thither, the king found himself confronted by no other than the great Elijah, who in words of utmost sternness denounced the late cruel murder, and declared the sentence of the Lord. The king and all his house should share the fate of Jeroboam and of Baasha; his queen should be eaten by the dogs at the wall of Jezreel, and dogs should lick up his own blood on the very spot where they had licked up that of Naboth. Appalled at this awful sentence, Ahab rent his clothes, put on sackcloth, fasted, and displayed all the signs of a sincere repentance. Such as it was, it was accepted, and Elijah was bidden to announce to him that the punishment should not be inflicted during his own lifetime, but in his son’s days it would surely descend upon his house (1 K. xxi. 29). Meanwhile the relations between the rival kingdoms of Israel and Judah had been more peaceful than at any other period, since they had parted 60 years before at Shechem. Not only were hostilities laid aside, but an alliance between the sovereigns was cemented by the marriage of JEHORAM, son of Jehoshaphat, with ATHALIAH, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Moreover about the 16th year of his reign, B.C. 898, the king of Judah went on a visit to the court of Israel. He was received with every mark of distinction, and Ahab slew sheep and oxen in abundance for him and his retinue (2 Chr. xviii. 2). During this visit, the king of Israel took occasion to propose to his ally that they should undertake an expedition for the purpose of recovering Ramoth-gilead[372], a strong fastness and the key to an important district east of Jordan, which Benhadad I. had wrested from Omri. Jehoshaphat expressed his willingness to take part in the expedition, but proposed that the will of Jehovah should first be ascertained. For this purpose Ahab summoned about 400 of the prophets of his kingdom, who all advised him to go up, and assured him that the Lord would deliver the place into his hands (1 K. xxii. 6).