and streets in Damascus would be assigned to Ahab, evidently for the establishment of resident Israelite commissioners who would look out for the commercial and political interests of Ahab’s kingdom in that Syrian capital. (20:31-34) Similar to Saul, Ahab was condemned by Jehovah for this, with future calamity foretold for him and his people.—20:35-43.

MURDER OF NABOTH, AND CONSEQUENCES

During a three-year interval of peace, Ahab turned his attention to the acquisition of the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel, a piece of land much desired by Ahab because it bordered his residential palace grounds there. When Naboth refused the request on the basis of God’s law regarding the inviolability of hereditary possessions, Ahab petulantly withdrew to his house, where he lay on his couch with his face to the wall, refusing to eat. Learning the cause of his dejection, pagan Jezebel arranged the murder of Naboth under guise of a trial for blasphemy, using letters written in Ahab’s name. When Ahab went to take possession of the coveted plot of ground he was met by Elijah, who scathingly denounced him as a murderer and as one who sold himself to do wickedness at the constant prodding of his pagan wife. As the dogs licked up Naboth’s blood so dogs would lick up Ahab’s blood, and Jezebel herself and Ahab’s descendants would become food for dogs and scavenger birds. These words hit home, and in deep grief Ahab fasted in sackcloth, alternately sitting and pacing the floor in despondence. On this basis a measure of mercy was extended to him as regards the time when the calamity would come on his house.—1 Ki. 21:1-29.

Ahab’s relations with Judah to the S were strengthened through a marriage alliance in which Ahab’s daughter Athaliah was married to King Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram. (1 Ki. 22:44; 2 Ki. 8:18, 26; 2 Chron. 18:1) During a friendly visit by Jehoshaphat to Samaria, Ahab induced him to support him in an effort to retake Ramoth-gilead from the Syrians, who evidently had not carried out to the the full the terms of the covenant made by Ben-hadad. While a body of false prophets chorused their assurances of success, at Jehoshaphat’s insistence the prophet Micaiah, hated by Ahab, was called and predicted certain calamity. Ordering Micaiah’s arrest, Ahab stubbornly went ahead with the attack, though taking the precaution to disguise himself, but he was hit by a Syrian archer so that he slowly died. His body was brought to Samaria for burial and when “they began to wash off the war chariot by the pool of Samaria . . . the dogs went licking up his blood.” A large artificial basin has been excavated on the N side of the spacious palace courtyard in Samaria, and this may be the location of this fulfillment of prophecy.—1 Ki. 22:1-38.

MOABITE AND ASSYRIAN INSCRIPTIONS

Mention is made of the rebuilding of Jericho during Ahab’s reign, perhaps as part of a program for strengthening Israel’s control over Moab. (1 Ki. 16:34; compare 2 Chronicles 28:15.) The Moabite Stone by King Mesha of Moab speaks of the domination of Moab by King Omri and his son (Ahab).

Assyrian inscriptions describing the battle waged between Shalmaneser III and a coalition of twelve kings at Qarqar include the name A-ha-ab-bu as a member of the coalition. This is generally accepted by most scholars as a reference to King Ahab of Israel; however, for evidence showing that such identification is subject to question, see the article on SHALMANESER.

2. The son of Kolaiah and a false prophet among the exiles in Babylon. Jeremiah predicted that this immoral and lying prophet and his associate would be roasted in the fire by Nebuchadnezzar.—Jer. 29:21-23.

AHARAH

(A·harʹah) [brother of Rach, or after a brother].

The third son of Benjamin. (1 Chron. 8:1) Probably the same as Ehi in Genesis 46:21 and Ahiram in Numbers 26:38.

AHARHEL

(A·harʹhel) [brother of Rachel, or after might].

Descendant of Judah, a son of Harum.—1 Chron. 4:8.

AHASBAI

(A·hasʹbai).

A Maacathite whose “son” Eliphelet was an outstanding fighter for David. (2 Sam. 23:34) The Maacah from which Ahasbai came could refer to Abel-beth-maacah in the territory of Naphtali or to the Syrian kingdom of Maacah. (2 Sam. 20:14; 10:6, 8) In the parallel list at 1 Chronicles 11:35, 36 the name “Ur” appears in place of Ahasbai.

AHASUERUS

(A·has·u·eʹrus) [the chief of rulers].

The name or title applied in the Hebrew Scriptures to three different rulers.

1. The father of Darius the Mede mentioned at Daniel 9:1. Some, on the basis of Greek historian Xenophon’s writings, would identify him with Astyages, the last king of the Median Empire. This identification, however, finds no other support. The Bible record does not state whether Darius’ father was a king or of the royal line. According to Herodotus and Ctesias (of the fifth century C.E.), Astyages died leaving no male heir. Hence, it is not presently possible to make any conclusive identification of Ahasuerus, the father of Darius the Mede, with any person in secular history.

2. The Ahasuerus of Ezra 4:6 in the beginning of whose reign an accusation was written against the Jews by their enemies may have been Cambyses, the successor of Cyrus the conqueror of Babylon and liberator of the Jews. Cambyses reigned from 529 to 522 B.C.E.

3. The Ahasuerus of the book of Esther is believed to be Xerxes I, the son of the Persian Darius Hystaspes by his wife Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus. The city of Shushan was his capital during major portions of his rule. His reign covered the years 486-474 B.C.E., according to the most reliable historians for that period, including Thucydides.—See ARTAXERXES No. 3; CHRONOLOGY.

In the account of Esther, Ahasuerus (Xerxes I) is shown as ruling over 127 jurisdictional districts, from India to Ethiopia. (Esther 1:1, 2) In the third year of his reign, at a sumptuous banquet, he ordered lovely Queen Vashti to present herself and display her beauty to the people and princes. Her refusal caused his anger to flare up and he thereafter dismissed her as his wife. (Esther 1:3, 10-12, 19-21) Later, he selected Esther, a Jewess, as his choice out of the many virgins brought in as prospects to replace Vashti. (Esther 2:1-4, 16, 17) The fact that Ahasuerus’ selection of Esther as queen did not take place until the seventh year of his reign (four years later) is doubtless due to his absence while prosecuting war against the Greeks. In 490 B.C.E. Xerxes’ father, Darius Hystaspes, had suffered a defeat at Marathon and Xerxes now sought revenge. He marshaled a huge army from the entire empire and moved against Greece in the spring of 480 B.C.E. Following a costly victory at Thermopylae and the destruction of Athens, his forces met defeat at Salamis and later at Plataea, causing Xerxes to return to Persia. Apparently it was at this point that he now turned his attention to selecting a successor to Vashti. In the twelfth year of his reign he allowed his prime minister Haman to use the king’s signet ring to sign a decree that would result in a genocidal destruction of the Jews. This scheme was thwarted by Esther and her cousin Mordecai, Haman was hanged, and a new decree was issued allowing the Jews the right to fight their attackers.—Esther 3:1-8, 11; 8:3-14; 9:5-10.

Xerxes I also appears to be the “fourth [king]” mentioned at Daniel 11:2, the three preceding ones being Cyrus the Great, Cambyses, and Darius Hystaspes. While seven other kings followed Xerxes on the throne of the Persian Empire, Xerxes was the last Persian emperor to carry war into Greece, whose rise as the dominant world power is described in the verse immediately following.—Dan. 11:3.

Xerxes was eventually murdered by a courtier and was succeeded to the throne by Artaxerxes Longimanus.—See ESTHER, BOOK OF.

AHAVA

(A·haʹva).

The name given to a river or canal located in Babylonia, NW of Babylon, where Ezra gathered together certain Jews and held a fast during the trek toward Jerusalem. (Ezra 8:15, 21, 31) It evidently was about eight or nine days’ journey from Babylon. (Compare Ezra 7:9; 8:15, 31.) Herodotus (The History of Herodotus, Book I, p. 67) speaks of a small stream called the Is, which flows into the Euphrates, and states that it is about eight days’ journey from Babylon. The city by the same name has been identified with the modern Hit, and some suggest this as the probable location of Ahava.

Concerning the town of Hit, The Encyclopædia Britannica (1910, 11th ed., Vol. XIII, p. 533) says: “From time immemorial it has been the chief source of supply of bitumen for Babylonia, the prosperity of the town depending always upon its bitumen fountains. . . . In the Bible (Ezra 8:15) it is called Ahava; the original Babylonian name seems to have been Ihi, . . . ” This source of bitumen may correspond with the Biblical account of the construction of the Tower of Babel, in which bitumen served for mortar.—Gen. 11:3.

AHAZ

(Aʹhaz) [he, i.e., Jehovah, has grabbed hold].

1. The son of King Jotham of Judah. He began to reign at the age of twenty and continued for sixteen years, until 745 B.C.E. (2 Ki. 16:2; 2 Chron. 28:1) Since Ahaz’ son Hezekiah was twenty-five when he began to reign, this would mean that Ahaz was less than twelve years of age when fathering him. However, one Hebrew manuscript and also the Septuagint and Peshitta versions of 2 Chronicles 28:1 give “twenty-five years” as the age of Ahaz on beginning to reign. Whatever his exact age, Ahaz died relatively young and left a record of consistent delinquency.—See CHRONOLOGY (From the division of the kingdom to the desolation of Jerusalem and Judah).

Despite the fact that Isaiah, Hosea and Micah all actively prophesied during Ahaz’ time, rank idolatry marked his reign. He not only allowed it among his subjects but also personally and regularly engaged in pagan sacrificing, to the extent of offering up his own sons in fire in the valley of Hinnom. (2 Ki. 16:3, 4; 2 Chron. 28:3, 4) Because of this abandonment to false worship, Ahaz’ rule was beset by a flood of troubles. Syria and the northern kingdom of Israel combined to attack Judah from the N, the Edomites seized the opportunity to hit from the SE, and the Philistines invaded from the W. The valuable port of Elath on the Gulf of Aqabah was lost. Zichri, a mighty Ephraimite, killed a son of the king and two of Ahaz’ principal men in the northern kingdom’s raid that resulted in the slaughter of a hundred and twenty thousand in Judah and some two hundred thousand Judeans being taken captive. Only the intervention of the prophet Oded, with the support of certain leading men of Ephraim, caused these captives to be released to return to Judah.—2 Chron. 28:5-15, 17-19; 2 Ki. 16:5, 6; Isa. 7:1.

Ahaz’ ‘quivering heart’ should have been strengthened by the prophet Isaiah’s message from God assuring him that Jehovah would not allow the Syro-Israelite combine to destroy Judah and place a man not of the Davidic line upon the throne. But, when invited to request a sign from God, idolatrous Ahaz replied: “I shall not ask, neither shall I put Jehovah to the test.” (Isa. 7:2-12) Nevertheless, it was foretold that, as a sign, a maiden would give birth to a son, Immanuel (God is with us), and that before the boy grew up the king of Assyria would eliminate the threat to Judah.—Isa. 7:13-17; 8:5-8.

With regard to the “sixty-five years” at Isaiah 7:8, which Isaiah prophesied would be the period within which Ephraim would be “shattered to pieces,” the Commentary on the Whole Bible by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown states (p. 437): “One deportation of Israel happened within one or two years from this time [the time of Isaiah’s prophecy], under Tiglath-pileser (2 Ki. 15:29). Another in the reign of Hoshea, under Shalmaneser (2 Ki. 17:1-6), was about twenty years after. But the final one which utterly ‘broke’ up Israel so as to be ‘not a people,’ accompanied by a colonization of Samaria with foreigners, was under Esar-haddon, who carried away Manasseh, king of Judah, also, in the twenty-second year of his reign, sixty-five years from the utterance of this prophecy (cf. Ezra 4:2, 3, 10, with 2 Kings 17:24; 2 Chronicles 33:11).”

VASSALAGE TO ASSYRIA, AND DEATH

Rather than put faith in Jehovah, however, Ahaz’ fear of the conspiracy led him to choose the shortsighted policy of bribing Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria to come to his aid. Whatever temporary relief the ambitious Assyrian king now brought to Ahaz by smashing Syria and Israel, in the end it only “caused him distress, and did not strengthen him” (2 Chron. 28:20), since Ahaz had now brought the heavy yoke of Assyria on Judah. As a vassal king Ahaz was apparently summoned to Damascus to render homage to Tiglath-pileser and, while in that city, admired the pagan altar there, copied its design and had priest Urijah build a duplicate to be placed before the temple in Jerusalem. Ahaz then presumed to offer sacrifices on this “great altar.” The original copper altar was set to one side until the king should decide what use to make of it. (2 Ki. 16:10-16) Meanwhile he mutilated much of the copper temple equipment and rearranged other features in the temple area all “because of the king of Assyria,” perhaps to pay the heavy tribute imposed on Judah or possibly to conceal some of the temple wealth from the greedy Assyrian’s eyes. The temple doors were closed and Ahaz “made altars for himself at every corner in Jerusalem.”—2 Ki. 16:17, 18; 2 Chron. 28:23-25.

After sixteen years of misrule and rank apostasy, Ahaz died and, though buried as his forefathers were “in the city of David” (2 Ki. 16:20), his body was not placed in the royal burial places of the kings. (2 Chron. 28:27) His name is listed in the royal genealogies.—1 Chron. 3:13; Matt. 1:9.

The name of Ahaz appears in an inscription of Tiglath-pileser III as Yauhazi, corresponding to the full form of the Hebrew name Jehoahaz (Jehovah has grabbed hold).

2. A great-grandson of Jonathan, son of King Saul.—1 Chron. 8:35, 36.

[Picture on page 44]

Seal that says “Belonging to Ushna, servant of Ahaz”

AHAZIAH

(A·ha·ziʹah) [Yah(u) has taken hold].

The name of two kings, one of Israel, the other of Judah.

1. Son of Ahab and Jezebel and king of Israel for two years (920-918 B.C.E.). He followed his idolatrous parents in Baal worship. (1 Ki. 22:51-53) Upon the death of Ahaziah’s father, Moab seized the opportunity to revolt and thereby free itself from the heavy tribute of one hundred thousand lambs and an equal number of male sheep with their wool. (2 Ki. 1:1; 3:4, 5)