1 Kings 21:6

And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

21:5-16 When, instead of a help meet, a man has an agent for Satan, in the form of an artful, unprincipled, yet beloved wife, fatal effects may be expected. Never were more wicked orders given by any prince, than those Jezebel sent to the rulers of Jezreel. Naboth must be murdered under colour of religion. There is no wickedness so vile, so horrid, but religion has sometimes been made a cover for it. Also, it must be done under colour of justice, and with the formalities of legal process. Let us, from this sad story, be amazed at the wickedness of the wicked, and the power of Satan in the children of disobedience. Let us commit the keeping of our lives and comforts to God, for innocence will not always be our security; and let us rejoice in the knowledge that all will be set to rights in the great day.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Upon his bed - That is, "upon his couch." The Jews, like other Orientals, reclined upon couches at their meals (Amos 6:4; Ezekiel 23:41, etc.). Ahab turns his face toward the back of the couch, rejecting all converse with others, and so remains, after the banquet is served, refusing to partake of it. Such an open manifestation of ill temper is thoroughly characteristic of an Oriental king.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

1Ki 21:5-16. Jezebel Causes Naboth to Be Stoned.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No text from Poole on this verse.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And he said, because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, give me thy vineyard for money,.... Sell it him at his own price:

or else, if it please thee; if he liked it better:

I will give thee another vineyard for it; as good, or better; and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard; he represents this answer as surly and ill natured, and as the effect of obstinacy, concealing the reason Naboth alleged for his denial.

Geneva Study Bible

And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

6. I will not give thee my vineyard] For the last two words the LXX. has ‘the inheritance of my fathers.’ Of course it is to be understood that Ahab would lay before Jezebel the motive, from which Naboth had refused his king’s request. But the narrative is much more in character with the rest of Ahab’s behaviour, if he at first makes mention only of the blank refusal. The ground for holding firm to his inheritance would most likely have found an echo in many an Israelite’s heart. We see that Jezebel gives no hint to any one of the true cause for wishing to put Naboth out of the way. Had she done so, she must have mentioned the reason for his scruple, and the elders of Jezreel though they had forgotten the laws of Jehovah, would, for all that, not have cared to give publicity to Naboth’s answer.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 6. - And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him; Give me thy vineyard for money [Heb. silver]; or else, if it please [Heb. delight] thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered [Heb. said], I will not give thee my vineyard. [Ahab does not mention the reason which Naboth assigned for his refusal. But Naboth's reasons were nothing to him, and he had hardly given them a second thought.] 1 Kings 21:6

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

When Jezebel learned the cause of Ahab's ill-humour, she said to him, "Thou, dost thou now exercise royal authority over Israel." אתּה is placed first for the sake of emphasis, and the sentence is to be taken as an ironical question, as it has been by the lxx. "I (if thou hast not courage enough to act) will procure thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite."