1 Kings 16:30
in 1 Kings 16However, Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Ahab the son of Omri did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah above all that were before him.
KJV
And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him.
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This verse in 1 Kings 16
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, above all that were before him. Adding other idols to the calves, and those more abominable than they; since the other kings pretended to worship God in them, but he worshipped other gods besides him, as the following verses show.
This site's exposition
above all that were before him
on 1 Kings 16:30-31
Above all that were before him repeats Omri's own epitaph and raises it one degree further for the son, and the Hebrew of verse 31 asks was it a light thing, a question that answers itself by refusing an easy no. Marrying Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, ties Ahab's throne to Tyre's priesthood of Baal and Astarte by treaty as much as by love, and the verse names that marriage as the hinge everything after it turns on.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
This is that Ahab who thought that he would make little progress in the new religion [i.e., idolatry] if he worshiped only the gods introduced by Jeroboam. Therefore he established rites for Baal, the god of the Sidonians, built his temple in the royal city, …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
), and, as if it were done with a particular enmity both to God and Israel, to affront him and ruin them, it is said, He did more purposely to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger, and, consequently, to send judgments on his land, than all the kings of Israel that were before him,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
See 1Ki 16:33. The great sin of Ahab - that by which he differed from all his predecessors, and exceeded them in wickedness - was his introduction of the worship of Baal, consequent upon his marriage with Jezebel, and his formal establishment of this gross and palpable idolatry as the religion of the state.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֨עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אַחְאָ֧ב | ʾachav | Ahab | H256 → | 92 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עָמְרִ֛י | ʾameri | Omri | H6018 → | 18 times |
| הָרַ֖ע | hara' | the evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| בְּעֵינֵ֣י | beeinei | in [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מִכֹּ֖ל | mikol | more than all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | [those] who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לְפָנָֽיו׃ | lefanav | [were] <to> before him | H6440 → | 2123 times |
וַיַּ֨עַשׂand he did
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
אַחְאָ֧בAhab
ʾachavH256 →92 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
עָמְרִ֛יOmri
ʾameriH6018 →18 times
הָרַ֖עthe evil
hara'H7451 →662 times
בְּעֵינֵ֣יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מִכֹּ֖לmore than all
mikolH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֥ר[those] who
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לְפָנָֽיו׃[were] <to> before him
lefanavH6440 →2123 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Kings 16:31And as if it were not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he even married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and he then…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 10:18
Then Jehu brought all the people together and said, “Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him a lot.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 17:16
They abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves two cast idols of calves and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the host of heaven and served…
- 2 Kings 10:18
Through
1 Kings 21:25(Surely there was never one like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, incited by his wife Jezebel.
it leads to
- Proverbs 22:14
The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it.
- 1 Kings 21:20
When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, “So you have found me out, my enemy.” He replied, “I have found you out because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of…
- Proverbs 22:14
Through
1 Kings 14:9You have done more evil than all who came before you. You have proceeded to make for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke Me, and you have flung Me behind your back.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 9:26
But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.
- Psalms 50:17
For you hate My instruction and cast My words behind you.
- Ezekiel 23:35
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you have forgotten Me and have cast Me behind your back, you must bear the consequences of your indecency and prostitution.’”
- 1 Kings 12:28
After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out…
- Nehemiah 9:26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Kings
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonDivided kingdomAhabSeventh king of the northern kingdom, son of Omri, who "did evil above all that were before him"; Elijah's chief antagonist, conde…
- PersonDivided kingdomOmriArmy commander made king of Israel who founded Samaria as the northern capital; politically formidable, spiritually judged — "wors…
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 16:29; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.