In the foregoing account of the Syrian wars of A. we have a^iopted the sequence of events recoinmcnded by Schnuler {COV i. 189 ff., whopvcs the Assvr. text and tr.), Ed. Jlcyer (OmcA. de» Alterthuim, i. 39,1), and recently bySayce (UCM 320, 392), which places the battle of Karljar near the close of A. 'a life. On the other hand, Wellhaiisen (art. * Israel ' in EjicycL Brit.) places the battle of Karkar and the alliance with (or, as be deems it, va88alaj,'e • to) Syria in the times that precede the Syrian wars of A.'s rei(rn- But this view imposes great diffi- culties on the chroiKilo^'y of the period. From the Asayr. Canon of Rulers, compilt-d with great care and precision, and also from the Assyr. Annals, we obtain the following fixed dates :—
Battle of Karf^ar (in which A.'b oontingeDt takes
part) 854 B.o.
Tribute of Jehu, ' son of Omri ' .... 842 ,, Now, if we place the battle o( Karlfar h«Jort the Syrian wars of A.'8 reign, his death cannot be placed earlier than B.C. 847. Accordingly, in place of the 14 years assigned by Scripture to the reigns of Aha/.iat) and Jehorain we can only allow a maximum of fix>e yean* I On the other hand, by a*ioj)ting the •equence which we have wivocated, the difficulties are con. •iderably reduced. A.*8 death may then be placed in the year B.C. 863. Kamphausen, in his valuable treatise on the Chrono- logy of the Ileb. Kings (p. 80), suggests that A.'s name has been confused with that of his successor Jehoram in the Assyr. Annals ; and Kittel, in his HUt. of the Ufbrewe ^Germ. ed. ii. 133), seems disposeii to accept this view. But agauist this pro. eeeding we must enijihali^-AlIy protest. Bibli(uil science will never make sure progress if we reject or modify archajological evidence in the interests of a chronological theory. The theory must be conformed to the evidence, not pice vemH. (On the lubject of Ileh. chronology see the writer's remarks in Scbrarlcr's CO'f ii. 8'a)-324, and also in C. H. H. Wright's liihle lUoiLrif Manual.)
That A.'s rule was firm though despotic, and maintained the military traditions inaugurated by Omri, is in(liiate<l by the Moabite Stone, wliicli informs us (lines 7, 8) that (Jmri and his son nilc'd over the land of Mehdeba (conqucied by the former) for 40 years. It was not till the con- cluding part of A.'s reign, when he was occupied with his Syrian wars, that ^Ioal) rose in insurrection. The historian must not fail to take due note of the
• Tlio large contingent (2000 chariot* and 10.000 men) furnished by A., according to the Assyr. records, reoden Uiu theory of * vassalage ' extremely improbable.
.Judaic tendency of the narrative in 1 K 18-22, which paints the life of A. in sombre hues. When more than a century had pa.ssed after the destruc- tion of his posterity, it is worthy of remark that the Epliraimite prophet Hosea (1*) expresses a strong condemnation of Jehu's deeds of blood. In Mie 6", on the other hand, we see clearly refiected the Judaic estimate of Omri's dynasty, which dominates the account in 1 K 18-22.
Owen C. Whitehouse. AHAB (^xnK, anx). — Son of Kolaiali, a fal.se pro- phet contemp. with Jer. He is said to have been ' roasted in tne fire ' by the king of Bab. (Jer 29-"-).
AHARAH (n-iqN).— A son of Benj. (1 Ch 8') ; per- haps a corruption of dt-j; (Nu 26*). See Ahiram.
AHARHEL ('?rr]r»!).— A descendant of Judali (1 Ch 4'). LXX dScX^oO 'P7)xa/3 implies a reading ngi -rij = brotlier of Rechab.
AHASBAI (•39^^!).— Father of Eliphelet (2 S 23"), and a member of the family of Maacali, settled at Beth-Maacah (20'''), or a native of the Syrian kingdom of Maacah (10"-*). In the parallel passage (1 Ch ll'"-*') we find two names, n£3n hn, Ur, Hepher ; both passages probably represent corruptions of the real name.
J. F. Stenning.
AHASUERUS (trhiy'riK). — A name which ajipears on IVrs. inscriptions as Khsaj&rsd, and in Aram, without N prosthetic, as cntctyn (Schrader, COT' ii. 63). The monarch who bears this name in Ezr 4 ' was formerly reckoned by Ewald and others to be the CamWses of profane history who suc- ceeded Cyrus. It is generally recognised, however, by modern critics that he must be identified with Xerxes (485-46.5), who is beyond all question the Ahasuerus of the lik of Est. See Xekxes. The A. of Dn 9', the father of Darius the Mede, is a personage whose identity is as difficult to establish as the existence of ' Darius the Mede ' is proble- matical. (Cf. Driver LOT 615 n.; Sayce HCM 543. )
J. A. Selbik.
AHAYA (Kiqti). — The name of a town or district in Babylonia (Ezr 8"- "'•"), and of a stream in the
neighbourhood
"). On the banks of this
stream Ezra encamped for three da3's at the begin- ning of his journey to Jerusalem. lie was thus able to review his large company, and to make good the absence of Levites by sending a deputation to the chief of the settlement at Casiphia. Before com- mencing the march, Ezra instituted a solemn fast, and then took measures for the safe custo<ly of the treasures and rich gifts which were in his posses- sion. Ewald conjectured that the river Aliava or Peleg-Ahava was the same as the l'allacoi)as, a stream to the S. of Babylon. Rawlinson identifies it with the Is (see Herod, i. 179), a river flowing by a town of the same name, now called Hit, which is about eight days' journey from li.abylon. It seems, however, more jiroh. that Ezra made his rendezvous near to Babylon it.self ; in that case we may supipo.se that the Ahava was one of the nnincroiis ciiiials nl the Eujilirates in the neighliourhoo<i of the city (< f. Kyle, and Berth. -Kys. ad luc). In 1 Es 8"-''' the river is called Theras {Qepis).