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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 1 Kings 21:1 - 21:14
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The Murder of Naboth
v. 1. And it came to pass after these things, when the Lord had given Ahab such rich evidences of His bounteous blessing in defeating the dreaded enemy twice, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria, in its immediate neighborhood, so that it was always before the king's eyes.
v. 2. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard that I may have it for a garden of herbs, a vegetable garden, because it is near unto my house; and I will give thee for It a better vineyard than it; or if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of It in money. This sounded innocent enough, but it conflicted with one of the fundamental laws of the Lord's people.
v. 3. And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. The Lord had plainly commanded that the children of Israel were not to dispose of the property allotted to them, and even such lands as were sold on account of poverty reverted to the original owners in the year of jubilee, Num_36:1-13; Lev_25:10-28; Exo_34:9. The only consideration in this case was the whim of the king; he had set his heart upon that garden and would be satisfied with nothing else.
v. 4. And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased, in a peevish and angry mood, because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, I 'will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, staring fixedly at the wall, and would eat no bread. It was a childish and despicable manner of showing his displeasure over the refusal of Naboth, indicating, at the same time, that Ahab, with all his wickedness, lacked the energy to carry out his designs.
v. 5. But Jezebel, his wife, came to him and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad that thou eatest no bread?
v. 6. And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money, or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it; and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.
v. 7. And Jezebel, his wife, said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? It is a question charged with the deepest irony: Thou, dost thou now exercise authority over Israel? He was a fine king to be lying in bed over such a matter; he was a fine ruler even to think of asking any of his subjects for something he desired. Arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry; I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. Since he did not dare to act the man and the king, in her opinion, she would see to it that he obtained his heart's desire.
v. 8. So she, taking the matter in her own hands and assuming an authority which was not hers, wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, which she probably coolly took from him for her purpose, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, the local magistrates, Deu_16:18, dwelling with Naboth, and therefore presumably acquainted with his whole Life.
v. 9. And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, such as were customary in cases of a national calamity,and set Naboth on high among the people, indicating before the entire city that he was under accusation and had brought a heavy guilt upon the whole community;
v. 10. and set two men, Sons of Belial, worthless rascals, before him, the show of justice being maintained throughout, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king, for the king represented God and ruled in His name. And then carry him out and stone him that he may die, for that was the punishment set upon blasphemy, Deu_13:11; Deu_17:5; Lev_24:14.
v. 11. And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, probably out of slavish fear of the tyranny of Jezebel, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.
v. 12. They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
v. 13. And there came in two men, children of Belial, conscienceless scoundrels, and sat before him, as his accusers; and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.
v. 14. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned and is dead. All of which shows that the corruption of the royal court was found in all states of society at that time. The magistrates of Jezreel were just as much guilty of murder as Jezebel, who was a tyrant seeking the blood of the just. Naboth must be considered a martyr in a noble cause, who gave up his life for the sake of God's Word.