He purchased the hill of Samaria<n id="1" /> from Shemer for two talents<n id="2" /> of silver. He launched a construction project there<n id="3" /> and named the city he built after Shemer, the former owner of the hill of Samaria.

<p class="bodytext">During Ahab&#8217;s reign,<n id="1" /> Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho.<n id="2" /> Abiram, his firstborn son, died when he laid the foundation;<n id="3" /> Segub, his youngest son, died when he erected its gates,<n id="4" /> just as the <sc>Lordsc> had warned<n id="5" /> through Joshua son of Nun.<n id="6" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, &#8220;As certainly as the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel lives (whom I serve),<n id="1" /> there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command.&#8221;<n id="2" />

<p class="bodytext">After this<n id="1" /> the son of the woman who owned the house got sick. His illness was so severe he could no longer breathe.

As certainly as the <sc>Lordsc> your God lives, my master has sent to every nation and kingdom in an effort to find you. When they say, &#8216;He&#8217;s not here,&#8217; he makes them<n id="1" /> swear an oath that they could not find you.

But when I leave you, the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s spirit will carry you away so I can&#8217;t find you.<n id="1" /> If I go tell Ahab I&#8217;ve seen you, he won&#8217;t be able to find you and he will kill me.<n id="2" /> That would not be fair,<n id="3" /> because your servant has been a loyal follower of<n id="4" /> the <sc>Lordsc> from my youth.

Certainly my master is aware of what I did<n id="1" /> when Jezebel was killing the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s prophets. I hid one hundred of the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s prophets in two caves in two groups of fifty and I brought them food and water.

Then you<n id="1" /> will invoke the name of your god, and I will invoke the name of the <sc>Lordsc>. The god who responds with fire will demonstrate that he is the true God.&#8221;<n id="2" /> All the people responded, &#8220;This will be a fair test.&#8221;<n id="3" />p>

So he said to the messengers of Ben Hadad, &#8220;Say this to my master, the king, &#8216;I will give you everything you demanded at first from your servant, but I am unable to agree to this latest demand.&#8217;&#8221;<n id="1" /> So the messengers went back and gave their report.p>

<p class="bodytext">Ben Hadad sent another message to him, &#8220;May the gods judge me severely<n id="1" /> if there is enough dirt left in Samaria for my soldiers to scoop up in their hands.&#8221;<n id="2" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">The prophet<n id="1" /> visited the king of Israel and instructed him, &#8220;Go, fortify your defenses.<n id="2" /> Determine<n id="3" /> what you must do, for in the spring<n id="4" /> the king of Syria will attack<n id="5" /> you.&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">So Ahab went into his palace, bitter and angry that Naboth the Jezreelite had said,<n id="1" /> &#8220;I will not sell to you my ancestral inheritance.&#8221;<n id="2" /> He lay down on his bed, pouted,<n id="3" /> and would not eat.

<p class="bodytext">When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she<n id="1" /> said to Ahab, &#8220;Get up, take possession of the vineyard Naboth the Jezreelite refused to sell you for silver, for Naboth is no longer alive; he&#8217;s dead.&#8221;

Say to him, &#8216;This is what the <sc>Lordsc> says: &#8220;Haven&#8217;t you committed murder and taken possession of the property of the deceased?&#8221;&#8217; Then say to him, &#8216;This is what the <sc>Lordsc> says: &#8220;In the spot where dogs licked up Naboth&#8217;s blood they will also lick up your blood &#8211; yes, yours!&#8221;&#8217;&#8221;p>

Now the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, &#8220;Look, the prophets are in complete agreement that the king will succeed.<n id="1" /> Your words must agree with theirs; you must predict success.&#8221;<n id="2" />

Micaiah<n id="1" /> said, &#8220;I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd. Then the <sc>Lordsc> said, &#8216;They have no master. They should go home in peace.&#8217;&#8221;

Now the king of Syria had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, &#8220;Do not fight common soldiers or high-ranking officers;<n id="1" /> fight only the king of Israel.&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">The king then told Abiathar the priest, &#8220;Go back to your property<n id="1" /> in Anathoth. You deserve to die,<n id="2" /> but today I will not kill you because you did carry the ark of the sovereign <sc>Lordsc> before my father David and you suffered with my father through all his difficult times.&#8221;<n id="3" />

May the <sc>Lordsc> punish him for the blood he shed;<n id="1" /> behind my father David&#8217;s back he struck down and murdered with the sword two men who were more innocent and morally upright than he<n id="2" /> &#8211; Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel&#8217;s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah&#8217;s army.

Solomon replied, &#8220;You demonstrated<n id="1" /> great loyalty to your servant, my father David, as he served<n id="2" /> you faithfully, properly, and sincerely.<n id="3" /> You have maintained this great loyalty to this day by allowing his son to sit on his throne.<n id="4" />