Opinion / Religion
Old Testament Questions and Answers with Witness Dingani
15 Feb 2017 at 07:13hrs | Views
Qn "Ahab was a good king otherwise his wife "Jezebel" ruined him" Discuss?(25)
COMMENT OVERVIEW
- The above question requires one to have deep knowledge about the actions of Jezebel. Jezebel was the wife of Ahab the Omri candidate. Her contributions there are well known by so many people .This include importing the Baal prophets and Asherah goddess. She was from Tyre .The exact meaning of the name Jezebel might be unknown by so many people, it has been interpreted by scholars like Constable page 68 as "dunghill".The actions of Ahab in the Old Testament there are known by so many Old Testament students. The above question will be fully discussed on the ongoing essay.
ANSWERS.
- Jezebel acted as the adviser of the King. It should not be ignored that the King had interest on Naboth's vineyard this is recorded in 1st Kings 21: 2 [And after this Ahab said to Naboth, "Give me your vineyard"].The advise of Jezebel to Ahab was that it was very necessary for Ahab to get the vineyard,this can be supported by 1st Kings 21:7 .This has been also supported by Alexander Rofe page 319 in his book entitled "The Vineyard of Naboth:The origin and message of the story" who submitted that "Jezebel's evil influence over her husband stands out in this story". The influence in this case is that Jezebel pushed Ahab to have more interest on Naboth's vineyard. Taking Naboth's vineyard was a sin as it was contrary to the Mosaic Laws for instance Levi 25:23-28 and Numbers 26:7.Therefore, all this indicates that Jezebel influenced Ahab .
- Jezebel wrote letters on behalf of the King.Jezebel believed that Ahab was superior in Israel, therefore it was necessary for him to take the Naboth's vineyard .The major thrust of this act of authoring the letter was to kill Naboth so that it was going to be easy for them to take the vineyard.The action of Jezebel of authoring a letter is recorded in 1st Kings 21:8. It is prudent at this stage to note that Jezebel also killed the son of Naboth and this is recorded in 2nd Kings 9:26.All this clearly indicates that Jezebel influenced the husband by giving him unconditional support as she wrote letters .
- Jezebel imported Baal prophets and Asherah gooddes.It can be submitted that Jezebel convinced Ahab to accept the pagan religion since Ahab might have been aware of the Mosaic laws which was against the worshipping of other gods. Ahab after being influenced further supported the idea of idolizing the nation of Israel, this is evidenced by his actions which include building the temple and erecting alters of Baal, this is recorded in 1st Kings 16:32 "He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria." Therefore,one will be left with no choice but to suggest that Jezebel influenced the King as the writer fully highlighted above.
N.B: More Points can be added.
HOWEVER PART
- In as much as it can be said that Ahab was a good king the wife influenced him,it will be loss of memory if one totally concur with the allegation. It is prudent at this stage to note that Ahab was always a bad king. This can be evidenced by allowing pagan worshiping in Israel whilst he was aware that it was against the Mosaic covenant. All this indicates that Ahab was a bad King.
N.B More points can be added. For instance -King committed the heinous act of robbing the poor of their inheritance in cold blood i.e Naboth's death as well as his son CONCLUSION - Basing on the above discussion it is clear that allegation which says Ahab was a good king otherwise his wife ruined him is more valid .For instance she wrote letters on behalf of the king ,imported baal prophets,she acted as the adviser to mention but a few.
Witness Dingani is the Author| Columnist|Youth Coach|Radio Host| Cricketer .He is the founder of charity organization "Dingani Charity Organization" .In 2016 he was nominated as the most influential youthful figures in Zimbabwe and being voted on the 8th position out of 15 people by the Pan-Zimbabwe society.Questions by schools can be submitted through his mobile number +2363777896159 or Email address : witnessdingani@gmail.com .Readers can follow the Questions and Answers on Sunday News Newspaper every week.
"Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." Winston Churchill
COMMENT OVERVIEW
- The above question requires one to have deep knowledge about the actions of Jezebel. Jezebel was the wife of Ahab the Omri candidate. Her contributions there are well known by so many people .This include importing the Baal prophets and Asherah goddess. She was from Tyre .The exact meaning of the name Jezebel might be unknown by so many people, it has been interpreted by scholars like Constable page 68 as "dunghill".The actions of Ahab in the Old Testament there are known by so many Old Testament students. The above question will be fully discussed on the ongoing essay.
ANSWERS.
- Jezebel acted as the adviser of the King. It should not be ignored that the King had interest on Naboth's vineyard this is recorded in 1st Kings 21: 2 [And after this Ahab said to Naboth, "Give me your vineyard"].The advise of Jezebel to Ahab was that it was very necessary for Ahab to get the vineyard,this can be supported by 1st Kings 21:7 .This has been also supported by Alexander Rofe page 319 in his book entitled "The Vineyard of Naboth:The origin and message of the story" who submitted that "Jezebel's evil influence over her husband stands out in this story". The influence in this case is that Jezebel pushed Ahab to have more interest on Naboth's vineyard. Taking Naboth's vineyard was a sin as it was contrary to the Mosaic Laws for instance Levi 25:23-28 and Numbers 26:7.Therefore, all this indicates that Jezebel influenced Ahab .
- Jezebel wrote letters on behalf of the King.Jezebel believed that Ahab was superior in Israel, therefore it was necessary for him to take the Naboth's vineyard .The major thrust of this act of authoring the letter was to kill Naboth so that it was going to be easy for them to take the vineyard.The action of Jezebel of authoring a letter is recorded in 1st Kings 21:8. It is prudent at this stage to note that Jezebel also killed the son of Naboth and this is recorded in 2nd Kings 9:26.All this clearly indicates that Jezebel influenced the husband by giving him unconditional support as she wrote letters .
- Jezebel imported Baal prophets and Asherah gooddes.It can be submitted that Jezebel convinced Ahab to accept the pagan religion since Ahab might have been aware of the Mosaic laws which was against the worshipping of other gods. Ahab after being influenced further supported the idea of idolizing the nation of Israel, this is evidenced by his actions which include building the temple and erecting alters of Baal, this is recorded in 1st Kings 16:32 "He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria." Therefore,one will be left with no choice but to suggest that Jezebel influenced the King as the writer fully highlighted above.
HOWEVER PART
- In as much as it can be said that Ahab was a good king the wife influenced him,it will be loss of memory if one totally concur with the allegation. It is prudent at this stage to note that Ahab was always a bad king. This can be evidenced by allowing pagan worshiping in Israel whilst he was aware that it was against the Mosaic covenant. All this indicates that Ahab was a bad King.
N.B More points can be added. For instance -King committed the heinous act of robbing the poor of their inheritance in cold blood i.e Naboth's death as well as his son CONCLUSION - Basing on the above discussion it is clear that allegation which says Ahab was a good king otherwise his wife ruined him is more valid .For instance she wrote letters on behalf of the king ,imported baal prophets,she acted as the adviser to mention but a few.
Witness Dingani is the Author| Columnist|Youth Coach|Radio Host| Cricketer .He is the founder of charity organization "Dingani Charity Organization" .In 2016 he was nominated as the most influential youthful figures in Zimbabwe and being voted on the 8th position out of 15 people by the Pan-Zimbabwe society.Questions by schools can be submitted through his mobile number +2363777896159 or Email address : witnessdingani@gmail.com .Readers can follow the Questions and Answers on Sunday News Newspaper every week.
"Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." Winston Churchill
Source - Witness Dingani
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