Ahab

(1) Son of Omri, and the most wicked and most powerful of the kings of northern Israel; he married Jezebel, a Sidonian princess, through whose influence the worship of Baal and Asherah was established in Israel (1 Kgs. 16:32–33; 2 Kgs. 3:2); and an attempt was made to exterminate the prophets and the worship of Jehovah (1 Kgs. 18:13). We have another instance of Jezebel’s evil influence over Ahab in the story of Naboth (1 Kgs. 21). During Ahab’s reign the kingdom of Israel was politically strong. After a struggle with Benhadad, king of Syria, in which Ahab was successful (1 Kgs. 20), Israel and Syria made an alliance for the purpose of opposing Assyria. We learn from Assyrian inscriptions that the united forces were defeated by Shalmaneser Ⅲ, and Ahab then made an alliance with Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, against Syria and was killed while attempting to capture Ramoth-gilead (1 Kgs. 22; 2 Chr. 18).

(2) A lying prophet (Jer. 29:21).