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| 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. |
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| 2 Ahab, therefore, spake unto Naboth, saying–Come! give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, for, the same, is near by my house, and let me give thee, instead thereof, a vineyard better than it,–if it be good in thine eyes, I will give thee silver to the value of this. |
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| 3 And Naboth said unto Ahab,–Far be it from me, of Yahweh! that I should give up the inheritance of my fathers, unto thee! |
Give the inheritance – Jewish Law forbade the selling of family inheritances; but he could have given a lease for a time to the king's pleasement. R5770:6, R4741:3
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| 4 So Ahab came into his house, sullen and disturbed, because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken unto him, that he should have said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. So he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and did eat no food. |
And Ahab – Type of the Roman empire. B256; R3408:3
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| 5 Then came unto him Jezebel his wife,–and said unto him–Why is it, that thy spirit is sullen, that thou art, not eating food? |
But Jezebel – Type of the apostate church of Rome and her false spirit in Protestant sects. R5629:1; B256
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| 6 And he said unto her–Because I spake unto Naboth, the Jezreelite, and said unto him–Come! give me thy vineyard for silver, or, if thou wouldst prefer, I will give thee a vineyard, in its stead; and he said–I will not give thee my vineyard. |
Give me thy vineyard – The crime of covetousness is now not only general and common, but almost approved as proper. It seems to be generally practiced. R2340:1
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| 7 Then Jezebel his wife said unto him: Art, thou, still, going to carry on the kingdom over Israel? Rise! eat food, and let thy heart be merry, I, will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite! |
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| 8 So she wrote letters, in the name of Ahab, and sealed them with his signet-ring,–and sent the letters unto the elders, and unto the nobles who were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. |
With his seal – The emblem of authority. R360:4*
Unto the elders – Ahab's covetousness was of the most approved kind, in that it sought to act through others, and stoned Naboth by proxy. R2340:3
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| 9 Now she wrote in the letters, saying,–Proclaim ye a fast, and cause Naboth to sit at the head of the people; |
Proclaim a fast – To make a mockery of religion. R4741:5
Seemingly in honor of God's laws and his justice. R5771:2
Set Naboth on high – Religion has often been injured by being made the tool of hypocrisy and covetousness. R2340:4, R4741:6
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| 10 then let two reckless men take their seats before him, that they may bear witness against him, saying, Thou hast reviled God and king! then shall ye carry him forth and stone him, that he die. |
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| 11 So the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who dwelt in his city, did just as Jezebel had sent unto them,–as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them: |
Even the elders It is doubtful whether our disgust should be greater with the queen who instigated the evil, or with the elders who so supinely became the tool to accomplish it. R2339:6
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| 12 they proclaimed a fast,–and caused Naboth to sit at the head of the people. |
Set Naboth on high – Covetousness sometimes strikes the dagger of scandal under professions of love and esteem, or of pity and sympathy. R2340:2
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| 13 Then came in the two reckless men, and sat before him, and the men bare witness against him, even against Naboth, before the people, saying, Naboth hath reviled God and king! So they carried him forth, outside the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. |
Naboth did blaspheme – Sometimes covetousness has the hypocritical mask of duty, religion and fidelity to God. R2340:2
And stoned him – Jewish Law provided that any blasphemy against God's name should be punished by stoning. R5771:1, R4741:6
That he died – Wars of commercialism show a spirit of willingness to kill our neighbors in order to enlarge our own properties. R5853:2, R4741:6
Sharp, competitive business practices are covetousness of the same kind. R4741:6
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| 14 Then sent they unto Jezebel, saying,–Naboth is stoned and is dead. |
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| 15 And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said unto Ahab–Rise! take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for silver, for Naboth is not alive, but dead! |
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| 16 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab arose, to go down unto the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession thereof. |
To take possession – Thus he fully endorsed the conduct of Jezebel. R2340:3
As though he did not recognize that there is a God of justice to whom he must ultimately account. R4742:4
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| 17 Then came the word of Yahweh unto Elijah the Tishbite, saying: |
Came to Elijah – Type of the true Church in the flesh. B256; R5629:1
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| 18 Arise! go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria,–lo! he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he hath gone down, to take possession thereof. |
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| 19 Then shalt thou speak unto him, saying–Thus, saith Yahweh, Hast thou committed murder, and also taken possession? Then shalt thou speak unto him, saying: Thus, saith Yahweh, In the place where the dogs have lapped up the blood of Naboth, shall the dogs lap up thy blood, even thine. |
Thou shalt speak – So it is our place to speak the word of God that the antitypical Ahab shall be slain. R235:5
Dogs lick thy blood – This prophecy was fulfilled to the letter very shortly after. R4742:4
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| 20 Then said Ahab unto Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he said: I have found [thee]! Because thou hast sold thyself to do the thing that is wicked in the eyes of Yahweh, |
Ahab – The Roman empire. R235:5
Hast thou found me – Inclined to ignore the Lord and to think merely of the prophet. R4742:4
Sold thyself – If God denounced Ahab, what would the Lord's verdict be on some of the customs of our day? R4742:1
Covetousness is one of the most crying evils of our day. R4742:4
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| 21 Behold me! [saith he] bringing in upon thee, calamity, and I will consume after thee,–and cut off of Ahab, even the meanest, whether shut up or left at large in Israel; |
Thy posterity – Empires succeeding the Roman. R235:5
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| 22 and will deliver up thy house–Like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah,–for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked, and caused, Israel, to sin. |
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| 23 Moreover also, concerning Jezebel, hath Yahweh spoken, saying,–The dogs, shall eat Jezebel, in the town-land of Jezreel: |
The dogs – The degraded. R235:5
Eat Jezebel – The church and world united system shall be cast down and consumed. R235:5
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| 24 Him that dieth, of Ahab, in the city, shall, the dogs, eat,–and, him that dieth in the field, shall, the birds of heaven, eat. |
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| 25 But indeed, there was none like Ahab, who sold himself to do the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh,–whom Jezebel his wife goaded on; |
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| 26 so that he did very abominably, in going after the manufactured gods,–according to all which the Amorites had done, whom Yahweh dispossessed from before the sons of Israel. |
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| 27 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard these words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted,–and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. |
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| 28 Then came the word of Yahweh unto Elijah the Tishbite, saying: |
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| 29 Hast thou seen that Allah hath humbled himself, before me? Because he hath humbled himself before me, I will not bring in the calamity in his days, In the days of his son, will I bring in the calamity upon his house. |
Because he humbleth himself – On account of this degree of repentance. R2340:5
In his son's days – A mark of God's patience and forbearance. R2340:6
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