Reference: Ahab
American
1. The sixth king of Israel, succeeded his father Omri B. C. 918, and reigned twenty-two years. His wife was Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal king of Tyre; an ambitious and passionate idolatress, through whose influence the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth was introduced in Israel. Ahab erected in Samaria a house of Baal, and set up images of Baal and Ashtoreth; idolatry and wickedness became fearfully prevalent, and the king "did more to provoke the Lord to anger than all the kings that were before him." In the midst of this great apostasy, God visited the land with three years of drought and famine; and then, at Mount Carmel, reproved idolatry by fire from heaven, and by the destruction of four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. About six years later, Ben-hadad, king of Syria, invaded Israel with a great army, but was ignominiously defeated; and still more disastrously the year after, when Ahab took him captive, but soon released him, and thus incurred the displeasure of God. In spite of the warnings and mercies of Providence, Ahab went on in sin; and at length, after the murder of Naboth, his crimes and abominable idolatries were such that God sent Elijah to denounce judgments upon him and his seed. These were in part deferred, however, by his apparent humiliation. Soon after, having gone with Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to regain Ramoth-gilead from the Syrians, and joined battle with them in defiance of Jehovah, he was slain, and dogs licked up his blood at the pool of Samaria, 1Ki 16:29-22:40.
2. A false prophet, who seduced the Israelites at Babylon, and was denounced by Jeremiah, Jer 29:21-22.
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Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Mahseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes; And because of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;
Easton
father's brother.
(1.) The son of Omri, whom he succeeded as the seventh king of Israel. His history is recorded in 1Ki 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 (1Ki 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 (1Ki 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 (2Ki 8:18; 2Ch 22:3; Mic 6:16).
(2.) A false prophet referred to by Jeremiah (Jer 29:21), of whom nothing further is known.
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And you shall speak unto him, saying, Thus says the LORD, Have you killed, and also taken possession? And you shall speak unto him, saying, Thus says the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your blood, even yours.
And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know you that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we are still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria?
And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Mahseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes;
For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and you walk in their counsels; that I should make you a desolation, and your inhabitants a hissing: therefore you shall bear the reproach of my people.
Fausets
1. Son of Omri; seventh king of the northern kingdom of Israel, second of his dynasty; reigned 28 years, from 919 to 897 B.C. Having occasional good impulses (1Ki 21:27), but weak and misled by his bad wife Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Zidon, i.e. Phoenicia in general. The Tyrian historians, Dius and Menander, mention Eithobalus as priest of Ashtoreth. Having murdered Pheles, he became king of Tyre. Menander mentions a drought in Phoenicia; compare 1 Kings 17. He makes him sixth king after Hiram of Tyre, the interval being 50 years, and Eithobalus' reign 32; thus he would be exactly contemporary with Ahab (Josephus c. Apion, 1:18.) Ahab, under Jezebel's influence, introduced the impure worship of the sun-god Baal, adding other gods besides Jehovah, a violation of the first commandment, an awful addition to Jeroboam's sin of the golden calves, which at Dan and Bethel (like Aaron's calves) were designed (for state policy) as images of the one true God, in violation of the second commandment; compare 2Ki 17:9; "the children of Israel did secretly things Hebrew covered words that were not right Hebrew so against the Lord," i.e., veiled their real idolatry with flimsy pretexts, as the church of Rome does in its image veneration.
The close relation of the northern kingdom with Tyre in David's and Solomon's time, and the temporal advantage of commercial intercourse with that great mart of the nations, led to an intimacy which, as too often happens in amalgamation between the church and the world, ended in Phoenicia seducing Israel to Baal and Astarte, instead of Israel drawing Phoenicia to Jehovah; compare 2Co 6:14-18. Ahab built an altar and temple to Baal in Samaria, and "made a grove," i.e. a sacred symbolic tree (asheerah), the symbol of Ashtoreth (the idol to whom his wife's father was priest), the moon-goddess, female of Baal; else Venus, the Assyrian Ishtar (our "star".) Jehovah worship was scarcely tolerated; but the public mind seems to have been in a halting state of indecision between the two, Jehovah and Baal, excepting 7000 alone who resolutely rejected the idol; or they thought to form a compromise by uniting the worship of Baal with that of Jehovah. Compare Ho 2:16; Am 5:25-27,1 Kings 18; 19. Jezebel cut off Jehovah's prophets, except 100 saved by Obadiah.
So prevalent was idolatry that Baal had 450 prophets, and Asherah ("the groves") had 400, whom Jezebel entertained at her own table. God chastised Israel with drought and famine, in answer to Elijah's prayer which he offered in jealousy for the honor of God, and in desire for the repentance of his people (1 Kings 17; Jas 5:17-18). When softened by the visitation, the people were ripe for the issue to which Elijah put the conflicting claims to Jehovah and Baal at Carmel, and on the fire from heaven consuming the prophet's sacrifice, fell on their faces and exclaimed with one voice, "Jehovah, He is the God; Jehovah, He is the God." Baal's prophets were slain at the brook Kishon, and the national judgment, through Elijah's prayers, was withdrawn, upon the nation's repentance. Ahab reported all to Jezebel, and she threatened immediate death to Elijah. Ahab was pre-eminent for luxurious tastes; his elaborately ornamented ivory palace (1Ki 22:39; Am 3:15), the many cities he built or restored, as Jericho (then belonging to Israel, not Judah) in defiance of Joshua's curse (1Ki 16:34), his palace and park at Jezreel (now Zerin), in the plain of Esdraelon, his beautiful residence while Samaria was the capital, all show his magnificence.
But much would have more, and his coveting Naboth's vineyard to add to his gardens led to an awful display of Jezebel's unscrupulous wickedness and his selfish weakness. "Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? ... I will give thee the vineyard." By false witness suborned at her direction, Naboth and his sons (after he had refused to sell his inheritance to Ahab, Le 25:23) were stoned; and Ahab at Jezebel's bidding went down to take possession (1 Kings 21; 2Ki 9:26). This was the turning point whereat his doom was sealed. Elijah with awful majesty denounces his sentence, "in the place where dogs licked Naboth's blood, shall dogs lick thine" (fulfilled to the letter on Joram his offspring, 2 Kings 9, primarily also on Ahab himself, but not "in the place" where Naboth's blood was shed); while the king abjectly cowers before him with the cry, "Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?" All his male posterity were to be cut off, as Jeroboam's and Baasha's, the two previous dynasties, successively had been (See ELIJAH). Execution was stayed owing to Ahab's partial and temporary repentance; for he seems to have been capable of serious impressions at times (1Ki 20:43); so exceedingly gracious is God at the first dawning of sorrow for sin.
Ahab fought three campaigns against Benhadad II., king of Damascus. The arrogance of the Syrian king, who besieged Samaria, not content with the claim to Ahab's silver, gold, wives, and children being conceded, but also threatening to send his servants to search the Israelite houses for every pleasant thing, brought on him God's wrath. A prophet told Ahab that Jehovah should deliver to him by the young men of the princes of the provinces (compare 1Co 1:27-29) the Syrian multitude of which Benhadad vaunted, "The gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me" (1 Kings 20). "Drinking himself drunk" with his 32 vassal princes, he and his force were utterly routed. Compare for the spiritual application 1Th 5:2-8. Again Benhadad, according to the prevalent idea of local gods, thinking Jehovah a god of the hills (His temple being on mount Zion and Samaria being on a hill) and not of the plains, ventured a battle on the plains at Aphek, E. of Jordan, with an army equal to his previous one.
He was defeated and taken prisoner, but released, on condition of restoring to Ahab all the cities of Israel which he held, and making streets for Ahab in Damascus, as his father had made in Samaria (i.e. of assigning an Israelites' quarter in Damascus, where their judges should have paramount authority, for the benefit of Israelites resident there for commerce and political objects). A prophet invested with the divine commission ("in the word of the Lord": Hag 1:13) requested his neighbor to smite him; refusing, he was slain by a lion. Another, at his request, smote and wounded him. By this symbolic act, and by a parable of his having suffered an enemy committed to him to escape, the prophet intimated that Ahab's life should pay the forfeit of his having suffered to escape with life one appointed by God to destruction. This disobedience, like Saul's in the case of Amalek, owing to his preferring his own will to God's, coupled with his treacherous and covetous murder of Naboth, brought on him his doom in his third campaign against Benhadad three years subsequently.
With Jehoshaphat, in spite of the prophet Micaiah's warning, and urged on by an evil spirit in the false prophets, he tried to recover Ramoth Gilead (1 Kings 22). Benhadad's chief aim was to slay Ahab, probably from personal hostility owing to the gratuitousness of the attack. Conscience made Ahab a coward, and selfishness made him reckless of his professed friendship to Jehoshaphat. Compare 2Ch 18:2; feasting and a display of hospitality often seduce the godly. So he disguised himself, and urged his friend to wear the royal robes. The same Benhadad whom duty to God ought to have led him to execute as a blasphemer, drunkard, and murderer, was in retribution made the instrument of his own destruction (1Ki 20:10,16,42). That false friendship which the godly king of Judah ought never to have formed (2Ch 19:2; 1Co 15:33) would have cost him his life but for God's interposition (2Ch 18:31) "moving them to depart from him." Ahab's treachery did not secure his escape, an arrow "at a venture" humanly speaking, but guided by God really, wounded him fatally; and the dogs licked up his blood, according to the Lord's word of which Joram's case in 2Ki 9:25 was a literal fulfillment (1Ki 21:19), on the very spot, while his chariot and armor were bein
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The land shall not be sold forever: for the land is mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with me.
The land shall not be sold forever: for the land is mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with me.
In his days did Hiel of Bethel build Jericho: he laid the foundation of it at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates of it at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.
In his days did Hiel of Bethel build Jericho: he laid the foundation of it at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates of it at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.
And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for a handful for each of the people that follow me.
And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for a handful for each of the people that follow me.
And they went out at noon. But Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.
And they went out at noon. But Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.
And Ben-hadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from your father, I will restore; and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send you away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.
And Ben-hadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from your father, I will restore; and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send you away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.
And he said unto him, Thus says the LORD, Because you have let go out of your hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.
And he said unto him, Thus says the LORD, Because you have let go out of your hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people. And the king of Israel went to his house sullen and displeased, and came to Samaria.
And the king of Israel went to his house sullen and displeased, and came to Samaria.
And you shall speak unto him, saying, Thus says the LORD, Have you killed, and also taken possession? And you shall speak unto him, saying, Thus says the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your blood, even yours.
And you shall speak unto him, saying, Thus says the LORD, Have you killed, and also taken possession? And you shall speak unto him, saying, Thus says the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your blood, even yours.
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel.
And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel.
And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know you that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we are still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria?
And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know you that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we are still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria?
And someone washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armor; according unto the word of the LORD which he spoke.
And someone washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armor; according unto the word of the LORD which he spoke. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.
Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.
And Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and rendered unto the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams, with the wool.
And Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and rendered unto the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams, with the wool. But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain, Take him up, and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for remember how that, when I and you rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden upon him;
Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain, Take him up, and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for remember how that, when I and you rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden upon him; Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, says the LORD; and I will repay you in this plot, says the LORD. Now therefore take and cast him into the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD.
Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, says the LORD; and I will repay you in this plot, says the LORD. Now therefore take and cast him into the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD.
And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.
And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.
And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that he had with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth-gilead.
And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that he had with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth-gilead.
And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they surrounded him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God led them to depart from him.
And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they surrounded him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God led them to depart from him.
And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Should you help the wicked, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath came upon you from the LORD.
And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Should you help the wicked, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath came upon you from the LORD.
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Mahseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes;
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Mahseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes; And because of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;
And because of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;
And it shall be at that day, says the LORD, that you shall call me Ishi; and shall call me no more Baali.
And it shall be at that day, says the LORD, that you shall call me Ishi; and shall call me no more Baali.
And I will strike the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, says the LORD.
And I will strike the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, says the LORD.
Hear you this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.
Hear you this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.
Have you offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
Have you offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? But you have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch, and Chiun your star god, your images, which you made for yourselves.
But you have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch, and Chiun your star god, your images, which you made for yourselves. Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, says the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.
Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, says the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.
Then spoke Haggai the LORD'S messenger in the LORD'S message unto the people, saying, I am with you, says the LORD.
Then spoke Haggai the LORD'S messenger in the LORD'S message unto the people, saying, I am with you, says the LORD.
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, has God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nothing things that are:
And base things of the world, and things which are despised, has God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nothing things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.
That no flesh should glory in his presence.
Be you not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? and what partnership has light with darkness?
Be you not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? and what partnership has light with darkness? And what harmony has Christ with Belial? or what part has he that believes with an infidel?
And what harmony has Christ with Belial? or what part has he that believes with an infidel? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? for you are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? for you are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore come out from among them, and be you separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
Therefore come out from among them, and be you separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.
And will be a Father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.
For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.
For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. You are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
You are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that are drunk are drunk in the night.
For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that are drunk are drunk in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.
But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.
Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth for three years and six months.
Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit.
And he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit.
Hastings
1. Son of Omri, and the most noted member of his dynasty, king of Israel from about 875 to about 853 b.c. The account of him in our Book of Kings is drawn from two separate sources, one of which views him more favourably than the other. From the secular point of view he was an able and energetic prince; from the religious point of view he was a dangerous innovator, and a patron of foreign gods. His alliance with the Ph
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And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him.
And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus says Ben-hadad,
And Ben-hadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from your father, I will restore; and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send you away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.
And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, near by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.
But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.
Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Mahseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes;
Morish
A'hab
1. Son and successor of Omri, king of Israel. He married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and under her influence became an idolater, and led Israel into the worship of Baal. Of him it is said, there was none like him in very abominably following idols. It was chiefly in his reign that Elijah the Tishbite laboured, and he testified for Jehovah against the apostasy and corruption of the king. The trial of fire from heaven is an especial instance of this, which was followed by the death of 450 of the prophets of Baal, 1Ki 18:19-40, but there was no repentance in the king. Ahab made two attacks on Benhadad king of Syria and was helped by God so that he obtained the victory; on the second occasion instead of destroying Benhadad (whom the Lord had doomed to destruction) he made a treaty with him.
Ahab coveted the vineyard of Naboth, but on his refusal to part with the inheritance given by God to his fathers, Jezebel caused his death and bade Ahab take possession of the vineyard. Elijah met him there and declared that dogs should lick his blood where they had licked the blood of Naboth. The dogs should also eat Jezebel, and Ahab's house should be cut off. Ahab humbled himself before God, and the full end of his house was delayed till his son's days. After this Ahab made another attack upon Syria, and his 400 prophets foretold that he would be successful; and he, though warned of his danger by the prophet Micaiah, went into battle accompanied by Jehoshaphat king of Judah, his ally. He disguised himself, but an arrow, shot at a venture, smote him between the joints of his armour, and he was wounded to death, and the prediction of Elijah came literally to pass. 1Ki 21:1; 22:1. Grace had lingered over this poor idolater, for he was an Israelite; but he died impenitent, and his whole house was soon to perish. 2Ki 9:7-10. The judgement of God fell on the apostate king who had seized the inheritance of God's people.
2. A false prophet among the captives of Babylon who prophesied a lie, and was roasted in the fire by Nebuchadnezzar. Jer 29:21-22.
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Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the idol poles four hundred, who eat at Jezebel's table. So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. read more. And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long do you halt between two opinions? if the LORD is God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Then said Eliajah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under it: and I will prepare the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under it: And call you on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answers by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and prepare it first; for you are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under it. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he sleeps, and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lances, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be your name: And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench around the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that you are the LORD God, and that you have turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, near by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel.
And you shall smite the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab every male, bond and free that is left in Israel: read more. And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah: And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled.
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Mahseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes; And because of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;
Smith
A'hab
(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
One of Ahab's 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,
a false accusation of blasphemy was brought against him, and he was murdered, and Ahab took possession of the coveted fields.
Thereupon Elijah declared that the entire extirpation of Ahab's house was the penalty appointed for his long course of wickedness. [ELIJAH] The execution, however, of the sentence was delayed in consequence of Ahab's deep repentance.
See Elijah
... 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.
Next year Ben-hadad again invaded Israel by way of Aphek, on the east of Jordan; yet Ahab's victory was so complete that Ben-hadad himself fell into his hands, but was released contrary to God's will,
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 Elijah's prediction,
which was more literally accomplished in the case of his son.
2. A lying prophet, who deceived the captive Israelites in Babylon, and was burnt to death by Nebuchadnezzar.
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The land shall not be sold forever: for the land is mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with me.
Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the idol poles four hundred, who eat at Jezebel's table.
And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it. And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus says Ben-hadad, read more. Your silver and your gold is mine; your wives also and your children, even the fairest, are mine. And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to your saying, I am yours, and all that I have. And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaks Ben-hadad, saying, Although I have sent unto you, saying, You shall deliver me your silver, and your gold, and your wives, and your children; Yet I will send my servants unto you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house, and the houses of your servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in your eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away. Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeks trouble: for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not. And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent. Therefore he said unto the messengers of Ben-hadad, Tell my lord the king, All that you did send for to your servant at the first I will do: but this thing I will not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again. And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for a handful for each of the people that follow me. And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girds on his armor boast himself as he that puts it off. And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city. And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus says the LORD, Have you seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into your hand this day; and you shall know that I am the LORD. And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus says the LORD, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, You. Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand. And they went out at noon. But Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him. And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria. And he said, If they be come out for peace, take them alive; or if they be come out for war, take them alive. So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them. And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with the horsemen. And the king of Israel went out, and struck the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen yourself, and consider, and see what you should do: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against you. And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their places: And number you an army, like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so. And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country. And there came a man of God, and spoke unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus says the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD. And they encamped one over against the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians a hundred thousand footmen in one day. But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Ben-hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber. And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray you, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: perhaps he will save your life. So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Your servant Ben-hadad says, I pray you, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother. Now the men did diligently observe whether any sign of mercy would come from him, and did quickly catch it: and they said, Your brother Ben-hadad. Then he said, Go, bring him. Then Ben-hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. And Ben-hadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from your father, I will restore; and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send you away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.
And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, near by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
And you shall speak unto him, saying, Thus says the LORD, Have you killed, and also taken possession? And you shall speak unto him, saying, Thus says the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your blood, even yours.
Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, says the LORD; and I will repay you in this plot, says the LORD. Now therefore take and cast him into the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD.
Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, says the LORD; and I will repay you in this plot, says the LORD. Now therefore take and cast him into the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD.
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Mahseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes;
Watsons
AHAB, the son and successor of Omri. He began his reign over Israel, A.M. 3086, and reigned 22 years. In impiety he far exceeded all the kings of Israel. He married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of Zidon, who introduced the whole abominations and idols of her country, Baal and Ashtaroth.
2. AHAB the son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, were two false prophets, who, about A.M. 3406, seduced the Jewish captives at Babylon with hopes of a speedy deliverance, and stirred them up against Jeremiah. The Lord threatened them with a public and ignominious death, before such as they had deceived; and that their names should become a curse; men wishing that their foes might be made like Ahab and Zedekiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon roasted in the fire, Jer 29:21-22.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Mahseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes; And because of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;