Ahab

Ahab (, AY-habb; Hebrew: אַחְאָב, romanized: ʾAḥʾāḇ; Akkadian: 𒀀𒄩𒀊𒁍, romanized: Aḫâbbu; Koine Greek: Ἀχαάβ, romanized: Akhaáb; Latin: Achab) was the 7th king of Israel, the son and successor of King Omri, and the husband of Jezebel of Sidon. He is depicted in the Hebrew Bible as a Baal worshipper and is criticized for causing moral decline in Israel, though some modern scholars question this. The existence of Ahab is historically supported outside the Bible. The contemporary Kurkh Monolith inscription of king Shalmaneser III 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. 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. Most recently, Michael Coogan has dated Ahab's reign to 871–852 BC.