House of Baal is the temple where Baal was worshiped. It is not likely that Ahab himself actually built the temple or erected the altar. It may be better to use causative verb forms in some languages, that is, “he had an altar erected and had a temple built.” According to 2 Kgs 10.27, Jehu, who later overthrew the dynasty founded by Omri, destroyed this temple of Baal and made the location unfit for worship by building a public latrine (toilet) there.

Some languages will need to break this verse down into two sentences as in International Children’s Bible:

• He built a temple in Samaria for worshiping Baal. And he put an altar there for Baal.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .