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1–5. Preparation of kings Ahab of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah for a campaign against the Syrians. 6–28. False prophets and the true prophet of God Micah about the upcoming campaign. 29–40. The Battle of Ramoth-gilead and the death of Ahab. 41–50. The reign of Jehoshaphat of Judah. 52–54. A note on the reign of Ahaziah of Israel and his wickedness. 1 Kings 22:1. They lived for three years, and there was no war between Syria and Israel. 1 Kings 22:2. In the third year Jehoshaphat king of Judah went to the king of Israel. 1 Kings 22:3. And the king of Israel said to his servants, Do you know that Ramoth-gilead is ours? And we have been silent for so long, and we do not take it from the hand of the king of Syria. 1 Kings 22:4. And he said to Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to war against Ramoth-gilead? And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, As thou art, so am I; as is your people, so is my people; both your horses and my horses. 1 Kings 22:5. And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Ask this day what the Lord will say. 1 Kings 22:6. And the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and said to them: Shall I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or not? They said: Go, the Lord will deliver him into the hands of the king. Three years (v. 1) passed from Ahab’s second war with the Syrians, which ended with Ahab’s victory over Benhadad the Syrian, and a peace treaty between them (1 Kings 20:26–34). One of the articles of this peace treaty demanded that the Syrian king return to Israel the cities of the kingdom of Israel that Ben-hadad had taken from Omri (1 Kings 20:34). Among these cities, obviously, was Ramoth of Gilead (v. 3. Onomast. 688, 772; compare comments to 1 Kings 4:13), which the Syrian king, apparently, did not want to return to Ahab: this was the reason for the new war, which is described in ch. XXII, thus constituting a natural continuation of ch. XX (for a three-year period separating the events of both chapters, it falls in the internal life of the Kingdom of Israel: the murder of Naboth, Chapter XXI; in the external, according to the assumption of scientists, the already mentioned battle of Karkar between Shalmaneser II of Assyria and Benhadad (Bir-idri) of Syria, in whose troops Ahab took part, due to the duties of an ally (Ahabbu Sir-lai of Assyrian monuments). The war against the Syrians was undertaken jointly by the Israeli king Ahab and the Judah Jehoshaphat; the previous hostile relations between the two Jewish kingdoms were replaced by friendly ones, partly on the basis of the kinship of the royal houses: the son of Jehoshaphat of Judah Jehoram was married to Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab of Israel (cf. 2 Kings 8:18; 2 Chron. 18:1), – partly, probably in the force of political necessity to use common forces to break the power of the common enemy - Syria. Jehoshaphat's visit to Ahab (vv. 2, 4), under such circumstances, could have been caused by the latter's invitation (according to (2 Chron. 18:2) Ahab arranged a great feast for Jehoshaphat); The initiative for the campaign against Ramoth, in any case, comes from Ahab, from whom Jehoshaphat, apparently, considered himself dependent (v. 4), which is why he puts his main military force at the disposal of Ahab - horses (cf. Ps. 33:16-17). “This is what Jehoshaphat promised to do when he was called to participate in the battle, that is, I will do the same as you, I will take up arms as soon as you take up arms, my people will begin the war, as soon as your people begin. But Jehoshaphat also showed his piety, because he considered it necessary to first question the God of all, verse 5” (Blessed Theodoret, question 67). However, “his piety was harmed by friendship and kinship” (ibid.). If Jehoshaphat asks Ahab to ask Jehovah about the upcoming campaign (v. 5), then the about 400 people gathered by Ahab - the prophets could not be the previously mentioned 400 prophets of Asherah - Asherah (1 Kings 18: 18-19), as the ancient interpreters believed, but the prophets of Jehovah, probably the cult of the calf, which remained official under Ahab (despite invasion of the cult of Baal). Just as the cult of the bulls itself had a strong admixture of pagan elements, so the institution of prophets in this cult did not correspond to the idea of ​​prophetic ministry: the already huge number of prophets who have now appeared (v. 6) puts them in complete parallel with the prophets of Baal and Ashtoreth (1 Kings 18:19); for them, prophecy, obviously, became a kind of craft, a profitable profession; they, probably, like the prophets of Astarte (ibid), ate from the royal table: this is evidenced by their obvious servility to the king (vv. 6, 12–13), why the prophet Micah calls them (vv. 22–23) the prophets of Ahab, although for all that they themselves considered themselves to be under the influence of the Spirit of God (vv. 24). 1 Kings 22:7. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not yet a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord through him? The mere fact that the prophets called by Ahab were ministers of the ungodly cult of calves (probably many of them were direct priests of this cult: in (1 Kings 18:19,22,25,40), prophets, Hebrew nebiim, are called priests of the cults of Baal and Ashtoreth), did not inspire Jehoshaphat with confidence in their encouraging prophecies; then their strange agreement or unanimity could seem suspicious (according to the Talmud, Sanhedrin, 89, a: “inspiration came to many prophets, but never two prophets spoke with one inspiration, basignon echad”). Therefore, he asks Ahab to ask a true prophet of Jehovah - like the prophet Elijah or other prophets who were persecuted by Jezebel (1 Kings 18:4,13,19:10,14). 1 Kings 22:8. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: There is one more person through whom you can ask the Lord, but I do not love him, for he does not prophesy good things about me, but only bad things - this is Micaiah, the son of Imbelai. And Jehoshaphat said, O king, speak not thus. 1 Kings 22:9. And the king of Israel called a eunuch and said, Go quickly and fetch Micaiah the son of Imbelaius. In response to Jehoshaphat's request, Ahab does not name the prophet Elijah - both due to his deep dislike for this prophet and, probably, the unknown of his whereabouts. About the prophet Micah (Heb. Msha, more fully: Mihayahu: “Who is like Jehovah?”) Ahab gives such a review, which reveals his purely pagan idea of prophecy, as if the prophet has some kind of power and strength over the deity, the power of his prophecy (magical) depends on the formulas he uses, and he is entirely responsible for the unfavorable prophecy (such a pagan idea of ​​the prophet as a magician clearly appears in the fact of the call Moabite king Balak Balaam for the curse of Israel, (Num. 22: 1–6); Agamemnon’s reproach to the soothsayer Calchas, Iliad I, 106, is completely similar to Ahab’s response to Micah. This review (cf. 2 Chronicles 18:7) gives credence to the opinion of I. Josephus and the rabbis that the prophet Micah (1 Kings 22:8) is one person with the prophetic son who spoke a terrible word against Ahab (1 Kings 20:35–42). It is also not incredible to assume that Ahab kept Micah in prison in Samaria (cf. v. 26–27), which is why he could immediately call him through a eunuch (ἐυνοῦχος; glorified: “eunuch”), Heb.: saris, denoting a person with a certain physical defect (Is. 56: 3–4), in particular, courtiers disfigured in this way at the courts of eastern despots ( 1 Sam. 8: 15), may have and general meaning: courtier, even married, cf. (Gen. 37:36,39:1,7). 1 Kings 22:10. The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah sat each on his seat, dressed in royal robes, in the square at the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them. 1 Kings 22:11. And Zedekiah the son of Chenaan made himself horns of iron, and said, Thus saith the Lord: With these thou shalt slaughter the Syrians until they are destroyed. 1 Kings 22:12. And all the prophets prophesied the same thing, saying: go to Ramoth-gilead, there will be success, the Lord will deliver him into the hand of the king. In anticipation of the prophet Micah, both Jewish kings sat on their thrones in full armor (LXX, v. 10, ´ένοπλοι, glav.: “armament” - which is more convenient than reading the Hebrew text: “begadim begoren” - “clothed, on the threshing floor”; Gratz reads instead: “shireyon” - “armor”; Vulg.: vestiti culto regio; Russian synod. and Prof. Gulyaev: “dressed in royal clothes”), perhaps, while reviewing his allied troops; and the host of prophets widely predicted and sang the coming victory of the allies (v. 10). of God (1 Kings 11:29–32; Jer. 28:12–14, etc.), an expressive symbol of Ahab’s upcoming victory: he makes himself iron horns - a symbol of the strength of the king of Israel, in this sense the horn, Hebrew: keren, is used in the Bible very often, for example (Ps. 75:11, 88:25; Jer. 48:25; Micah 4:13) is an image that is very understandable and deeply sympathetic to the Israelis, since it was reminiscent of Moses’ prophecy about the fate of the tribe of Ephraim (which dominated the kingdom of Israel): “its strength is like a firstborn calf, and its horns are like the horns of a buffalo” (Deut. 33:17) 24. 1 Kings 22:13. The messenger who went to call Micaiah said to him: behold, the words of the prophets unanimously foretell good things for the king; let your word be in agreement with the word of each of them; say good things too. 1 Kings 22:14. And Micaiah said, The Lord lives! I will speak what the Lord tells me. From the request of the messenger to the prophet Micah to speak in agreement with the other prophets (v. 13), a request that probably came from Ahab, it is clear how deeply Ahab and his associates had a view of prophecy as magic, and that Ahab valued the prophecies of 400 of his prophets lower than the prophecy of Micah alone, apparently feeling in him a real prophet. As a true prophet of the True God, Micah promises to speak only what Jehovah will reveal to him (v. 14); Wed (Jer.23:28,42:4; 1Pet.4:11). 1 Kings 22:15. And he came to the king. The king said to him: Micaiah! Should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead or not? And he said to him: go, there will be success, the Lord will deliver him into the hand of the king. 1 Kings 22:16. And the king said to him: I adjure you again and again, so that you do not tell me anything but the truth in the name of the Lord. Before uttering the bitter word of prophecy, the prophet Micah ironically repeats the advice of the prophets of Ahab to go to war, with an ironic promise of victory: this was, as it were, an admonition to Ahab’s conscience, a reproach for his hypocritical question (cf. Blessed Theodoret, question 68). The goal of the prophet’s peculiar reception was achieved: Ahab demands that the prophet express only one truth according to the revelation of Jehovah (v. 16), although he does not bind himself with a promise to follow the word of the prophet. 1 Kings 22:17. And he said, “I see all the Israelites scattered on the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd.” And the Lord said: They have no leader; let them each return in peace to his own home. The prophet paints a picture revealed to him in a vision: the Israelites are scattered across the mountains (Gilead), like sheep without a shepherd (Num. 27:17), since their head and shepherd the king will be taken away from them: “this shows Ahab that his malice causes defeat. If Israel had had a pious shepherd, it would have won a decisive victory over its enemies” (Blessed Theodoret, question 68). Left without a leader, a king, the army will disperse peacefully. Both the death of the king and the return of the army subsequently occurred in exact agreement with the word of the prophet (cf. v. 17 and v. 35–36). 1 Kings 22:18. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell you that he prophesies no good things about me, but only evil things? Ahab hastens, by pointing to the prophet's answer (v. 17), to justify before Jehoshaphat his previously expressed view of Micah (v. 8): to reduce the reason for Micah's unfavorable prophecy to the personal hostility of this prophet towards him, as earlier (1 Kings 21:20) he reproached the prophet Elijah for personal hatred towards him. 1 Kings 22:19. And [Micah] said: [not so; not I, but] listen to the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven stood by Him, on His right and on His left; 1 Kings 22:20. and the Lord said, Who would persuade Ahab to go and fall in Ramoth-gilead? And one said this, the other said differently; 1 Kings 22:21. and one spirit came out and stood before the Lord and said, “I will bow him down.” And the Lord said to him: With what? 1 Kings 22:22. He said: I will go out and become a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. The Lord said: you will bow him down and do this; go and do it. 1 Kings 22:23. And behold, now the Lord has put a lying spirit into the mouth of all these thy prophets; but the Lord has spoken unkind things about you. Refuting this, essentially pagan view of Ahab on prophecy (LXX and the Slavic text convey, Hebrew lachen with negation: οὐχ οὕτως - “not like this,” which is much more consistent with the opposition of the words of Ahab, v. 18, and the speech of the prophet 19 ff.), the prophet tells the continuation of his vision (cf. v. 17), in which indicates the mysterious justification for all visible facts: the seduction of Ahab by the false prophecy of his prophets, which will lead to the death of Ahab in the upcoming battle, is God's permission, figuratively presented in the form of a conference before Jehovah of armies among angels or spirits, according to Josephus, Jude. Ancient VIII, 15, 4, “the decisive importance in Ahab’s campaign was the fatal inevitability of predestination (χρεών = ἀνάγκη or ειμαρμένη of the Stoics), due to which the words of the false prophets seemed to Ahab more convincing than the words of the true prophet.” But the biblical text does not know such blind fate, but speaks only of the free action of the all-active providence of the living God, although the action only allows the development of events, and does not produce or, at least, promote. The whole vision, v. 19–23, according to Blessed Theodoret (question 68), “there is only a personification by which God’s permission is shown, because the true God and Teacher of truth did not command to deceive Ahab.” Jehovah’s action on Ahab in this case is allowing him to become influenced by the spirit of lies that spoke through the mouth of his prophets (vv. 21–23), similar, for example, to the action of Jehovah hardening the heart of Pharaoh (Ex. 4:21, 7: 3), or allowing Rehoboam’s unreasonable attitude towards the demands of the people (1 Kings 12:15), i.e., there was not direct causation here. The very picture of the heavenly army (Heb. Tseba hashamayim v. 19), the hosts coming before the throne of Jehovah, like similar pictures of angels in the book of Job (Job.1:6,2:1) or seraphim in the vision of the prophet Isaiah (Is.6:1-3), expresses the biblical idea that the plans and judgments of God’s providence for the world and people are carried out by higher spiritual forces - the angels who form the whole world is an “army” in the premium sphere of God’s existence (“heavenly”), cf. (2 Kings 24:16; 2 Kings 19:35; Heb.1:14). The spirit that separated from the host of heaven and became, by God's permission, a lying spirit in the mouth of the prophets Ahab, personifying a false prophecy, is a lying spirit (Hebrew ruach sheker, v. 22) and as such appears to be under the influence of Satan or the devil (only in the vision of the prophet Micah is the idea of the universal action of God put forward, while in ( Job.1:6–12,2:1–7) Satan or the devil is outlined more clearly, although God’s permission is also visually apparent. The Talmud arbitrarily sees the spirit of Naboth in the “spirit,” although the accusatory reminder of the latter to Ahab was not unnecessary) See in the book by A. Glagolev, Old Testament Biblical Teaching about Angels,” p. 610 etc. 1 Kings 22:24. And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “What, has the Spirit of the Lord departed from me to speak in you?” 1 Kings 22:25. And Micaiah said: Behold, you will see this on that day when you run from one room to another to hide, The daring act of Zedekiah, expressing deep reproach for the prophet Micah (cf. Job 16:10; John 18:22), shows how sensitively this head of the prophets Ahab was affected in his professional honor (cf. v. 11), who apparently had great weight with the king. The prophet Micah predicts a shameful imprisonment (and, perhaps, the same death) for the daring false prophet after the defeat of Ahab. 1 Kings 22:26. and the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah and take him to Amon the mayor and to Joash the king's son, 1 Kings 22:27. and say: This is what the king says: Put this man in prison and feed him scantly with bread and sparingly with water until I return in peace. The prophetic reproofs and warnings had no effect on Ahab. He angrily imprisons the prophet Micah in prison and, not without mockery, orders the prophet to be fed there with the bread of sorrow and the water of sorrow (cf. Isa. 30:20) until his return from the battlefield, in the successful outcome of which he boastfully assures himself and others (contrary to (1 Kings 20:11)). According to I. Flavius, Ahab’s self-confidence and determination to go to war contrary to the word of the prophet Micah grew due to the fact that Zedekiah, who struck the prophet Micah, did not suffer any harm (as Jeroboam suffered from the Jewish prophet) (1 Kings 13:4). 1 Kings 22:28. And Micaiah said: If you return in peace, it was not the Lord who spoke through me. And he said: Listen, all you people! The more decisively the prophet Micah assures the truth of his prophecy before all the people. 1 Kings 22:29. And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went to Ramoth-gilead. 1 Kings 22:30. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will change my clothes and go into battle, and you put on your royal robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself and entered the battle. 1 Kings 22:31. The king of Syria commanded the captains of the chariots, of which he had thirty-two, saying: Fight neither small nor great, but only the king of Israel. 1 Kings 22:32. The commanders of the chariots, seeing Jehoshaphat, thought: “Surely this is the king of Israel,” and turned towards him to fight with him. And Jehoshaphat cried. 1 Kings 22:33. The captains of the chariots, seeing that this was not the king of Israel, turned away from him. 1 Kings 22:34. And one man accidentally pulled his bow and wounded the king of Israel through the seams of his armor. And he said to his driver: turn back and take me out of the army, for I am wounded. 1 Kings 22:35. But the battle that day intensified, and the king stood on his chariot against the Syrians, and in the evening he died, and the blood from the wound poured into the chariot. 1 Kings 22:36. And it was proclaimed throughout the whole camp at sunset: each one go to his own city, each one to his own land! 1 Kings 22:37. And the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. 1 Kings 22:38. And they washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked its blood, and washed the harlots, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke. Regardless of everything, Ahab goes on a campaign against the Syrians to Ramoth-gilead (v. 29); “Jehoshaphat also accompanied him, acting unworthy of his piety. For, having sought a prophet, rejected false prophets and learned from Micah what should be done, he preferred friendship to piety” (Blessed Theodoret, issue 66). Ahab's fate was already decided by the direct order of the Syrian king to kill him (v. 31: this is how the Syrian king thanked Ahab for his generosity towards him cf. (1 Kings 20:32–33,42), despite the precaution he had taken (v. 30), caused both by this order of the Syrian king and by Ahab's strong fear of the unfavorable prophecy of Micah. By his disguise Ahab did not intentionally serve as an indirect cause of the attack on Jehoshaphat, who was saved only by a miracle (verses 32-33; (2 Chronicles 18:31)). The entire army of Israel was saved and returned peacefully (v. 36), according to the word of the prophet (v. 17). “The wounded Ahab stood on the chariot for a long time, so that by his removal he would not give rise to a general flight. His flowing blood condensed in the chariot; the driver, upon approaching the city, washed the chariot in one source. The dogs licked the blood; and the harlots, early in the morning, as usual, washed themselves in it, having no intention of washing themselves in the blood; on the contrary, they thought that, as usual, they were washing themselves in running water; but this water was stained with blood,” (Blessed Theodoret, question 68; cf. (1 Kings 21:19)). 1 Kings 22:39. The rest of Ahab's deeds, all that he did, and the ivory house that he built, and all the cities that he built, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. In terms of passion for building (cities, palaces), Ahab apparently competed with Solomon; “a house of ivory” (cf. Am. 3:15) is the height of luxury (it is likely, however, that only many of the ornaments of Ahab’s palace were made of ivory). 1 Kings 22:41. Jehoshaphat, the son of Asa, reigned over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 1 Kings 22:42. Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother's name was Azuba, daughter of Salail. 1 Kings 22:43. He walked in everything the way of his father Asa, did not stray from him, doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Only the heights were not cancelled; the people still performed sacrifices and incense on the heights. 1 Kings 22:44. Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. 1 Kings 22:45. The other deeds of Jehoshaphat and his exploits, which he accomplished, and how he fought, are described in the chronicle of the kings of Judah. 1 Kings 22:46. And he destroyed the remnant of the fornicators who remained in the days of his father Asa from the earth. 1 Kings 22:47. There was no king in Idumea at that time; was the king's governor. 1 Kings 22:48. [King] Jehoshaphat made ships on the sea to go to Ophir for gold; but they did not reach it, for they were broken at Ezion-geber. 1 Kings 22:49. Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat did not agree. 1 Kings 22:50. And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David. And Joram his son reigned in his stead. About the 25-year reign of the pious Jewish (fourth) king Jehoshaphat (cf. 1 Kings 15:24), the 3rd book of Kings gives an overly brief account, while the 2nd book of Chronicles devotes four chapters to his reign (XVII-XX), and describes in detail the internal activities of Jehoshaphat in his kingdom: strengthening cities, organizing governance, spreading the knowledge of the law of God among the people through priests and Levites sent throughout the country (XVII); purification of the cult and strong organization of the civil and ecclesiastical courts (XIX); Likewise, in addition to Jehoshaphat’s participation in the Israeli campaign against the Syrians (XVIII), the invasion of the Jewish reign under Jehoshaphat by the Moabites and Ammonites is described in detail, which ended in the miraculous victory of the Jews over their enemies without battle (chapter 20). The 3rd book of Kings outlines the reign of Jehoshaphat only in general terms, most reminiscent of the description of the reign of his father Asa (1 Kings 15:9-24). Like Asa ((1 Kings 15:14); cf. (2 Chronicles 15:17)), Jehoshaphat destroyed the high places of pagan cults (2 Chronicles 17:6), but preserved the ancient sacred high places for the True God (v. 43; (2 Chronicles 20:33). Like his father, Jehoshaphat destroyed the religious prostitution that invaded Judah under Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:24) (Art. 47, cf. (1 Kings 15:12)). But sad religious and moral consequences were accompanied by the “peace” (v. 44) of Jehoshaphat with the reigning house of Israel: among political types, Jehoshaphat, the first of the kings of Judah, entered into an alliance with Ahab, sealed by family ties and supported by Jehoshaphat and under Ahab’s successors – Ahaziah and Jehoram. If Jehoshaphat helped Ahab in the war against the Syrians (vv. 4 et seq.), then he entered into joint trading ventures with Ahaziah: both kings, using common funds, undertook the construction, following the example of Solomon (1 Kings 9:26), of a fleet in Ezion Geber (vv. 49–50; (2 Chron. 20:35–38)), which was facilitated by the absence of a king at that time (v. 48) in Idumea (to the territory of which Ezion Geber belonged), which became, as it were, a province of Judah under the control of the governor of the Jewish king. Finally, with Jehoram of Israel, Jehoshaphat subsequently made a campaign against the Moabite king (2 Kings 3:1-7). The prophets denounced Jehoshaphat for his friendship with the wicked house of Ahab (2 Chronicles 19:2,20:37), threatening him with disasters; indeed, all three named enterprises of the allies turned out to be extremely unsuccessful for them, in particular for Jehoshaphat; Jehoshaphat barely escaped from the campaign against Ramoth against the Syrians; The fleet he built, together with Ahaziah, was defeated by a storm in the harbor itself (vv. 49–50); (2 Chronicles 20:37), the campaign of Jehoshaphat with Joram of Israel against the Moabites also ended in failure (2 Kings 3:1–27). 1 Kings 22:51. Ahaziah the son of Ahab reigned over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned over Israel [in Samaria] two years, 1 Kings 22:52. and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin: 1 Kings 22:53. he served and worshiped Baal and angered the Lord God of Israel with all that his father did. The date of the beginning of the reign of Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, in the kingdom of Israel, the 17th year of the reign of Jehoshaphat, is difficult to agree with other testimony: according to Art. 41 of this chapter, Jehoshaphat of Judah reigned in the 4th year of the reign of Ahab of Israel, who, according to (1 Kings 16:29), reigned for 22 years. Thus, according to (1 Kings 22:51), the 17th year of the reign of Jehoshaphat will be the 20th year of the reign of Ahab; therefore, Ahaziah could ascend to the kingdom only in the 19th year of the reign of Jehoshaphat. But this apparent contradiction is explained by the more than once noted circumstance that the incomplete years of the reign in the book. Kingdoms are considered complete. The two-year reign of Ahaziah is characterized in religious terms (vv. 52–53) completely similar to the reign of Ahab (1 Kings 16:30–31): and under Ahaziah the cult of the bulls and the cult of Baal equally flourished. It is possible, however, that the horns of Zedekiah were also related to the cults of Baal and Astarte, which Ahab adhered to, and Baal was depicted with a bull's head, and Astarte - in the form of a cow You might be interested in: