863 BC
Samaria City, Israel
Obadiah rolled into Samaria City, paused on the threshing floor, and waved at King Ahab on the palace veranda. King Omri had died two years ago, and Ahab insisted his old friend continue managing royal business.
In front of Queen Jezebel’s Asherah temple, a young girl groaned and fell on the paving stones. A row of thirty-some children jerked to a halt with her.
Next to the rough limestone blocks at the back of Jezebel’s temple, the little children on the chain moaned, rubbed their bloated bellies, and dug at their armpits. Flies buzzed their faces, settled in their eyes, and crawled their lips.
