1 Kings 21:16
in 1 Kings 21And when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in 1 Kings 21
Commentary
3 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
To take possession of it - The goods of traitors appear to have been forfeited to the crown by the Jewish law as they still are almost universally throughout the East. Compare 2Sa 16:4.
This site's exposition
Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth
on 1 Kings 21:15-16
Jezebel's message strips the murder down to a real estate transaction, Naboth is not alive, but dead, so arise and take what is now unclaimed. Ahab asks no question about how the vineyard came free and goes down that same day to take possession, and his silence is its own answer. Henry calls it a case of might prevailing against right, with God's patience letting the wicked devour a more righteous man for a season before judgment falls.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Get up and take possession. Some of our Sages say that the property of those executed by the king [belong] to the king. And some of them say.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֛י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כִּשְׁמֹ֥עַ | kishmoa' | when heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אַחְאָ֖ב | ʾachav | Ahab | H256 → | 92 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מֵ֣ת | met | he had died | H4191 → | 839 times |
| נָב֑וֹת | navot | Naboth | H5022 → | 22 times |
| וַיָּ֣קָם | vaiyakom | and he arose | H6965 → | 628 times |
| אַחְאָ֗ב | ʾachav | Ahab | H256 → | 92 times |
| לָרֶ֛דֶת | laredet | to go down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כֶּ֛רֶם | kerem | [the] vineyard of | H3754 → | 92 times |
| נָב֥וֹת | navot | Naboth | H5022 → | 22 times |
| הַיִּזְרְעֵאלִ֖י | haiyizreeli | the Jezreelite | H3158 → | 13 times |
| לְרִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃ ס | lerishto | to take possession of it | H3423 → | 231 times |
וַיְהִ֛יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כִּשְׁמֹ֥עַwhen heard
kishmoa'H8085 →1159 times
אַחְאָ֖בAhab
ʾachavH256 →92 times
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
מֵ֣תhe had died
metH4191 →839 times
נָב֑וֹתNaboth
navotH5022 →22 times
וַיָּ֣קָםand he arose
vaiyakomH6965 →628 times
אַחְאָ֗בAhab
ʾachavH256 →92 times
לָרֶ֛דֶתto go down
laredetH3381 →381 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
כֶּ֛רֶם[the] vineyard of
keremH3754 →92 times
נָב֥וֹתNaboth
navotH5022 →22 times
הַיִּזְרְעֵאלִ֖יthe Jezreelite
haiyizreeliH3158 →13 times
לְרִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃ סto take possession of it
lerishtoH3423 →231 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 1:32Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them.
it leads to
- Romans 2:1–5
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
- Romans 1:21
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.
- Romans 6:21
What fruit did you reap at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The outcome of those things is death.
- Romans 1:18
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
- Psalms 50:18
When you see a thief, you befriend him, and throw in your lot with adulterers.
- Romans 2:1–5
Through
Isaiah 33:15He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil—
it leads to
- Psalms 119:37
Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.
- 1 John 3:7
Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous.
- Psalms 119:37
Through
Psalms 50:18When you see a thief, you befriend him, and throw in your lot with adulterers.
it leads to
- Romans 1:32
Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them.
- Romans 1:32
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Kings

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonDivided kingdomAhabSeventh king of the northern kingdom, son of Omri, who "did evil above all that were before him"; Elijah's chief antagonist, conde…
- PersonDivided kingdomNabothThe Jezreelite who refused to sell the inheritance of his fathers to Ahab; framed by Jezebel's letters and stoned — the vineyard w…
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
