History · 5 · Ahab and Jezebel
Ahab's 2,000 chariots
An Assyrian inscription says Ahab brought 2,000 chariots to the battle of Qarqar in 853 BCE, the biggest chariot force in the anti-Assyrian coalition. The Bible never mentions the battle.
What a text leaves out can be as telling as what it says.
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Chariots were the high technology of the ancient world: hugely expensive, requiring armor, composite bows, trained crews, and taxes to pay for it all. Israel's chariot units were so respected that Assyria later recruited them into its own army.
Source: Why the Bible Began, pp. 74–75
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