessor of dazzling
wealth, was to have an equal place with Yahweh, the God of Israel. Accordingly
he built in Samara a temple to Baal and in it erected an altar to that god, and
at the side of the altar a pole to Asherab (1 Kings 16:32 , 16:33). On the other
hand he tried to serve Yahweh by naming his children in his honor - Ahaziah ("Yah
holds"), Jehoram ("Yah is high"), and Athaliah ("Yah is strong"). However, Ahab
failed to realize that while a coalition of nations might be advantageous, a syncretism
of their religions would be disastrous. He failed to apprehend the full meaning
of the principle, "Yahweh alone is the God of Israel." In Jezebel, his Phoenician
wife, Ahab found a champion of the foreign culture, who was as imperious and able
as she was vindictive and unscrupulous. She was the patron of the prophets of
Baal and of the devotees of Asherab (1 Kings 18:19 , 18:20 ; 19:1 , 19:2) At her
instigation the altars of Yahweh were torn down. She inaugurated the first great
religious persecution of the church, killing off the prophets of Yahweh with the
sword. In all this she aimed at more than a syncretism of the two religions; she
planned to destroy the religion of Yahweh root and branch and put that of Baal
in its place. In this Ahab did not oppose her, but is guilty of conniving at the
policy of his unprincipled wife, if not of heartily concurring in it.
4. The Murder of Naboth:
Wrong religious principles have their counterpart in false ethical ideals and
immoral civil acts. Ahab, as a worshipper of Baal, not only introduced a false
religion, but false social ideals as well. The royal residence was in Jezreel,
which had probably risen in importance through his alliance with Phoenicia. Close
to the royal palace was a vineyard (1 Kings 21:1) owned by Naboth, a native of
Jezreel. This piece of ground was coveted by Ahab for a vegetable garden. He demanded
therefore that Naboth should sell it to into or exchange it for a better piece
of land. Naboth declined the offer. Ahab, a Hebrew, knowing the laws of the land,
was stung by the refusal and went home greatly displeased. Jezebel, however, had
neither religious scruples nor any regard for the civil laws of the Hebrews. Accordingly
she planned a high-handed crime to gratify the whim of Ahab. In the name and by
the authority of the king she had Naboth falsely accused of blasphemy against
God and the king, and had him stoned to death by the local authorities. The horror
created by this judicial murder probably did as much to finally overthrow the
house of Omri as did the favor shown to the Tyrian Baal.
5. Ahab and Elijah:
Neither religious rights nor civil liberties can be trampled under foot without
Divine retribution. The attempt to do so calls forth an awakened and quickened
conscience, imperatively demanding that the right be done. Like an accusing conscience,
Elijah appeared before Ahab. His very name ("my God is Yah") inspired awe. "As
Yahweh, the God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew
nor rain these years," was the conscience-troubling message left on the mind of
Ahab for more than three years. On Elijah's reappearance, Ahab greets into as
the troubler of Israel. Elijah calmly reforms him that the king's religious policy
has caused the trouble in Israel. The proof for it is to be furnished on Mount
Carmel. Ahab does the bidding of Elijah. The people shall know whom to serve.
Baal is silent. Yahweh answers with fire. A torrent of rain ends the drought.
The victory belongs to Yahweh.
Once more Elijah's indignation flashes against the house of Ahab. The judicial
murder of Naboth calls it forth. The civil rights of the nation must be protected.
Ahab has sold himself to do evil in the sight of Yahweh. Therefore Ahab's house
shall fall. Jezebel's carcass shall be eaten by dogs; the king's posterity shall
be cut off; the dogs of the city or the fowls of the air shall eat their bodies
(1 Kings 21:20-26). Like thunderbolts the words of Elijah strike home. Ahab "fasted,
and lay in sackcloth, and went softly." But the die was cast. Yahweh is vindicated.
Never again, in the history of Israel can Baal, the inspirer of injustice, claim
a place at the side of Yahweh, the God of righteousness.
6. Ahab's Building Operations:
In common with oriental monarchs, Ahab displayed a taste for architecture, stimulated,
no doubt, by Phoenician influence. Large building operations were undertaken in
Samaria (1 Kings 16:32 ; 2 Kings 10:21). Solomon had an ivory throne, but Ahab
built for himself, in Jezreel, a palace adorned with woodwork and inlaid with
ivory (1 Kings 21:1 ; 22:39). Perhaps Amos, one hundred years later, refers to
the work of Ahab when he says, "The houses of ivory shall perish" (Amos 3:15).
In his day Hiel of Bethel undertook to rebuild Jericho, notwithstanding the curse
of Joshua (1 Kings 16:33, 1 Kings 16:34). Many cities were built during his reign
(1 Kings 22:39).
7. Ahab's Military Career:
Ahab was not only a splendor-loving monarch, but a great military leader as well.
He no doubt began his military policy by fortifying the cities of Israel (1 Kings
16:34 ; 22:39). Benhadad (the Dadidri of the Assyrian annals; Hadadezer and Barhadad
are Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic forms of the same name), the king of Syria, whose
vassals the kings of Israel had been (1 Kings 15:19), promptly besieges Samaria,
and sends Ahab an insulting message. Ahab replies, "Let not him that girdeth on
his armor boast himself as he that putteth it off." At the advice of a prophet
of Yahweh, Ahab, with 7,000 men under 232 leaders, inflicts a crushing defeat
upon Benhadad and his 32 feudal kings, who had resigned themselves to a drunken
carousal (1 Kings 20 through 21).
In the following year, the Syrian army, in spite of its overwhelming superiority,
meets another defeat at the hands of Ahab in the valley, near Aphek. On condition
that Benhadad restore all Israelite territory and grant the Hebrews certain rights
in Damascus, Ahab spares his life to the great indignation of the prophet (1 Kings
20:22).
In the year 854, Ahab with 2,000 chariots and 10,000 men, fights shoulder to shoulder
with Benhadad against Shalmaneser II, king of Assyria. At Karkar, on the Orontes,
Benhadad, with his allied forces, suffered an overwhelming defeat (COT, II, i,
183 f).
Perhaps Benhadad blamed Ahab for the defeat. At any rate he fails to keep his
promise to Ahab (1 Kings 22:3 ; 20:34). Lured by false prophets, but against the
dramatic warning of Micaiah, Ahab is led to take up the gauntlet against Syria
once more. His friend, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, joins him in the conflict.
For the first time since the days of David all Israel and Judah stand united against
the common foe.
8. Ahab's Death:
Possibly the warning of Micaiah gave Ahab a premonition that this would be has
last fight. He enters the battle in disguise, but in vain. An arrow, shot at random,
inflicts a mortal wound. With the fortitude of a hero, in order to avoid a panic,
Ahab remains in his chariot all day and dies at sunset. His body is taken to Samaria
for burial. A great king had died, and the kingdom declined rapidly after his
death. He had failed to comprehend the greatness of Yahweh; he failed to stand
for the highest justice, and his sins are visited upon has posterity (1 Kings
22:29 f).
9. Ahab and Archaeology:
(1) The Moabite Stone
The Moabite Stone (see MOABITE STONE) bears testimony (lines 7, 8) that Omri and
his son (Ahab) ruled over the land of Mehdeba for forty years. When Ahab was occupied
with the Syriac wars, Moab rose in insurrection. Mesha informs us in an exaggerated
manner that "Israel perished with an everlasting destruction." Mesha recognizes
Yahweh as the God of Israel.
(2) The Monolith of Shalmaneser II
The Monolith of Shalmaneser II (Brit Mus; see ASSYRIA) informs us that in 854
Shalmaneser II came in conflict with the kingdom of Hamath, and that Benhadad
II with Ahab of Israel and others formed a confederacy to resist the Assyrian
advance. The forces of the coalition were defeated at Karkar.
(3) Recent Excavations.
Under the direction of Harvard University, excavations have been carried on in
Samaria since 1908. In 1909 remains of a Hebrew palace were found. In this palace
two grades of construction have been detected. The explorers suggest that they
have found the palace of Omri, enlarged and improved by Ahab. This may be the
"ivory house" built by Ahab. In August, 1910, about 75 potsherds were found in
a building adjacent to Ahab's palace containing writing. The script is the same
as that of the Moabite Stone, the words being divided by ink spots. These ostraca
seem to be labels attached to jars kept in a room adjoining Ahab's palace. One
of them reads, "In the ninth year. From Shaphtan. For Ba'al-zamar. A jar of old
wine." Another reads, "Wine of the vineyard of the Tell." These readings remind
one of Naboth's vineyard. In another room not far from where the ostraca were
found, "was found an alabaster vase inscribed with the name of Ahab's contemporary,
Osorkon II of Egypt." Many proper names are found on the ostraca, which have their
equivalent in the Old Testament. It is claimed that the writing is far greater
than all other ancient Hebrew writing yet known. Perhaps with the publication
of all these writings we may expect much light upon Ahab's reign. (See OSTRACA;
Harvard Theological Review, January, 1909, April, 1910, January, 1911; Sunday
School Times, January 7, 1911; The Jewish Chronicle, January 27, 1911.) |
S. K. Mosiman
Tags:
ahab, baal, bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, define, dogs licked his blood, elijah prophecy, jezebel, king of israel (seventh), micaiah, naboth
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