1 Kings 21:1-16

Ahab’s disregard for Yahweh’s authority 21:1-16

Even though Jezebel was behind the murder of Naboth, God held her husband Ahab responsible (1 Kings 21:19). Jezebel’s evil influence over her husband stands out in this story. [Note: Alexander Rofe, "The Vineyard of Naboth: The Origin and Message of the Story," Vetus Testamentum 38:1 (January 1988):102.] Ahab was willing to murder a godly Israelite to obtain a mere vegetable garden.

"A vineyard, like an olive-orchard, is not just land that may have been in the family for a long time: it represents a high investment in many years of unfruitful care before it reaches maturity." [Note: Auld, p. 137.]

Naboth sought to live by the Mosaic Law (1 Kings 21:3; cf. Leviticus 25:23-28; Numbers 36:7). Ahab’s "sullen and vexed" feelings (1 Kings 21:4; cf. 1 Kings 20:43) were the result of his perception that Naboth’s position was unassailable legally. Compare Saul’s moodiness following his disobedience and sentence.

Jezebel believed Ahab was the supreme authority in Israel (1 Kings 21:7), an opinion he shared (cf. 1 Kings 20:42). This was the root of many of Ahab and Jezebel’s difficulties (cf. Saul and his daughter Michal, and Ahab and his daughter Athaliah). They failed to acknowledge Yahweh’s sovereignty over Israel. Jezebel obviously knew the Mosaic Law (1 Kings 21:10). It required two witnesses in capital offense cases (Deuteronomy 17:6-7). Cursing God was a capital offense (Leviticus 24:16). Jezebel elevated cursing the king to a crime on the same level with cursing Yahweh (1 Kings 21:10). This was inappropriate but consistent with her concept of Israel’s king. She formed her plot in conscious disobedience to God’s revealed will.

The elders and nobles of Jezreel were under Jezebel’s thumb (1 Kings 21:11). They were not faithful to Yahweh. They probably could not have been to stay in office under Ahab. Jezebel also executed Naboth’s sons (2 Kings 9:26). When Ahab heard what his wife had done, he did not reprove her but took advantage of her actions and in doing so approved them (1 Kings 21:16). Naboth’s vineyard was in Jezreel, not Samaria. [Note: B. D. Napier, "The Omrides of Jezreel," Vetus Testamentum 9 (1959):366-78, clarifies the confusing references to Jezreel and Samaria in the Naboth story. ]

"The most heinous act of Ahab came in the matter of Naboth. A king’s primary responsibility was to render justice in the land. Ahab egregiously violated this requirement by stealing from a man he had murdered (through Jezebel)." [Note: Heater, p. 134.]

Compare Saul’s unjustified attempts to kill David.