Ahab | |
---|---|
![]() Portrait from Promptuarium Iconum Insigniorum | |
King of Israel (Northern Kingdom) | |
Reign | 22 years 874-853 BC (Thiele) 869-850 BC (Albright) 871–852 BC (Coogan) |
Predecessor | Omri |
Successor | Ahaziah |
Died | c. 853 BC Ramoth-Gilead, Syria |
Burial | |
Consort | Jezebel of Sidon |
Issue | [1] |
Dynasty | Omrides |
Father | Omri |
Ahab (/ˈeɪhæb/; Hebrew: אַחְאָב, romanized: ʾAḥʾāḇ; Akkadian: 𒀀𒄩𒀊𒁍, romanized: Aḫâbbu; Koinē Greek: Ἀχαάβ, romanized: Akhaáb; Latin: 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.[2] 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.[3][4][5]
The existence of Ahab is historically supported outside the Bible. The contemporary Kurkh Monolith inscription of king Shalmaneser III[6] 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.[7]
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.[8] Most recently, Michael Coogan has dated Ahab's reign to 871–852 BC.[9]
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