Discovery Box1 Kings 21:9-29
Context21:9 This is what she wrote: 1 “Observe a time of fasting and seat Naboth in front of the people. 21:10 Also seat two villains opposite him and have them testify, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
21:11 The men of the 2 city, the leaders 3 and the nobles who lived there, 4 followed the written orders Jezebel had sent them. 5 21:12 They observed a time of fasting and put Naboth in front of the people. 21:13 The two villains arrived and sat opposite him. Then the villains testified against Naboth right before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they dragged him 6 outside the city and stoned him to death. 7 21:14 Then they reported to Jezebel, “Naboth has been stoned to death.” 8
21:15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she 9 said to Ahab, “Get up, take possession of the vineyard Naboth the Jezreelite refused to sell you for silver, for Naboth is no longer alive; he’s dead.” 21:16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, 10 he got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
21:17 The Lord told Elijah the Tishbite: 11 21:18 “Get up, go down and meet King Ahab of Israel who lives in Samaria. He is at the vineyard of Naboth; he has gone down there to take possession of it. 21:19 Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Haven’t you committed murder and taken possession of the property of the deceased?”’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “In the spot where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood they will also lick up your blood – yes, yours!”’”
21:20 When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, 12 “So, you have found me, my enemy!” Elijah 13 replied, “I have found you, because you are committed 14 to doing evil in the sight of 15 the Lord. 21:21 The Lord says, 16 ‘Look, I am ready to bring disaster 17 on you. I will destroy you 18 and cut off every last male belonging to Ahab in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. 19 21:22 I will make your dynasty 20 like those of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah because you angered me and made Israel sin.’ 21 21:23 The Lord says this about Jezebel, ‘Dogs will devour Jezebel by the outer wall 22 of Jezreel.’ 21:24 As for Ahab’s family, dogs will eat the ones 23 who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country.” 21:25 (There had never been anyone like Ahab, who was firmly committed 24 to doing evil in the sight of 25 the Lord, urged on by his wife Jezebel. 26 21:26 He was so wicked he worshiped the disgusting idols, 27 just like the Amorites 28 whom the Lord had driven out from before the Israelites.)
21:27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He slept in sackcloth and walked around dejected. 21:28 The Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, 29 21:29 “Have you noticed how Ahab shows remorse 30 before me? Because he shows remorse before me, I will not bring disaster on his dynasty during his lifetime, but during the reign of his son.” 31
[21:9] 1 tn Heb “she wrote on the scrolls, saying.”
[21:11] 4 tn Heb “and the nobles who were living in his city.”
[21:11] 5 tn Heb “did as Jezebel sent to them, just as was written in the scrolls which she sent to them.”
[21:13] 7 tn Heb “and they stoned him with stones and he died.”
[21:14] 8 tn Heb “Naboth was stoned and he died.” So also in v. 15.
[21:15] 9 tn Heb “Jezebel”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[21:16] 10 tc The Old Greek translation includes the following words here: “he tore his garments and put on sackcloth. After these things.”
[21:17] 11 tn Heb “the word of the
[21:20] 12 tn Heb “and Ahab said to Elijah.” The narrative is elliptical and streamlined. The words “when Elijah arrived” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[21:20] 13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:20] 14 tn Heb “you have sold yourself.”
[21:20] 15 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[21:21] 16 tn The introductory formula “the
[21:21] 17 sn Disaster. There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text. The word translated “disaster” (רָעָה, ra’ah) is similar to the word translated “evil” (v. 20, הָרַע, hara’). Ahab’s sins would receive an appropriate punishment.
[21:21] 18 tn Heb “I will burn after you.” Some take the verb בָּעַר (ba’ar) to mean here “sweep away.” See the discussion of this verb in the notes at 14:10 and 16:3.
[21:21] 19 tn Heb “and I will cut off from Ahab those who urinate against a wall, [including both those who are] restrained and let free [or “abandoned”] in Israel.” The precise meaning of the idiomatic phrase עָצוּר וְעָזוּב (’atsur vÿ’azuv, translated here “weak and incapacitated”) is uncertain. For various options see HALOT 871 s.v. עצר and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 107. The two terms are usually taken as polar opposites (“slaves and freemen” or “minors and adults”), but Cogan and Tadmor, on the basis of contextual considerations (note the usage with אֶפֶס (’efes), “nothing but”) in Deut 32:36 and 2 Kgs 14:26, argue convincingly that the terms are synonyms, meaning “restrained and abandoned,” and refer to incapable or incapacitated individuals.
[21:22] 21 tn Heb “because of the provocation by which you angered [me], and you caused Israel to sin.”
[21:23] 22 tc A few Hebrew
[21:24] 23 tn “Dogs will eat the ones who belonging to Ahab who die in the city.”
[21:25] 24 tn Heb “who sold himself.”
[21:25] 25 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[21:25] 26 tn Heb “like Ahab…whom his wife Jezebel incited.”
[21:26] 27 tn The Hebrew word used here, גִלּוּלִים (gillulim) is always used as a disdainful reference to idols. It is generally thought to have originally referred to “dung pellets” (cf. KBL 183 s.v. גִלּוּלִים). It is only one of several terms used in this way, such as אֱלִילִים (’elilim, “worthless things”) and הֲבָלִים (havalim, “vanities” or “empty winds”).
[21:26] 28 tn Heb “He acted very abominably by walking after the disgusting idols, according to all which the Amorites had done.”
[21:28] 29 tn Heb “the word of the
[21:29] 30 tn Or “humbles himself.” The expression occurs a second time later in this verse.
[21:29] 31 tn Heb “I will not bring the disaster during his days, [but] in the days of his son I will bring the disaster on his house.”
