1V

1V

The new king provoked God Most Hight to anger, for he walked in the ways of Jeroboam and did not remove the golden calf at Beit-El. And Jashen of the B'nei Elohim came before the king and said, "Behold, God Most High is wroth over the idolatry at Beit-El and looks not with favor upon the House of Omri. Behold, another shall vie for the throne over the house of Israel."

The Israelites of the northern territories outside of the tribes of Ephraim and Manesseh held forth that Tibni was their king rather than this Omri.

Civil war raged four years until Omri pulled down the altar at Beit-El, and caused the golden calf to be melted, according to the words of Jashen and the prophets. Tibni was slain, and Omri was secure upon the throne. After that was a long peace even with Sidon and the Judahites.

King Omri despised the capital city of Tirzah and purchased a hill from Shemer where he built a new capital city for the kingdom. And Samaria became the name of the city and the kingdom after the name of this hill.

King Omri waxed was strong enough to make Samaria the greatest power that existed between the Nile and Euphrates rivers. He ruled for twelve years and when he died he left the kingdom to his son Ahab.

In the first year of his reign Ahab forged an alliance with the Phoenicians by gaining the hand of Princess Jezebel in marriage. Her father Ithobaal was both king of Sidon and a priest of the fertility goddess Astarte. Jezebel herself had been trained to attend to Baal, who was believed by the Phoenicians to be the consort of Astarte.

Queen Jezebel needed a shrine to maintain her role as priestess of Baal so Ahab caused one to be made for her in the city of Samaria. Ahab also agreed Baal should have a shrine made for his wife the goddess Asherah too.

The Phoenician shrines multiplied in Samaria, and with them came their attendant priests and priestesses. There was a new prosperity that emerged from the alliance and the people became willing to accept the idolatry of their new queen. But bringing over from Sidon the priests and idols of foreign gods was too much for Bat-El to abide. A new prophet named Elijah frequently rebuked King Ahab to his face about the issue and constantly reminded His Majesty that his God was Yahweh alone, for that was the name by which Bat-El was known by the Israelites.