The book of Kings describes the palace of King Ahab—who ruled over the Northern Kingdom of Israel (also known as Samaria) in the 9th century BCE—as an “ivory house.” Drawing on textual and archaeological evidence, Rupert Chapman argues that this palace was of a type, known as a bit hilani (literally, “a house of windows”), then common in parts of what is now Syria. Megan Sauter explains how this theory illuminates a particular biblical passage:
Since a bit hilani must contain a window (or windows) for its name to make sense, some scholars have proposed that the window(s) in question were clerestory windows (i.e., windows near the ceiling). However, Chapman has another interpretation. He believes that the bit hilani [took its name from the presence of] a “window of appearances” above the palace’s entrance. From this window, kings and queens would show themselves to the people standing below. This is akin to what the [British] royal family still does from Buckingham Palace’s balcony. . . .
This identification also sheds light on Queen Jezebel’s death as recounted in 2Kings 9:30-37. When Jezebel (the widow of King Ahab) hears that Jehu, who had [just killed her husband and] usurped the throne, is approaching the palace, she “painted her eyes, and adorned her head, and looked out of the window.” At Jehu’s command, Jezebel is thrown from this “window” and killed. Now we can better envision this scene as taking place at a “window of appearances.”
Read more on Bible History Daily: https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/the-palace-of-the-kings-of-israel-in-the-bible-and-archaeology/