Naboth's Vineyard

"Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or… the worth of it in money. And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee." Ahab lies on his bed, "heavy and displeased," and will not eat.

"Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread… I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite." Jezebel writes letters in Ahab's name, sealed with his seal, to the elders of Naboth's city: "Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king." They do so; Naboth is stoned. "Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth… for Naboth is not alive, but dead."

The word of the LORD comes to Elijah: "Hast thou killed, and also taken possession?… In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine." Ahab: "Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?" "I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil." Judgment is pronounced on Ahab's house and on Jezebel. Ahab tears his clothes, fasts and goes softly. "Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me?… I will not bring the evil in his days."

Land that cannot be sold

Israel's law treated family land as held from God and kept within the family (Leviticus 25:23; Numbers 27; 36). Naboth's refusal is not stubbornness but faithfulness. Kings elsewhere in the ancient Near East could and did acquire land; Ugaritic royal grants and Mesopotamian documents record kings buying and confiscating fields.

Jezreel

Tel Jezreel, excavated by David Ussishkin and John Woodhead (1990–96) and later by Norma Franklin and Jennie Ebeling, had a large Iron Age royal enclosure with a moat, generally dated to the Omride period. Winepresses and agricultural installations cut in the rock around the site show that vineyards grew there. No particular vineyard can be identified as Naboth's.

Jezebel

Jezebel acts with royal authority and uses the king's seal. A seal inscribed "yzbl" of unknown provenance has been suggested as hers; this is unverified. The story condemns her actions; it does not justify later uses of her name to condemn women generally or foreigners.

In the library's Greek, this story is chapter 20, directly after the Elijah chapters.