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Ahab

Ahab is a name associated with two notable figures in religious and literary contexts. In the Hebrew Bible, Ahab was the sixth king of the northern Kingdom of Israel, a son of Omri, who reigned in the 9th century BCE and married Jezebel, a princess of Sidon. His reign is depicted as promoting the worship of Baal and opposing the prophets of Yahweh, notably Elijah, and his policies contributed to tensions with Naboth and the broader prophetic critique of idolatry. Ahab died in battle at Ramoth-Gilead against Aram, a death that biblical narrative portrays as fulfilling Elijah's prophecy and precipitating dynastic and religious upheaval across Israel and Judah.

In American literature, Captain Ahab is the central figure of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick (1851). He is the

monomaniacal
captain
of
the
whaling
ship
Pequod,
who
seeks
vengeance
on
the
white
whale
Moby-Dick
after
losing
his
leg
to
the
creature.
Ahab's
relentless
pursuit
dominates
the
novel,
shaping
its
themes
of
fate,
free
will,
and
the
limits
of
human
power.
He
clashes
with
crew
members
such
as
Starbuck,
Ishmael,
and
Queequeg,
and
his
leadership
ultimately
leads
the
voyage
toward
disaster.
The
narrative
ends
with
the
destruction
of
the
Pequod
and
Ahab's
death
at
sea,
while
Ishmael
survives.
Ahab's
character
has
been
read
as
a
symbol
of
obsessive
vengeance
and
the
dangers
of
single-minded
pursuit,
as
well
as
a
critical
lens
on
heroism
and
authority.
The
line
“From
hell's
heart
I
stab
at
thee;
for
hate's
sake
I
spit
my
last
breath
at
thee”
is
a
famous
quotation
associated
with
his
final
confrontation
with
Moby-Dick.