Jehoram's apostasy — the Ahab marriage and ideology — 'And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD' (וילך בדרך מלכי ישׂראל וכאשׁר עשׂה בית אחאב כי בת אחאב היתה לו לאשׁה ויעשׂ הרע בעיני יהוה). The phrase 'walked in the way of the kings of Israel' (דרך מלכי ישׂראל) indicates northern apostasy; the northern kingdom is the paradigm of covenant violation. The parenthetical note 'for he married a daughter of Ahab' (בת אחאב היתה לו לאשׁה) explains the ideological shift — dynastic marriage brought ideological alignment. The marriage to Athaliah (as 2 Kgs 8:18 names her) links Judah's royal house to the house of Ahab, notorious for Baal worship. This marriage is the structural cause of Jehoram's apostasy and his descendants' troubles.

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