1 Kings 21:4

21:1-4 Naboth, perhaps, had been pleased that he had a vineyard situated so near the palace, but the situation proved fatal to him; many a man's possessions have been his snare, and his neighbourhood to greatness, of bad consequence. Discontent is a sin that is its own punishment, and makes men torment themselves. It is a sin that is its own parent; it arises not from the condition, but from the mind: as we find Paul contented in a prison, so Ahab was discontented in a palace. He had all the delights of Canaan, that pleasant land, at command; the wealth of a kingdom, the pleasures of a court, and the honours and powers of a throne; yet all avails him nothing without Naboth's vineyard. Wrong desires expose men to continual vexations, and those that are disposed to fret, however well off, may always find something or other to fret at.

And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased,.... Just in the same humour he was after the prophet had delivered his message to him, 1 Kings 20:43 , where the same words are used as here: 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, neither by way of exchange nor of purchase: and such a denial he could not bear, since it looked like treating him with contempt, and taxing him with imprudence at least, if not with injustice, or both: and he laid him down upon his bed; or couch, which might be not in his bedchamber, but in one of his halls, where his courtiers were: and turned away his face; to the wall, not choosing to have conversation with any of his nobles: and would eat no bread; the vexation took away his stomach, and he became melancholy, at least sullen.

1 Kings 21:4 . Ahab came into his house, heavy and displeased — He was so vexed to be denied by a subject the thing he wanted, that his vexation made him sick, took away his stomach, and made company disagreeable to him; so that his grief and trouble appeared in his countenance. Here we see, 1st, That irregular desire, or “discontent, is a sin that is its own punishment, and makes men torment themselves: it makes the spirit sad, the body sick, and all the enjoyments sour: it is the heaviness of the heart, and the rottenness of the bones; 2d, It is a sin that is its own parent; it arises not from the condition, but from the mind. As we find Paul content in a prison, so Ahab discontent in a palace: he had all the delights of Canaan, that pleasant land, at command; the wealth of a kingdom, the pleasure of a court, and the honours and powers of a throne; and yet all this avails him nothing without Naboth’s vineyard. Inordinate desires expose men to continual vexations; and they that are disposed to fret, be they ever so happy, will always find something or other to fret at.” — Henry.

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 {b} upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. (b) Thus the wicked do not consider what is just and lawful, but fret inwardly when they cannot have their inordinate lusts satisfied.

4 . And Ahab came into his house ] The last four words are omitted by the LXX., as also the clause ‘because of the word … the inheritance of my fathers.’ It is clear from the continuation of the story that it was to Samaria that Ahab came back after his interview with Naboth. heavy and displeased ] See above, on 1 Kings 20:43 . And he laid him down , &c.] This detail shews, like so much else in Ahab’s history, what a feeble character he was, and how thoroughly he would be dominated by the more powerful mind of Jezebel. While absent from her, some signs of improvement might appear, even such as might seem to Elijah to promise hopes of a change; but when she appears they are all gone. And the moodiness here described is rather that of a wayward child, than of a man of mature years and high position.

Upon his bed - That is, "upon his couch." The Jews, like other Orientals, reclined upon couches at their meals ( Amos 6:4 ; Ezekiel 23:41 , etc.). Ahab turns his face toward the back of the couch, rejecting all converse with others, and so remains, after the banquet is served, refusing to partake of it. Such an open manifestation of ill temper is thoroughly characteristic of an Oriental king.

Verse 4. - And Ahab came into his house [At Samaria, as we gather from vers. 18, 14, 16, etc.] heavy and displeased [Heb. sullen and angry ; same words as in 1 Kings 20:43 . Ewald thinks that we have here a clear reference to that passage] because of the word which Naboth the Jezreellte had spoken to him: for [Heb. and ] he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed [Rawlinson understands this to mean the couch on which the Orientals recline at meals. And מִטָּה is used with this meaning in Esther 1:6 Ezekiel 23:41 , and elsewhere. But " his bed" seems rather to point to his private chamber; see on ver. 5], and turned away his face [The Vulgate adds ad parietem . Cf. 2 Kings 20:2 ; from which place it may have been unconsciously introduced here], and would eat no bread. [Keil contends that" this childish mode of giving expression to his displeasure shows very clearly that Ahab was a man sold under sin (ver. 20), who only wanted the requisite energy to display the wickedness of his heart in vigorous action;" but whether this is a just inference from these words may well be questioned. It rather shows that so little did he meditate evil that he accepted the refusal of Naboth as conclusive, and gave way to childish grief. 1 Kings 21:4

Instead of respecting this tender feeling of shrinking from the transgression of the law and desisting from his coveting, Ahab went home, i.e., to Samaria (cf. 1 Kings 21:8 ), sullen and morose (סר וזעף as in 1 Kings 20:43 ), lay down upon his bed, turned his face (viz., to the wall; cf. 2 Kings 20:2 ) - "after the manner of sorrowful persons, who shrink from and refuse all conversation, and even the sight of others" (Seb. Schmidt) - and did not eat. This childish mode of giving expression to his displeasure at Naboth's refusal to comply with his wish, shows very clearly that Ahab was a man sold under sin ( 1 Kings 21:20 ), who only wanted the requisite energy to display the wickedness of his heart in vigorous action.

[Bible] 21:1. And after these things, Naboth the Jezrahelite, who was in Jezrahel, had at that time a vineyard, near the palace of Achab, king of Samaria. 21:2. And Achab spoke to Naboth, saying: Give me thy vineyard, that I may make me a garden of herbs, because it is nigh, and adjoining to my house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard: or if thou think it more convenient for thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. 21:3. Naboth answered him: The Lord be merciful to me, and not let me give thee the inheritance of my fathers. 21:4. And Achab came into his house angry and fretting, because of the word that Naboth, the Jezrahelite, had spoken to him, saying: I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And casting himself upon his bed, he turned away his face to the wall, and would eat no bread. 21:5. And Jezabel, his wife, went in to him, and said to him: What is the matter that thy soul is so grieved? and why eatest thou no bread? 21:6. And he answered her: I spoke to Naboth, the Jezrahelite, and said to him: Give me thy vineyard, and take money for it: or if it please thee, I will give thee a better vineyard for it. And he said: I will not give thee my vineyard. 21:7. Then Jezabel, his wife, said to him. Thou art of great authority indeed, and governest well the kingdom of Israel. Arise, and eat bread, and be of good cheer; I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezrahelite. 21:8. So she wrote letters in Achab's name, and sealed them with his ring, and sent them to the ancients, and the chief men that were in his city, and that dwelt with Naboth. 21:9. And this was the tenor of the letters: Proclaim a fast, and make Naboth sit among the chief of the people; 21:10. And suborn two men, sons of Belial, against him, and let them bear false witness; that he hath blasphemed God and the king: and then carry him out, and stone him, and so let him die.

And although these might have been alienated till the jubilee, yet he durst not sell it to the king for that time; because he supposed that if once it came into the king’s hand, especially to be made a garden of pleasure, and affixed to his palace, neither he nor his posterity could ever recover it again; and so he should both offend God, and wrong his posterity; which being, as it seems, a pious man, he durst not do. ## 1 Kings 21:4 Turned away his face from the light, and company which either then were with him, or might come to him to the wall, as Hezekiah did under a like dejection of spirit, Isa_38:2. ## Would eat no bread; refused to eat meat in his usual time. 1 Kings 21:5 No text from Poole on this verse. 1 Kings 21:6 No text from Poole on this verse. ## 1 Kings 21:7 Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? art thou fit to be king, that canst put up such affronts from thy subjects, and hast not the courage to use thy absolute power to dispose of them and theirs as seemeth good unto thee? 1 Kings 21:8 Whom she very well knew to be fit for her purpose. ## In his city, i.e. in Jezreel. So she seeks to destroy him with a pretence of justice, and with as little reflection upon Ahab as might be.