But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad [same word as in 1 Kings 21:4 ], that thou eatest no bread? [It would seem that the queen missed him from the banqueting hall—he can hardly, therefore, have lain down on one of the divans or couches therein—and went to his bedroom to inquire the reason.] read more
A Sinful Nation. Time was when the Hebrew nation was great and respected, "a praise in the earth" for kings wise and honourable, for magistrates upright and noble, and for a people faithful and true. But how completely is all this changed! A more pitiable picture of national depravity could scarcely be drawn than that presented in the text. Here we have— I. AN INIQUITOUS PALACE . 1 . The king is utterly unprincipled . 2 . His queen is a " cursed woman ." II. AN... read more
Sin's friendships, and what they lead to. I. THE SINFUL FIND MANY HELPERS . Ahab seems to have done all that he was able or cared to do. He had tempted Naboth and failed, and the matter seemed to have come to an end. But where Ahab stops, Satan's servants meet him and carry on the work. Jezebel prevails on him to tell the story, and the elders of Jezreel and its sons of Belial are ready to do their part also, to give him his desire and steep his soul in crime. The man who is... read more
And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him; Give me thy vineyard for money [Heb. silver ]; or else, if it please [Heb. delight ] thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered [Heb. said ] , I will not give thee my vineyard. [Ahab does not mention the reason which Naboth assigned for his refusal. But Naboth's reasons were nothing to him, and he had hardly given them a second thought.] read more
And Jezebel his wife said unto him. Dost thou now govern [Heb. make ; LXX: ποιεῖς [ βασιλέα ] the kingdom of Israel? [There is no question expressed in the Hebrew which stands, "Thou now makest the kingdom over Israel." The commentators generally, however, understand the words—as the LXX . and the A.V.—as an ironical question, "Art thou ruler in aught but name?" though some take it as an imperative: "Do thou now exert authority over the kingdom of Israel," And on the... read more
So she wrote letters [Heb. writings ] in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal [The use of the seal, for the purpose of authentication, is of great antiquity. Some of the Egyptian signets are more than 4,000 years old. Their use in the age of the patriarchs is attested by Genesis 38:15 and Genesis 41:42 ; their importance is proved by the text, by Esther 3:10 ; Esther 8:2 , Esther 8:8 , Esther 8:10 (cf. "Herod," 3:128); Daniel 6:17 ; Jeremiah 32:10 , 54; ... read more
And she wrote in the letters, saying Proclaim a fast [The object of this ordinance was to give the impression that the city was labouring under, or threatened with, a curse, because of some undiscovered sin ( 2 Samuel 21:1 ; Joshua 9:11 ; Deuteronomy 21:9 ), which must be removed or averted by public humiliation. Cf. Joel 1:14 ; Joel 2:12 ; 1 Samuel 7:6 ; 2 Chronicles 20:3 )], and set Naboth on high among the people. [Heb. at the head of the people . Keil, al . ... read more
And set two men [according to the previsions of the law ( Deuteronomy 17:6 , Deuteronomy 17:7 ; Deuteronomy 19:5 ; Numbers 35:30 ). "Even Jezebel bears witness to the Pentateuch" (Wordsworth). Josephus speaks of three witnesses], sons of Belial [ i.e; worthless men. This use of the word "son" (cf. Psalms 89:22 , "son of wickedness"), which is one of the commonest idioms of the East, throws some light on the expression "sons of the prophets" (see 1 Kings 20:35 , note;... read more
And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them [Their ready compliance shows not merely the "deep moral degradation of the Israelites" at that period, but also the terror which the name of Jezebel inspired], and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. [That she did not hesitate to put her infamous command into writing shows the character of the woman.] read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 21:1-24
The Progress of Sin. This chapter describes one of the blackest crimes which ever blotted the page of history. The description is so graphic that we seem eyewitnesses of the tragedy, and so suggestive that we can understand the motives and feelings of the principal actors. Naboth has been blamed sometimes for refusing what appeared a reasonable request that he would sell a piece of land to his rightful king at a fair price. It is evident, however, that he was not only acting within his... read more