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 said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, concerning Ahab son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you in My name falsehood: Lo, I am giving them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he hath smitten them before your eyes, And taken from them hath been a reviling by all the removed of Judah that are in Babylon, saying, Jehovah doth set thee as Zedekiah, and as Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted with 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 thou hast spoken unto him, saying, Thus said Jehovah, Hast thou murdered, and also possessed? and thou hast spoken unto him, saying, Thus said Jehovah, In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, do the dogs lick thy blood, even thine.'
and the king of Israel saith unto his servants, 'Have ye not known that ours is Ramoth-Gilead? and we are keeping silent from taking it out of the hand of the king of Aram!'
And he walketh in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab, for a daughter of Ahab was to him for a wife, and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah,
Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, concerning Ahab son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you in My name falsehood: Lo, I am giving them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he hath smitten them before your eyes,
And kept habitually are the statutes of Omri, And all the work of the house of Ahab, And ye do walk in their counsels, For My giving thee for a desolation, And its inhabitants for a hissing, And the reproach of My people ye do bear!
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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And the land is not sold -- to extinction, for the land is Mine, for sojourners and settlers are ye with Me;
And the land is not sold -- to extinction, for the land is Mine, for sojourners and settlers are ye with Me;
In his days hath Hiel the Beth-Elite built Jericho; in Abiram his first-born he laid its foundation, and in Segub his youngest he set up its doors, according to the word of Jehovah that He spake by the hand of Joshua son of Nun.
In his days hath Hiel the Beth-Elite built Jericho; in Abiram his first-born he laid its foundation, and in Segub his youngest he set up its doors, according to the word of Jehovah that He spake by the hand of Joshua son of Nun.
And Ben-Hadad sendeth unto him, and saith, 'Thus do the gods to me, and thus do they add, if the dust of Samaria suffice for handfuls for all the people who are at my feet.'
And Ben-Hadad sendeth unto him, and saith, 'Thus do the gods to me, and thus do they add, if the dust of Samaria suffice for handfuls for all the people who are at my feet.'
and they go out at noon, and Ben-Hadad is drinking -- drunk in the booths, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings, helping him.
and they go out at noon, and Ben-Hadad is drinking -- drunk in the booths, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings, helping him.
And he saith unto him, 'The cities that my father took from thy father, I give back, and streets thou dost make for thee in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria;' -- 'and I, with a covenant, send thee away;' and he maketh with him a covenant, and sendeth him away.
And he saith unto him, 'The cities that my father took from thy father, I give back, and streets thou dost make for thee in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria;' -- 'and I, with a covenant, send thee away;' and he maketh with him a covenant, and sendeth him away.
and he saith unto him, 'Thus said Jehovah, Because thou hast sent away the man I devoted, out of thy hand, even thy life hath been for his life, and thy people for his people;'
and he saith unto him, 'Thus said Jehovah, Because thou hast sent away the man I devoted, out of thy hand, even thy life hath been for his life, and thy people for his people;' and the king of Israel goeth unto his house, sulky and wroth, and cometh in to Samaria.
and the king of Israel goeth unto his house, sulky and wroth, and cometh in to Samaria.
and thou hast spoken unto him, saying, Thus said Jehovah, Hast thou murdered, and also possessed? and thou hast spoken unto him, saying, Thus said Jehovah, In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, do the dogs lick thy blood, even thine.'
and thou hast spoken unto him, saying, Thus said Jehovah, Hast thou murdered, and also possessed? and thou hast spoken unto him, saying, Thus said Jehovah, In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, do the dogs lick thy blood, even thine.'
And it cometh to pass, at Ahab's hearing these words, that he rendeth his garments, and putteth sackcloth on his flesh, and fasteth, and lieth in sackcloth, and goeth gently.
And it cometh to pass, at Ahab's hearing these words, that he rendeth his garments, and putteth sackcloth on his flesh, and fasteth, and lieth in sackcloth, and goeth gently.
And they sit still three years, there is no war between Aram and Israel,
And they sit still three years, there is no war between Aram and Israel,
and the king of Israel saith unto his servants, 'Have ye not known that ours is Ramoth-Gilead? and we are keeping silent from taking it out of the hand of the king of Aram!'
and the king of Israel saith unto his servants, 'Have ye not known that ours is Ramoth-Gilead? and we are keeping silent from taking it out of the hand of the king of Aram!'
and one rinseth the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs lick his blood -- when the armour they had washed -- according to the word of Jehovah that He spake.
and one rinseth the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs lick his blood -- when the armour they had washed -- according to the word of Jehovah that He spake. And the rest of the matters of Ahab, and all that he did, and the house of ivory that he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?
And the rest of the matters of Ahab, and all that he did, and the house of ivory that he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?
And Moab transgresseth against Israel after the death of Ahab,
And Moab transgresseth against Israel after the death of Ahab,
And Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master, and he rendered to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams, with wool,
And Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master, and he rendered to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams, with wool, and it cometh to pass at the death of Ahab, that the king of Moab transgresseth against the king of Israel.
and it cometh to pass at the death of Ahab, that the king of Moab transgresseth against the king of Israel.
And Jehu saith unto Bidkar his captain, 'Lift up, cast him into the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite -- for, remember, I and thou were riding together after Ahab his father, and Jehovah lifted upon him this burden:
And Jehu saith unto Bidkar his captain, 'Lift up, cast him into the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite -- for, remember, I and thou were riding together after Ahab his father, and Jehovah lifted upon him this burden: Have I not the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons seen yesternight -- the affirmation of Jehovah -- yea, I have recompensed to thee in this portion -- the affirmation of Jehovah; -- and now, lift up, cast him into the portion, according to the word of Jehovah.'
Have I not the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons seen yesternight -- the affirmation of Jehovah -- yea, I have recompensed to thee in this portion -- the affirmation of Jehovah; -- and now, lift up, cast him into the portion, according to the word of Jehovah.'
and the sons of Israel do covertly things that are not right against Jehovah their God, and build for them high places in all their cities, from a tower of the watchers unto the fenced city,
and the sons of Israel do covertly things that are not right against Jehovah their God, and build for them high places in all their cities, from a tower of the watchers unto the fenced city,
and goeth down at the end of certain years unto Ahab to Samaria, and Ahab sacrificeth for him sheep and oxen in abundance, and for the people who are with him, and persuadeth him to go up unto Ramoth-Gilead.
and goeth down at the end of certain years unto Ahab to Samaria, and Ahab sacrificeth for him sheep and oxen in abundance, and for the people who are with him, and persuadeth him to go up unto Ramoth-Gilead.
And it cometh to pass at the heads of the charioteers seeing Jehoshaphat, that they have said, 'The king of Israel he is,' and they turn round against him to fight, and Jehoshaphat crieth out, and Jehovah hath helped him, and God enticeth them from him,
And it cometh to pass at the heads of the charioteers seeing Jehoshaphat, that they have said, 'The king of Israel he is,' and they turn round against him to fight, and Jehoshaphat crieth out, and Jehovah hath helped him, and God enticeth them from him,
and go out unto his presence doth Jehu son of Hanani, the seer, and saith unto king Jehoshaphat, 'To give help to the wicked, and to those hating Jehovah, dost thou love? and for this against thee is wrath from before Jehovah,
and go out unto his presence doth Jehu son of Hanani, the seer, and saith unto king Jehoshaphat, 'To give help to the wicked, and to those hating Jehovah, dost thou love? and for this against thee is wrath from before Jehovah,
Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, concerning Ahab son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you in My name falsehood: Lo, I am giving them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he hath smitten them before your eyes,
Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, concerning Ahab son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you in My name falsehood: Lo, I am giving them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he hath smitten them before your eyes, And taken from them hath been a reviling by all the removed of Judah that are in Babylon, saying, Jehovah doth set thee as Zedekiah, and as Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted with fire;
And taken from them hath been a reviling by all the removed of Judah that are in Babylon, saying, Jehovah doth set thee as Zedekiah, and as Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted with fire;
And it hath come to pass, in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah, Thou dost call Me -- My husband, And dost not call Me any more -- My lord.
And it hath come to pass, in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah, Thou dost call Me -- My husband, And dost not call Me any more -- My lord.
And I have smitten the winter-house with the summer-house, And perished have houses of ivory, And consumed have been many houses, An affirmation of Jehovah!
And I have smitten the winter-house with the summer-house, And perished have houses of ivory, And consumed have been many houses, An affirmation of Jehovah!
Hear this word that I am bearing to you, A lamentation, O house of Israel:
Hear this word that I am bearing to you, A lamentation, O house of Israel:
Sacrifices and offering did ye bring nigh to Me, In a wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
Sacrifices and offering did ye bring nigh to Me, In a wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? And ye bare Succoth your king, and Chiun your images, The star of your god, that ye made for yourselves.
And ye bare Succoth your king, and Chiun your images, The star of your god, that ye made for yourselves. And I removed you beyond Damascus, Said Jehovah, God of Hosts is His name.
And I removed you beyond Damascus, Said Jehovah, God of Hosts is His name.
And Haggai, messenger of Jehovah, in messages of Jehovah, speaketh to the people, saying: 'I am with you, an affirmation of Jehovah.'
And Haggai, messenger of Jehovah, in messages of Jehovah, speaketh to the people, saying: 'I am with you, an affirmation of Jehovah.'
but the foolish things of the world did God choose, that the wise He may put to shame; and the weak things of the world did God choose that He may put to shame the strong;
but the foolish things of the world did God choose, that the wise He may put to shame; and the weak things of the world did God choose that He may put to shame the strong; and the base things of the world, and the things despised did God choose, and the things that are not, that the things that are He may make useless --
and the base things of the world, and the things despised did God choose, and the things that are not, that the things that are He may make useless -- that no flesh may glory before Him;
that no flesh may glory before Him;
Become not yoked with others -- unbelievers, for what partaking is there to righteousness and lawlessness?
Become not yoked with others -- unbelievers, for what partaking is there to righteousness and lawlessness? and what fellowship to light with darkness? and what concord to Christ with Belial? or what part to a believer with an unbeliever?
and what fellowship to light with darkness? and what concord to Christ with Belial? or what part to a believer with an unbeliever? and what agreement to the sanctuary of God with idols? for ye are a sanctuary of the living God, according as God said -- 'I will dwell in them, and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people,
and what agreement to the sanctuary of God with idols? for ye are a sanctuary of the living God, according as God said -- 'I will dwell in them, and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people, wherefore, come ye forth out of the midst of them, and be separated, saith the Lord, and an unclean thing do not touch, and I -- I will receive you,
wherefore, come ye forth out of the midst of them, and be separated, saith the Lord, and an unclean thing do not touch, and I -- I will receive you, and I will be to you for a Father, and ye -- ye shall be to Me for sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.'
and I will be to you for a Father, and ye -- ye shall be to Me for sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.'
for yourselves have known thoroughly that the day of the Lord as a thief in the night doth so come,
for yourselves have known thoroughly that the day of the Lord as a thief in the night doth so come, for when they may say, Peace and surety, then sudden destruction doth stand by them, as the travail doth her who is with child, and they shall not escape;
for when they may say, Peace and surety, then sudden destruction doth stand by them, as the travail doth her who is with child, and they shall not escape; and ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day may catch you as a thief;
and ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day may catch you as a thief; all ye are sons of light, and sons of day; we are not of night, nor of darkness,
all ye are sons of light, and sons of day; we are not of night, nor of darkness, so, then, we may not sleep as also the others, but watch and be sober,
so, then, we may not sleep as also the others, but watch and be sober, for those sleeping, by night do sleep, and those making themselves drunk, by night are drunken,
for those sleeping, by night do sleep, and those making themselves drunk, by night are drunken, and we, being of the day -- let us be sober, putting on a breastplate of faith and love, and an helmet -- a hope of salvation,
and we, being of the day -- let us be sober, putting on a breastplate of faith and love, and an helmet -- a hope of salvation,
Elijah was a man like affected as we, and with prayer he did pray -- not to rain, and it did not rain upon the land three years and six months;
Elijah was a man like affected as we, and with prayer he did pray -- not to rain, and it did not rain upon the land three years and six months; and again he did pray, and the heaven did give rain, and the land did bring forth her fruit.
and again he did pray, and the heaven did give rain, and the land did bring forth her 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 cometh to pass -- hath it been light his walking in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat? -- then he taketh a wife, Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians, and goeth and serveth Baal, and boweth himself to it,
and sendeth messengers unto Ahab king of Israel, to the city,
And he saith unto him, 'The cities that my father took from thy father, I give back, and streets thou dost make for thee in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria;' -- 'and I, with a covenant, send thee away;' and he maketh with him a covenant, and sendeth him away.
And it cometh to pass, after these things, a vineyard hath been to Naboth the Jezreelite, that is in Jezreel, near the palace of Ahab king of Samaria,
and the king of Israel gathereth the prophets, about four hundred men, and saith unto them, 'Do I go against Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or do I forbear?' and they say, 'Go up, and the Lord doth give it into the hand of the king.'
And the king of Aram commanded the heads of the charioteers whom he hath -- thirty and two -- saying, 'Ye do not fight with small or with great, but with the king of Israel by himself.'
And the rest of the matters of Ahab, and all that he did, and the house of ivory that he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?
And he walketh in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab, for a daughter of Ahab was to him for a wife, and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah,
Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, concerning Ahab son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you in My name falsehood: Lo, I am giving them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he hath smitten 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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and now, send, gather unto me all Israel, unto the mount of Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the shrine, four hundred -- eating at the table of Jezebel.' And Ahab sendeth among all the sons of Israel, and gathereth the prophets unto the mount of Carmel; read more. and Elijah cometh nigh unto all the people, and saith, 'Till when are ye leaping on the two branches? -- if Jehovah is God, go after Him; and if Baal, go after him;' and the people have not answered him a word. And Elijah saith unto the people, 'I -- I have been left a prophet of Jehovah -- by myself; and the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men; and let them give to us two bullocks, and they choose for themselves the one bullock, and cut it in pieces, and place it on the wood, and place no fire; and I -- I prepare the other bullock, and have put it on the wood, and fire I do not place; -- and ye have called in the name of your god, and I -- I call in the name of Jehovah, and it hath been, the god who answereth by fire -- He is the God.' And all the people answer and say, 'Good is the word.' And Elijah saith to the prophets of Baal, 'Choose for you the one bullock, and prepare first, for ye are the multitude, and call ye in the name of your god, and place no fire.' And they take the bullock that one gave to them, and prepare, and call in the name of Baal from the morning even till the noon, saying, 'O Baal, answer us!' and there is no voice, and there is none answering; and they leap on the altar that one had made. And it cometh to pass, at noon, that Elijah playeth on them, and saith, 'Call with a loud voice, for he is a god, for he is meditating, or pursuing, or on a journey; it may be he is asleep, an doth awake.' And they call with a loud voice, and cut themselves, according to their ordinance, with swords and with spears, till a flowing of blood is on them; and it cometh to pass, at the passing by of the noon, that they feign themselves prophets till the going up of the present, and there is no voice, and there is none answering, and there is none attending. And Elijah saith to all the people, 'Come nigh unto me;' and all the people come nigh unto him, and he repaireth the altar of Jehovah that is broken down; and Elijah taketh twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of Jehovah was, saying, 'Israel is thy name;' and he buildeth with the stones an altar, in the name of Jehovah, and maketh a trench, as about the space of two measures of seed, round about the altar. And he arrangeth the wood, and cutteth in pieces the bullock, and placeth it on the wood, and saith, 'Fill ye four pitchers of water, and pour on the burnt-offering, and on the wood; and he saith, 'Do it a second time;' and they do it a second time; and he saith, 'Do it a third time;' and they do it a third time; and the water goeth round about the altar, and also, the trench he hath filled with water. And it cometh to pass, at the going up of the evening -present, that Elijah the prophet cometh nigh and saith, 'Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to-day let it be known that Thou art God in Israel, and I Thy servant, that by Thy word I have done the whole of these things; answer me, O Jehovah, answer me, and this people doth know that Thou art Jehovah God; and Thou hast turned their heart backward.' And there falleth a fire of Jehovah, and consumeth the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and the water that is in the trench it hath licked up. And all the people see, and fall on their faces, and say, 'Jehovah, He is the God, Jehovah, He is the God.' And Elijah saith to them, 'Catch ye the prophets of Baal; let not a man escape of them;' and they catch them, and Elijah bringeth them down unto the stream Kishon, and doth slaughter them there.
And it cometh to pass, after these things, a vineyard hath been to Naboth the Jezreelite, that is in Jezreel, near the palace of Ahab king of Samaria,
And they sit still three years, there is no war between Aram and Israel,
and thou hast smitten the house of Ahab thy lord, and I have required the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Jehovah, from the hand of Jezebel; and perished hath all the house of Ahab, and I have cut off to Ahab those sitting on the wall, and restrained, and left, in Israel, read more. and I have given up the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and as the house of Baasha son of Ahijah, and Jezebel do the dogs eat in the portion of Jezreel, and there is none burying;' and he openeth the door and fleeth.
Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, concerning Ahab son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you in My name falsehood: Lo, I am giving them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he hath smitten them before your eyes, And taken from them hath been a reviling by all the removed of Judah that are in Babylon, saying, Jehovah doth set thee as Zedekiah, and as Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted with 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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And the land is not sold -- to extinction, for the land is Mine, for sojourners and settlers are ye with Me;
and now, send, gather unto me all Israel, unto the mount of Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the shrine, four hundred -- eating at the table of Jezebel.'
And Ben-Hadad king of Aram hath gathered all his force, and thirty and two kings are with him, and horse and chariot, and he goeth up and layeth siege against Samaria, and fighteth with it, and sendeth messengers unto Ahab king of Israel, to the city, read more. and saith to him, 'Thus said Ben-Hadad, 'Thy silver and thy gold are mine, and thy wives and thy sons -- the best -- are mine.' And the king of Israel answereth and saith, 'According to thy word, my lord, O king: I am thine, and all that I have.' And the messengers turn back and say, 'Thus spake Ben-Hadad, saying, Surely I sent unto thee, saying, Thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy sons, to me thou dost give; for if, at this time to-morrow, I send my servants unto thee then they have searched thy house, and the houses of thy servants, and it hath been, every desirable thing of thine eyes they place in their hand, and have taken away.' And the king of Israel calleth to all the elders of the land, and saith, 'Know, I pray you, and see that evil this one is seeking, for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my sons, and for my silver, and for my gold, and I withheld not from him.' And all the elders and all the people say unto him, 'Do not hearken, nor consent.' And he saith to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, 'Say to my lord the king, All that thou didst send for unto thy servant at the first I do, and this thing I am not able to do;' and the messengers go and take him back word. And Ben-Hadad sendeth unto him, and saith, 'Thus do the gods to me, and thus do they add, if the dust of Samaria suffice for handfuls for all the people who are at my feet.' And the king of Israel answereth and saith, 'Speak ye: let not him who is girding on boast himself as him who is loosing his armour.' And it cometh to pass at the hearing of this word -- and he is drinking, he and the kings, in the booths -- that he saith unto his servants, 'Set yourselves;' and they set themselves against the city. And lo, a certain prophet hath come nigh unto Ahab king of Israel, and saith, 'Thus said Jehovah, 'Hast thou seen all this great multitude? lo, I am giving it into thy hand to-day, and thou hast known that I am Jehovah.' And Ahab saith, 'By whom?' and he saith, 'Thus said Jehovah, By the young men of the heads of the provinces;' and he saith, 'Who doth direct the battle?' and he saith, 'Thou.' And he inspecteth the young men of the heads of the provinces, and they are two hundred, two and thirty, and after them he hath inspecteth the whole of the people, all the sons of Israel, seven thousand, and they go out at noon, and Ben-Hadad is drinking -- drunk in the booths, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings, helping him. And the young men of the heads of the provinces go out at the first, and Ben-Hadad sendeth, and they declare to him, saying, 'Men have come out of Samaria.' And he saith, 'If for peace they have come out -- catch them alive; and if for battle they have come out -- alive catch them.' And these have gone out of the city -- the young men of the heads of the provinces -- and the force that is after them, and smite each his man, and Aram fleeth, and Israel pursueth them, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram escapeth on a horse, and the horsemen; and the king of Israel goeth out, and smiteth the horses, and the charioteers, and hath smitten among the Aramaeans a great smiting. And the prophet cometh nigh unto the king of Israel, and saith to him, 'Go, strengthen thyself, and know and see that which thou dost, for at the turn of the year the king of Aram is coming up against thee.' And the servants of the king of Aram said unto him, 'Gods of hills are their gods, therefore they were stronger than we; and yet, we fight with them in the plain -- are we not stronger than they? 'And this thing do thou: turn aside the kings each out of his place, and set captains in their stead; and thou, number to thee a force as the force that is fallen from thee, and horse for horse, and chariot for chariot, and we fight with them in the plain; are we not stronger than they?' and he hearkeneth to their voice, and doth so. And it cometh to pass at the turn of the year, that Ben-Hadad inspecteth the Aramaeans, and goeth up to Aphek, to battle with Israel, and the sons of Israel have been inspected, and supported, and go to meet them, and the sons of Israel encamp before them, like two flocks of goats, and the Aramaeans have filled the land. And there cometh nigh a man of God, and speaketh unto the king of Israel, and saith, 'Thus said Jehovah, Because that the Aramaeans have said, God of hills is Jehovah, and He is not God of valleys -- I have given the whole of this great multitude into thy hand, and ye have known that I am Jehovah.' And they encamp one over-against another seven days, and it cometh to pass on the seventh day, that the battle draweth near, and the sons of Israel smite Aram -- a hundred thousand footmen in one day. And those left flee to Aphek, unto the city, and the wall falleth on twenty and seven chief men who are left, and Ben-Hadad hath fled, and cometh in unto the city, into the innermost part. And his servants say unto him, 'Lo, we pray thee, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel -- that they are kind kings; let us put, we pray thee, sackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and we go out unto the king of Israel; it may be he doth keep thee alive.' And they gird sackcloth on their loins, and ropes are on their heads, and they come in unto the king of Israel, and say, 'Thy servant Ben-Hadad hath said, Let me live, I pray thee;' and he saith, 'Is he yet alive? he is my brother.' And the men observe diligently, and hasten, and catch it from him, and say, 'Thy brother Ben-Hadad;' and he saith, 'Go ye in, bring him;' and Ben-Hadad cometh out unto him, and he causeth him to come up on the chariot. And he saith unto him, 'The cities that my father took from thy father, I give back, and streets thou dost make for thee in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria;' -- 'and I, with a covenant, send thee away;' and he maketh with him a covenant, and sendeth him away.
And it cometh to pass, after these things, a vineyard hath been to Naboth the Jezreelite, that is in Jezreel, near the palace of Ahab king of Samaria,
and thou hast spoken unto him, saying, Thus said Jehovah, Hast thou murdered, and also possessed? and thou hast spoken unto him, saying, Thus said Jehovah, In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, do the dogs lick thy blood, even thine.'
Have I not the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons seen yesternight -- the affirmation of Jehovah -- yea, I have recompensed to thee in this portion -- the affirmation of Jehovah; -- and now, lift up, cast him into the portion, according to the word of Jehovah.'
Have I not the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons seen yesternight -- the affirmation of Jehovah -- yea, I have recompensed to thee in this portion -- the affirmation of Jehovah; -- and now, lift up, cast him into the portion, according to the word of Jehovah.'
Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, concerning Ahab son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you in My name falsehood: Lo, I am giving them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he hath smitten 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.
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Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, concerning Ahab son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you in My name falsehood: Lo, I am giving them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he hath smitten them before your eyes, And taken from them hath been a reviling by all the removed of Judah that are in Babylon, saying, Jehovah doth set thee as Zedekiah, and as Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted with fire;