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1 Kings 21:8

in 1 Kings 21

Then Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived with Naboth in his city.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, and that dwelt with Naboth.

KJV

So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth.

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This verse in 1 Kings 21

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

She wrote letters in Ahab’s name - She counterfeited his authority by his own consent; and he lent his signet to stamp that authority.

This site's exposition

Dost thou now govern the kingdom

on 1 Kings 21:7-8

Jezebel answers Ahab's sulk with a question that exposes the whole marriage, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel, and takes on herself the deed a king's own law forbids him. She writes in Ahab's name and seals the letters with his own seal, so the crime that follows carries his authority whether or not he ever reads a word of it. Henry notes this was likely not the first time the royal seal had done Jezebel's bidding, recalling the slaughter of the prophets she had already ordered.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

She borrows the privy-seal, but the king shall not know what she will do with it. It is probable this was not the first time he had lent it to her, but that with it she had signed warrants for the slaying of the prophets.
So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal,.... He giving her leave, no doubt, to take his seal; though she might not communicate her scheme to him, lest he should object to it: and sent the letters unto the elders, and to the nobles that were in his city dwelling with Naboth: to the chief magistrates of the city of Jezreel, where Naboth dwelt.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal--The seal-ring contained the name of the king and gave validity to the documents to which it was affixed (Es 8:8;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

Seal - The seal is a very ancient invention. Judah’s signet and Pharaoh’s signet-ring are mentioned in Genesis Gen 38:18; Gen 41:42. Signets of Egyptian kings have been found which are referred to about 2000 B.C. Sennacherib’s signet, and an impression of Sargon’s, are still extant. There can be no doubt that in the East, from a very remote antiquity, kings had seals and appended them to all documents which they set forth under their authority. (Compare also Est 3:12; Est 8:8; Dan 6:17). The Hebrew mode of sealing seems to have been by attaching a lump of clay to the document, and impressing the seal thereupon Job 38:14. His city - i. e., Jezreel 1Ki 21:1. The mode in which it is spoken of here, and in 1Ki 21:11, seems to imply that it was not the city from which Jezebel wrote. The court was evidently at this time residing at Samaria 1Ki 20:43; and Ahab may either have met Naboth there, or have gone down (compare 1Ki 21:16) to Jezreel to make his request, and then, on being refused, have returned to Samaria. The distance is not more than seven miles.

The words behind it

17 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.

  • וַתִּכְתֹּ֤בand she wrote

    vatikhtoH3789 →224 times

  • סְפָרִים֙letters

    sefarimH5612 →186 times

  • בְּשֵׁ֣םin [the] name of

    beshemH8034 →864 times

  • אַחְאָ֔בAhab

    ʾachavH256 →92 times

  • וַתַּחְתֹּ֖םand she sealed [them]

    vatachtomH2856 →

  • בְּחֹתָמ֑וֹwith seal his

    bechotamoH2368 →

  • וַתִּשְׁלַ֣חand she sent

    vatishlachH7971 →845 times

  • סְפָרִ֗יםletters

    hasfarimH5612 →186 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • הַזְקֵנִ֤יםthe elders

    hazkenimH2205 →178 times

  • וְאֶל־and to

    veel-H413 →5510 times

  • הַֽחֹרִים֙the nobles

    hachorimH2715 →

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwho

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • בְּעִיר֔וֹ[were] in city his

    beiroH5892 →1090 times

  • הַיֹּשְׁבִ֖יםwho dwelt

    haiyoshevimH3427 →1079 times

  • אֶת־with

    ʾet-H854 →929 times

  • נָבֽוֹת׃Naboth

    navotH5022 →22 times

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

Related verses

17 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.

Esther 3:12On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal scribes were summoned and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded the royal satraps, the governors of each province, and the officials of each people, in the script of each province and the language of every people. It was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the royal signet ring.6 worksRuth 4:2Then Boaz took ten of the elders of the city and said, “Sit here,” and they did so.6 worksEsther 8:8Now you may write in the king’s name as you please regarding the Jews, and seal it with the royal signet ring. For a decree that is written in the name of the king and sealed with the royal signet ring cannot be revoked.”4 works1 Kings 20:7Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, “Please take note and see that this man is looking for trouble, for when he demanded my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, I did not deny him.”2 works2 Chronicles 32:17He also wrote letters mocking the LORD, the God of Israel, and saying against Him: “Just as the gods of the nations did not deliver their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver His people from my hand.”2 worksNehemiah 6:5The fifth time, Sanballat sent me this same message by his young servant, who had in his hand an unsealed letter2 works
The other 11 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Kings 21:1Some time later, Naboth the Jezreelite happened to own a vineyard in Jezreel next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.2 worksDeuteronomy 16:18–19You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.2 worksNumbers 11:16Then the LORD said to Moses, “Bring Me seventy of the elders of Israel known to you as leaders and officers of the people. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting and have them stand there with you.2 worksDeuteronomy 21:1–9If one is found slain, lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,2 works2 Samuel 11:14–15The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.2 worksEzra 4:7–8And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. It was written in Aramaic and then translated.2 works2 Kings 10:1–7Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders, and to the guardians of the sons of Ahab, saying:2 works2 Kings 10:11So Jehu killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his great men and close friends and priests, leaving him without a single survivor.2 worksEzra 4:11(This is the text of the letter they sent to him.) To King Artaxerxes, From your servants, the men west of the Euphrates:2 worksEsther 8:10Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes and sealed it with the royal signet ring. He sent the documents by mounted couriers riding on swift horses bred from the royal mares.2 worksExodus 24:11But God did not lay His hand on the nobles of Israel; they saw Him, and they ate and drank.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 Kings 20:7

    Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, “Please take note and see that this man is looking for trouble, for when he demanded my wives, my children,…

    it leads to

    • 2 Kings 5:7

      When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and asked, “Am I God, killing and giving life, that this man expects me to cure a leper? Surely you can see…

  • Through

    Nehemiah 6:5

    The fifth time, Sanballat sent me this same message by his young servant, who had in his hand an unsealed letter

    it leads to

    • 2 Thessalonians 2:10

      and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.

    • 2 Corinthians 11:13–15

      For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.

    • 2 Kings 18:26–28

      Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, along with Shebnah and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak with us in Hebrew in the…

    • Ephesians 6:11

      Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.

  • Through

    1 Kings 21:1

    Some time later, Naboth the Jezreelite happened to own a vineyard in Jezreel next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

    it leads to

    • Joshua 19:18

      Their territory included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem,

  • Through

    2 Chronicles 32:17

    He also wrote letters mocking the LORD, the God of Israel, and saying against Him: “Just as the gods of the nations did not deliver their people from my hand, so the God of…

    it leads to

    • 2 Kings 19:12

      Did the gods of the nations destroyed by my fathers rescue those nations—the gods of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and of the people of Eden in Telassar?

    • Isaiah 37:28–29

      But I know your sitting down, your going out and coming in, and your raging against Me.

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 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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 1 Kings 21 →