Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
1 Kings 16:29-34
An Initial Summary Of The Reign Of Ahab (1 Kings 16:29).
The account of Ahab's reign commences with an initial summary of his reign indicating its corruption in the eyes of YHWH. We can compare the initial summary that opened Solomon's reign in 1 Kings 3:1. In this summary it is made clear that Ahab ‘did what was evil in the eyes of YHWH above all who were before him', and this is expanded by reference not only to following in the sins of Jeroboam with his syncretistic Yahwism, but also to his willingness on behalf of his wife Jezebel to encourage the distinctive worship of Baal.
Analysis.
a And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years (1 Kings 16:29).
b And Ahab the son of Omri did what was evil in the sight of YHWH above all who were before him (1 Kings 16:30).
c And it came about, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him. And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria (1 Kings 16:31).
b And Ahab made the Asherah, and Ahab did yet more to provoke YHWH, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him (1 Kings 16:33).
a In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho. He laid its foundation with the loss of Abiram his first-born, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of YHWH, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun (1 Kings 16:34).
Note that in ‘a' Ahab reigned over Israel, and in the parallel the depths to which his reign fell was that child sacrifices were offered in Israel. In ‘b' he did evil in the sight of YHWH above all who went before him, and in the parallel he provoked YHWH to anger more than all the kings who were before him. Centrally in ‘c' he instituted full Baal worship in Samaria.
‘ And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years.'
Ahab came to the throne in the thirty eighth year of Asa of Judah, and reigned over Israel in Samaria for twenty two years. The name Ahab means ‘brother-father', or ‘Abba is my brother'. This may have been a throne name claiming close association with Baal, or with El (as father), chief of the Canaanite pantheon. The Assyrians called him ‘Ahab the Israelite' (Ahabbu (mat) sir'ilaia).
‘ And Ahab the son of Omri did what was evil in the sight of YHWH above all who were before him.'
Ahab sank to a depth that none other had before him. The previous kings had bastardised Yahwism by making it syncretistic. Ahab, heavily under the influence of his wife Jezebel, sought to introduce pure Baalism and thus oust Yahwism altogether.
‘ And it came about, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.'
Ahab no longer followed the syncretism of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. He had married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal the king of the Sidonians (i.e. of Tyre), and under the influence of his wife sought to dispense with Yahwism altogether as far as the court were concerned, for he ‘went and served Baal and worshipped him'.
This was not just a contest about two different perceptions of the living God. It was a battle to decide whether men would look to the God of creation, who was concerned for men, and required them to walk righteously before Him, and called them to account when they fell short, or would look to the forces of nature, which they could manipulate and turn to their own advantage, while living as immorally as they liked. Baalism was a nature religion. Baal represented the source of storm and rain, and the crude openly sexual ‘worship' was with a view to persuading him and his consort Asherah to make the land fruitful and supply plentiful rain. The people of Israel had cause to be aware of what the lack of rain did. Every hot summer everything around them would die, apart from what was artificially watered. But then the rains came and life sprang up everywhere. They saw in this the results of the activity of ‘the gods'. And their aim was to stimulate these gods (who they otherwise considered had little concern for them) into action by simulating their behaviour.
Ahab's marriage to Jezebel was clearly a political one, sealing a treaty between Israel and Tyre, securing for Israel a market for their agricultural produce and their olive oil, and for Tyre the supply of these products on a permanent and lasting basis. But there is no doubt that Ahab was enamoured of his wife, and deeply influenced by her and her worship of Baal Melkart.
Ethbaal is probably a transliteration of ‘Itto-baal' (Baal is alive) based on the cry to Baal, ‘Baal the Mighty is alive, the Prince, Lord of the earth exists', which occurred each year when Baal was seen as coming back to life as the crops began to grow and the trees became fruitful. Eth-baal was king of Tyre and its surrounding area, taking for himself the ancient title ‘king of the Sidonians', as Hiram II would later, and ruling for thirty two years (c.887-856 BC).
Jezebel was probably in Canaanite 'i-zebul (‘where is the Prince?') with ‘zebul' altered by the author or his source to ‘zebel' (dung). This too arose from the cry to Baal, ‘Where is Baal the Mighty, where is the Prince ('i-zebul), Lord of the earth?' as the worshippers sought to stir him back into life by their own sexual antics with cult prostitutes.
‘ And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.'
Indeed Ahab raised up an altar to Baal in a temple which he built for Baal in Samaria. This may have been as a temple for his wife to worship in but it would seem to many as though Baalism was now launched as the official religion of the king, and all those who wanted to please him served Baal. Samaria had become the centre for Baal worship, just as Jerusalem was the centre for YHWH worship. Ahab, however, continued also to recognise YHWH as is apparent from the names of his sons. He found himself on the horns of a dilemma. On the one hand was Yahwism, his ancestral religion (as distorted by Jeroboam), of which he was king-priest as Jeroboam had been, and on the other was the influence of his wife (again it was the curse of foreign princesses as it had been with Solomon). Unlike Jezebel Ahab appears to have been torn between the two. The kingdom of Israel can therefore be seen as being split into three groups, with Ahab hovering between them, those who worshipped God truly under the guidance of the prophets, those who worshipped God in a half-hearted and diluted way in the sanctuaries set up by Jeroboam, and those who were whole-hearted for Baal. In fact we learn later that his wife Jezebel recognised this, and instituted a persecution of the prophets of YHWH, seeking to have them all put to death (1 Kings 18:13). Things were getting very serious.
This did not, of course, mean that the whole nation necessarily worshipped only Baal. A whole nation could not be persuaded to drop its old, deep-rooted traditions at the whim of a king and queen. Those who engaged in the syncretistic worship of YHWH outside of Samaria would continue to do so, and Jeroboam's centres and high places would carry on as usual. What Jezebel was concerned about, and was attacking, was pure Yahwism, with its rejection of all other gods. For she recognised the potential that it had to destroy Baalism. As Elijah did she recognised that you could not really worship YHWH and Baal.
‘ And Ahab made the Asherah, and Ahab did yet more to provoke YHWH, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.'
Ahab also made the Asherah-images, which were symbols of the goddess Asherah/Ashterah who was a consort to Baal, and these were set up along with the pillars and images of Baal. Thus Ahab provoked YHWH to righteous anger more than any other king before him.
‘ In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho. He laid its foundation with the loss of Abiram his first-born, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of YHWH, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.'
The depths to which things had fallen in Israel came out in that a man who wanted to rebuild Jericho felt that he could reverse Joshua's curse by sacrificing his two sons, presumably to Baal, knowing that no one would do anything about it. Things were at a very low ebb.
In Joshua 7:26 Joshua gave this charge after the destruction of Jericho - “cursed be the man before YHWH who rises up and builds this city Jericho. With the loss of his firstborn will he lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son will he set up its gates.” It was on this basis that Hiel, probably stirred by religious fervour for Baal, behaved as he did. There are a number of theories about this. Some have argued that all it meant was that his sons died as a result of accidents during the building. But that is unlikely, simply because the curse was taken seriously, and no father would under those conditions have allowed his sons to be involved in the building of the city, and especially not after he lost the first. Besides the reason for mentioning the incident here was in order to bring out the depths to which Israel had sunk under Ahab.
It should be noted that Joshua's purpose had not been to encourage such a situation (i.e. the sacrifice of two sons, which to him would have been an horrific thought). His aim had been to prevent the rebuilding of Jericho at all, and he had succeeded in that while the hill of Jericho had been at times inhabited, it had never again become a walled city.
The Rise And Credentials Of Elijah The Tishbite, The Prophet Of YHWH (1 Kings 17:1 to 1 Kings 18:2 a).
Having surveyed the lives of eight kings after Jeroboam and Rehoboam (two in Judah, and six in Israel including Ahab) it is almost incredible to stop and consider that only one hundred years have passed since the death of David, when the kingdom of Israel/Judah was at the height of its power, and YHWH reigned supreme in the land, and only seventy six years since the completion of the Temple and Solomon's palace complex. And now, while the southern kingdom of Judah had prospered in its worship of YHWH under Asa, in the northern kingdom the true followers of YHWH were being hunted to their deaths, and there remained only ‘seven thousand men' who had not bowed the knee to Baal (many, of course having fled to the south). This was not so much the action of Ahab, who appears to have hovered between Baalism and Yahwism, as of a rampant Jezebel.
It was at this crisis point that God raised up a man of God who would to some extent turn the tide, and whose successor would even be consulted by kings. His name was Elijah, and he came from Transjordan where he had taken refuge with may worshippers of YHWH in Gilead (‘the sojourners of Gilead').
Suddenly and unexpectedly he strode into the presence of the mighty Ahab, recognisable as a prophet by his garb, and declared to him without fear or favour that no rain would henceforth fall in Israel until he gave the word. This was a startling and most significant statement. Rain was seen by Baalism as the prerogative of Baal, god of rain and storm. Who then was this man who claimed that he could override Baal and prevent his activity? It was a challenge on a huge scale. Let Elijah be proved wrong, and Yahwism would be discredited.
But Elijah was not proved wrong, for Israel entered into a period of famine the like of which had not been seen for many a long day. The result was that Israel enjoyed neither Summer dew nor Autumn and Spring rains. Inevitably, having made such an announcement, Elijah had to go into hiding. Until his word proved true it could only sound like treason and blasphemy. And the punishment for such attitudes was death.
One outstanding emphasis in the passage is that of ‘the word of YHWH' and its equivalent (seven times in the passage 1Ki 17:2; 1 Kings 17:5; 1 Kings 17:8; 1Ki 17:14; 1 Kings 17:16; 1 Kings 17:24; 1 Kings 18:1, and forty six times in the whole of Kings). Here especially, and throughout the book, YHWH is seen as acting in power through His word. The Creator, Who created by His word, stands in stark contrast to the feeble Baal who cannot resist His word.
Chapter 1 Kings 17:1 to 1 Kings 18:2 a form a united narrative within an inclusio (1 Kings 17:1 and 1 Kings 18:1 a), consisting of three vignettes, the first two illustrating how Elijah was sustained through the famine, and the third revealing his power to raise the dead. Such miracles as this occur only at times of great stress and unusual difficulty. Scripture does not see miracles like this as the norm. They occurred during the deliverance from Egypt. They will occur here while the faith of Israel is being dragged back from the brink. And they would occur again when God's Son came into the world and his followers went out to win the world for Christ. Otherwise miracles are rare.
Analysis.
a And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the sojourners of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As YHWH, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there will not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word” (1 Kings 17:1).
b Elijah is fed by the ravens at the Brook Cherith (1 Kings 17:2).
c Elijah is sustained by a jar of meal and a cruse of oil which did not fail (1 Kings 17:8).
b Elijah raises the widow's son to life (1 Kings 17:17).
a And it came about after many days, that the word of YHWH came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth. And Elijah went to show himself to Ahab” (1 Kings 18:1 a).
Note that in ‘a' rain in Israel will be dependent on the word of Elijah as the representative of the living God of Israel, and in the parallel YHWH sends Elijah to declare to Ahab that the rains will come again. In ‘b' Elijah's life is restored daily by ravens, and in the parallel the life of the widow's son is restored by Elijah. Centrally in ‘c' Elijah, and the household with whom he was living, are sustained by God's miraculous provision.
What then was the significance of these miracles, and why should the prophetic author have include them here?
The first miracle demonstrated YHWH's total control of nature in that He could even use scavenger birds in order to feed His servant. It demonstrated that all creation was under His control and did His bidding. By this it was made clear that He is the Lord of creation and Controller of all things to such an extent that while Baal could do nothing for his worshippers, the servant of YHWH was fully provided for by nature.
The second miracle demonstrated that even in the midst of famine, when Baal worshippers found their gods powerless to help them in their need, YHWH ‘the God of Israel' (emphasised) was able satisfactorily to give a full supply to His servant. He was not dependent on rain. He could produce grain and oil by a word.
The third miracle demonstrated that he was the Lord of life and death. While all was dying around Elijah, he was able to impart life to the widow's son, simply because he served the Lord of life.
Thus these miracles were a testimony to Baal's helplessness and YHWH's total sovereignty over event. But they only accomplished that because they happened.
‘ And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the sojourners of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As YHWH, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there will not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.'
As so often with the prophets of YHWH in Kings, Elijah (‘my God is YHWH') suddenly strides unexpectedly onto the scene (compare 1 Kings 13:1), and by his appearance and declaration Baalism, with its emphasis on Baal the god of rain and storm, is blatantly revealed as powerless to stand against YHWH, the living God of Israel, and against His word through His representative Elijah. Elijah's promise was that from this moment on, whatever Baal may do, there would be no dew or rain in Israel except at Elijah's word. It was a direct challenge to Baal (which will be even more vividly portrayed in chapter 18) to demonstrate that he could counter YHWH's ban, if indeed he could. The famine may well have already been in progress when Elijah appeared, with Elijah appearing in order to emphasise what the source of the famine was. It would continue on into ‘the third year' (1 Kings 18:1).
While clearly aimed at the royal court, (also as a direct challenge), we must not see this judgment of famine as limited to them, for the people of Israel as a whole were mainly involved in seeking to ensure rain from Baal/YHWH by perverted sexual behaviour. They were all involved in sin against YHWH and were all therefore about to learn the folly of what they were doing. The withholding of rain is regularly depicted as pointing to the sin of those who suffer from it (1 Kings 8:35; Leviticus 26:4; Leviticus 26:19; Deuteronomy 11:17; Deuteronomy 28:23; Amos 4:7).
Note the emphasis of Elijah on the fact that this would be evidence that YHWH, the God of Israel, was a living God Who could act in situations as He wanted, and that he himself was the personal emissary and chosen servant of YHWH (‘before Whom I stand'). Note also that the dew here was almost as important as the regular rains. The dew in the hot summers formed a valuable source of moisture on the mountains. (Interestingly the dew is not mentioned in the warnings either of Leviticus or of Deuteronomy, although its contribution to the fruitfulness of the earth is described in Genesis 27:28; Genesis 27:39. Compare also Deuteronomy 32:2; Deuteronomy 33:28; 2 Samuel 1:21).
Such a famine as is predicted here (had it been usual it would have demonstrated nothing) was a rare occurrence in Palestine. An even worse one had occurred while Joseph was Prime Minister of Egypt centuries before, which had caused Israel to seek refuge in Egypt, and a similar one had stirred up the conscience of Israel about the behaviour of Saul's house towards the Gibeonites (that had been ‘three years, year after year' - 2 Samuel 21:1). But this one was to be severe enough for it to be seen as warranting Elijah's death, for we learn later that Ahab constantly had his spies out making a thorough search for Elijah so that he could put him to death (1 Kings 18:10). This was why God made provision for his safety in unusual ways.
Of course the famine's worst effects would only be introduced slowly. Once the rains failed to come the seed that had been stored ready for planting would be carefully preserved, and would be used as it became necessary. While this would limit the stocks of grain available when the rains actually came (which themselves would be used when things became desperate) it would mean that people could survive, even though at a low level. Furthermore people who lived in such circumstances would know the water sources that were available and where water could be found in limited amounts once the need got to great, and they would be carefully preserving the water in their cysterns. They were experts at conserving water, and the animals would be allowed to die first. Thus it would only be as the famine entered its third year that things began to get really desperate. But recovery from such extensive famines could occur very speedily once the rains came.
Menander also records a severe famine around this time which he claimed lasted a year and affected Phoenicia under Ittobal of Tyre, but he may well have underestimated the famine (when after all does a famine start?), and the mountain ranges of Lebanon may also have ensured a shorter famine in that area.
Elijah would appear to have come from Tishbe in Gilead (Transjordan) and the description of him as a ‘sojourner in Gilead' may suggest that he was there as a refugee from the persecution rampant west of the Jordan (compare Judges 17:7).