God’s Word Translation
1 Kings 16:33
33Ahab made poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah. He did more to make the Lord God of Israel furious than all the kings of Israel who came before him.
1 Kings 16:33 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.
- New International Version (NIV)Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
Context of 1 Kings 16:33
31It wasn’t enough that he committed the same sins as Jeroboam (Nebat’s son). He also married Jezebel, daughter of King Ethbaal of Sidon. Ahab then served and worshiped Baal. 32He built the temple of Baal in Samaria and set up an altar there. Ahab made poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah. He did more to make the Lord God of Israel furious than all the kings of Israel who came before him. 34In Ahab’s time Hiel from Bethel rebuilt Jericho. Laying the foundation cost him his firstborn son, Abiram. Setting up the city doors cost him his youngest son, Segub. The Lord had spoken this through Joshua, son of Nun.
Read all of 1 Kings 161 Kings 16:33 word by word
וַיַּ֥עַשׂ אַחְאָ֖ב אֶת־הָאֲשֵׁרָ֑ה וַיּ֨וֹסֶף אַחְאָ֜ב לַעֲשׂ֗וֹת לְהַכְעִיס֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָה֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל מִכֹּ֨ל מַלְכֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר הָי֖וּ לְפָנָֽיו׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Ahabאַחְאָב'ach'âb 'echâb · AhabH256
- madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- a groveאֲשֵׁרָה'ăshêrâh 'ăshêyrâh · AsherahH842
- didעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- moreיָסַףyâsaph · to addH3254
- to provoke the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- to angerכָּעַסka‛as · to provokeH3707
- than all the kingsמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- that were beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
Cross-references for 1 Kings 16:33
- Exodus 34:13But tear down their altars, crush their sacred stones, and cut down their poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah.
- 2 Kings 13:6But they didn’t turn away from the sins that Jeroboam and his dynasty led Israel to commit. They continued to commit those sins. In addition, the pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah remained standing in Samaria.
- 2 Kings 17:16They abandoned all the commands of the Lord their God: They made two calves out of cast metal. They made a pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah. They prayed to the entire army of heaven. They worshiped Baal.
- 2 Kings 21:3He rebuilt the illegal places of worship that his father Hezekiah had destroyed. He set up altars dedicated to Baal and made a pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah as King Ahab of Israel had done. Manasseh, like Ahab, worshiped and served the entire army of heaven.
- Jeremiah 17:1⌞The Lord says,⌟ “Judah’s sin is written with an iron pen. It is engraved with a diamond point on the tablet of their hearts and on the horns of their altars.
- 1 Kings 16:30Ahab, son of Omri, did what the Lord considered evil. He was worse than all ⌞the kings⌟ who were before him.
- 1 Kings 21:19Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord asks: Have you murdered someone just to confiscate ⌞a vineyard⌟?’ Then tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: At the place where the dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, the dogs will lick up your blood.’ ”
- 1 Kings 22:6So the king of Israel called 400 prophets together. He asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth in Gilead or not?” “Go,” they said. “The Lord will hand over Ramoth to you.”
Commentaries on 1 Kings 16:33
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 33Ahab made a grove - אשרה Asherah, Astarte, or Venus; what the Syriac calls an idol, and the Arabic, a tall tree; probably meaning, by the last, an image of Priapus, the obscene keeper of groves, orchards, and gardens.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 29-34Verses 29-34 Ahab did evil above all that reigned before him, and did it with a particular enmity both against Jehovah and Israel. He was not satisfied with breaking the second commandment by image-worship, he broke the first by worshipping other gods: making light of lesser sins makes way for greater. Marriages with daring offenders also imbolden in wickedness, and hurry men on to the greatest excesses. One of Ahab's subjects, following the example of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 31-33Ahab is considered the worst king of Israel in terms of spirituality. People later blamed his bad actions on his wife Jezebel's influence (1 Kings 21:25). Ahab and Jezebel promoted Canaanite religious practices, which led Israel away from God. Combined with Jeroboam's false worship, these actions eventually brought disaster to Israel.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 29-3329-33. Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him--The worship of God by symbols had hitherto been the offensive form of apostasy in Israel, but now gross idolatry is openly patronized by the court. This was done through the influence of Jezebel, Ahab's queen. She was "the daughter of Eth-baal, king of the Zidonians." He was priest of Ashtaroth or Astarte, who, having murdered Philetes, king of Tyre, ascended the…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Kings 16:33
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Kings 16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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