Ahab in the context of "Samaria Ostraca"

Samaria (Hebrew: שֹׁמְרוֹן Šōmrōn; Akkadian: 𒊓𒈨𒊑𒈾 Samerina; Greek: Σαμάρεια Samareia) was the capital city of the northern Kingdom of Israel between c. 880 BC and c. 720 BC. The city gave its name to the surrounding region of Samaria, a historical region bounded by Judea to the south and by Galilee to the north. Strategically situated on a high hill, Samaria commanded views of the surrounding fertile countryside and was located near key trade routes connecting the highlands with the coastal plain.

Samaria was founded as Israel's royal capital by King Omri (884–873 BC), replacing Tirzah. According to the biblical account, which was composed in Judah but likely preserves records from Israel (possibly from Samaria itself), Omri purchased the hill from its previous owner, Shemer, for two talents of silver. Under the Omride dynasty, Samaria developed into a major royal and administrative center. Excavations reveal a massive palace complex, one of the largest in the Levant from this period, constructed in two main phases corresponding to the reigns of Omri and his successor, Ahab. Notable finds from the Israelite period include the Samaria Ivories, intricately carved ivory fragments inspired by Phoenician art, and the Samaria Ostraca, Hebrew-inscribed potsherds recording transactions such as shipments of wine and oil, which provide insight into the kingdom's bureaucratic organization.

Elijah (/ɪˈlaɪ(d)ʒə/ ih-LEYE-jə or ih-LEYE-zhə) or Elias ("My God is Yahweh/YHWH") was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible.

In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worship of the Hebrew deity Yahweh over that of the Canaanite deity Baal. God also performed many miracles through Elijah, including resurrection, bringing fire down from the sky, and ascending to heaven alive. He is also portrayed as leading a school of prophets known as "the sons of the prophets". Following Elijah's ascension, his disciple and devoted assistant Elisha took over as leader of this school. The Book of Malachi prophesies Elijah's return "before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD", making him a harbinger of the Messiah and of the eschaton in various faiths that revere the Hebrew Bible. References to Elijah appear in Sirach, the New Testament, the Mishnah and Talmud, the Quran, the Book of Mormon, and Baháʼí writings. Scholars generally agree that a historical figure named Elijah existed in ancient Israel, though the biblical accounts of his life are considered more legendary and theologically reflective than historically accurate.

Omri (Hebrew: עָמְרִי‎, ‘Omrī; Akkadian: 𒄷𒌝𒊑𒄿 Ḫûmrî [ḫu-um-ri-i]; fl. 9th century BCE) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the sixth king of Israel. He was a successful military campaigner who extended the northern kingdom of Israel. Other monarchs from the House of Omri are Ahab, Ahaziah, Joram, and Athaliah. Like his predecessor, king Zimri, who ruled for only seven days, Omri is the second king mentioned in the Bible without a statement of his tribal origin. One possibility, though unproven, is that he was of the tribe of Issachar.

Nothing is said in Scripture about the lineage of Omri. His name may be Amorite, Arabic, or Hebrew in origin. Omri is credited with the construction of Samaria and establishing it as his capital. Although the Bible is silent about other actions taken during his reign, he is described as doing more evil than all the kings who preceded him. An alternative modern hypothesis maintains that, as founder of the House of Omri, an Israelite royal house, his kingdom formed the first state in the Land of Israel, and that the Kingdom of Judah only achieved statehood later.

The Tel Dan Stele is a fragmentary stele containing an Aramaic inscription which dates to the 9th century BCE. It is the earliest known extra-biblical archaeological reference to the house of David. The stele was discovered in 1993 in Tel-Dan by Gila Cook, a member of an archaeological team led by Avraham Biran. Its pieces were used to construct an ancient stone wall that survived into modern times. The stele contains several lines of ancient Hebrew. The surviving inscription details that an individual killed Jehoram, King of Israel-Samaria, the son of Ahab, and Ahaziah of Judah, a king of the house of David. The stele is on display at the Israel Museum. It is known as KAI 310.

These writings corroborate passages from the Hebrew Bible, as the Second Book of Kings mentions that Jehoram is the son of an Israelite king, Ahab, by his Phoenician wife Jezebel. The likely candidate for having erected the stele, according to the Hebrew Bible, is Hazael, king of Aram-Damascus, whose language would have been Old Aramaic. He is mentioned in 2 Kings 12:17–18 as having conquered Israel-Samaria but not Jerusalem:

The Omride dynasty, Omrides or House of Omri (Hebrew: בֵּית עָמְרִי‎‎, romanized: Bēt ʿOmrī; Akkadian: 𒂍𒄷𒌝𒊑𒄿, romanized: bīt-Ḫûmrî) were the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Samaria founded by King Omri. The dynasty's rule ended with the murder of Jehoram of Israel by Jehu in c. 841 BC.

Five Assyrian records are known to refer to either "Land of Omri" or "House of Omri". An archaeological reference to Omri and his unnamed son is found in the Mesha Stele, the only Northwest Semitic inscription known to reference this name. According to the Bible, the Omride rulers of Israel were Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah and Jehoram. Ahab's daughter Athaliah also became queen regnant of the Kingdom of Judah.

Ahaziah (Hebrew: אֲחַזְיָה, romanized: ʾĂḥazyā, "Yah has grasped"; also Greek: Ὀχοζίας, Ochozias in the Septuagint and the Douay-Rheims translation) was the eighth king of the northern Kingdom of Israel and the son of Ahab and Jezebel. Like his father, he reigned from Samaria. William F. Albright has dated his reign to 850–849 BC, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 853–852 BC.

The author of the Books of Kings criticized him for following the ways of his father Ahab and his mother Jezebel, and for making Israel sin "in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat". Biblical commentator Albert Barnes notes that the phrase "in the way of his mother" does not occur anywhere else in the Hebrew Bible, and demonstrates the strong feeling of the writer of the Books of Kings as to the influence of Jezebel.

Jehoram or Joram (Hebrew: יְהוֹרָם, romanized: Yəhorām) was the ninth king of the northern Kingdom of Israel according to 2 Kings 8:16 and 2 Kings 8:25–28. He was the son of King Ahab and Jezebel and brother to Ahaziah and Athaliah.

According to 2 Kings 8:16, in the fifth year of Jehoram of Israel, a different Jehoram became king of Judah. The author of the Books of Kings speaks of both Jehoram of Israel and Jehoram of Judah in the same passage. They were brothers-in-law since Jehoram of Judah married Athaliah, sister of Jehoram of Israel.