Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 21:15

And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.

15. that Naboth was stoned, and was dead ] These words are omitted by the LXX. The repetition is alien to Greek style, but exactly after the fashion of Hebrew.

take possession of the vineyard ] Some have thought that the king could do this, because it is supposed that the property of one so executed would become confiscated. Others have suggested that there was some relationship between Ahab and the family of Naboth. It seems unnecessary to seek for reasons in such a case. Where so much had been done unlawfully, and a life, or perhaps several, taken by false accusation, it would be a small matter to seize on the ground without any plea of law or kinship.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Verse 15. Arise, take possession] By what rites or in what forms this was done, we do not know.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Take possession of the vineyard of Naboth; either, first, By right of confiscation, to repair the injury which he did to the king by blaspheming him. Or, secondly, By tyrannical usurpation. Or, thirdly, By right of inheritance; for some say that Ahab was his next kinsman, his sons being dead; which they judge more likely, because his land was next to the kings.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And it came to pass when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab,…. To whom she communicated the news as soon as possible:

arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead; some think that Naboth was a near relation to Ahab, his father’s brother’s son e; which they endeavour to support from his estate lying next to Ahab’s, and from his being ordered to be set in an high place among the people; and Josephus, as before observed, says he was of illustrious descent; and so Ahab upon his death, his sons being also put to death with him, was next heir to his estate; and therefore Jezebel bid him enter on the possession of it, he being dead, and his sons also, and therefore there was nothing in his way to obstruct him: but rather her meaning is, that Naboth was dead, not of a natural but violent death, by the hand of the civil magistrate; as for blasphemy against God, so for treason against the king, in virtue of which his estate was forfeited to the crown, and that Ahab had a right to possess it; and so it was certainly condemned in later times however among the Jews, that if a man was condemned to die by the sanhedrim, his goods came to his heirs, but if for treason against the king, they ceded to him f.

e T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 48. 2. f Sanhed. ib.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(15) Take possession.Naboths sons (see 2Ki. 9:26) were murdered with him, so that there was none to claim the inheritance. Even had this not been so, the property of executed traitors would naturally fall to the king, although no enactment to this effect is found in the Law.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

15. Take possession of the vineyard As confiscated property.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

The Prophecy of Ahab’s Doom

v. 15. And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned and was dead, his sons having been forced to share his fate, 2Ki 9:26, that Jezebel said to Ahab, who had persisted in his stubborn, childish behavior, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite which he refused to give thee for money; for Na-both is not alive, but dead.

v. 16. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. Although he had not personally conducted the case against Naboth, and probably did not know what means Jezebel actually employed to get possession of his vineyard, yet he was fully as guilty as she, for he had known that she had contrived to get Naboth out of the way, by fair means or foul.

v. 17. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, who now appears on the scene once more, saying,

v. 18. Arise, go down, namely, from the mountain district in which he was then staying, to meet Ahab, king of Israel, which is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it.

v. 19. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed and also taken possession? The question was not put to cause a confession of guilt, but to accuse the king outright of murder and of robbery. He had probably tried to quiet his conscience with the excuse that the property of a blasphemer who had suffered the penalty of death was taken over by the crown. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. His was to be a similar disgraceful death, that of a criminal.

v. 20. And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? The implication was that Elijah was always endeavoring to oppose the king and to thwart his purposes. And he, with all the frank fearlessness of God’s messenger, answered, I have found thee, because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord. Ahab had so abandoned himself to wickedness that he had become its slave.

v. 21. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, the sentence of doom upon the families of apostate kings, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, all the male descendants of the king; even the minors were included in the curse. Cf 1Ki 14:10.

v. 22. And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah, whose families were eradicated by divine decree, 1Ki 15:29; 1Ki 16:3-11, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked Me to anger and made Israel to sin.

v. 23. And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Cf 2Ki 9:10-36.

v. 24. Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat, and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat; they would, by the Lord’s curse, he denied even an honorable burial.

v. 25. But there was none like unto Ahab, a note inserted by the historian, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel, his wife, stirred up, their union being an unusually striking example of warning against the evil of mixed marriages.

v. 26. And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel, the reference being to all the Canaanitish nations.

v. 27. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay In sackcloth, and went softly, all signs of deep mourning and penitence. For a while at least his sorrow was sincere.

v. 28. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

v. 29. Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before Me? Because he humbleth himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days; but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house. Thus the punishment was deferred, and the misdeeds of the father were borne by the children, who followed him in his evil ways. It is a terrible thing to despise and reject the goodness and the severity of God, for the end is bound to be death, everlasting destruction.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

(15) And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. (16) And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

After looking with horror and astonishment at the murderous prince, in this expedition to take possession of his prey, I would beg the Reader to turn to 2Ki 9:25 , and there he will discover that Jehu, who attended Ahab, as his master on that expedition, was the very person deputed by the Lord to revenge the blood of Naboth on Jezebel; see also 2Ki 9:33-34 . Neither is it a subject less worthy of remark in this place, that as the elders of Jezreel were so forward to execute Jezebel’s orders for the murder of Naboth; so were the elders of Samaria equally obedient to execute Jehu’s orders, in the after reign, for the destruction of the 70 sons of Habakkuk. Surely the judgment of God lingereth not, and the destruction of sinners slumbereth not. See 2Ki 10:1-7 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

1Ki 21:15 And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.

Ver. 15. For Naboth is not alive, but dead. ] He and all his heirs are dead, and the vineyard doth confiscate to thee.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Arise. This form of the imperative is only found in connection with Jehovah, and always with reference to the promised land. And the lengthened form is found only in Moses’ mouth in Num 10:35.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Arise: 1Ki 21:7, Pro 1:10-16, Pro 4:17

Reciprocal: Jos 19:18 – Jezreel 2Ki 9:7 – at the hand 2Ki 9:21 – the portion of Naboth

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

21:15 And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, {f} Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.

(f) This example of monstrous cruelty the Holy Spirit leaves to us, to the intent that we should abhor all tyranny, and especially in those whom nature and kind should move to be pitiful and inclined to mercy.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes