Son of Omri and king of Israel; reigned over northern Israelite kingdom from about 874–852 BCE. Married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Sidon, and gave his daughter Athaliah in marriage to Jehoram, son of King Jehoshaphat of the southern Kingdom of Judah.
This triple alliance did not deter the Arameans in the north from invading Israel. Ahab twice repelled them, regaining all the cities they took in their first invasion and acquiring special trading rights in their capital, Damascus. This enabled him to expand and strengthen his cavalry, giving him a prominent place in an international alliance against an Assyrian invasion in the battle of Qarqar in 853 BCE.
Ahab's reign was prosperous, as attested by the remains of magnificent palaces and other structures he built in Samaria. During his reign, Israel continued to rule over Moab, as attested by the Mesha stele. Although the names Ahab gave his children indicate he was faithful to Jewish tradition, he committed grave violations of Torah law.
The prophets, Elijah in particular, condemned him for failing to stop Jezebel from introducing idolatry into Israel and for succumbing to what they considered her evil influence. It was during Ahab's and Jezebel's reign that the incident of Naboth's vineyard and the confrontation between Elijah and 450 priests of the Tyrean god Baal took place. The story of Ahab is told in I Kings 16:29–22:40.
