Ahabs

Ahabs is the plural form of the given name Ahab, used in English to refer to more than one person named Ahab. The name Ahab derives from the Hebrew Achav, a biblical given name with debated meaning. It is most notably associated with a king of Israel and appears in Jewish, Christian, and later literary sources.

The best-known bearer is Ahab, king of Israel, the son of Omri, who reigned during the late 9th century BCE. His story is tied to alliances with Phoenicia and to his marriage to Jezebel, and he figures prominently in the narratives of the prophets Elijah and Micaiah. Outside this royal line, the name Ahab is relatively rare in modern times, though other historical or biblical figures may bear it.

In modern literature, Captain Ahab of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick is a central example of obsessive pursuit. The character has influenced the use of the name Ahab as an archetype for single-minded determination. In a broader sense, the plural Ahabs can be used figuratively to describe multiple individuals who exhibit similar obsessive traits, though this is a literary or rhetorical usage rather than a formal category.

Overall, Ahabs denote people named Ahab or, in cultural contexts, archetypal obsessives, with strongest associations to biblical Israelite royalty and Melvillean fiction.