1 Kings 16:33

33 Ahab also made a sacred pole and did more to anger the LORD, the God of Israel, than any of Israel's kings who preceded him.

1 Kings 16:33 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 16:33

And Ahab made a grove
About the temple of Baal, or elsewhere, in which he placed an idol, and where all manner of filthiness was secretly committed; or rather "Asherah", rendered "grove", is Astarte, the goddess of the Zidonians, an image of which Ahab made:

and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all
the kings of Israel that were before him:
his idolatries being more open and barefaced, and without any excuse, presence, or colour, as well as more numerous.

1 Kings 16:33 In-Context

31 Ahab found it easy to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, Nebat's son. He married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, who was the king of the Sidonians. He served and worshipped Baal.

32 He made an altar for Baal in the Baal temple he had constructed in Samaria.

33 Ahab also made a sacred pole and did more to anger the LORD, the God of Israel, than any of Israel's kings who preceded him.

34 During Ahab's time, Hiel from Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He set up its foundations at the cost of his oldest son Abiram. He hung its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub. This fulfilled the LORD's word spoken through Joshua, Nun's son.

Footnotes

• [a]. Heb asherah, perhaps an object devoted to the goddess Asherah