In proper names.
See AHI .
a, a-ha': Interjections of frequent occurrence in the Old Testament, representing different Hebrew words and different states of feeling. (1) 'ahah, expressing complaint and found in the phrase "Ah, Lord Yahweh" (Jer 1:6; 4:10 etc.; Ezek 4:14 etc.). Elsewhere the word is translated "alas!" (Joel 1:15). (2) 'ach, occurs once (Ezek 21:15), expressing grief in contemplating Israel's destruction. (3) he'ach, usually expresses malicious joy over the reverses of an enemy, and is introduced by the verb "to say" (Brown-Driver-Briggs' Lexicon); so in Ps 35:21,25; Ezek 25:3; 26:2; 36:2; in the repeated Psalm 40:15; 70:3. It expresses satiety in Isa 44:16; and represents the neighing of a horse in Job 39:25. (4) hoy, expresses grief or pain, (Isa 1:4; Jer 22:18). In 1 Ki 13:30 it is translated "alas!" More frequently it is used to indicate that a threat of judgment is to follow (Isa 10:5; 29:1; or to direct attention to some important announcement (Isa 55:1), where the Hebrew word is translated "Ho." (5) Greek oua, in Mk 15:29, used by those who mocked Jesus, as He hung upon the cross. All of these words are evidently imitative of the natural sounds, which spontaneously give expression to these emotions of complaint, grief, pain, exultation, etc.
Edward Mack
a'-hab ('ach'abh, Assyrian a-cha-ab-bu; Septuagint Achaab, but Jer 29:21 f, Achiab, which, in analogy with '-h-y-m-l-k, (')-h-y-'-l, etc., indicates an original 'achi'abh, meaning "the father is my brother"): The compound probably signifies that "the father," referring to God, has been chosen as a brother.
Ahab, son of Omri, the seventh king of Israel, who reigned for twenty-two years, from 876 to 854 (1 Ki 16:28 ff), was one of the strongest and at the same time one of the weakest kings of Israel. With his kingdom he inherited also the traditional enemies of the kingdom, who were no less ready to make trouble for him than for his predecessors. Occupying a critical position at the best, with foes ever ready to take advantage of any momentary weakness, the kingdom, during the reign of Ahab, was compelled to undergo the blighting effects of misfortune, drought and famine. But Ahab, equal to the occasion, was clever enough to win the admiration and respect of friend and foe, strengthening the kingdom without and within. Many of the evils of his reign, which a stronger nature might have overcome, were incident to the measures that he took for strengthening the kingdom.
In the days of David and Solomon a beneficial commercial intercourse existed between the Hebrews and the Phoenicians. Ahab, recognizing the advantages that would accrue to his kingdom from an alliance with the foremost commercial nation of his time, renewed the old relations with the Phoenicians and cemented them by his marriage with Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre (the Ithobalos, priest of Astarte mentioned by Meander).
He next turns his attention to the establishment of peaceful and friendly relations with the kindred and neighboring kingdom of Judah. For the first time since the division of the kingdoms the hereditary internecine quarrels are forgotten, "and Jehoshaphat," the good king of Judah, "made peace with the king of Israel." This alliance, too, was sealed by a marriage relationship, Jehoram, the crown-prince of Judah, being united in marriage with the princess Athaliah, daughter of Ahab.
Perhaps some additional light is thrown upon Ahab's foreign policy by his treatment of Benhadad, king of Damascus. An opportunity was given to crush to dust the threatening power of Syria. But when Benhadad in the garb of a suppliant was compelled to sue for his life, Ahab received into kindly as his brother, and although denounced by the prophets for his leniency, spared his enemy and allowed him to depart on the condition that he would restore the cities captured from Omri, and concede certain "streets" in Damascus as a quarter for Israelite residents. No doubt Ahab thought that a king won as a friend by kindness might be of greater service to Israel than a hostile nation, made still more hostile, by having its king put to death. Whatever Ahab's motives may have been, these hereditary foes really fought side by side against the common enemy, the king of Assyria, in the battle at Karkar on the Orontes in the year 854, as is proved by the inscription on the monolith of Shalmaneser II, king of Assyria.
Ahab's far-sighted foreign policy was the antithesis of his short-sighted religious policy. Through his alliance with Phoenicia he not only set in motion the currents of commerce with Tyre, but invited Phoenician religion as well. The worship of Yahweh by means of the golden calves of Jeroboam appeared antiquated to him. Baal, the god of Tyre, the proud mistress of the seas and the possessor of dazzling wealth, was to have an equal place with Yahweh, the God of Israel. Accordingly he built in Samara a temple to Baal and in it erected an altar to that god, and at the side of the altar a pole to Asherab (1 Ki 16:32,33). On the other hand he tried to serve Yahweh by naming his children in his honor--Ahaziah ("Yah holds"), Jehoram ("Yah is high"), and Athaliah ("Yah is strong"). However, Ahab failed to realize that while a coalition of nations might be advantageous, a syncretism of their religions would be disastrous. He failed to apprehend the full meaning of the principle, "Yahweh alone is the God of Israel." In Jezebel, his Phoenician wife, Ahab found a champion of the foreign culture, who was as imperious and able as she was vindictive and unscrupulous. She was the patron of the prophets of Baal and of the devotees of Asherab (1 Ki 18:19,20; 19:1,2) At her instigation the altars of Yahweh were torn down. She inaugurated the first great religious persecution of the church, killing off the prophets of Yahweh with the sword. In all this she aimed at more than a syncretism of the two religions; she planned to destroy the religion of Yahweh root and branch and put that of Baal in its place. In this Ahab did not oppose her, but is guilty of conniving at the policy of his unprincipled wife, if not of heartily concurring in it.
Wrong religious principles have their counterpart in false ethical ideals and immoral civil acts. Ahab, as a worshipper of Baal, not only introduced a false religion, but false social ideals as well. The royal residence was in Jezreel, which had probably risen in importance through his alliance with Phoenicia. Close to the royal palace was a vineyard (1 Ki 21:1) owned by Naboth, a native of Jezreel. This piece of ground was coveted by Ahab for a vegetable garden. He demanded therefore that Naboth should sell it to into or exchange it for a better piece of land. Naboth declined the offer. Ahab, a Hebrew, knowing the laws of the land, was stung by the refusal and went home greatly displeased. Jezebel, however, had neither religious scruples nor any regard for the civil laws of the Hebrews. Accordingly she planned a high-handed crime to gratify the whim of Ahab. In the name and by the authority of the king she had Naboth falsely accused of blasphemy against God and the king, and had him stoned to death by the local authorities. The horror created by this judicial murder probably did as much to finally overthrow the house of Omri as did the favor shown to the Tyrian Baal.
Neither religious rights nor civil liberties can be trampled under foot without Divine retribution. The attempt to do so calls forth an awakened and quickened conscience, imperatively demanding that the right be done. Like an accusing conscience, Elijah appeared before Ahab. His very name ("my God is Yah") inspired awe. "As Yahweh, the God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years," was the conscience-troubling message left on the mind of Ahab for more than three years. On Elijah's reappearance, Ahab greets into as the troubler of Israel. Elijah calmly reforms him that the king's religious policy has caused the trouble in Israel. The proof for it is to be furnished on Mount Carmel. Ahab does the bidding of Elijah. The people shall know whom to serve. Baal is silent. Yahweh answers with fire. A torrent of rain ends the drought. The victory belongs to Yahweh.
Once more Elijah's indignation flashes against the house of Ahab. The judicial murder of Naboth calls it forth. The civil rights of the nation must be protected. Ahab has sold himself to do evil in the sight of Yahweh. Therefore Ahab's house shall fall. Jezebel's carcass shall be eaten by dogs; the king's posterity shall be cut off; the dogs of the city or the fowls of the air shall eat their bodies (1 Ki 21:20-26). Like thunderbolts the words of Elijah strike home. Ahab "fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly." But the die was cast. Yahweh is vindicated. Never again, in the history of Israel can Baal, the inspirer of injustice, claim a place at the side of Yahweh, the God of righteousness.
6. Ahab's Building Operations:
In common with oriental monarchs, Ahab displayed a taste for architecture, stimulated, no doubt, by Phoenician influence. Large building operations were undertaken in Samaria (1 Ki 16:32; 2 Ki 10:21). Solomon had an ivory throne, but Ahab built for himself, in Jezreel, a palace adorned with woodwork and inlaid with ivory (1 Ki 21:1; 22:39). Perhaps Amos, one hundred years later, refers to the work of Ahab when he says, "The houses of ivory shall perish" (Am 3:15). In his day Hiel of Bethel undertook to rebuild Jericho, notwithstanding the curse of Joshua (1 Ki 16:33,34). Many cities were built during his reign (1 Ki 22:39).
Ahab was not only a splendor-loving monarch, but a great military leader as well. He no doubt began his military policy by fortifying the cities of Israel (1 Ki 16:34; 22:39). Benhadad (the Dadidri of the Assyrian annals; Hadadezer and Barhadad are Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic forms of the same name), the king of Syria, whose vassals the kings of Israel had been (1 Ki 15:19), promptly besieges Samaria, and sends Ahab an insulting message. Ahab replies, "Let not him that girdeth on his armor boast himself as he that putteth it off." At the advice of a prophet of Yahweh, Ahab, with 7,000 men under 232 leaders, inflicts a crushing defeat upon Benhadad and his 32 feudal kings, who had resigned themselves to a drunken carousal (1 Ki 20 through 21).
In the following year, the Syrian army, in spite of its overwhelming superiority, meets another defeat at the hands of Ahab in the valley, near Aphek. On condition that Benhadad restore all Israelite territory and grant the Hebrews certain rights in Damascus, Ahab spares his life to the great indignation of the prophet (1 Ki 20:22 f).
In the year 854, Ahab with 2,000 chariots and 10,000 men, fights shoulder to shoulder with Benhadad against Shalmaneser II, king of Assyria. At Karkar, on the Orontes, Benhadad, with his allied forces, suffered an overwhelming defeat (COT, II, i, 183 f).
Perhaps Benhadad blamed Ahab for the defeat. At any rate he fails to keep his promise to Ahab (1 Ki 22:3; 20:34). Lured by false prophets, but against the dramatic warning of Micaiah, Ahab is led to take up the gauntlet against Syria once more. His friend, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, joins him in the conflict. For the first time since the days of David all Israel and Judah stand united against the common foe.
Possibly the warning of Micaiah gave Ahab a premonition that this would be has last fight. He enters the battle in disguise, but in vain. An arrow, shot at random, inflicts a mortal wound. With the fortitude of a hero, in order to avoid a panic, Ahab remains in his chariot all day and dies at sunset. His body is taken to Samaria for burial. A great king had died, and the kingdom declined rapidly after his death. He had failed to comprehend the greatness of Yahweh; he failed to stand for the highest justice, and his sins are visited upon has posterity (1 Ki 22:29 f).
(1) The Moabite Stone
The Moabite Stone (see MOABITE STONE ) bears testimony (lines 7, 8) that Omri and his son (Ahab) ruled over the land of Mehdeba for forty years. When Ahab was occupied with the Syriac wars, Moab rose in insurrection. Mesha informs us in an exaggerated manner that "Israel perished with an everlasting destruction." Mesha recognizes Yahweh as the God of Israel.
(2) The Monolith of Shalmaneser II
The Monolith of Shalmaneser II (Brit Mus; see ASSYRIA ) informs us that in 854 ShalmaneserII came in conflict with the kingdom of Hamath, and that BenhadadII with Ahab of Israel and others formed a confederacy to resist the Assyrian advance. The forces of the coalition were defeated at Karkar.
Under the direction of Harvard University, excavations have been carried on in Samaria since 1908. In 1909 remains of a Hebrew palace were found. In this palace two grades of construction have been detected. The explorers suggest that they have found the palace of Omri, enlarged and improved by Ahab. This may be the "ivory house" built by Ahab. In August, 1910, about 75 potsherds were found in a building adjacent to Ahab's palace containing writing. The script is the same as that of the Moabite Stone, the words being divided by ink spots. These ostraca seem to be labels attached to jars kept in a room adjoining Ahab's palace. One of them reads, "In the ninth year. From Shaphtan. For Ba`al-zamar. A jar of old wine." Another reads, "Wine of the vineyard of the Tell." These readings remind one of Naboth's vineyard. In another room not far from where the ostraca were found, "was found an alabaster vase inscribed with the name of Ahab's contemporary, Osorkon II of Egypt." Many proper names are found on the ostraca, which have their equivalent in the Old Testament. It is claimed that the writing is far greater than all other ancient Hebrew writing yet known. Perhaps with the publication of all these writings we may expect much light upon Ahab's reign. (See OSTRACA ; Harvard Theological Review, January, 1909, April, 1910, January, 1911; Sunday School Times, January 7, 1911; The Jewish Chronicle, January 27, 1911.)
S. K. Mosiman
a'-hab, zed-e-ki'-a ('ach'abh, "uncle"; tsidhqiyahu, "Yahweh is my righteousness"): Ahab, son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah, son of Maaseiah, were two prophets against whom Jeremiah uttered an oracle for prophesying falsely in the name of Yahweh, and for immoral conduct. They should be delivered over to Nebuchadrezzar and be slain, and the captives of Judah that were in Babylon should take up the curse concerning them. "Yahweh make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the King of Babylon roasted in the fire" (Jer 29:21 ff).
S. F. Hunter
a'-har-a, a-har'-a ('achrach; A, Aara; B, Iaphael, "brother of Rach," or, a brother's follower, though some regard it as a textual corruption for Ahiram): A son of Benjamin (1 Ch 8:1).
See AHIRAM .
a-har'-hel ('acharchel, "brother of Rachel"; Septuagint adelphou Rechab, "brother of Rechab"): A son of Harum of the tribe of Judah (1 Ch 4:8).
a'-ha-si, a-ha'-si.
See AHZAI .
a-has'-bi ('achacbay, "blooming"): The father of Eliphelet, a Maacathite, a soldier in David's army (2 Sam 23:34). He was either a native of Abel-beth-maacah (2 Sam 20:14) or, more probably, of Maacah in Syria (2 Sam 10:6). The list in 1 Ch 11:35,36 gives different names entirely. Here we have Ur and Hepher, which simply show that the text is corrupt in one or both places.
AHASUERUS or ASSEURUS
a-haz-u-e'-rus, (Septuagint Assoueros, but in Tobit 14:15 Asueros; the Latin form of the Hebrew 'achashwerosh, a name better known in its ordinary Greek form of Xerxes): It was the name of two, or perhaps of three kings mentioned in the canonical, or apocryphal, books of the Old Testament.
There seems to be little reasonable doubt, that we should identify the Ahasuerus of Est with the well-known Xerxes, who reigned over Persia from 485 to 465 BC, and who made the great expedition against Greece that culminated in the defeat of the Persian forces at Salamis and Plataea. If Est be taken as equivalent to Ishtar, it may well be the same as the Amestris of Herodotus, which in Babylonian would be Ammi-Ishtar, or Ummi-Ishtar. Amestris is said to have been the daughter of Otanes, a distinguished general of Xerxes, and the grand-daughter of Sisamnes, a notorious judge, who was put to death with great cruelty by the king because of malfeasance in office. Sisamnes may be in Babylonian Shamash-ammanu-(shallim). If he were the brother and Otanes the nephew of Mordecai, we can easily account for the ease with which the latter and has ward Esther, were advanced and confirmed in their Positions at the court, of Xerxes.
An Ahasuerus is mentioned in Ezr 4:6, as one to whom some persons unnamed wrote an accusation against Judah and Jerusalem. Ewald and others have suggested that this Ahasuerus was Cambyses, the son and successor of Cyrus. It seems to be more probable that Xerxes, the son and successor of Darius Hystaspis, is meant: first, because in the following verse Artaxerxes, the son and successor of Xerxes, is mentioned; and secondly, because we have no evidence whatever that Cambyses was ever called Ahasuerus, whereas there is absolute certainty that the Pets Khshayarsha, the Hebrew 'achashwerosh, the Greek Assoueros or Xerxes, and the Latin Ahasuerus, are the exact equivalents of one another.
In the apocryphal book of Tobit (14:15, the King James Version) it is said that before Tobias died he heard of the destruction of Nineveh, which was taken by Nabuchodonosor and Assuerus. This Assuerus can have been no other than Cyaxares, who according to Herodotus (i.196) took Nineveh and reduced the Assyrians into subjection, with the exception of the Babylonian district. As we shall see below, he was probably the same as the Ahasuerus of Dan 9:1. The phrase "which was taken by Nabuchodonosor and Assuerus" is not found in the Syriac version of Tobit.
An Ahasuerus is said in Dan 9:1 to have been the father of Darius the Mede, and to have been of the seed of the Medes. It is probable that this Ahasuerus is the same as the Uvakhshatara of the Persian recension of the Behistun inscription, which in the Babylonian is Umaku'ishtar, in the Susian Makishtarra, and in Herod Cyaxares. It will be noted that both the Greek Cyaxares and the Hebrew Akhashwerosh omit the preformative uwa- and the "t" of the Persian form Uvakhshatara. That this Median king had sons living in the time of Cyrus is shown by the fact that two rebel aspirants to the throne in the time of Darius Hystaspis claimed to be his sons, to wit: Fravartish, a Median, who lied saying, "I am Khshathrita of the family of Uvakhshatara" (Behistun Inscr, col. II, v); and Citrantakhma, who said, "I am king in Sagartia of the family of Uvakhshatara" (id, II, xiv). If we accept the identification of Gubaru with Darius the Mede, then the latter may well have been another of his sons, at first a sub-king to Astyages the Scythian, as he was later to Cyrus the Persian.
R. Dick Wilson
a-ha'-va ('ahawa'): The river in Babylonia on the banks of which Ezra gathered together the Jews who accompanied him to Jerusalem. At this rendezvous the company encamped for three days to make preparation for the difficult and dangerous journey (Ezr 8:15 ff). On reviewing the people and the priests Ezra found no Levites among them; he therefore sent to Iddo, "the chief at the place Casiphia," a request for ministers for the temple. A number of Levites with 220 Nethinim returned to the rendezvous with the deputation. Ezra had expressed to the king his faith in the protection of God; being, therefore, ashamed to ask for a military escort he proclaimed a fast to seek of God "a straight way." To 12 priests Ezra assigned the care of the offering for the temple in Jerusalem. When all was ready the company "departed from the river Ahava," and journeyed in safety to Jerusalem.
This river, apparently called after a town or district toward which it flowed (Ezr 8:15), remains unidentified, though many conjectures have been made. Rawlinson thinks it is the "Is" of Herodotus (i.79), now called "Hit," which flowed past a town of the same name in the Euphrates basin, 8 days' journey from Babylon. Some identify the district with "Ivvah" (2 Ki 18:34, etc.). Most probably, however, this was one of the numerous canals which intersected Babylonia, flowing from the Euphrates toward a town or district "Ahava." If so, identification is impossible.
S. F. Hunter
a'-haz ('achaz, "he has grasped," 2 Ki 16; 2 Ch 28; Isa 7:10 ff; Achaz).
The name is the same as Jehoahaz; hence appears on Tiglath-pileser's Assyrian inscription of 732 BC as Ia-u-ha-zi. The sacred historians may have dropped the first part of the name in consequence of the character of the king.
Ahaz was the son of Jotham, king of Judah. He succeeded to the throne at the age of 20 years (according to another reading 25). The chronology of his reign is difficult, as his son Hezekiah is stated to have been 25 years of age when he began to reign 16 years after (2 Ki 18:2). If the accession of Ahaz be placed as early as 743 BC, his grandfather Uzziah, long unable to perform the functions of his office on account of his leprosy (2 Ch 26:21), must still have been alive. (Others date Ahaz later, when Uzziah, for whom Jotham had acted as regent, was already dead.)
Although so young, Ahaz seems at once to have struck out an independent course wholly opposed to the religious traditions of his nation. His first steps in this direction were the causing to be made and circulated of molten images of the Baalim, and the revival in the valley of Hinnom, south of the city, of the abominations of the worship of Moloch (2 Ch 28:2,3). He is declared to have made his own son "pass through the fire" (2 Ki 16:3); the chronicler puts it even more strongly: he "burnt his children in the fire" (2 Ch 28:3). Other acts of idolatry were to follow.
4. Peril from Syria and Israel:
The kingdom of Judah was at this time in serious peril. Rezin, king of Damascus, and Pekah, king of Samaria, had already, in the days of Jotham, begun to harass Judah (2 Ki 15:37); now a conspiracy was formed to dethrone the young Ahaz, and set upon the throne a certain "son of Tabeel" (Isa 7:6). An advance of the two kings was made against Jerusalem, although without success (2 Ki 16:5; Isa 7:1); the Jews were expelled from Elath (2 Ki 16:6), and the country was ravaged, and large numbers taken captive (2 Ch 28:5 ff). Consternation was universal. The heart of Ahaz "trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest tremble with the wind" (Isa 7:2). In his extremity Ahaz appealed to the king of Assyria for help (2 Ki 16:7; 2 Ch 28:16).
5. Isaiah's Messages to the King:
Amid the general alarm and perturbation, the one man untouched by it in Jerusalem was the prophet Isaiah. Undismayed, Isaiah set himself, apparently single-handed, to turn the tide of public opinion from the channel in which it was running, the seeking of aid from Assyria. His appeal was to both king and people. By Divine direction, meeting Ahaz "at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fuller's field," he bade him have no fear of "these two tails of smoking firebrands," Rezin and Pekah, for, like dying torches, they would speedily be extinguished (Isa 7:3 ff). If he would not believe this he would not be established (Isa 7:9). Failing to win the young king's confidence, Isaiah was sent a second time, with the offer from Yahweh of any sign Ahaz chose to ask, "either in the depth, or in the height above," in attestation of the truth of the Divine word. The frivolous monarch refused the arbitrament on the hypocritical ground, "I will not ask, neither will I tempt Yahweh" (Isa 7:10-12). Possibly his ambassadors were already dispatched to the Assyrian king. Whenever they went, they took with them a large subsidy with which to buy that ruler's favor (2 Ki 16:8). It was on this occasion that Isaiah, in reply to Ahaz, gave the reassuring prophecy of Immanuel (Isa 7:13 ff).
As respects the people, Isaiah was directed to exhibit on "a great tablet" the words "For Maher-shalal-hash-baz" ("swift the spoil, speedy the prey"). This was attested by two witnesses, one of whom was Urijah, the high priest. It was a solemn testimony that, without any action on the part of Judah, "the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria" (Isa 8:1-4).
7. Fall of Damascus and Its Results:
It was as the prophet had foretold. Damascus fell, Rezin was killed (2 Ki 16:9), and Israel was raided (2 Ki 15:29). The action brought temporary relief to Judah, but had the effect of placing her under the heel of Assyria. Everyone then living knew that there could be no equal alliance between Judah and Assyria, and that the request for help, accompanied by the message, "I am thy servant" (2 Ki 16:7,8) and by "presents" of gold and silver, meant the submission of Judah and the annual payment of a heavy tribute. Had Isaiah's counsel been followed, Tiglath-pileser would probably, in his own interests, have been compelled to crush the coalition, and Judah would have retained her freedom.
The political storm having blown over for the present, with the final loss of the important port of Elath on the Red Sea (2 Ki 16:6), Ahaz turned his attention to more congenial pursuits. The king was somewhat of a dilettante in matters of art, and he set up a sun-dial, which seems to have consisted of a series of steps arranged round a short pillar, the time being indicated by the position of the shadow on the steps (compare 2 Ki 20:9-11; Isa 38:8). As it is regarded as possible for the shadow to return 10 steps, it is clear that each step did not mark an hour of the day, but some smaller period.
Another act of the king was to remove from the elaborate ornamental bases on which they had stood (compare 1 Ki 7:27-39), the ten layers of Solomon, and also to remove Solomon's molten sea from the 12 brazen bulls which supported it (compare 1 Ki 7:23-26), the sea being placed upon a raised platform or pavement (2 Ki 16:17). From Jer 52:20, where the prophet sees "the 12 brazen bulls that were under the bases," it has been conjectured that the object of the change may have been to transfer the layers to the backs of the bulls.
To this was added a yet more daring act of impiety. In 732 Ahaz was, with other vassal princes, summoned to Damascus to pay homage to Tiglath-pileser (2 Ki 16:10; his name appears in the Assyrian inscription). There he saw a heathen altar of fanciful pattern, which greatly pleased him. A model of this was sent to Urijah the high priest, with instructions to have an enlarged copy of it placed in the temple court. On the king's return to Jerusalem, he sacrificed at the new altar, but, not satisfied with its position, gave orders for a change. The altar had apparently been placed on the east side of the old altar; directions were now given for the brazen altar to be moved to the north, and the Damascus altar to be placed in line with it, in front of the temple giving both equal honor. Orders were further given to Urijah that the customary sacrifices should be offered on the new altar, now called "the great altar," while the king reserved the brazen altar for himself "to inquire by" (2 Ki 16:15).
Even this did not exhaust the royal innovations. We learn from a later notice that the doors of the temple porch were shut, that the golden candlestick was not lighted, that the offering of incense was not made, and other solemnities were suspended (2 Ch 29:7). It is not improbable that it was Ahaz who set up `the horses of the sun' mentioned in 2 Ki 23:11, and gave them accommodation in the precincts of the temple. He certainly built the "altars .... on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz," perhaps above the porch of the temple, for the adoration of the heavenly bodies (verse 12). Many other idolatries and acts of national apostasy are related regarding him (2 Ch 28:22 ff).
12. Recurrence of Hostilities:
In the later years of his unhappy reign there was a recurrence of hostilities with the inhabitants of Philistia and Edom, this time with disaster to Judah (see the list of places lost in 2 Ch 28:18,19). New appeal was made to Tiglath-pileser, whose subject Ahaz, now was, and costly presents were sent from the temple, the royal palace, and even the houses of the princes of Judah, but without avail (2 Ch 28:19-21). The Assyrian `distressed' Ahaz, but rendered no assistance. In his trouble the wicked king only "trespassed yet more" (2 Ch 28:22).
Ahaz died in 728, after 16 years of misused power. The exultation with which the event was regarded is reflected in Isaiah's little prophecy written "in the year that King Ahaz died" (Isa 14:28-32). The statement in 2 Ki 16:20 that Ahaz "was buried with his fathers in the city of David" is to be understood in the light of 2 Ch 28:27, that he was buried in Jerusalem, but that his body was not laid in the sepulchers of the kings of Israel. His name appears in the royal genealogies in 1 Ch 3:13 and Mt 1:9.
W. Shaw Caldecott
See DIAL OF AHAZ .
a-ha-zi'-a ('achazyah and 'achazyahu, "Yah holds, or sustains"):
Son of Ahab and Jezebel, eighth king of Israel (1 Ki 22:51 through 2 Ki 1:18).
Ahaziah became king over Israel in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and he reigned two years, 854-853 BC. There is, here an incongruity between the synchronism and the length of the reigns of the kings. Jehoshaphat began to reign in the fourth year of Ahab (1 Ki 22:41), and he reigned 22 years (1 Ki 16:29). Accordingly Ahaziah's first year, in the twenty-second year of Ahab, would fall in the nineteenth year of Jehoshaphat. The chronological statement in 2 Ki 1:17 is probably taken from the Syriac, and both are in harmony wrath a method of computation followed by certain Greek manuscripts.
A good name does not insure a good character. Ahaziah, the "God-sustained," served Baal and worshipped him, and provoked to anger Yahweh, the God of Israel, Just as his father before him had done. He appears to have been weak and unfortunate, and calamities in quick succession pursued him.
Ahab had sought the good and became an enemy to the best. His house and the nation suffered the consequences. "Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab." Ahaziah appears to have been too weak to offer resistance. The Moabite Stone dates the revolt in the days of Ahab. No doubt it began at the time of Ahab's last campaign against Syria.
According to 1 Ki 22:48 f Ahaziah attempted to form an alliance with Jehoshaphat of Judah to revive the ancient maritime traffic, but failed. According to 2 Ch 20:35-37 the alliance was consummated, in consequence of which the enterprise came to nothing.
See JEHOSHAPHAT .
Ahaziah suffered a severe accident by falling through the lattice in his upper apartment in Samaria, and lay sick. As a worthy son of Jezebel and Ahab, he sent messengers to consult Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, regarding his recovery. But Israel belonged to Yahweh. Accordingly the messengers were met by the prophet Elijah who for the last time warns against the corrupting moral influences of the Baal religion. "Thus saith Yahweh, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that thou sendest to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die" was the message which he sent back to the embassy, and the death of the king speedily followed.
Sixth king of Judah (2 Ki 8:25-29; 9:16 f = 2 Ch 22:1-9); also written Jehoahaz (2 Ch 21:17; 25:23), which is merely a transposition of the component parts of the compound. The form "Azariah" (2 Ch 22:6) is an error, fifteen Hebrew manuscripts and all the versions reading Ahaziah.
Ahaziah, youngest son of Jehoram, began to reign in the twelfth year (2 Ki 8:25) of Jehoram of Israel. In 2 Ki 9:29 it is stated as the eleventh. The former is probably the Hebrew, the latter the Greek method of computation, the Septuagint Luc also reading eleventh in 8:25. He was 22 years old when he began to reign and he reigned one year (2 Ki 8:26). The reading "forty two" (2 Ch 22:2) is a scribal error, since according to 2 Ch 21:5,20 Jehoram the father was only 40 years old at the time of his death. Syriac, Arabic and Luc read 22, Septuagint Codex Vaticanus 20.
See CHRONOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT .
(Compare 2 Ki 8:27; 2 Ch 22:3,4.) In view of the disaster which befell the royal house (2 Ch 21:16,17), the inhabitants of Jerusalem placed Ahaziah the youngest son upon the throne. That "he walked in the way of the house of Ahab" is exemplified by Chronicles to the effect that his mother, the daughter of Jezebel, counseled him in the ways of wickedness and that the house of Ahab led him to his destruction. The influence of Jezebel was at work in Judah. Ahaziah dedicated "hallowed things" to Yahweh (2 Ki 12:18), but he did evil in Yahweh's eyes.
3. His Alliance with Jehoram of Israel:
(Compare 2 Ki 8:28,29; 2 Ch 22:5,6.) Ahaziah cultivated the relations which had been established between the two kingdoms by Ahab. Accordingly he joined his uncle Jehoram of Israel in an expedition against Hazael, king of Syria. Ramoth-gilead was captured and held for Israel against the king of Syria (2 Ki 9:14). However, Jehoram of Israel was wounded and returned to Jezreel to be healed of his wounds. It appears that the army was left in charge of Jehu at Ramoth-gilead. Ahaziah apparently went to Jerusalem and later went down to Jezreel to visit Jehoram. In the meantime Jehu formed a conspiracy against Jehoram.
The death of Ahaziah, as told in 2 Ki 9:16 f, differs from the account in 2 Ch 22:7-9. According to the account in Kings, Ahaziah who is visiting Jehoram, joins him in a separate chariot to meet Jehu. Jehoram suspecting treachery turns to flee, but an arrow from the bow of Jehu pierces his heart and he dies in his chariot. Ahaziah tries to escape, but is overtaken near Ibleam and mortally wounded by one of Jehu's men. He fled to the fortress of Megiddo, where he died. His servants conveyed his body in a chariot to Jerusalem, where he was buried. According to the Chronicler, this account is very much abbreviated (2 Ch 22:7 f). His destruction is of God because of his alliance with Jehoram. Jehu, who was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, first slew the kinsmen of Ahaziah. He then sought Ahaziah who was hiding in Samaria. When he was found, he was brought to Jehu and put to death. He was buried, but where and by whom we are not told.
That there were other traditions respecting the death of Ahaziah, is proved by Josephus, who says that when Ahaziah was wounded he left his chariot and fled on horseback to Megiddo, where he was well cared for by his servants until he died (Ant., IX, vi, 3).
S. K. Mosiman
a'-ban ('achban, "brother of an intelligent one"(?) Achbar): The son of Abishur of the tribe of Judah (1 Ch 2:29).
a'-her ('acher, "another"; Aer): A man of Benjamin (1 Ch 7:12), apparently a contracted form, perhaps the same as Ahiram (King James Version) (Nu 26:38) or Aharah (1 Ch 8:1).
a'-hi ('achi, "my brother," or perhaps a contraction from AHIJAH, which see): (1) A member of the tribe of Gad (1 Ch 5:15). (2) A member of the tribe of Asher (1 Ch 7:34).
In proper names ('achi or 'ach "brother"): The usage is practically the same with that of 'abh, 'abhi.
a-hi'-a: A variant in the King James Version (1 Sam 14:3,18; 1 Ki 4:3; 1 Ch 8:7) for AHIJAH, which see. Also in the Revised Version (British and American) (Neh 10:26).
a-hi'-am ('achi'am, "mother's brother"): One of David's thirty heroes. He was the son of Sharar (2 Sam 23:33) or according to 1 Ch 11:35 of Sacar, the Hararite.
a-hi'-an ('achyan, "brotherly"): A son of Shemida of the tribe of Manasseh (1 Ch 7:19).
a-hi-e'-zer ('achi`ezer, "brother is help"): (1) A son of Ammishaddai, a Danite prince, who acted as representative of his tribe on several occasions. (See Nu 1:12; 2:25; 7:66,71; 10:25.) (2) One of the mighty men or warriors, who joined David at Ziklag when a furtive before Saul (1 Ch 12:3).
a-hi'-hud ('achihudh, "brother is majesty"): (1) One of the chief men of the tribe of Asher. He was selected by Moses to help divide the land west of the Jordan (Nu 34:27). (2) A son of Ehud of the tribe of Benjamin (1 Ch 8:6,7). The text here is obscure and probably corrupt.
a-hi'-ja ('achiyah or 'achiyahu, "brother of Yahweh," "my brother is Yahweh," "Yah is brother." In the King James Version the name sometimes appears as Ahiah):
(1) One of the sons of Jerahmeel the great-grandson of Judah (1 Ch 2:25).
(2) A descendant of Benjamin (1 Ch 8:7).
(3) The son of Ahitub, priest in the time of King Saul (1 Sam 14:3,18). Either he is the same with Ahimelech, who is mentioned later, or he is the father or brother of Ahimelech. He is introduced to us when Saul has been so long on the throne that his son Jonathan is a man grown and a warrior. He is in attendance upon Saul, evidently as an official priest, "wearing an ephod." When Saul wishes direction from God he asks the priest to bring hither the ark; but then, without waiting for the message, Saul counts the confusion in the Philistine camp a sufficient indication of the will of Providence, and hurries off to the attack. Some copies of the Greek here read "ephod" instead of "ark," but the documentary evidence in favor of that reading is far from decisive. If the Hebrew reading is correct, then the seclusion of the ark, from the time of its return from Philistia to the time of David, was not so absolute as many have supposed.
See AHIMELECH , i.
(4) One of David's mighty men, according to the list in 1 Ch 11:36. The corresponding name in the list in 2 Sam 23:34 is Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite.
(5) A Levite of David's time who had charge of certain treasures connected with the house of God (1 Ch 26:20). The Greek copies presuppose the slightly different text which would give in English "and their brethren," instead of Ahijah. This is accepted by many scholars, and it is at least more plausible than most of the proposed corrections of the Hebrew text by the Greek.
(6) Son of Sinsha and brother of Elihoreph (1 Ki 4:3). The two brothers were scribes of Solomon. Can the scribes Ahijah and Shemaiah (1 Ch 24:6) be identified with the men of the same names who, later, were known as distinguished prophets? Sinsha is probably the same with Shavsha (1 Ch 18:16; compare 2 Sam 8:17; 20:25), who was scribe under David, the office in this case descending from father to son.
(7) The distinguished prophet of Shiloh, who was interested in Jeroboam I. In Solomon's lifetime Ahijah clothed himself with a new robe, met Jeroboam outside Jerusalem, tore the robe into twelve pieces, and gave him ten, in token that he should become king of the ten tribes (1 Ki 11:29-39). Later, when Jeroboam had proved unfaithful to Yahweh, he sent his wife to Ahijah to ask in regard to their sick son. The prophet received her harshly, foretold the death of the son, and threatened the extermination of the house of Jeroboam (1 Ki 14). The narrative makes the impression that Ahijah was at this time a very old man (1 Ki 14:4). These incidents are differently narrated in the long addition at 1 Ki 12:24 found in some of the Greek copies. In that addition the account of the sick boy precedes that of the rent garment, and both are placed between the account of Jeroboam's return from Egypt and that of the secession of the ten tribes, an order in which it is impossible to think that the events occurred. Further, this addition attributes the incident of the rent garment to Shemaiah and not to Ahijah, and says that Ahijah was 60 years old.
Other notices speak of the fulfillment of the threatening prophecies spoken by Ahijah (2 Ch 10:15; 1 Ki 12:15; 15:29). In 2 Ch "the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite" is referred to as a source for the history of Solomon (9:29).
(8) The father of Baasha king of Israel (1 Ki 15:27,33; 21:22; 2 Ki 9:9).
(9) A Levite of Nehemiah's time, who sealed the covenant (Neh 10:26 the King James Version).
Willis J. Beecher
a-hi'-kam ('achiqam, "my brother has risen up"): A prominent man of the time of King Josiah and the following decades (2 Ki 22:12,14; 25:22; 2 Ch 34:20; Jer 26:24; 39:14; 40:5 ff; 41:1 ff; 43:6). He was the son of Shaphan, who very likely is to be identified with Shaphan the scribe, who was at that time so prominent. Ahikam was the father of Gedaliah, whom, on the capture of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar made governor of the land. Ahikam was a member of the deputation sent by Josiah to the prophetess Huldah to consult her concerning the contents of the Book of the Law which had been found. Under Jehoiakim he had sufficient influence to protect Jeremiah from being put to death. On the capture of Jerusalem Nebuchadnezzar committed Jeremiah into the care of Gedaliah. It is clear that both Shaphan and his son, like Jeremiah, belonged to the party which held that the men of Judah were under obligation to keep the oath which they had sworn to the tang of Babylon.
Willis J. Beecher
a-hi'-lud ('achiludh, "child's brother," perhaps): The father of Jehoshaphat, who is mentioned as "recorder" in both the earlier and the later lists under David, and in the list under Solomon (2 Sam 8:16 and 1 Ch 18:15; 2 Sam 20:24; 1 Ki 4:3). In the absence of proof we may assume that the father of Baana, one of Solomon's district superintendents, was the same Ahilud (1 Ki 4:12).
a-hi-ma'-az, a-him'-a-az ('achima`ats, perhaps "my brother is rage," or "brother of rage"):
(1) Father of Ahinoam the wife of King Saul (1 Sam 14:50).
(2) The son of Zadok the high priest (1 Ch 6:8,9,53). With his father he remained loyal to Dared in the rebellions both of Absalom and of Adonijah. With Jonathan the son of Abiathar he carried information to Dared when he fled from Absalom (2 Sam 15:27,36; 17:17,20). At his own urgent request he carried tidings to David after the death of Absalom (2 Sam 18:19 ff). He told the king of the victory, and also, through his reluctance to speak, informed him of Absalom's death. By his reluctance and his sympathy he softened a little the message, which the Cushite presently repeated more harshly.
That Ahimaaz did not succeed his father as high priest has been inferred from the fact that in the Solomon list of heads of departments (1 Ki 4:2) Azariah the son of Zadok is mentioned as priest. It is assumed that this Azariah is the one who appears in the genealogy as the son of Ahimaaz, and that for some reason Ahimaaz was left out of the succession. These inferences are not Justified by the record, though possibly the record does not absolutely disprove them. As the list stands it makes Zadok and Abiathar the high priests. Azariah and Zabud, the son of Nathan (1 Ki 4:2,5), are spoken of as holding priestly offices of a different kind. Ahimaaz may have died early, or may have followed some other career, but the simple fact is that we do not know.
(3) Ahimaaz, in Naphtali, was one of Solomon's twelve commissary officers (1 Ki 4:15), who married Basemath the daughter of Solomon. It is not impossible that he was Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, though there is no proof to that effect.
Willis J. Beecher
a-hi'-man ('achiman, perhaps, "brother of fortune," or, "my brother is fortune"):
(1) One of the names given as those of the three "children of the Anak" (Nu 13:22; Josh 15:14; of Nu 13:28; 2 Sam 21:16,18), or the three "sons of the Anak" (Josh 15:14; Jdg 1:20). The three names (Ahiman, Sheshai, Talmai) also occur together in Jdg 1:10. The word Anak in the Hebrew Bible has the definite article except in Nu 13:33 and Dt 9:2. Its use is that of a common noun denoting a certain type of man, rather than as the proper name of a person or a clan, though this need not prevent our thinking of the Anakim as a clan or group of clans, who regarded Arba as their founder. The question is raised whether Ahiman and Sheshai and Talmai are to be thought of as persons or as clans. The most natural understanding of the Bible statements is certainly to the effect that they were personal leaders among the Anakim of Kiriath-arba (Hebron). They were smitten and dispossessed by the tribe of Judah, with Caleb for leader.
(2) A Levite, one of the gatekeepers of the latest Bible times (1 Ch 9:17). He is associated with Akkub and Talmon and their brethren: compare Neh 11:19.
Willis J. Beecher
a-him'-e-lek ('achimelekh, "brother of a king," or, "my brother is king," or, "king is brother"):
(1) The father of David's high priest Abiathar: son of Ahitub, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli (1 Sam 21:1,2,8; 22:9-20; 23:6; 30:7). Ahijah the son of Ahitub (1 Sam 14:3,18) was either the same person under another name, or was Ahimelech's father or brother. See AHIJAH , 3. Ahimelech is an interesting person, especially because he stands for whatever information we have concerning the priestly office in Israel during the period between Eli and David. Whether the Deuteronomic law for a central sanctuary originated with Moses or not, its provisions were very imperfectly carried out during the times of the Judges. This was particularly the case after the capture of the ark by the Philistines, and the deaths of Eli and his sons. From that time to the middle of the reign of David the ark was in the custody of the men of Kiriath-jearim "in the hill," or "in Gibeah" (1 Sam 7:1; 2 Sam 6:2,3). As a general proposition Israel "sought not unto it" (1 Ch 13:3), though there is nothing to forbid the idea that it may, on occasion, have been brought out from its seclusion (1 Sam 14:18). Before and after the accession of Saul some of the functions of the national sanctuary were transacted, of course very incompletely, at Gilgal (1 Sam 10:8; 11:14,15; 13:7 ff; 15:12,21,33). Whether there was a priesthood, with Ahitub the grandson of Eli as high priest, is a matter on which we have no information; but we may remind ourselves that the common assumption that such men as Samuel and Saul performed priestly offices is nothing but an assumption.
After Saul has been king for a good many years we find Ahijah in his retinue, acting as priest and wearing priestly vestments. A few years later Ahimelech is at the head of the very considerable priestly establishment at Nob. The scale on which it existed is indicated by the fact that 85 robed priests perished in the massacre (1 Sam 22:18). They had families residing at Nob (1 Sam 22:19). They were thought of as priests of Yahweh, and were held in reverence (1 Sam 22:17). It was a hereditary priesthood (1 Sam 22:11,15). Men deposited votive offerings there, the sword of Goliath, for example (1 Sam 21:9). There seems to have been some kind of police authority, whereby a person might be "detained" (1 Sam 21:7). It was customary to inquire of Yahweh there (1 Sam 22:10,15). A distraction was made between the common and the holy (1 Sam 21:4-6). The custom of the shewbread was maintained (1 Sam 21:6). In fine, Jesus is critically correct in calling the place "the house of God" (Mk 2:26). The account does not say that the ark was there, or that the burnt-offering of the morning and evening was offered, or that the great festivals were held. The priestly head of the establishment at Nob is represented to have been the man who had the right to the office through his descent from Aaron. It is gratuitous to assume that there were other similar sanctuaries in Israel, though the proposition that there were none might be, like other negative propositions, hard to establish by positive proof.
(2) A son of Abiathar (2 Sam 8:17; 1 Ch 18:16; 24:6), and grandson of the above. In a list of the heads of departments under David, a list belonging later than the middle of David's 40 years, and in which David's sons appear, this Ahimelech, the son of David's friend, is mentioned as sharing with Zadok a high position in the priesthood. In this capacity, later, he shared with David and Zadok in the apportionment of the priests into 24 ancestral classes, 16 of the house of Eleazar, and 8 of the house of Ithamar (1 Ch 24). In this account Ahimelech is mentioned three times, and with some detail. It is alleged as a difficulty that Abiathar was then living, and was high priest along with Zadok (1 Ch 15:11; 2 Sam 15:29; 19:11; 20:25; 1 Ki 2:27,35; 4:4, etc.). But surely there is no improbability in the affirmation that Abiathar had a son named Ahimelech, or that this son performed prominent priestly functions in his father's lifetime.
Many regard "Ahimelech the son of Abiathar" (Mt gives Ahimelech) as an inadvertent transposition for "Abiathar the son of Ahimelech." This is rather plausible in the passage in 2 Sam 8 and the duplicate of it in 1 Ch 18:16, but it has no application in the detailed account in 1 Ch 24. One must accept Ahimelech the son of Abiathar as historical unless, indeed, one regards the testimony of Ch to a fact as evidence in disproof of that fact.
See ABIATHAR .
(3) A Hittite, a companion and friend of David, when he was hiding from Saul in the wilderness (1 Sam 26:6).
Willis J. Beecher
a-hi'-moth ('achimoth, "brother of death," or, "my brother is death"): A descendant of Kohath the son of Levi (1 Ch 6:25); ancestor of Elkanah the father of Samuel. The name Mahath holds a similar place in the list that follows (1 Ch 6:35).
a-hin'-a-dab ('achinadhabh, "brother of willingness," or, "my brother is willing"): Decidedly the ordinary use of the stem nadhabh is to denote willingness rather than liberality or nobleness One of Solomon's twelve commissary officers (1 Ki 4:14). He was the son of Iddo, and his district was Mahanaim.
a-hi-no'-am, a-hin'-o-am ('achino`am, "my brother is pleasantness"):
(1) Daughter of Ahimaaz, and wife of King Saul (1 Sam 14:50).
(2) The woman from Jezreel whom David married after Saul gave Michal to another husband. She and Abigail, the widow of Nabal, seem to have been David's only wives prior to the beginning of his reign in Hebron. His marriage to Abigail is mentioned first, with some details, followed by the statement, easily to be understood in the pluperfect, that he had previously married Ahinoam (1 Sam 25:39-44). Three times they are mentioned together, Ahinoam always first (1 Sam 27:3; 30:5; 2 Sam 2:2), and Ahinoam is the mother of David's first son and Abigail of his second (2 Sam 3:2; 1 Ch 3:1). Ahinoam's son was Amnon. The record really represents David's polygamy as a series of bids for political influence; the names of Amnon, Absalom, Adonijah suggest that the method was not finally a success.
Willis J. Beecher
a-hi'-o ('achyo, variously explained as "his brother," "brotherly," "brother of Yahweh," "my brother is Yah"): Proper names containing a similar form of the name of Yahweh are found on the ostraca recently exhumed at Samaria. The word is always treated as a common noun in the ordinary Greek copies, being rendered either "brother" or "brothers," or "his brother" or "his brothers"; but this is probably to be taken as an instance of the relative inferiority of the Greek text as compared with the Massoretic Text.
See OSTRACA .
(1) One of the sons of Beriah, the son of Elpaal, the son of Shaharaim and Hushim, reckoned among the families of Benjamin (1 Ch 8:14). Beriah and Shema are described as `ancestral heads' "of the inhabitants of Aijalon, who put to flight the inhabitants of Gath."
(2) A descendant of Jeiel ("the father of Gibeon") and his wife Maacah (1 Ch 8:31; 9:37). King Saul apparently came from the same family (1 Ch 8:30,33; 9:39).
(3) One of the men who drove the new cart when David first attempted to bring the ark from the house of Abinadab to Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:3,4; 1 Ch 13:7). In Samuel Uzza and Ahio are called sons of Abinadab. By the most natural understanding of the Biblical data about 100 years had elapsed since the ark was brought to the house; they were sons of that Abinadab in the sense of being his descendants. Whether he had a successor of the same name living in David's time is a matter of conjecture.
Willis J. Beecher
a-hi'-ra ('achira`, "brother of evil," or, "my brother is evil"): A man of Naphtali, contemporary with Moses. He is five times mentioned as the son of Enan. He was the representative of his tribe who assisted Moses in the census (Nu 1:15). He was the hereditary "prince" of the tribe; he made the tribal offering (Nu 2:29; 7:78; compare 7:83), and was commander of the tribal host when on the march (Nu 10:27).
a-hi'-ram ('achiram, "exalted brother," or "my brother is exalted"): A son of Benjamin. Mentioned third of the five in Nu 26:38,39. In 1 Ch 8:1 five sons are likewise mentioned, being explicitly numbered; the third name, Aharah ('achrach), is conjectured to be either a corruption of Ahiram or a different name for the same person. In 1 Ch 7:6 ff is a fuller list of Benjamite names, but it is fragmentary and not clear. In it occurs Aher ('acher), which may be either Ahiram or Aharah with the end of the word lost. In Gen 46:21 ten sons of Benjamin are mentioned, some being there counted as sons who, in the other lists, are spoken of as more remote descendants. In this list Ehi ('echi) is perhaps Ahiram shortened.
Willis J. Beecher
a-hi'-ram-it ('achirami, "of the family of Ahiram"; Nu 26:38).
See AHIRAM .
a-his'-a-mak ('achicamakh, "my brother supports"): A man of the tribe of Dan, father of Oholiab, who was the assistant of Bezalel in the building of the tent of meeting and preparing its furniture (Ex 31:6; 35:34; 38:23).
a-hish'-a-har ('achishachar, "brother of dawn"): One of the sons of Bilhan, the son of Jediael, the son of Benjamin (1 Ch 7:10).
a-hish'-ar ('achishar, "my brother has sung"): Mentioned in Solomon's list of heads of departments as "over the household" (1 Ki 4:6).
a-hith'-o-fel ('achithophel, "brother of foolishness," perhaps): The real leader of the Absalom rebellion against David. He is described as "the king's counselor," in a context connected with events some of which are dated in the fortieth year of David (1 Ch 27:33,34; compare 26:31). Concerning him and his part in the rebellion we have rather full information (2 Sam 15:12 ff).
Some hold that he was the grandfather of Bathsheba, and make much of this in forming their estimates of him. Does the evidence sustain this view? In the latter half of the list of David's mighty men, not among the older veterans with whom the list begins, appears "Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite" (2 Sam 23:34), the corresponding name in the other copy of the list being "Ahijah the Pelonite" (1 Ch 11:36). It is assumed that this is the same Eliam who was father to Bath-sheba (2 Sam 11:3). Apparently the Chronicler testifies (1 Ch 3:5) that the mother of Solomon was "Bath-shua the daughter of Ammiel." Bathshua may easily be a variant of Bathsheba, and the names Eliam and Ammiel are made up of the same parts, only in reversed order. It is not strange that men have inferred that the son of Ahithophel was the father of Bathsheba. But the inference is really not a probable one. The record does not make the impression that Ahithophel was an older man than David. The recorded events of David's life after his misconduct with Bathsheba cannot have occupied less than about twenty years; that is, he cannot have been at the time older than about fifty years. That Ahithophel had then a married grand-daughter is less probable than that there were in Israel two Eliams. Further, Ahithophel was not the sort of man to conspire against the interests of his grand-daughter and her son, however he may, earlier, have resented the conduct of David toward her. Ahithophel's motive in the rebellion was doubtless ambition for personal power, though he very likely shared with many of his countrymen in the conviction that it was unjust to push aside an older son by elevating a younger son to the throne.
Ahithophel has a reputation for marvelous practical sagacity (2 Sam 16:23). He did not show this in joining the conspiracy but it is in evidence in his management of the affair. According to the record the hearts of the people, in spite of the much fault they had to find, were all the time with David. Absalom's only chance of success was by the method of surprise and stampede. There must be a crisis in which everybody would join Absalom because everybody thought that everybody else had done so. Such a state of public sentiment could last only a very few days; but if, in those few days, David could be put out of the way, Absalom might hold the throne in virtue of his personal popularity and in default of a rival. The first part of the program was carried out with wonderful success; when it came to the second part, Ahithophel's practical wisdom was blocked by Hushai's adroit appeal to Absalom's personal vanity. Ahithophel saw with absolute clearness that Absalom had sacrificed his one opportunity, and he committed suicide to avoid participation in the shameful defeat which he saw could not be averted
Willis J. Beecher
a-hi'-tob (Achitob; the King James Version Achitob): One of the ancestors of Ezra (1 Esdras 8:2; 2 Esdras 1:1). Compare AHITUB , 3 (Ezr 7:2 et al.).
a-hi'-tub ('achiTubh, "brother of goodness," i.e. "good brother," or, "my brother is goodness"):
(1) The brother of Ichabod and son of Phinehas the son of Eli (1 Sam 14:3; 22:9,11,12,20), According to 1 Ch 24 he and his line were descended from Aaron through Ithamar. The record implies that he was born while his father and grandfather were priests at Shiloh, and it says that he was the father and grandfather of priests; but it is silent as to his own exercise of the priestly office. We have no information concerning the office from the time when the Philistines captured the ark till Saul became king.
See AHIJAH ;AHIMELECH ;ABIATHAR .
(2) A descendant of Aaron through Eleazar: by this fact distinguished from Ahitub, the descendant of Ithamar, though nearly contemporaneous with him. Especially known as the father of Zadok who, at Solomon's accession, became sole high priest (2 Sam 8:17; 1 Ch 6:8; 18:16). His genealogical line, from Levi to the Exile, is given in 1 Ch 6:1-15 (5:27-41). The three successive names, Ahitub and Zadok and Ahimaaz, appear in 2 Sam (8:17; 15:27, etc.). The line is paralleled by selected names in Ezr 7:1-5, and relatively late parts of it are paralleled in 1 Ch 9:11 and Neh 11:11. The best explanation of certain phenomena in Chronicles is that the record was copied from originals that were more or less fragmentary. In some cases, also, a writer gives only such parts of a genealogy as are needed for his purpose. It is due to these causes that there are many omissions in the genealogical lists, and that they supplement one another. Allowing for these facts there is no reason why we should not regard the genealogies of Ahitub as having distract historical value.
(3) In the genealogies, in the seventh generation from Ahitub, the descendant of Eleazar, appears another Ahitub, the son of another Amariah and the father (or grandfather) of another Zadok (1 Ch 6:11 (5:37); 9:11; Neh 11:11). The list in Ezr 7 omits a block of names, and the Ahitub there named may be either 2 or 3. He is mentioned in 1 Esdras 8:2 and 2 Esdras 1:1, and the name occurs in Judith 8:1. In these places it appears in the English versions in the various forms: Ahitub, Ahitob, Achitob, Acitho.
Willis J. Beecher
a'-lab ('achlabh, "fat or fruitful"): A town of Asher. It is clear, however, that the Israelites failed to drive away the original inhabitants (Jdg 1:31). Some have identified Ahlab with Gush Halab or Geschila, Northwest of the Sea of Galilee.
a'-li ('achlay "O would that!"): (1) A Son of Sheshan (1 Ch 2:31) or according to 1 Ch 2:34 a daughter of Sheshan, for here we read: "Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters." (2) The father of Zabad, a soldier in David's army (1 Ch 11:41).
a-ho'-a ('achoah, "brotherly"(?)): A son of Bela of the tribe of Benjamin (1 Ch 8:4).
a-ho'-hit ('achochi): A patronymic employed in connection with the descendants of AHOAH (which see) such as Doda (2 Sam 23:9) or Dodo (1 Ch 11:12), Ilai (29) or Zalmon (2 Sam 23:28), and also Eleazar, son of Dodo (1 Ch 11:12). The family must have been fond of military affairs, for all the above were officers in David and Solomon's armies.
a-ho'-la.
See OHOLAH .
a-ho-li'-ab.
See OHOLIAB .
a-ho-li'-a.
See OHOLIAH .
a-ho'-li-ba.
See OHOLIBAH .
a-ho-li-ba'-ma.
See OHOLIBAMAH .
a-hu'-ma-i, a-hu'-mi ('achumay, "brother of water"(?)): A descendant of Shobal of the tribe of Judah (1 Ch 4:2).
a-huz'-am, a-hu'-zam ('achuzzam, "possessor"). A son of Ashahur of the tribe of Judah, his mother's name was Naarah (1 Ch 4:6); written Ahuzam in the King James Version.
a-huz'-ath ('achuzzath, "possession"): A "friend" perhaps a minister, of Abimelech, king of Gerar. He together with Phicol, commander of the army, accompanied their sovereign to Beersheba to make a covenant with Isaac (Gen 26:26). The termination "-ath" reminds us of Philistine proper names, such as Gath, Goliath, etc. Compare Genubath (1 Ki 11:20).
a'-zi ('achzay, "my protector"): A priest who resided in Jerusalem (Neh 11:13). The the King James Version has Ahasai which is probably the same as Jahzevah of 1 Ch 9:12.