An Exegetical Essay: The Death Of King Ahab

Great Essays
In this essay I am going to be discussing who killed King Ahab. Some important questions that arise in relation to this narrative are the questions of, who deceives whom? How is the character of the prophet complicated and the nature of the prophecies complicated by this narrative? And how is the character of God complicated by this narrative? These are the questions that I will be trying to clarify in this essay.
Noted in 1 Kings 22, the historian tells us that ‘For three years Aram and Israel continued without war’ living in peace. ‘In the thirty eight year of King Asa of Judah, Ahab son of Omri began to reign over Israel; Ahab son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria for twenty two years. Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the
…show more content…
This suggests that God is limited in his power, but if God is all knowing and all seeing how can he be limited by the actions of a human? Surely God knew what was going to happen, knowing that Ahab would reject the prophecy and carry on into battle anyway. “We meet God as a character in a story, not as a philosophical construct. As a consequence, one naturally supposes that this God will have a role and a place in the story similar to those of other characters, which means that God's character, like all the others, will have certain limitations and certain relational

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Sacred Scripture Analysis

    • 1208 Words
    • 5 Pages

    For centuries, countless men and women have turned to the Bible to encounter the Lord God, and to understand better the reality of life on earth and in heaven. From the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation, people have searched for God's truth, counsel, and words of comfort and strength. Each of the biblical books contained in Sacred Scripture speak to us in various ways. In particular, the prophetic books in the Old Testament echo God's word in a uniquely powerful and vivid manner. Among them, the book of the prophet Isaiah holds a preeminent position in Sacred Scripture, and in the hearts of many biblical scholars and lovers of Scripture.…

    • 1208 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    2 Kings 18-25 Summary

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages

    2 Kings 18-25 – The story of 2 Kings continues with the introduction of King Hezekiah of Judah, who is like a breath of fresh air when compared to his predecessors. This is because he does what is right in the eyes of God and tries his best to obey His commandments. YHWH also alters the rhythm of the story a little because He takes a more active role in Judah’s history. When Judah is threatened by foreign invaders, YHWH acts as the defender of His people and does not allow the enemy to advance. Later, Hezekiah falls ill and is informed that he will die very soon, but after much pleading with YHWH, he is granted 15 more years of life.…

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1. How does the idea of good versus evil come into play in this story? Use examples from the text to explain your answer. The idea of good versus evil can be seen within the characters.…

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Why does God do harm to good people? "then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it."…

    • 1598 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Julie Garibay Emily Craig AP English Language 11 March, 2018 The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini developed a story where events were not covered up, and characters were brutally defined without any remorse. Throughout the passages of ‘The Kite Runner’ is a list of background stories, character development and a harsh reality of the Afghanistan culture. Through a series of analysis there is groundbreaking evidence and scenes that prove the theme of this story stands with betrayal and redemption.…

    • 954 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    and only after "human's effort had done its best and failed, would God's power alone be free to work"(Ten Boom138). If God had the ability to step into every single conflict, there would be no conflict, but this isn't what the world is supposed to be like. God gave us the free will to live life as we wanted, so why would he step into it all the time. People were made to resolve their own conflicts, such as the one created by the German soldiers. Only after humans have failed will God step in.…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Discuss the stories of Abraham and the Exodus. What origins do they signify? What are the social functions of these texts? Abram, later to be renamed by God Abraham, originated from Ur, which was considered to be a cultured and ancient city.…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    God is all knowing. His divine intellect, or omniscience, is undeniable when examining scripture. There is an overflow of scripture to back up the claim that there is nothing and no one more intelligent, more knowledgable or wise than God. We get understanding of God's omniscience from the writings of David.…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Khaled Hosseini’s “Kite Runner” brilliantly illustrates the story of a young boy named Amir going through his life and the troubles he carries. Redemption is a key theme throughout the book, of which Amir goes through the entire book trying to amend for the sins he committed as a child . This also brings out another theme that goes hand in hand with redemption which is forgiveness something that takes Amir a majority of the novel in order to fully understand. In order for Amir to come to terms what has happened in his past he must truly attempt to atone for his sins in order forgive himself.…

    • 841 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Benjamin Forman’s The Blood of Ahab: Reevaluating Ahab’s Death and Elijah’s Prophecy, analyzes the circumstances surrounding Ahab’s death and whether or not these circumstances negate the fact that Elijah's prophecy was fulfilled. In this article, Forman examines the six top possibilities as to why Elijah’s prophecy was not fulfilled and gives evidence to suppose each possibility. Theses possibilities include the fact that the prophecy was not location specific because it did not specify where Ahab died or that some texts did not specify where the dogs licked Ahab’s blood. Forman also explored the possibility that the prophecy was modified. He then considered the possibility that the prophecy remains unfulfilled.…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Kingdom Of Edom Essay

    • 389 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Specifically, there are countless events relating to the Edomites throughout the Old and New Testaments, and as we look through them we can see how they play an important part in the history of the Israelites. In the final analysis of their history, we can learn to understand how the “Fear of God” played a significant role. During the 13th century B.C., and according to archaeological evidence (Bryant, 1967) the kingdom of Edom became established. In time, people also called it by the names of Mt. Seir, Esau, and Idumea.…

    • 389 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Islam is a monotheistic faith centered around belief in the one God (Allah). In this regard, it shares some beliefs with Judaism and Christianity by tracing its history back to the patriarch Abraham, and ultimately to the first prophet, Adam. All the prophets preached the same universal message of belief in one God and kindness to humanity. The last in the series of prophets, according to Muslims, was Muhammad. Muhammad was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia around 570 CE.…

    • 862 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Moby Dick Name of the Writer Name of the Institute Date of Submission The Quarter-Deck and The chase-Third Day Introduction: Moby-Dick is full of symbolism and describes the character of Captain Ahab in two chapters The Quarter Deck and The Chase-Third Day. Moby Dick is a Great novel written by Herman Melville in 1851. It is a story of a quest among a White Whale named as Moby Dick who destroyed the Captain Ahab’s ship in a voyage and also split his leg from the Knee. MobyDick is linked with the God and nature, good and evil. It aligns the splendor and magnificence of the nature.…

    • 1257 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the Old Testament, a theme that is widely reflected between people and God is obedience. The relationships found throughout Old Testament were based on people’s obedience towards God’s instruction; probably making it one of the most important relational aspect. According to International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, obedience is defined as, “the supreme test of faith in God and reverence for him” (Obedience). God uses many prominent people in the Old Testament who obey and listen to what he calls them to do. For this paper, I’ll be using the story of Abraham as an example of obedience and go more in details about how God used Abraham’s life because he was obedient.…

    • 1243 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The first two verses of the story are devoted to the presentation of the conflict and the people who will unfold in the story. After the presentation of Absalom as the son of David and his sister Tamar as a beautiful woman, the narrator introduces Amnon. It is reminder that he is also David's son.…

    • 1368 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays