1 Kings 21:2

Contextual Overview

¹Some time passed after these events. Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard; it was in Jezreel next to the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. ¹ It happened after these things, that Navot the Yizre`eli had a vineyard, which was in Yizre`el, hard by the palace of Ach'av king of Shomron. ¹ And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. ¹ Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. ¹ After these things had happened, this is what followed. A man named Naboth owned a vineyard in Jezreel, near the palace of Ahab king of Israel. ¹ After this the following episode took place. Naboth the Jezreelite owned a vineyard in Jezreel adjacent to the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. ¹Now it came about after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, close beside the [winter] palace of Ahab king of Samaria; ¹ Now it came about after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab, the king of Samaria. ¹ After these things Naboth the Izreelite had a vineyarde in Izreel, hard by the palace of Ahab King of Samaria. ¹Now it happened after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Give me: The request of Ahab, at first view, appears fair and honourable. But, as he most evidentially wished Naboth to alienate it finally, which was expressly forbidden and provided against in the law of God - Leviticus 25:14-28, it was high iniquity in Ahab to tempt him to do it, and to covet it showed the depravity of his soul. Genesis 3:6, Exodus 20:17, Deuteronomy 5:21, 1 Samuel 8:14, Jeremiah 22:17, Habakkuk 2:9-11, Luke 12:15, 1 Timothy 6:9, James 1:14, James 1:15

a garden of herbs: 2 Kings 9:27, Deuteronomy 11:10, Ecclesiastes 2:5, Song of Solomon 4:15

seem good to thee: Heb. be good in thine eyes, Genesis 16:6, 1 Samuel 8:6, 1 Samuel 29:6

Reciprocal: Genesis 41:37 - good Joshua 7:21 - I coveted 1 Kings 21:6 - Because 1 Chronicles 21:22 - Grant Psalms 101:3 - set Micah 2:2 - they covet Zechariah 11:12 - ye think good

Cross-References

Genesis 17:19
God said, "No, but Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son. You shall call his name Yitzchak. I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him.

Genesis 17:19
And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

Genesis 17:19
And God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear a son for you, and you shall call his name Isaac. And I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant to his offspring after him.

Genesis 17:19
God said, "No, Sarah your wife will have a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will make my agreement with him to be an agreement that continues forever with all his descendants.

Genesis 17:19
God said, "No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual covenant for his descendants after him.

Genesis 17:19
But God said, "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son indeed, and you shall name him Isaac (laughter); and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant and with his descendants after him.

Genesis 17:19
But God said, "No, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.

Genesis 17:19
Then God saide, Sarah thy wife shall beare thee a sonne in deede, and thou shalt call his name Izhak: and I will establish my couenant with him for an euerlasting couenant, and with his seede after him.

Genesis 17:19
But God said, "No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him.

Genesis 17:19
But God answered: No! You and Sarah will have a son. His name will be Isaac, and I will make an everlasting promise to him and his descendants.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs,.... For a kitchen garden to produce eatables of the vegetable kind for his household, or for a flower garden; and perhaps for both, as Kimchi observes, it being customary to have such in court yards, or behind the house; perhaps he might take his notion of an herb garden from his neighbours the Syrians, who were very diligent and laborious in cultivating their gardens, as Pliny z; hence

"multa Syrorum olera'',

the many herbs of the Syrians, became a proverb with the Greeks:

because it is near unto mine house; lay very convenient for him:

and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seemeth good unto thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money; which seems very well spoken, that he would either give him a better in exchange, or purchase it at its full value; he did not pretend to take it by usurpation, by force, against his will, as it was represented by Samuel kings would do, 1 Samuel 8:14 as yet such oppression and tyranny was not exercised.

z Nat Hist. l. 20. c. 5.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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. (1 Chronicles 29:7 note).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 21:2. Give me thy vineyard — The request of Ahab seems at first view fair and honourable. 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. No man could finally alienate any part of the parental inheritance; it might be sold or mortgaged till the jubilee, but at that time it must revert to its original owner, if not redeemed before; for this God had particularly enjoined Leviticus 25:14-17; Leviticus 25:25-28: therefore Naboth properly said, 1 Kings 21:3, The Lord forbid it me, to give the inheritance of my fathers. Ahab most evidently wished him to alienate it finally, and this is what God's law had expressly forbidden; therefore he could not, consistently with his duty to God, indulge Ahab; and it was high iniquity in Ahab to tempt him to do it; and to covet it showed the depravity of Ahab's soul. But we see farther that, despotic as those kings were, they dared not seize on the inheritance of any man. This would have been a flagrant breach of the law and constitution of the country; and this indeed would have been inconsistent with the character which they sustained, viz., the Lord's vicegerents. The Jewish kings had no authority either to alter the old laws, or to make new ones. "The Hindoos," says Mr. Ward, "are as strongly attached to their homesteads as the Jews were. Though the heads of the family be employed in a distant part of the country, and though the homesteads may be almost in ruins, they cling still to the family inheritance with a fondness bordering on superstition."