Ahab went out to fight Syria. He took along Jehosaphat, King of Judah his friend. He went to battle and died. The account of 1 Kings says:
22:34A certain man drew his
bow at random, and struck the king of Israel
between the joints of the armor. Therefore he
said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn your
hand, and carry me out of the battle; for I am
severely wounded.” 22:35The battle increased
that day. The king was propped up in his
chariot facing the Syrians, and died at evening.
The blood ran out of the wound into the bottom
of the chariot. 22:36A cry went throughout the
army about the going down of the sun, saying,
“Every man to his city, and every man to his
country!”
22:37So the king died, and was brought to
Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria.
22:38They washed the chariot by the pool of
Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood
where the prostitutes washed themselves; according
to the word of Yahweh which he spoke.
22:39Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and
all that he did, and the ivory house which he
built, and all the cities that he built, aren’t
they written in the book of the chronicles of
the kings of Israel? 22:40So Ahab slept with
his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his
place.
Simple and historical mostly., Ahab dies in battle Ahaziah takes over. This was 850 BCE in battle with Ben Hadad of Syria. (His name means Son of Hadad)
However if we can believe the text Ahaziah dies from an accident.
1:1Moab rebelled against Israel after the
death of Ahab. 1:2Ahaziah fell down through
the lattice in his upper room that was in
Samaria, and was sick.......
1:17So he died according to the word of
Yahweh which Elijah had spoken. Jehoram
began to reign in his place in the second year of
Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah;
because he had no son.....
Thus his brother took the throne.
Second Kings 3 deserves mention due to the known facts of the Mesha Steele.
It would seem Israel and Judah joined forces and likely ended up in a stalemate with Mesha of Moab.
It is Mesha that confirms this history for us in many ways.
3:24When they came to the camp of Israel,
the Israelites rose up and struck the Moabites,
so that they fled before them; and they went
forward into the land smiting the Moabites.
3:25They beat down the cities; and on every
good piece of land they cast every man his
stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the
springs of water, and felled all the good trees,
until in Kir Hareseth only they left its stones;
however the men armed with slings went about
it, and struck it. 3:26When the king ofMoab saw
that the battle was too severe for him, he took
with himseven hundredmen who drewsword,
to break through to the king of Edom; but they
could not. 3:27Then he took his eldest son who
would have reigned in his place, and offered
him for a burnt offering on the wall. There was
great wrath against Israel: and they departed
from him, and returned to their own land.
As shocking as this is it is the custom of even the Israelites to do this.
Let consider some Pslams likely from 850-840BCE.
Psalm 59
This is a thanksgiving song in relation to a battle, likely the battle mentoined. Note El is thought of as the patron god by Yahweh as the war god. Yahweh is sometimes throught of as being El.
The refereance to Jacob is NOT a name!
Jacob means upheeler.
'El rules in the house of the upheelers'. The ones who stole the kingdom from Tibni.
Psalm 64 likely dates from this time as well.
This is more of a poem or personal praise to El and to Yahweh from an enemy. What enemy? Syria? Likely.
Shockingly the Kingdom was about to be destroyed by Syrians.
The House of Jehu is the next chapter.