Ahlab
Ahlab is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Phoenicia in modern-day Israel. Known today as Khirbet al Mahalib. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Ahlab appears in Judges 1:31 in the sober catalogue of Israel's incomplete conquest of Canaan, listed among the cities from which the tribe of Asher failed to drive out the Canaanite inhabitants: "Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib..." This failure to complete the conquest of the Phoenician coastal plain had profound long-term consequences for Israel: the continuing Canaanite and Phoenician presence in the territory of Asher became a source of cultural and religious compromise, as the region remained deeply integrated with the broader Phoenician world. The location of Ahlab in the Phoenician coastal zone — near Tyre and Sidon — placed it in the heart of a culture renowned for its maritime power, religious syncretism (particularly Baal worship), and commercial sophistication. These very characteristics would later prove disastrous for Israel when the Phoenician princess Jezebel, daughter of the king of Sidon, married Ahab king of Israel and introduced the worship of Baal into the Northern Kingdom with devastating consequences (1 Kings 16:31). Ahlab thus represents the gateway through which a dangerous compromise entered Israelite life.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Ahlab is identified with Khirbet el-Mahalib (also rendered Khirbet al Mahalib), located approximately 6 kilometers northeast of Tyre in southern Lebanon. The site appears in Assyrian records as Mahaliba and Mahalliba, listed among towns conquered by Sennacherib during his 701 BCE campaign and by Tiglath-pileser III, providing valuable external confirmation of the site's ancient name and location. The ruins of the ancient settlement are visible as a low mound with surface pottery spanning the Late Bronze through Iron Age periods. No major scientific excavation has been carried out at the site, but the Assyrian textual evidence makes the identification one of the more secure for a minor Judges-period location.
Verse Appearances (1)
Judg
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