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1 Kings 21:2

in 1 Kings 21

So Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard to use as a vegetable garden, since it is next to my palace. I will give you a better vineyard in its place—or if you prefer, I will give you its value in silver.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

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.

KJV

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.

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This verse in 1 Kings 21

Commentary

9 notes on this verse
And he said to me, 'And I will have a vegetable garden.' This, therefore, was all madness, this was all madness, that the space should be sought for cheap vegetables. Therefore, you do not desire to possess it as something useful, but you want to exclude others. Your concern for the spoils of the poor is greater than for your own profits. You consider it an injury to you if a poor person has anything that can be valued as worthy of a wealthy possession. You consider it a loss to you, whatever is someone else's.

This site's exposition

Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard

on 1 Kings 21:1-3

Naboth refuses a fair price and a better vineyard because Ahab is not the last owner of Israelite land, the LORD is, and the law forbade trading a tribal inheritance away in perpetuity. The oath the Lord forbid it me sets Naboth's ground beneath the covenant law of Leviticus 25:23, the land is mine, and the ruling secured for the daughters of Zelophehad at Numbers 36:7, that an inheritance should not remove from tribe to tribe. Ahab hears a business offer declined; Naboth is standing on ground the king has no authority to buy.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Ambrose of Milan

On Naboth the Jezreelite, Chapter 2, 8 · Written before 397.

proposed

Therefore let us hear what he says: Give me, he says. What other voice does a needy person have? What other voice does one demanding public assistance have, if not Give me, that is, give me, because I am in need: give me, because I cannot have any other means of living: give me, because I do not have bread for sustenance, money for drink, resources for food, substance for clothing: give me, because the Lord has given you what you should give, but has not given to me: give me, because unless you give, I will not be able to have: give me, because it is written: Give alms. How low, how base is this! They do not have the sentiment of humility, but the fire of greed. And in this very abjection, what impudence! 'Give me,' he says, 'your vineyard.' He confesses the desire to obtain what is undeserved.

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Ishodad of Merv

BOOKS OF SESSIONS 1 KINGS 21:2 · Written before 850.

proposed

What Ahab said to Naboth, that is, that he would have given him the price of his vineyard or [another vineyard], was a lie. But Naboth did not sell his inheritance, first of all because he knew that [Ahab] would not have given him another …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

He had tamely quitted the great advantages God had given him of enlarging his dominion for the honour of his kingdom, by his victory over the Syrians, and now is eager to enlarge his garden, only for the convenience of his house, as if to be penny wise would atone for being pound foolish.
And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel--Ahab was desirous, from its contiguity to the palace, to possess it for a vegetable garden.
2 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Give me thy vineyard - The request of Ahab seems at first view fair and honorable. Naboth’s vineyard was nigh to the palace of Ahab, and he wished to add it to his own for a kitchen garden, or perhaps a grass-plat, גן ירק gan yarak; and he offers to give him either a better vineyard for it, or to give him its worth in money. Naboth rejects the proposal with horror: The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to thee.
I will give thee the worth of it in money - literally, “I will give thee silver, the worth of it.” Money, in our sense of the word, that is to say, coins of definite values, did not yet exist. The first coin known to the Jews was the Persian daric, with which they became acquainted during the captivity. (1Ch 29:7 note).

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

After these things [this occurred]. Yet another [incident] to bring his death near.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on I Kings 21:1:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

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

32 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיְדַבֵּ֣רand he spoke

    vaydaberH1696 →1141 times

  • אַחְאָ֣בAhab

    ʾachavH256 →92 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • נָב֣וֹת׀Naboth

    navotH5022 →22 times

  • לֵאמֹר֩׀<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • תְּנָה־give !

    tenah-H5414 →2011 times

  • לִּ֨יto me

    li

  • אֶֽת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • כַּרְמְךָ֜vineyard your

    karmekhaH3754 →92 times

  • וִֽיהִי־so may it belong

    vihi-H1961 →3559 times

  • לִ֣יto me

    li

  • לְגַן־to a garden of

    legan-H1588 →

  • יָרָ֗קvegetables

    yarakH3419 →

  • כִּ֣יfor

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • ה֤וּאit

    hu'H1931 →1879 times

  • קָרוֹב֙[is] near

    karovH7138 →77 times

  • אֵ֣צֶלbeside

    ʾetzelH681 →61 times

  • בֵּיתִ֔יhouse my

    beitiH1004 →2046 times

  • וְאֶתְּנָ֤הand I will give

    veetenahH5414 →2011 times

  • לְךָ֙to <the> you

    lekha

  • תַּחְתָּ֔יוin place of it

    tachtavH8478 →505 times

  • כֶּ֖רֶםa vineyard

    keremH3754 →92 times

  • ט֣וֹבgood

    tovH2896 →538 times

  • מִמֶּ֑נּוּmore than it

    mimenuH4480 →1188 times

  • אִ֚םif

    ʾimH518 →1069 times

  • ט֣וֹב[it is] good

    tovH2895 →

  • בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָin view your

    beeineikhaH5869 →887 times

  • אֶתְּנָה־I will give

    ʾetenah-H5414 →2011 times

  • לְךָ֥to you

    lekha

  • כֶ֖סֶףmoney

    khesefH3701 →403 times

  • מְחִ֥יר[the] price of

    mechirH4242 →

  • זֶֽה׃this [one]

    zehH2088 →1180 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Samuel 8:14He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his servants.4 works1 Timothy 6:9Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.3 worksJames 1:14–15But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.3 works1 Chronicles 21:22Then David said to Ornan, “Grant me the site of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar to the LORD. Sell it to me for the full price, so that the plague upon the people may be halted.”3 worksZechariah 11:12Then I told them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver.3 worksDeuteronomy 11:10For the land that you are entering to possess is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated on foot, like a vegetable garden.2 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Samuel 8:6But when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” their demand was displeasing in the sight of Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.2 worksGenesis 3:6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.2 works1 Samuel 29:6So Achish summoned David and told him, “As surely as the LORD lives, you have been upright in my sight, and it seems right that you should march in and out with me in the army, because I have found no fault in you from the day you came to me until this day. But you have no favor in the sight of the leaders.2 worksDeuteronomy 5:21You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house or field, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”2 worksExodus 20:17You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”2 worksJeremiah 22:17“But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”2 worksHabakkuk 2:9–11Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, to place his nest on high and escape the hand of disaster!2 worksLuke 12:15And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”2 worksGenesis 16:6“Here,” said Abram, “your servant is in your hands. Do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she fled from her.2 worksEcclesiastes 2:5I made gardens and parks for myself, where I planted all kinds of fruit trees.2 worksSong of Solomon 4:15You are a garden spring, a well of fresh water flowing down from Lebanon.2 works2 Kings 9:27When King Ahaziah of Judah saw this, he fled up the road toward Beth-haggan. And Jehu pursued him, shouting, “Shoot him too!” So they shot Ahaziah in his chariot on the Ascent of Gur, near Ibleam, and he fled to Megiddo and died there.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    1 Timothy 6:9

    Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.

    it leads to

    • 1 John 2:15–17

      Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

    • Proverbs 28:20–22

      A faithful man will abound with blessings, but one eager to be rich will not go unpunished.

    • Proverbs 15:27

      He who is greedy for unjust gain brings trouble on his household, but he who hates bribes will live.

    • 1 Timothy 3:7

      Furthermore, he must have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the snare of the devil.

    • Acts 8:20

      But Peter replied, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!

  • Through

    1 Samuel 8:14

    He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his servants.

    it leads to

    • Ezekiel 46:18

      The prince must not take any of the inheritance of the people by evicting them from their property. He is to provide an inheritance for his sons from his own property, so that none…

    • 1 Kings 21:7

      But his wife Jezebel said to him, “Do you not reign over Israel? Get up, eat some food, and be cheerful, for I will get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

  • Through

    1 Samuel 8:6

    But when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” their demand was displeasing in the sight of Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 15:11

      “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all…

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Kings

The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
1 Kings: the study guide →Read 1 Kings 21 →
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, On Naboth the Jezreelite, Chapter 3, 11; Ambrose of Milan, On Naboth the Jezreelite, Chapter 2, 8; Ishodad of Merv, BOOKS OF SESSIONS 1 KINGS 21:2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 1 Kings 21 →