Asa of Judah

KING AHAB Introduction This essay is a description of King Ahab through biblical and extra biblical evidence and the extent to which these sources inform our understating of the bible. The biblical sources will include: Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Spirit Filled Bible, NKJV and Biblegate.com. The extra biblical sources used will be 1 & 2 Kings. NIVAC (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996) and The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopaedia of the Bible. An artist impression of King Ahab BIBLICA TEXT Ahab the son of Omri ascended to the throne of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of King Asa of Judah (1 Kings 16:29) a Ahab reigned over the northern Kingdom for twenty-two years with his capital in Samaria. He married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians…

Omri’s followers overthrow Tibni’s and he became king of Israel. This division within in already divided kingdom is almost comical, but it really emphasizes how stubborn the Israelites were and that they are a people with no exception to the human desire for power. It is also important to note that almost every time a new ruler comes to power during this era of the split Israeli nation, they are referenced by how many years the king of the other side of the nation has been in reign, so here in 1…

bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Gen 12: 2-3) this is the basis of the Abrahamic covenant, the first covenant made to Israel. This covenant laid the groundwork for Israel’s history. It could be said that the Abrahamic covenant was the highway on which the Messiah would come and the millennial kingdom as well. Through this…

Promise Land. From of old, God has been speaking of the Promise Land. However, when the Israelites enter the earthly Promise Land it is not heavenly Promise Land that one truly seeks for. Sin and suffering are still part of the human experience in the earthly Promise Land, as it does not exist in perfection. Similarly, King Hezekiah is the human Immanuel, but not the divine. Who is the first Immanuel figure King Hezekiah? Before answering this question, it is important to understand the…

writing” (201). Because of this, the placement of this book is recognized in two separate times. According to Mickal, the Hebrew Bible places the book of Joel with the Minor Prophets, after Ezekiel & Hosea but before Amos, while the English and Greek Bible places it after Daniel and Hosea, but before Amos (2004). According to James L. Crenshaw, the prophet is addressing the kingdom of Judah (2008). This chapter focuses on the importance for the elderly to illustrate Judah’s past to the younger…

Although 2nd Kings and 2nd Chronicles both relay the accounts of how Manasseh sinned against God, several key differences portray an alternate meaning for a separate audience and purpose. 2nd Kings 21:10 and 2nd Chronicles 33:9 both share with the audience how Manasseh’s wickedness surpassed all the Amorites who had ruled before him, and his role in making Judah sin with his idols. After this point, both divert in opposite directions with Chronicles adding how Manasseh was deported to Babylon,…

The book of Nehemiah was authored by Ezra between 445 and 420 B.C. It records the events of the Jews returning to Jerusalem and rebuilding the wall that once stood strong and protected them from their enemies. Nehemiah started out as the king of Persia’s cup bearer and was eventually commissioned as a governor. Before entering into the leadership of Nehemiah the Jewish people had been exiled for over seventy years, Jerusalem had been completely destroyed, and the temple had been burned in 586…

restored physically and spiritually. Chapter 37 is when Ezekiel is said to walk the valley of dry bones. This is a representation of Israel. God is restoring Israel even though it is dead with life and bringing hope and promise. The bones represent the entire nation of Israel, even though God has cast judgement he also promises to restore Israel and provide them with their homeland. Ezekiel 37: 1-14 is when mankind will have the opportunity to have salvation during the resurrection to God’s…

in Bethlehem, Judah (Castel, 1985, p.87). He grew up the youngest of eight sons of Jesse, and has been linked with the Ammonite royal family (Rogerson, 1999, p.78; 2 Samuel, 10: 1-2; 17:25-7). As a teenager David joined the entourage of Israeli King Saul as a minstrel and harpsichord player. It was during this time period that he first gained notoriety when he defeated the ominous giant Goliath armed with a mere slingshot. In 1 Samuel 18:20-30 it states that with a dowry of 200 Philistine…

The three key crisis of Israel that the prophetic literature reacts to are the Assyrian, Babylonia, and the Restoration Crisis. The Assyrian Crisis: The fall of the Northern Kingdom. This era consisted of the following factors that involve Assyria’s expansion into the region of Israel and Judah. This increase led to a complex series of alliances between the various kingdoms involved, as well as fighting-Syria Ephraimitic war. The war was Assyria attempts to expand, Syria and Israel allies for…