1 Kings 21:1

AHAB'S ROBBERY AND JUDICIAL MURDER OF NABOTH;

AHAB'S OFFER TO BUY; AND NABOTH'S REFUSAL TO SELL

"Now it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the place of Ahab king of Samaria. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, 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. And Naboth said to Ahab, Jehovah forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased 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, and would eat no bread."

"None of the crimes of Ahab left any deeper brand upon him than this judicial murder and robbery of Naboth."[1]

"A vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria" (1 Kings 21:1). The Septuagint (LXX) omits the words "which was in Jezreel," and, upon this, Barlow has based an interesting argument attempting to prove that the palace of Ahab which was joined by Naboth's vineyard was probably the palace in Samaria, not the one in Jezreel.[2] Such an opinion is apparently founded upon efforts to conform the fulfillment of the prophecy of the dogs licking the blood of Ahab with its fulfillment at the pool in Samaria, but, as we shall see, there is no necessity for such efforts. The Lord himself tells us why there were variations in the fulfillment.

"Because it is near my house" (1 Kings 21:2). Ahab did not covet the whole world, just that part of it which adjoined his estate! Of course, nothing less than the whole world would satisfy that kind of covetousness; and even then, as did Alexander the Great is said to have done, the nature of covetousness is such that one would sit down and cry that there is no more to take!

"Give me thy vineyard" (1 Kings 21:2). Samuel had prophesied that, when Israel got that king they all wanted, he would "take their fields and their vineyards" (1 Samuel 8:14). Ahab gave them a demonstration of what that prophecy meant!

"Jehovah forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to thee" (1 Kings 21:3). "Naboth was not actuated by any feelings of disloyalty or disrespect for King Ahab, but from a conscientious regard for Divine law."[3]; Leviticus 25:23 forbade the selling of one's inheritance, "The land shall not be sold in perpetuity." "No inheritance of the children of Israel shall move from tribe to tribe ... Everyone shall cleave to the inheritance of his fathers" (Numbers 36:7ff).

It should be observed that these prohibitions came not from the so-called Priestly Code (P) nor from some mythical Deuteronomist (D), but from the Books of Moses, being therefore a part of the Mosaic covenant. "Ahab's proposal to Naboth would have relegated him and his family to the status of royal dependents"[4] of the godless Ahab. "The property was not Naboth's to sell; the inheritance was his father's and his son's as well as his, and it was INALIENABLE under Israelite law."[5]

"The sin of discontent is its own punishment. It comes not from conditions, but from the mind. Paul was contented in a prison; Ahab was discontented in a palace. Discontent is heaviness of the heart and rottenness of the bones."[6]

"Ahab laid him down upon his bed, turned away his face, and would eat no bread" (1 Kings 21:4). What a royal pout was this! Ahab here demonstrated the selfish, peevish, and cry-baby attitude of this weak and incompetent king. God pity any people whose ruler behaves like a spoiled brat! Jezebel saw in this situation her opportunity for applying the principles of government, as she had learned them in Sidon where her father was king. So she took charge and promptly showed Ahab how the pagans did it.