Ahab's Death and the Royal Epilogues

"I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes." The king of Aram tells his chariot captains: "Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel." They turn on Jehoshaphat, who cries out, and they leave him. "And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness."

"Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded." Ahab is held up in his chariot facing the Arameans and dies at evening, the blood running into the chariot. "Every man to his city, and every man to his own country." He is buried in Samaria; the chariot is washed at the pool of Samaria, "and the dogs licked up his blood… according unto the word of the LORD." His ivory house and the cities he built are recorded "in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel."

Jehoshaphat son of Asa reigns twenty-five years in Jerusalem; he walks in Asa's ways, though the high places remain. He makes peace with Israel and removes the remaining cult prostitutes. "Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber." Ahaziah son of Ahab reigns two years over Israel, serving Baal "according to all that his father had done."

Ahab at Qarqar

The Kurkh Monolith of Shalmaneser III (British Museum) describes the battle of Qarqar on the Orontes in 853 BC against a coalition of twelve kings, including "Ahab the Israelite" with 2,000 chariots and 10,000 soldiers, the largest chariot force listed. This is the earliest outside mention of a king of Israel by name in a contemporary text. The figures are Assyrian claims; some scholars think the number of chariots was miscopied. Kings does not mention Qarqar. The monolith says nothing about Ahab's death at Ramoth-gilead; how the two events fit together is uncertain.

Ahab's house of ivory

More than 500 carved ivory fragments, many in Phoenician style, were found at Samaria, mostly from the 9th–8th centuries BC. They illustrate "the ivory house which he made" (22:39) and Amos 6:4, though they cannot be assigned to Ahab's reign specifically.

Ramoth-gilead

Ramoth-gilead is placed by most at Tell er-Rumeith in northern Jordan; other proposals exist. Ahab's death there is told only in Kings and Chronicles.