1 Kings 21:25
in 1 Kings 21(Surely there was never one like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, incited by his wife Jezebel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
(But there was none like unto Ahab, who did sell himself to do that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
KJV
But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
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This verse in 1 Kings 21
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
whom Jezebel stirred up - The history of Ahab’s reign throughout exhibits him as completely governed by his imperious wife. Instances of her influence are seen in 1Ki 21:7, 1Ki 21:15, marginal reference, 1Ki 18:4; 1Ki 19:2.
This site's exposition
sell himself to work wickedness
on 1 Kings 21:25-26
The historian steps in with his own verdict on the reign just narrated, there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness, repeating verse twenty's own language and naming Jezebel as the one who stirred him to it. His idolatry is measured against the Amorites the LORD cast out of Canaan before Israel ever arrived, the same nations whose cup of iniquity Genesis 15:16 said was not yet full in Abraham's day. Four centuries later Ahab fills the same cup on his own account.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And these, tho' lighting on the body only, yet undoubtedly were designed as figures of the soul's misery in an after state. 25 Was none - None among all the kings of Israel which had been before him. Whom Jezebel - This is added to shew, that temptations to sin are no excuse to the sinner.
on 1 Kings 21:25-26
He was wholly given up to sin, and, upon condition he might have the pleasures of it, he would take the wages of it, which is death, Rom. vi. Blessed Paul complained that he was sold under sin ( Rom. vii. 14 ), as a poor captive against his will; but Ahab was voluntary: he sold himself to sin; of choice, and as his own act and deed, he submitted to the dominion of sin.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| רַ֚ק | rak | certainly | H7535 → | 109 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָיָ֣ה | hayah | anyone was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כְאַחְאָ֔ב | kheachav | like Ahab | H256 → | 92 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הִתְמַכֵּ֔ר | hitmaker | he sold himself | H4376 → | |
| לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת | laasot | to do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הָרַ֖ע | hara' | the evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| בְּעֵינֵ֣י | beeinei | in [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הֵסַ֥תָּה | hesatah | she incited | H5496 → | |
| אֹת֖וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אִיזֶ֥בֶל | ʾizevel | Jezebel | H348 → | 22 times |
| אִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃ | ʾishto | wife his | H802 → | 781 times |
רַ֚קcertainly
rakH7535 →109 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
הָיָ֣הanyone was
hayahH1961 →3559 times
כְאַחְאָ֔בlike Ahab
kheachavH256 →92 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הִתְמַכֵּ֔רhe sold himself
hitmakerH4376 →
לַעֲשׂ֥וֹתto do
laasotH6213 →2628 times
הָרַ֖עthe evil
hara'H7451 →662 times
בְּעֵינֵ֣יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֲשֶׁר־whom
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
הֵסַ֥תָּהshe incited
hesatahH5496 →
אֹת֖וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
אִיזֶ֥בֶלJezebel
ʾizevelH348 →22 times
אִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃wife his
ʾishtoH802 →781 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
Ecclesiastes 7:26And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is…
it leads to
- Proverbs 22:14
The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it.
- Proverbs 5:3–5
Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,
- Proverbs 2:16
It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words
- Proverbs 22:14
Through
Proverbs 22:14The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it.
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 7:26
And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is…
- Proverbs 23:27
For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.
- Proverbs 6:24–29
to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
- Ecclesiastes 7:26
Through
Acts 14:2But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
it leads to
- Acts 13:50
The Jews, however, incited the religious women of prominence and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district.
- Acts 13:45
But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.
- Acts 13:50
Where this verse is studied
Studies1
About 1 Kings

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonDivided kingdomJezebelSidonian princess and Ahab's queen who institutionalized Baal worship in Israel, ordered Elijah's death after Carmel, and engineer…
- PersonDivided kingdomAhabSeventh king of the northern kingdom, son of Omri, who "did evil above all that were before him"; Elijah's chief antagonist, conde…
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; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
