1 Kings 22:37

FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF AHAB; WASHING THE BLOOD OUT OF THE CHARIOT; BURIAL IN SAMARIA; SUCCESSION OF AHAZIAH

"So the king died, and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood (Now the harlots washed themselves there); according to the word of Jehovah which he spake. Now the rest of acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead."

"So the king died ... and they buried him in Samaria" (1 Kings 22:37). "Jezebel was to be eaten by dogs; but Ahab, because of his temporary repentance, was allowed honorable burial. To a Jew the worst punishment that could befall a man was NOT to be buried."[32]

"And the dogs licked up his blood" (1 Kings 22:38). The critics who reject this as a fulfillment of Elijah's prophecy (1 Kings 21:23) betray themselves as unrealistic nitpickers. The basis upon which some deny the fulfillment is that "the same place" mentioned in the prophecy is diverse from the facts of Naboth having died in Jezreel and Ahab's blood having been licked at the pool of Samaria, but BOTH places were in the one place called Samaria (the kingdom); BOTH were Ahab's places of residence; and they were less than seven miles apart! Our text here says that this licking of the blood at the pool of Samaria was "according to the word of Jehovah, which he spake (1 Kings 22:38)," all of the nit-pickers to the contrary notwithstanding! Such critical scholars are of the same identity with those whom our Lord identified as "straining out gnats and swallowing camels"! It should also be remembered in this connection that the repentance of Ahab also resulted in some changes in what God had prophesied regarding his death.

"Now the harlots washed themselves there" (1 Kings 22:38). It is of interest that, "A large tank or reservoir, probably identical with this pool, still remains on the slope of the hill of Samaria outside the walls."[33]

"The ivory house which he built" (1 Kings 22:39). Archaeologists have brought to light Ahab's ivory palace. "The remains of the structure reveal that the walls were faced with white marble, giving the appearance of ivory; and there were numerous plaques, panels, and pieces of furniture decorated with ivory. In a double sense his palace was called an "ivory" house."[34]