1And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, next to my house; and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or, if it is good in your eyes, I will give you its price in money. 3But Naboth said to Ahab, Jehovah forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you! 4So Ahab went into his house sullen and angry because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers. And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food. 5And Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, Why is your spirit so sullen that you are not eating food? 6And he said to her, Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it. And he answered, I will not give you my vineyard. 7And Jezebel his wife said to him, Do you now rule over Israel? Arise, eat food, and let your heart be joyful. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. 8And she wrote letters in Ahab's name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with Naboth. 9She wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth at the head of the people; 10and seat two men, sons of worthlessness, before him to bear witness against him, saying, You have blasphemed God and the king. Then take him out, and stone him, that he may die. 11So the men of his city, the elders and nobles who were inhabitants of his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them. 12They proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth at the head of the people. 13And two men, sons of worthlessness, came in and sat before him; and the men of worthlessness testified against him, against Naboth, before the people, saying, Naboth has blasphemed God and the king! Then they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died. 14Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead. 15And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but has died. 16So it was, when Ahab heard that Naboth had died, that Ahab got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. 17And the Word of Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 18Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who lives in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it. 19And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus says Jehovah: Have you murdered and also taken possession? And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus says Jehovah: In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours. 20So Ahab said to Elijah, Have you found me, O my enemy? And he answered, I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of Jehovah: 21Behold, I shall bring evil upon you. I shall take away your posterity, and shall cut off from Ahab in Israel everyone who urinates against a wall, both bond and free. 22I have delivered up your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and made Israel sin. 23And concerning Jezebel Jehovah also spoke, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. 24The dogs shall eat whoever of Ahab dies in the city, and the birds of the heavens shall eat whoever dies in the field. 25Surely there had not been one like Ahab who had sold himself to do wickedness in the eyes of Jehovah, which his wife Jezebel had instigated. 26And he did exceedingly abominably to follow after the idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom Jehovah had cast out before the children of Israel. 27So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and walked about softly. 28And the Word of Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring about the evil in his days; but in the days of his son I will bring about the evil upon his house.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 NABOTH REFUSES AHAB HIS VINEYARD. (
1Kgs 21:1-4)
Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel--Ahab was desirous, from its contiguity to the palace, to possess it for a vegetable garden. He proposed to Naboth to give him a better in exchange, or to obtain it by purchase; but the owner declined to part with it. In persisting in his refusal, Naboth was not actuated by any feelings of disloyalty or disrespect to the king, but solely from a conscientious regard to the divine law, which, for important reasons, had prohibited the sale of a paternal inheritance [
Lev 25:23;
Num 36:7]; or if, through extreme poverty or debt, an assignation of it to another was unavoidable, the conveyance was made on the condition of its being redeemable at any time [
Lev 25:25-
Lev 25:27]; at all events, of its reverting at the jubilee to the owner [
Lev 25:28]. In short, it could not be alienated from the family, and it was on this ground that Naboth (
1Kgs 21:3) refused to comply with the king's demand. It was not, therefore, any rudeness or disrespect that made Ahab heavy and displeased, but his sulky and pettish demeanor betrays a spirit of selfishness that could not brook to be disappointed of a favorite object, and that would have pushed him into lawless tyranny had he possessed any natural force of character.
4 turned away his face--either to conceal from his attendants the vexation of spirit he felt, or, by the affectation of great sorrow, rouse them to devise some means of gratifying his wishes.
7 JEZEBEL CAUSES NABOTH TO BE STONED. (
1Kgs 21:5-16)
Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel?--This is not so much a question as an exclamation--a sarcastic taunt; "A pretty king thou art! Canst not thou use thy power and take what thy heart is set upon?"
arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard--After upbraiding Ahab for his pusillanimity and bidding him act as a king, Jezebel tells him to trouble himself no more about such a trifle; she would guarantee the possession of the vineyard.
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal--The seal-ring contained the name of the king and gave validity to the documents to which it was affixed (
Esth 8:8;
Dan 6:17). By allowing her the use of his signet-ring, Ahab passively consented to Jezebel's proceeding. Being written in the king's name, it had the character of a royal mandate.
sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city--They were the civic authorities of Jezreel, and would, in all likelihood, be the creatures and fit tools of Jezebel. It is evident that, though Ahab had recently been in Jezreel, when he made the offer to Naboth, both he and Jezebel were now in Samaria (
1Kgs 20:43).
9 Proclaim a fast, &c.--Those obsequious and unprincipled magistrates did according to orders. Pretending that a heavy guilt lay on one, or some unknown party, who was charged with blaspheming God and the king and that Ahab was threatening vengeance on the whole city unless the culprit were discovered and punished, they assembled the people to observe a solemn fast. Fasts were commanded on extraordinary occasions affecting the public interests of the state (
2Chr 20:3;
Ezra 8:21;
Joel 1:14;
Joel 2:15;
Jonah 3:5). The wicked authorities of Jezreel, by proclaiming the fast, wished to give an external appearance of justice to their proceedings and convey an impression among the people that Naboth's crime amounted to treason against the king's life.
set Naboth on high--During a trial the panel, or accused person, was placed on a high seat, in the presence of all the court; but as the guilty person was supposed to be unknown, the setting of Naboth on high among the people must have been owing to his being among the distinguished men of the place.
13 there came in two men--worthless fellows who had been bribed to swear a falsehood. The law required two witnesses in capital offenses (
Deut 17:6;
Deut 19:15;
Num 35:30;
Matt 26:60). Cursing God and cursing the king are mentioned in the law (
Exod 22:28) as offenses closely connected, the king of Israel being the earthly representative of God in His kingdom.
they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him--The law, which forbade cursing the rulers of the people, does not specify the penalty for this offense but either usage had sanctioned or the authorities of Jezreel had originated stoning as the proper punishment. It was always inflicted out of the city (
Acts 7:58).
14 Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession--Naboth's execution having been announced, and his family being involved in the same fatal sentence (
2Kgs 9:26), his property became forfeited to the crown, not by law, but traditionary usage (see
2Sam 16:4).
16 Ahab rose up to go down--from Samaria to Jezreel.
17 ELIJAH DENOUNCES JUDGMENTS AGAINST AHAB AND JEZEBEL. (
1Kgs 21:17-29)
Hast thou killed, and also taken possession?--While Ahab was in the act of surveying his ill-gotten possession, Elijah, by divine commission, stood before him. The appearance of the prophet, at such a time, was ominous of evil, but his language was much more so (compare
Ezek 45:8;
Ezek 46:16-
Ezek 46:18). Instead of shrinking with horror from the atrocious crime, Ahab eagerly hastened to his newly acquired property.
19 In the place where dogs licked, &c.--a righteous retribution of Providence. The prediction was accomplished, not in Jezreel, but in Samaria; and not on Ahab personally, in consequence of his repentance (
1Kgs 21:29), but on his son (
2Kgs 9:25). The words "in the place where" might be rendered "in like manner as."
20 thou hast sold thyself to work evil--that is, allowed sin to acquire the unchecked and habitual mastery over thee (
2Kgs 17:17;
Rom 7:11).
21 will make thine house, &c.--(see on
1Kgs 15:29 and
1Kgs 16:3-12). Jezebel, though included among the members of Ahab's house, has her ignominious fate expressly foretold (see
2Kgs 9:30).
27 Ahab . . . rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly--He was not obdurate, like Jezebel. This terrible announcement made a deep impression on the king's heart, and led, for a while, to sincere repentance. Going softly, that is, barefoot, and with a pensive manner, within doors. He manifested all the external signs, conventional and natural, of the deepest sorrow. He was wretched, and so great is the mercy of God, that, in consequence of his humiliation, the threatened punishment was deferred.