View source for Ahab

{{Short description|Biblical King of Israel (c. 874 – c. 853 BC)}}
{{For-multi|the ''Moby-Dick'' character|Captain Ahab|other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name               = Ahab
| title              = 
| image              = Ahab rex.png
| caption            = Portrait from ''[[Promptuarium Iconum Insigniorum]]''
| succession         = [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|King of Israel (Northern Kingdom)]]
| reign              = 22 years<br>874–853 BC (Thiele)<br>869–850 BC (Albright)<br>871–852 BC (Coogan)
| coronation         = 
| full name          = 
| birth_name         =
| birth_date         = <!-- {{birth date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| birth_place        = 
| death_date         = {{circa| 853 BC}}
| death_place        = [[Ramoth-Gilead]], [[Aram-Damascus|Syria]]
| burial_date        = 
| burial_place       = [[Samaria (ancient city)|Samaria]], [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]]
| predecessor        = [[Omri]]
| successor          = [[Ahaziah of Israel|Ahaziah]]
| queen              = [[Jezebel]] of [[Sidon]]
| spouse             = 
| issue              = {{ubl|[[Ahaziah of Israel]]|[[Jehoram of Israel]]|[[Athaliah|Athaliah of Judah]]?}}<ref>For a discussion about whether Athaliah was actually the daughter of Ahab or Ahab's father Omri, see {{Cite journal|title = Queen Athaliah: The Daughter of Ahab or Omri?|last1 = Klein|first1 = Reuven Chaim |journal = Jewish Bible Quarterly |year = 2014|volume = 42|issue = 1|pages = 11–20|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305725131}}</ref>
| royal house        =
| dynasty            = [[Omrides]]
| father             = [[Omri]]
| mother             =
| signature          =
}}

'''Ahab''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|eɪ|h|æ|b}}; {{langx|he|אַחְאָב|ʾAḥʾāḇ}}; {{langx|akk|𒀀𒄩𒀊𒁍|Aḫâbbu}}; {{langx|grc-x-koine|Ἀχαάβ|Akhaáb}}; {{langx|la|Achab}}) was a king of the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)]], the son and successor of King [[Omri]], and the husband of [[Jezebel]] of [[Sidon]], according to the [[Hebrew Bible]].<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Kings|16:29–34|NIV}}</ref> He is depicted in the Bible as a [[Baal]] worshipper and is criticized for causing moral decline in Israel, though modern scholars argue that Ahab was a [[Yahwist]] himself.<ref>Grabbe, Lester (2017). p. 183-184. Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0-567-67043-4. “His chief palace overseer Obadiah was a devoted Yhwh worshipper, and Ahab could hardly have been ignorant of that (1 Kgs 17.3). Furthermore, his two sons had theophoric names that contained a form of the divine name Yhwh (Ahaziah [1 Kgs 22.40] and Jehoram [2 Kgs 1.17]), which would hardly have been the case if he had been a Baal worshipper.”</ref><ref name="Frevel 2021">{{Cite journal |last=Frevel |first=Christian |date=2021 |title=When and from Where did YHWH Emerge? Some Reflections on Early Yahwism in Israel and Judah |url=https://er.ceres.rub.de/index.php/ER/article/view/8776 |journal=Entangled Religions |volume=12 |issue=2 |doi=10.46586/er.12.2021.8776 |via=RUB|hdl=2263/84039 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":32">{{Cite web |last=Stahl |first=Michael J. |date=2023 |title=Yahweh or Baal- Who Was the God of Northern Israel? |url=https://library.biblicalarchaeology.org/article/yahweh-or-baal-who-was-the-god-of-northern-israel/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418044706/https://library.biblicalarchaeology.org/article/yahweh-or-baal-who-was-the-god-of-northern-israel/ |archive-date=April 18, 2024 |website=Biblical Archaeology Review}}</ref>

The existence of Ahab is historically supported outside the Bible. The contemporary [[Kurkh Monolith]] inscription of king [[Shalmaneser III]]<ref>Rainey, Anson F. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3210843 "Stones for Bread: Archaeology versus History"]. ''Near Eastern Archaeology'', Vol. 64, No. 3 (September 2001), pp. 140–149</ref> from the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] documented in 853 BC that Shalmaneser III defeated an alliance of a dozen kings in the [[Battle of Qarqar]]; one of these was Ahab. Though not named, he is also mentioned on the inscriptions of the [[Mesha Stele]].{{sfn|Finkelstein|Silberman|2002|pp=169–195}}

Ahab became king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of King [[Asa of Judah]], and reigned for twenty-two years, according to [[1 Kings 16]]:29. [[William F. Albright]] dated his reign to 869–850 BC, while [[Edwin R. Thiele]] offered the dates 874–853 BC.{{sfn|Thiele|1965|p=}} Most recently, [[Michael Coogan]] has dated Ahab's reign to 871–852 BC.{{sfn|Coogan|2009|p=237}}

==Reign==
As Omri's successor, Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of [[Ithobaal I]] of [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]]. Under Jezebel's influence, he abandoned Yahweh and established [[Baal#Baʿal|Baal]] and [[Asherah]] cults in Israel according to 1 Kings 16:29–33. For example, he allowed Hiel the Bethelite to rebuild [[Jericho]], even though it was 'cursed' by Yahweh (1 Kings 16:34), and helped his wife kill opponents, such as the "servants of Yahweh" and possibly, the priests of [[Jeroboam#Temples|Jeroboam's cult]] (1 Kings 18:3–16).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=1 Kings 18 Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges |url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/1_kings/18.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211024756/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/1_kings/18.htm |archive-date=February 11, 2024 |website=Biblehub.com}}</ref> Edward Lipiński argues that the "Baal" worshipped by Ahab and Jezebel was the "[[Kuntillet Ajrud inscriptions|YHWH of Samaria]]", which was opposed as Yahwist heresy by the Judean priests.<ref name="lipinski">[[Edward Lipiński (orientalist)|Edward Lipiński]] "Studia z dziejów i kultury starożytnego Bliskiego Wschodu" Nomos Press, 2013, {{ISBN|978-83-7688-156-0}}</ref> Others disagree based on archaeological evidence and extrabiblical sources about Jezebel's upbringing.<ref name=":4">{{cite web |last=Korpel |first=Marjo C. A. |date=May 2008 |title=Fit for a Queen: Jezebel's Royal Seal |url=http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/uncategorized/fit-for-a-queen-jezebels-royal-seal |access-date=17 November 2013 |publisher=Biblical Archaeology Society}}</ref><ref>Merrill F. Unger, ''Unger’s Bible Dictionary'' (Chicago: Moody Press, 1977) 327.</ref>

In terms of foreign policy, Ahab continued Omri's policies against Moab, which was a [[tributary state]] of Israel (2 Kings 1:1). According to the Moabite Mesha Stele, Omri and Ahab "oppressed [[Moab]] for many days". By marriage, he allied with [[Jehoshaphat]], who was the king of Judah (2 Kings 8:16–18). [[Aram-Damascus]] was the only foreign state that Ahab opposed but he made peace with them after [[Hadadezer|their king]] promised to withdraw from conquered territory. He also allowed Ahab to conquer Aramean territory to compensate (1 Kings 20:34).{{sfn|Cook|1911|pp=428–429}}{{sfn|Cook|1911|pp=428–429}}
[[File:Karkar.jpg|thumb|150px|right|[[Shalmaneser III]]'s (859–824 BC) [[Kurkh Monolith]] names King Ahab.]]

===Battle of Qarqar===
The [[Battle of Qarqar]] is mentioned in extra-biblical records, and occurred at [[Apamea, Syria|Apamea]], where [[Shalmaneser III]] of [[Assyria]] fought a great confederation of princes from [[Cilicia]], northern [[Syria (region)|Syria]], Israel, [[Ammon]], and the tribes of the [[Syrian Desert|Syrian desert]] (853 BCE), including Arabs, Ahab the Israelite (''A-ha-ab-bu <sup>mat</sup>Sir-'a-la-a-a''){{sfn|Craig|1887|pp=201–232}} and [[Hadadezer]] (''Adad-'idri'').{{sfn|Cook|1911|pp=428–429}}

Ahab's contribution was estimated at 2,000 [[chariot]]s and 10,000 men. In reality, however, the number of chariots in Ahab's forces was probably closer to a number in the hundreds (based upon archaeological excavations of the area and the foundations of stables that have been found).{{sfn|Coogan|2009|p=243}} If, however, the numbers are referring to allies, they could include forces from Tyre, [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]], [[Edom]], and [[Moab]]. The Assyrian king claimed victory, but his immediate return and subsequent expeditions in 849 BC and 846 BC against a similar but unspecified coalition implied that the victory had no lasting impact.

[[Jezreel (city)|Jezreel]] was identified as Ahab's fortified chariot and cavalry base.{{sfn|Ussishkin|2010|pp=}}

===Ahab and the prophets===
In the Biblical text, Ahab has four important encounters with prophets:
#The first encounter is with [[Elijah]], who predicts a drought because of Ahab's sins.<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Kings|17:1}}</ref> Because of this, Ahab blames Elijah for Israel's misfortunes but Elijah proclaims the supremacy of Yahweh so that Ahab could repent.<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Kings|18:17–40}}</ref>
#The second encounter is between Ahab and an unnamed prophet, who criticized him for sparing [[Hadadezer|Ben-hadad]] and told him that Israel would be invaded by the Arameans as punishment.<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Kings|20:34-43}}</ref>
#The third is with Elijah, who criticized his role in [[Naboth]]'s unjust execution. Ahab sincerely repents, which Yahweh relays to Elijah.<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Kings|21:27}}</ref>
#The fourth encounter is with [[Micaiah]], who initially tells Ahab that he would re-capture [[Ramoth-Gilead]] before revealing that Ahab was deceived by his Yahwistic court prophets who had a lying spirit in their mouths which was sent by Yahweh himself. Instead of victory, he would die in battle.<ref name="bibleverse|1 Kings |22">{{bibleverse|1 Kings|22}}</ref>{{sfn|Achtemeier|1996|p=18}}

===Death of Ahab===
[[File:093.The Death of Ahab.jpg|200px|thumbnail|right|Death of Ahab, by Gustave Doré]]

Ahab is mortally wounded by an unaimed arrow after he and Jehoshaphat tried to re-capture [[Ramoth-Gilead]] from the Arameans.{{sfn|Cook|1911|pp=428–429}}<ref name="bibleverse|1 Kings |22" /> Depending on translation, Ahab's corpse was licked by dogs or a combination of dogs and pigs, according to Elijah's prophecy. It marked his "uncleanliness" in the presence of Israelites, who abstained from pork consumption.{{sfn|Coogan|2009}}{{page needed|date=May 2021}}

==Legacy==
Ahab's reign was deeply unpopular among Yahwists and was considered to be worse than the previous kings of Israel. Whilst the previous kings followed a "heretical" interpretation of Yahwism, known as the "sins of Jeroboam", Ahab institutionalized [[Baalism]], which was completely divorced from Yahwism. He was likewise criticized for his oppressive policies, both domestically<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Kings| 16:30}}</ref>{{sfn|Cook|1911|pp=428–429}} and by the Moabites.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Niccacci |first=Alviero |date=1994 |title=The Stele of Mesha and the Bible: Verbal System and Narrativity |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43076168 |journal=Orientalia |volume=63 |issue=3 |pages=226–248 |jstor=43076168 |issn=0030-5367}}</ref>

However, Yahwists commend him for fortifying numerous Israelite cities and building an ivory palace.<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Kings| 22:39}}</ref> Christian Frevel argues that Ahab used imperialism to introduce Yahweh to the Kingdom of Judah. To do this, he gave his children theophoric names whilst expanding in northern territories and Judah.<ref name="Frevel 2021"/> Michael J. Stahl clarifies that this mostly occurred in the latter half of his reign, according to biblical and extrabiblical evidence.<ref name=":32"/>

==In Rabbinic literature==
Ahab was one of the three or four wicked [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|kings of Israel]] singled out by tradition as being excluded from the future world of bliss ([[Sanhedrin (tractate)|Sanh. x. 2]]; Tosef., Sanh. xii. 11). Midrash Konen places him in the fifth department of Gehenna, as having the heathen under his charge. Though held up as a warning to sinners, Ahab is also described as displaying noble traits of character (Sanh. 102b; Yer. Sanh. xi. 29b). [[Talmud|Talmudic literature]] represents him as an enthusiastic [[Idolatry|idolater]] who left no hilltop in the [[Land of Israel]] without an idol before which he bowed, and to which he or his wife, Jezebel, brought his weight in gold as a daily offering. So defiant in his apostasy was he that he had inscribed on all the doors of the city of [[Samaria (ancient city)|Samaria]] the words, "Ahab hath abjured the living God of Israel." Nevertheless, he paid great respect to the representatives of learning, "to the Torah given in twenty-two letters," for which reason he was permitted to reign for twenty-two successive years. He generously supported the students of the Law out of his royal treasury, in consequence of which half his sins were forgiven him. A type of worldliness ([[Berachot (tractate)|Ber. 61b]]), the Crœsus of his time, he was, according to ancient tradition (Meg. 11a), ruler over the whole world. Two hundred and thirty subject kings had initiated a rebellion; but he brought their sons as hostages to Samaria and [[Jerusalem]]. All the latter turned from idolaters into worshipers of the God of Israel ([[Tanna Devei Eliyahu|Tanna debe Eliyahu, i. 9]]). Each of his seventy sons had an ivory palace built for him. Since, however, it was Ahab's idolatrous wife who was the chief instigator of his crimes ([[Bava Metzia|B. M. 59a]]), some of the ancient teachers gave him the same position in the world to come as a sinner who had repented (Sanh. 104b, Num. R. xiv). Like Manasseh, he was made a type of repentance (I Kings, xxi. 29). Accordingly, he is described as undergoing [[Fasting|fasts]] and penances for a long time; praying thrice a day to God for forgiveness, until his prayer was heard (PirḲe R. El. xliii). Hence, the name of Ahab in the list of wicked kings was changed to Ahaz (Yer. Sanh. x. 28b; Tanna debe Eliyahu Rabba ix, Zuṭṭa xxiv.).{{sfn|McCurdy|Kohler|1906}}

[[Pseudo-Epiphanius]] ("Opera," ii. 245) makes [[Micah (prophet)|Micah]] an [[Tribe of Ephraim|Ephraimite]]. Confounding him with [[Micaiah]], son of [[Imla]]h,<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Kings |22:8}}</ref> he states that Micah, for his inauspicious prophecy, was killed by order of Ahab through being thrown from a precipice, and was buried at Morathi (Maroth?; Mic. i. 12), near the cemetery of Enakim (Ένακεὶμ Septuagint rendering of ; ib. i. 10). According to "Gelilot Ereẓ Yisrael" (quoted in "Seder ha-Dorot," i. 118, Warsaw, 1889), Micah was buried in Chesil, a town in southern Judah (Josh. xv. 30).{{sfn|Singer|Seligsohn|Schechter|Hirsch|1906}} Naboth's soul was the lying spirit that was permitted to deceive Ahab to his death.<ref name=aish.com />

== In popular culture ==
Ahab is portrayed by [[Eduard Franz]] in the film ''[[Sins of Jezebel]]'' (1953). He is also the namesake of [[Captain Ahab]] in ''[[Moby Dick]]'' by [[Herman Melville]].

==See also==
*[[List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources]]

== Citations ==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=aish.com>{{Cite web |title=The Lying Spirit Which Deceived Ahab |last=Rosenfeld |first=Dovid |work=aishcom |date=January 26, 2019 |access-date=15 September 2020 |url= https://www.aish.com/atr/The-Lying-Spirit-Which-Deceived-Ahab.html }}</ref>
}}

== General and cited references ==
{{refbegin|2|indent=yes}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Achtemeier|editor-first= Paul |title=The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary|location=New York|publisher= HarperCollins|date= 1996}}
* {{cite book|last=Coogan|first=Michael David |author-link=Michael Coogan|title=A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in Its Context|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2rxBAQAAIAAJ|year=2009|publisher=University Press|location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-533272-8}}
* {{cite journal|last=Craig|first=James A.|jstor=527096|title=The Monolith Inscription of Salmaneser II.|journal=Hebraica|volume= 3|issue=4 |date=1887|pages=201–232|doi=10.1086/368966|doi-access=free}}
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Ahab|volume=1|pages=428–429|first=Stanley Arthur|last=Cook}}
* {{cite book|last1=Finkelstein|first1=Israel |author-link1=Israel Finkelstein|last2=Silberman|first2=Neil Asher |title=The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Sacred Texts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lu6ywyJr0CMC&pg=PA169|year=2002|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-0-7432-2338-6}}
* {{cite Jewish Encyclopedia |title=Ahab |first1=J. Frederic |last1=McCurdy|first2= Kaufmann |last2=Kohler|url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/955-ahab|year=1906}}
* {{cite Jewish Encyclopedia |title=Micah |url = http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10776-micah|first1=Isidore |last1=Singer|first2=M. |last2=Seligsohn|first3= Solomon |last3=Schechter|first4= Emil G.|last4= Hirsch |year=1906}}
* {{cite book|last=Thiele|first=Edwin Richard |title=The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings: A Reconstruction of the Chronology of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qcjYAAAAMAAJ|year=1965|publisher=Paternoster Press}}
* {{cite journal|last=Ussishkin|first= David|title=Jezreel–Where Jezebel Was Thrown to the Dogs|journal=Biblical Archaeology Review|volume= 36|issue=4 |date=2010}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Omrides|House of Omri]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Omri (King of Israel)|Omri]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Kings of Israel (Samaria)#Royal houses|King of Israel]]|years=874–853 BCE}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ahaziah of Israel|Ahaziah]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{IsraeliteKings|collapsed=yes}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:850s BC deaths]]
[[Category:9th-century BCE kings of Israel]]
[[Category:Deaths by arrow wounds]]
[[Category:Monarchs killed in action]]
[[Category:Omrides]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Biblical murderers]]
[[Category:Jezebel]]
[[Category:Year of death uncertain]]