1-Kings - 21:4



4 Ahab came into his house sullen and angry because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, "I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers." He laid himself down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of 1-Kings 21:4.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.
And Achab came into his house angry and fretting, because of the word that Naboth the Jezrahelite had spoken to him, saying: I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And casting himself upon his bed, he turned away his face to the wall, and would eat no bread.
And Ahab came into his house sullen and vexed because of the word that Naboth the Jizreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and ate no bread.
and Ahab cometh in unto his house, sulky and wroth, because of the word that Naboth the Jezreelite hath spoken unto him when he saith, 'I do not give to thee the inheritance of my fathers,' and he lieth down on his bed, and turneth round his face, and hath not eaten bread.
So Ahab came into his house bitter and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him, I will not give you the heritage of my fathers. And stretching himself on the bed with his face turned away, he would take no food.
And Ahab came into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said: 'I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers.' And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.
Then Ahab went into his house, angry and gnashing his teeth over the word that Naboth, the Jezreelite, had spoken to him, saying, "I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers." And casting himself on his bed, he turned away his face to the wall, and he would not eat bread.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

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.

He laid him down upon his bed - Poor soul! he was lord over ten-twelfths of the land, and became miserable because he could not get a poor man's vineyard added to all that he possessed! It is a true saying, "That soul in which God dwells not, has no happiness: and he who has God has a satisfying portion." Every privation and cross makes an unholy soul unhappy; and privations and crosses it must ever meet with, therefore: -
"Where'er it goes is hell;
itself is hell!"

And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down (b) upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.
(b) Thus the wicked do not consider what is just and lawful, but fret inwardly when they cannot have their inordinate lusts satisfied.

And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased,.... Just in the same humour he was after the prophet had delivered his message to him, 1-Kings 20:43, where the same words are used as here:
because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him, for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers, neither by way of exchange nor of purchase: and such a denial he could not bear, since it looked like treating him with contempt, and taxing him with imprudence at least, if not with injustice, or both:
and he laid him down upon his bed; or couch, which might be not in his bedchamber, but in one of his halls, where his courtiers were:
and turned away his face; to the wall, not choosing to have conversation with any of his nobles:
and would eat no bread; the vexation took away his stomach, and he became melancholy, at least sullen.

turned away his face--either to conceal from his attendants the vexation of spirit he felt, or, by the affectation of great sorrow, rouse them to devise some means of gratifying his wishes.

Instead of respecting this tender feeling of shrinking from the transgression of the law and desisting from his coveting, Ahab went home, i.e., to Samaria (cf. 1-Kings 21:8), sullen and morose (סר וזעף as in 1-Kings 20:43), lay down upon his bed, turned his face (viz., to the wall; cf. 2-Kings 20:2) - "after the manner of sorrowful persons, who shrink from and refuse all conversation, and even the sight of others" (Seb. Schmidt) - and did not eat. This childish mode of giving expression to his displeasure at Naboth's refusal to comply with his wish, shows very clearly that Ahab was a man sold under sin (1-Kings 21:20), who only wanted the requisite energy to display the wickedness of his heart in vigorous action.

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