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Numbers 24:7
He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seedshall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.

2 Samuel 8:2
And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. Andso the Moabites became David's servants,and brought gifts.

1 Chronicles 18:2
And he smote Moab; and the Moabites became David's servants,and brought gifts.

after the

2 Kings 18:2
Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name alsowas Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.

Psalm 60:8
Moabis my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph thou because of me.

after the

2 Kings 3:4,5
And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool…

2 Kings 8:20,22
In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves…

Moab rebelled against Israel
Moab was a neighboring nation to the east of Israel, across the Dead Sea. Historically, Moab had been subjugated by Israel during the reign of David (2 Samuel 8:2) and had remained a vassal state, paying tribute to Israel. The rebellion of Moab signifies a shift in regional power dynamics following Ahab's death. This rebellion can be seen as a fulfillment of the instability prophesied due to Israel's disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:47-48). The Moabite Stone, an archaeological artifact, provides additional context, recording the Moabite King Mesha's perspective on this rebellion and his victories over Israel. This event sets the stage for the subsequent military campaigns and the involvement of the prophet Elisha, highlighting the ongoing struggle between Israel and its neighbors.

“After the death of Ahab” (2 Kings 1:1) marks a turning point.

• Ahab’s reign ended just as Elijah had prophesied (1 Kings 21:19; 22:37–38).

• His death removed a strong, if ungodly, hand from Israel’s throne, leaving the nation politically weakened (cf.1 Kings 22:51–53, where his son Ahaziah takes the throne).

• God had already warned that persistent idolatry would bring external turmoil (Deuteronomy 28:25;1 Kings 14:15–16). Ahab’s passing therefore signals the accelerating fulfillment of those covenant consequences.

• The phrase also reminds students that human power is fleeting, but the Lord’s word stands firm (Isaiah 40:6–8).

“Moab rebelled” spotlights a vassal kingdom throwing off Israelite control.

• David had subdued Moab centuries earlier (2 Samuel 8:2), and it remained tributary until Omri and Ahab’s line (2 Kings 3:4).

• With Ahab gone, Moab sensed vulnerability and stopped paying tribute—an economic and military blow to Israel (2 Kings 3:5).

• The revolt illustratesProverbs 28:2, “When a land transgresses, it has many rulers.” Sin had eroded national stability, inviting foreign resistance.

• God sometimes uses outside pressures to chastise His people and call them back to covenant faithfulness (Judges 2:14;Amos 3:11).

The rebellion was “against Israel,” underscoring the divided kingdom’s fragility.

• Northern Israel had already fractured from Judah (1 Kings 12); now its sphere of influence shrank further.

• Loss of Moab hinted at larger judgments soon to come—first from Aram (2 Kings 6:8), then Assyria (2 Kings 17:6).

• Spiritually, the phrase reminds readers that opposition often rises when God’s people wander from Him (Leviticus 26:17;Jeremiah 5:25).

• Yet even amid rebellion, the Lord remained sovereign; He later delivered victory over Moab under Jehoshaphat and Elisha’s direction (2 Kings 3:13–27), proving His ongoing faithfulness.

2 Kings 1:1 is more than a historical footnote. Ahab’s death removed an ungodly but forceful ruler, exposing Israel’s weakness. Moab seized the moment, ending its tribute and challenging Israel’s authority. The verse signals God’s covenant discipline: sin diminishes strength, invites rebellion, and pushes His people to recognize their need for Him.

EPISODE CONCERNING ELIJAH.

(1)Then.--And.

Moab rebelled against Israel.--David reduced Moab to vassalage (2Samuel 8:2; comp.2Kings 23:20). After that event, Scripture is silent as to the fortunes of Moab. It probably took occasion of the troubles which ensued upon the death of Solomon, to throw off the yoke of Israel. The famous Moabite stone suplements the sacred history by recording the war of liberation which Mesha, king of Moab, successfully waged against the successors of Ahab. The inscription opens thus: "I am Mesha, son of Chemosh-gad, king of Moab the Dibonite. My father reigned over Moab thirty years, and I reigned after my father. And I made thisbamah ("high place," "pillar") for Chemosh in Korha, abamah of salvation, for he saved me from all the assailants, and let me see my desire upon mine enemies . . . Omri, king of Israel, and he oppressed Moab many days, for Chemosh was angry with his land. And his son (i.e., Ahab) succeeded him, and he, toe, said, 'I will oppress Moab.' In m? days he said (it), but I saw my desire upon him and his house, and Israel perished utterly for ever. And Omri occupied the land of Medeba, and dwelt therein, and (they oppressed Moab he and) his son forty years. And Chemosh looked (?) on it (i.e., Moab) in my days." From this unique and unhappily much injured record it appears that Omri had reduced Moab again to subjection, and that Ahab, who, like his father, was a strong sovereign, had maintained his hold upon the country. The death of Ahab and the sickness of Ahaziah would be Moab's opportunity. The revolt of Moab is mentioned here parenthetically. The subject is continued in2Kings 3:4-27. (See the Notes there.)

(2?16) A new and (according to Ewald and Thenius) later fragment of the history of Elijah.