The weak and impious Ahab at that time occupied the throne of Israel; and Jehoshaphat, after a time, having nothing to fear from his power, sought, or at least did not repel, an alliance with him. This is al- leged to have been the grand mistake of his reign, and that it was such is proved by the consequences. Ahab might be benefited by the connection, but under no cir- cumstances could it be of service to Jehoshaphat or his kingdom, and it might, as it actually did, involve him in much disgrace and disaster, and bring bloodshed and troultle into his house. Jehoshaphat's eldest son Jeho- ram married Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jeze- bel. It does not appear how far Jehoshaphat encour- aged that ill-starred union. The closeness of the alliance between the two kings is shown by many circumstances : Elijah's reluctance when in exile to set foot within the territory of Judah (Blunt, Und. Coinc. ii, § 19, p. 199); the identity of names given to the children of the two royal families ; the admission of names compounded with the name of Jehovah into the family of Jezebel, the zealous worshipper of Baal ; and the alacrity with which Jehoshaphat accompanied Ahab to the field of battle. Accordingly, we next find him on a visit to Ahab in Sa- maria, being the first time any of the kings of Israel and Judah had met in peace. He here experienced a recep- tion worthy of his greatness ; but Ahab Jailed not to
take advantage of the occasion, and so worked upon the weak points of his character as to prevail upon him to take arms with him against the Syrians, with whom, hitherto, the kingdom of Judah never had had auy war or occasion of quarrel. However, Jehoshaphat was not so far infatuated as to proceed to the Avar without con- sulting God, who, according to the principles of the the- ocratic government, was the final arbiter of war and peace. The false prophets of Ahab poured forth ample promises of success, and one of them, named Zedekiah, resorting to material symbols, made him horns of iron, saying, "Thus saith the Lord, with these shalt thou smite the Syrians till they be consumed." Still Jchosh- ajjliat was not satisfied; and the answer to his further inquiries extorted from him a rebuke of the reluctance which Ahab manifested to call INIicah " the prophet of the Lord." The fearless words of this prophet did not make the impression upon the king of Judah which might have been expected; or, probably, he then felt himself too deeply bound in honor to recede. He went to the fatal battle of Ramoth-gilead, and there nearly became the victim of a jilan which Ahab had laid for his own safety at the expense of his too-confiding ally. He persuaded Jehoshaphat to appear as king, while he himself went disguised to the battle. This brought the heat of the contest around him, as the Syrians took him for Ahab; and, if they had not in time discovered their mistake, he would certainly have been slain (1 Kings xxii, 1-33). Ahab was killed, and the battle lost ; but Jehoshaphat escaped, and returned to Jerusalem (2 Chron. xviii). B.C. 895. See Ahab.
On his return from this imprudent expedition he was met by the just reproaches of the prophet Jehu (2 Chron. xix, 1-3). The best atonement he could make for this error was by the course he actually took. He resumed his labors in the further extirpation of idola- try, in the instruction of the people, and the improve- ment of his realm. He now made a tour of his kingdom in person, " from Beersheba to ]\Iount Ephraim," that he might see the ordinances of God duly established, and witness the due execution of his intentions respecting the instruction of the people in the divine law. This tour enabled him to discern many defects in the local administration of justice, which he then applied him- self to remedy (see Selden, De Synedr. ii, ch. 8, § 4). He appointed magistrates in every city for the deter- mination of causes civil and ecclesiastical ; and the na- ture of the abuses to which the administration of justice was in those days exposed may be gathered from his excellent charge to them : " Take heed what ye do, for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you, take heed and do it; for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts." Then he established a supreme council of justice at Jerusalem, composed of priests, 'Le- vites, and "the chiefs of the fathers," to which difiicult cases were referred, and appeals brought from the pro- vincial tribunals. This tribunal also was inducted bj' a weighty but short charge from the king, whose conduct in this and other matters places liim at the verj' head of the monarchs who reigned over Judah as a separate kingdom (2 Chron. xix, 4-11).
The activity of Jehoshaphat's mind was next turned towards the revival of that maritime commerce which had been established bj' Solomon. The land of Edom and the ports of the Elanitic Gulf were still under the power of Judah, and in them the king prepared a fleet ibr the voyage to Ophir. Unhapjiily, liowever, he yielded to the wish of the king of Israel, and allowed him to take part in the enterprise. For this the expe- dition Avas doomed of God, and the vessels were wrecked almost as soon as the}- quitted port. Instructed by Eli- ezer, the prophet, as to the cause of this disaster, Je- hoshaphat equipped a new fleet, and, having this time I declined the co-operation of the king of Israel, the voy- j age prospered. The trade, however, was not prosecuted