History of the Jews (Vol. 1-6). Graetz Heinrich
him for his childish vexation and his cowardly helplessness, but promised him that he should nevertheless possess the desired vineyard. She sent out letters in the king's name to those of the elders of Israel of whose slavish obedience she was certain, and commanded them to produce two witnesses who would testify to having heard Naboth revile the gods and the king. When the council of judges had assembled at one of the gates of Jezreel, and Naboth, who was the eldest among them, had placed himself at their head, two degraded men appeared, and testified against Naboth, under oath, as they had been instructed. Naboth was condemned to death by the elders, and the sentence was carried out not only on him, but also on his sons. The property of the executed fell by law to the king. Jezebel triumphantly announced to her husband, "Now take Naboth's vineyard, for he is dead." When Elijah heard of this crime, he could no longer contain himself. He repaired to Jezreel and met the king just as he was inspecting Naboth's vineyard. Behind him rode two men, of whom one was fated to become the avenger of Naboth. The prophet thundered out to him, "Hast thou murdered, and dost now take possession?" "In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine." (1 Kings xxi. 19; see 2 Kings ix. 25). This denunciation had an overwhelming effect on Ahab. He reflected and meekly did penance, but ruthless Jezebel's power over her weak-minded husband was too strong for this change of mind to last.
Elijah, who had suddenly disappeared, now returned a second time to Ahab, and announced that a famine of several years' duration would befall the land. He then departed and dwelt in the Phœnician town of Zarephath (Sarepta), at the house of a widow, and later in a cave of Mount Carmel. Meanwhile a famine devastated the land, and there was not fodder even for the king's horses. One day, Elijah approached Obadiah, the superintendent of the palace, and said to him, "Go, tell thy master, Elijah is here." On his entrance, Ahab said to him, "Is it thou, disturber of Israel?" Then the prophet replied, "Not I have troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house have."
As though he had the right to give orders, he bade the king command the priests of Baal to assemble on Mount Carmel, where it would be revealed who was the true, and who the false prophet.
What occurred on Mount Carmel, where the contest took place, must have produced an extraordinary impression. Ahab, we are told, summoned all the prophets of Baal to the mountain, whither many of the people repaired, anxious to witness the result of the contest between the prophet and the king, and to see whether the prevailing drought would in consequence come to an end. The hundred prophets who had hidden in the caves of Carmel, and were maintained there by Obadiah, were probably also present. Elijah presided at the assembly, which he addressed, saying (1 Kings xviii. 21): "How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." He then ordered the priests of Baal to erect an altar, offer sacrifices, and call on their god for a miracle. The priests did so, and according to their custom, they wounded themselves with knives and lances till the blood gushed forth over their bodies. They cried from morning till midday, "O Baal, hear us!" When they at length ceased in confusion, Elijah erected an altar of twelve stones, performed his sacrifice, and prayed in a low voice. Then a miracle followed so suddenly that all present fell on their faces and cried, "Jehovah alone is God!" A flash of lightning burnt the sacrifice and everything on the altar, even the water in the trench was dried up. Elijah determined to avenge himself on the priests of Baal, and commanded the multitude to kill them and throw their bodies into the river Kishon, which flowed hard by. Ahab, who was present, was so amazed and terror-stricken that he permitted this act of violence.
Jezebel, however, who was made of sterner stuff, did not look with equal unconcern on this scene. On receiving information of what had occurred, she threatened Elijah with a similar fate, if he should ever fall into her hands. He was, therefore, obliged to flee in order to save himself. In the desert near Mount Horeb he had a vision, in which it was revealed to him that the kingdom would pass away from the house of Ahab, whose descendants would be utterly destroyed, and that Jehu was to be anointed as king over Israel. Elijah himself was instructed to return on his way to the wilderness of Damascus, appoint a successor, and retire from the scene of action. The intemperate zeal which had led him to direct the slaughter of the priests of Baal was severely condemned on Horeb.
During Elijah's long absence there appears to have been a sort of truce between the royal house of Omri and the followers of the Tishbite. Ahab, who had been an eye-witness of the events at Carmel, had probably become more indifferent towards the worship of Baal, and as far as lay in his power had put a stop to the persecution of the prophets of the Lord. The latter, on their part, also seem to have become less aggressive. Associations of prophets were formed in Jericho, Bethel and Gilgal, in which places they were permitted to dwell unmolested.
One prophet or disciple, however, remained inimical to Ahab—namely, Michaiah, son of Imlah. As often as the king sought out Michaiah to learn his prospects of success in some enterprise, the prophet foretold evil. Ahab, however, did not attempt his life, but merely imprisoned him. The ruler of the kingdom of the Ten Tribes had misfortunes enough to serve him as forewarnings. The king of Aram, Ben-hadad II., became daily more powerful, more presuming, and more eager for conquest. Besides his own horsemen and chariots, he had in his train thirty-two conquered vassal kings. With their assistance he attacked Ahab—doubtless in the hope of profiting by the famine and the discord which were weakening his kingdom. Ben-hadad subdued entire districts of the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, and besieged Samaria (904). In his distress, Ahab sued for peace, but Ben-hadad imposed such hard and disgraceful conditions that Ahab was forced to continue the contest. Finally, Ahab was victorious, and the Aramæan king, forced to surrender, was ready to promise anything in order to secure peace. The former enemies became friends, made a treaty and ratified it by many oaths, soon to be forgotten. This hastily-formed alliance was rightly condemned by one of the prophets, who predicted that Ahab had thereby created a fresh source of danger.
Ben-hadad, in fact, had no desire to fulfil the conditions and promises of the treaty. He restored, it is true, the captured town of Naphtali, but the Transjordanic cities, especially the important town of Ramoth-Gilead, he refused to cede, and Ahab was too indifferent to press the matter. The longer he delayed, the more difficult it became for him to insist on his claim, as Ben-hadad meanwhile was recovering his strength. Perhaps it would have been impossible for Ahab alone to regain possession of Ramoth-Gilead by force of arms. Just at this time he formed an alliance with King Jehoshaphat of Judah (918–905), and together with this king, he ventured to proceed against Ben-hadad. This alliance was a surprising one, seeing that Jehoshaphat detested the idolatrous perversions of Ahab and Jezebel, and could not approve of the forcible introduction of the Baal-worship into Samaria, nor of the cruel persecution of the prophets. Nevertheless, he formed an intimate connection with the house of Omri, and, guided by political reasons, even permitted his son Jehoram to marry Athaliah, the idolatrous daughter of Ahab.
When Jehoshaphat paid his visit to Samaria, in order to strengthen himself by an alliance with its king, Ahab probably solicited his royal guest to aid him in recovering Ramoth-Gilead; and the king of Judah promised the help of his nation and soldiery. Thus, after a long separation, the kings of Israel and Judah fought side by side. After crossing the Jordan with Jehoshaphat, Ahab was mortally wounded by an arrow as he stood in his war-chariot, but he possessed sufficient presence of mind to order his charioteer to drive him out of the turmoil of the battle. The soldiers were not informed of the king's condition, and fought until evening. Not until after the king had bled to death did the herald announce "Let each return to his own country and to his own town." The Israelitish and Judæan armies then recrossed the Jordan, and the Aramæans remained in possession of the mountain city of Ramoth-Gilead. Ahab's corpse was brought to Samaria and interred. But his blood, which had filled the chariot, was washed out at a pool and licked up by dogs.
Ahaziah, his son, succeeded Ahab, this being the first occasion on which the kingdom of the Ten Tribes descended in a direct line to a grandson. He reigned only a short time (901–900) and but little is known of his character. In spite of all warnings, he followed in the evil ways of his parents. Falling from the window of his room, he took to bed, and sent to Ekron to consult the oracle of the reputed idol Baal-Zebub (Bel-Zebul). By this time Elijah had returned from his sojourn on Mount Horeb, but in accordance with the commands laid upon him, he had remained in seclusion, probably on Mount Carmel. He no longer interfered with the course of events, but had chosen as his successor