{"id":62678,"date":"2019-09-10T11:34:29","date_gmt":"2019-09-10T08:34:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=62678"},"modified":"2023-04-10T17:57:53","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T14:57:53","slug":"the-two-sides-of-ahab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-two-sides-of-ahab\/","title":{"rendered":"The Two Sides Of Ahab"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[927,429,400,627],"acf":{"old_id":"62678","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":33692,"related_cahpter":"309","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"But it was only when he had no other recourse that he turned to God","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We now bid farewell to Ahab, a central figure for the past five chapters. Both the book of Kings and the Mishnah designate him as one of Israel&#8217;s most evil kings: \u201cThree kings and four commoners have no portion in the World to Come: Three kings \u2014 Jeroboam, Ahab, and Manasseh\u201d (Sanhedrin 10:2).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These kings lose their place in the World to Come due to their actions, each leading Israel to a deeper level of idolatry. However, other rabbinic statements are more generous. R. Naliman suggests that &#8220;Ahab was equally balanced&#8221; (Sanhedrin 102b), and in this vein the Talmud formulates a pun based upon his name, depicting him as &#8220;a brother (ah) to Heaven but a father (av) to idolatry&#8221; (ibid.). In other words, his devastating flaws are counterbalanced by his virtues. Ahab&#8217;s biography bears out this ambivalence. To his discredit, he leads the northern kingdom to unprecedented degrees of idolatry out of a desire to ally himself with Phoenicia and appease his intimidating wife. He turns a blind eye as God&#8217;s prophets are killed, and he feigns ignorance as murder is committed in his name. He ignores God&#8217;s instructions when they are inconvenient for him. Yet, to his credit, he responds to God&#8217;s prophets and abandons Baal after the great assembly at Mount Carmel, and God accepts his repentance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What motivates Ahab? Sometimes, he seems easily influenced and manipulated. He can be swayed toward Baal by Jezebel, then inspired by Elijah to kill its prophets and become more committed to God. However, beyond Ahab&#8217;s impressionability, we might suggest another factor. Ahab finds God only when in dire straits, in existential danger. Whether at the end of three years of drought, or under siege at Samaria, or facing Elijah&#8217;s threat to his royal legacy, Ahab always turns to God in the proverbial foxhole, when he has no other recourse. Whenever he feels at an advantage, he makes other decisions, frequently allying himself with other powerful forces. In this regard, Ahab&#8217;s guiding principle is self-interest, whether personal or national. Incapable of making firm commitments, he fluctuates without regard for God&#8217;s law or the prophet&#8217;s warning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the final analysis, we remember Ahab for the dreadful regime of Baal that he introduced to Samaria and the northern kingdom. Ahab followed Baal when it served the national interest, and God when it suited him. Ahab thus personifies Elijah&#8217;s famous accusation of the nation, &#8220;wavering between two opinions.&#8221;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alex Israel, <em>1 Kings: Torn in Two<\/em>, Maggid Books, 2013, Ahab\u2019s Final Battle\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":61437,"id":61437,"title":"alex israel - kings 1","filename":"alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/adonijahs-scheme-to-ascend-the-throne\/alex-israel-kings-1\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"alex-israel-kings-1","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":61414,"date":"2019-08-19 12:13:44","modified":"2019-08-19 12:13:53","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1020,"height":1304,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-235x300.jpg","medium-width":235,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-768x982.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":982,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-801x1024.jpg","large-width":801,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1020,"1536x1536-height":1304,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1020,"2048x2048-height":1304,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-939x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":939,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/alex-israel-kings-1-329x420.jpg","home_baner-width":329,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"Excerpts from: 1 Kings - 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