ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for 1 Kings 21

1 Kings 21:1–29 An apparently reinvigorated Elijah appears again in Jezreel to denounce another sin of Ahab and to foretell the destruction of Ahab’s family for all its sins.

1 Kings 21:3 the inheritance of my fathers. The land of Israel did not belong to the families who technically “owned” it. Instead it belonged to God. He had brought the Israelites into the land in fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise and had, through Joshua, divided it among the tribes as their inheritance (e.g., Gen. 17:8; Lev. 25:23; Josh. 13:1–7). A complex set of laws kept land in the family. This prevented it from being owned by only the rich (e.g., Deut. 25:5–10). Ahab’s offer shows his disregard for Israelite law.

1 Kings 21:7 Do you now govern Israel? Jezebel is the most powerful person in Israel (see 19:1–2), not her passive husband Ahab. She despises Ahab when he is unwilling to use his power for personal gain.

1 Kings 21:8–10 Proclaim a fast. Jezebel’s plan to have Naboth executed on false charges requires the cooperation of elders and leaders who don’t care about justice for the poor (see Deut. 19:11–13; 21:1–9). It also requires the cooperation of two worthless men, who will be the two witnesses required by OT law (see Deut. 19:15–21).

1 Kings 21:15 take possession of the vineyard. This assumes that the king is entitled to confiscate the property of an executed criminal. This custom is recorded in the history of other ancient nations, but there was no such provision in Israelite law. Ahab and Jezebel were ignoring Israelite law and introducing foreign ideas.

1 Kings 21:19 In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood. Ahab died in battle and was buried in Samaria (22:34–37), not outside Jezreel “in the place” where Naboth was stoned (21:19; see v. 13). Yet, when dogs in Samaria lick up the blood washed from Ahab’s chariot, the text declares that it was a fulfillment of this prophecy (22:38). The prophecy was probably fulfilled in stages, first by Ahab’s death and then by the death of his son Joram, whose body was in fact thrown into Naboth’s vineyard (2 Kings 9:25–26).

1 Kings 21:23–24 The dogs shall eat . . . the birds of the heavens shall eat. Israelites considered it a terrible thing not to be given a proper burial (Deut. 28:25–26).

1 Kings 21:29 Because he has humbled himself. Ahab was the worst of kings (vv. 25–26). He added to Jeroboam’s sin the worship of Baal (16:30–33). But Ahab repents, and so avoids God’s judgment on his house in his lifetime.