Naboth's refusal to sell his vine yard to Ahab Jezebel's meas secure Naboth's death § 73. Murder of Naboth and Elijah's Condemnation of Ahab, I Kgs. 21 Early Ephraimite Elijah Stories I Kgs. 21 1Nowh Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it is more satisfactory to you, I will give you the value of it in money. 3But Naboth answered Ahab, Jehovah forbid me, that I should give to you the inheritance of my fathers. 4And Ahab came into his house in ill-humori because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, I will not give to you the inheritance of my fathers. And he lay down on his bed and covered his face and would eat no food. 5But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, Why are you so out of humor that you eat no food? And he replied to her, Because I made a ures to proposition to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, 'Give me your vineyard for money; or else if it is more satisfactory to you I will give you another vineyard for it'; and he answered, 'I will not give you my vineyard.' 7Then Jezebel his wife said to him, Is it you who now holds sway in Israel? Arise, eat, and let your heart be cheerful. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles who were in his city who presided with Naboth. 9And she wrote in the letters, Proclaim a fast and also place Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 10Then place two base men before him and let them bear witness against him, saying, 'You have cursed God and the king.' And then carry him out and stone him to death. Realization 11 And the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who presided in his her city, did as Jezebel had ordered them. As it was prescribed in the letters designs which she had sent to them, 12they proclaimed a fast, and put Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 13And two base men came in and sat before him, and the scoundrels bore witness against him (Naboth) in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth cursed God and the king. Then they carried him out of the city and stoned him to death with stones. 14 And they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead. 15And as soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive but dead. 16 And as soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. § 73 In introducing 21 immediately after 19 the Gk. has undoubtedly preserved the original order. Not only is the literary style the same here, as in 19, but Elijah occupies the same prominent position, while Ahab appears in a much less favorable light than in 20. h 211 So Gk. and Lat. A later scribe has endeavored to connect this story with the incidents in the preceding chapter by adding the introductory phrase now it came to pass after these things. This was probably copied from 1717. 214 Following the Gk. in reconstructing the Heb. i 214 So Gk. Heb., turned away. k 2110 Lit., blessed. The word is apparently used euphemistically with the implication that Naboth had committed an unspeakable crime, probably that of blasphemy. 12113 The later law regarding the punishment of blasphemy is found in Lev. 2415, 16. Early Ephraimite Elijah Stories go 999 mes con tion and his 17 But the word of Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 18Arise, Elijah's down to meet Ahab the king of Israel, who dwells in Samaria; he is just sage of now in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he has gone down to take possession divine of it. 19 And thou shalt speak to him, saying, 'Thus saith Jehovah, "Hast demnathou killed and also taken possession? Moreover thou shalt speak to against him, saying, 'Thus saith Jehovah, "In the place where the dogs licked the Ahab, blood of Naboth will the dogs lick thy blood also.” 20 And Ahab said to house Elijah, Have you found me,m O mine enemy? And he answered, I have. Because thou hast sold thyself to no purpose, to do that which is displeasing to Jehovah, "I will bring evil upon thee, and will utterly sweep thee away and will cut off from Ahab every male and him that is shut up and him that is left at large in Israel. 22And I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the anger which thou hast aroused and because thou hast made Israel to sin. 23And of Jezebel also Jehovah has spoken, saying, "The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the district of Jezreel. 24Whoever of Ahab's house dieth in the fields, the birds of the heavens shall eat.' 25There was absolutely none who sold himself to do that which was displeasing to Ahab's Jehovah, as did Ahab, because Jezebel his wife incited him. For he behaved most guilt abominably in following idols, as did all the Amorites, whom Jehovah had driven out before the Israelites. repent ance 27 Now when Ahab heard those words he tore his clothes and put sack- His cloth on his flesh and fasted, he also slept on sackcloth and went about quietly. 28 Then the word of Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29Hast thou seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days; but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house. §74. Deliverance of Samaria from the Arameans, I Kgs. 201-25. Ahab History hadad's I Kgs. 20 1Then Ben-hadad' the king of Aram gathered all his host Bentogether, and there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots. unreaAnd he went up and besieged Samaria and fought against it. And he sent sonamessengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city and said to him, Thus says mands m 2120 I.e., some act to be condemned. 2120b-22 The original words of Elijah have been here expanded by the late prophetic editor, whose language and ideas are readily recognized. The oracle in 1410, 11 is repeated almost word for word. Vs. 23, however, may have belonged to the original speech. If not, it was probably added to the text by an early editor, familiar with II Kgs. 9. 2120 So Gk, and Luc. The Heb. omits the pregnant phrase, to no purpose. P 213 So Syr., Lat., and Targ. The Heb. is doubtful. RV, rampart, but cf. II Kgs. 910, 36, 37. a 2128, 29 These verses assume, not the older prediction in 1, but the broader judgment in the secondary passage, 21, so that they also are probably secondary. Moreover, they refer to events peculiar to the later Elisha stories. 874 That the incidents recorded in this chapter and its natural sequel, 221-37, belong to the latter years of Ahab's reign is indicated by 221 and by the fact that Aramean aggressions became especially active at this time. The evidence that these were not taken from the same source as the preceding Elijah stories is conclusive. Elijah is nowhere mentioned, but instead Micaiah appears as the representative of the true prophets, 228-20; Ahab is viewed in a much more favorable light, and he is here called the king of Israel-not prevailingly by his given name as in the Elijah stories, or as the king of Samaria. The narratives also deal with political rather than social and religious questions. The vividness and fidelity with which Ahab's character and acts are portrayed are only paralleled by the early Saul and David histories. He appears as a brave warrior, a wise, patriotic ruler and a gracious conqueror (2033). Nothing is said of his apostasy. Instead he is a ruler who listens to the advice of the prophets of Jehovah, 2022-28; although the victim of the 201 Ben-hadad II, whose name appears on the Assyrian inscriptions as Dadda-idri. The original Heb. transcription was probably, Hadader or Hadadezer. Cf. chronological chart after p. 199. ble de Ahab's Ahab History Ben-hadad, 3Your silver and your gold are mine; your wives also and your children, are mine. And the king of Israel answered and said, As you say, my lord, O king: I am yours with all that I have. 5And the messengers came again and said, Thus says Ben-hadad, 'I sent to you, saying, “You shall deliver to me your silver and your gold and your wives and your children"; "but to-morrow I will send my servants about this time and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants; and whatever is attractive to them, they shall take in their hands and bear it away.' refusal I to com ply His vic tory over ameans "Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, Mark, pray, and see how this man is seeking to make trouble, for he sent to me for my wives and my children and for my silver and gold, and I did not refuse him. And all the elders and all the people said to him, Do not hearken nor consent! 9Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, Tell my lord the king, 'All that you demanded of your servant at the first I will do, but this I cannot do.' So the messengers departed and brought him word again. 10Then Ben-hadad sent to him and said, Let the gods do to me what they will, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me! 11And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, ‘Let not him who is girding on his sword boast himself as he who is putting it off.' 12Now when Ben-hadad" heard this message he was drinking together with the kings in the pavilions-he said to his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city. 13But just then a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel and said, Thus saith Jehovah, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? Behold, I the Ar- will deliver it into thy hand to-day, and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah.' 14And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith Jehovah, ‘By the young men under the provincial commanders.'v And he said, Who shall begin the battle? And he answered, Thou.w 15Then he mustered the young men under the provincial commanders, and they were two hundred and thirty-two. And after them he mustered all the people, even all the Israelites-seven thousand. 16 And at noon they made the attack, while false representatives of the order, 22. He dies fighting bravely for his people and is buried at Samaria, 2234, 35, 37 While each history doubtless presents sides of Ahab's character and policy not inconsistent with each other, they cannot possibly be from the same source. Chaps. 20 and 22 may have been included in the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, but they were probably taken originally from an independent Ahab history, which was written before the early Elijah stories and therefore between 850 and 800 B.C. This is confirmed by the presence of many linguistic peculiarities found nowhere else. The historical value of these narratives is very great. They reveal the political problem of Northern Israel during one of its most important epochs and throw clear light upon the character and work of Ahab. 203 So Gk. In the Heb. a scribe has awkwardly added after children, the fairest. u 2012 Heb., that one. 2014 I.e., not the soldiers of the standing army, but the warriors furnished in time of war by the local feudal lords. A similar system was in force among the Babylonians and Assyrians. Cf. Johns, Bab. and Assyr. Laws, Contracts, and Letters, pp. 76, 77, 200, 201. 2013, 14 These verses are not absolutely required by the context and may have been added later as certain scholars have urged-to show that Ahab's victories as well as disasters were meted out directly by Jehovah; but the rôle assumed by the prophet here is the same as in the oldest narratives and their attitude toward Ahab appears to have been favorable, as is that of the author of the section. So also 22. * Gk. and Luc.. all the mighty warriors. The reference is evidently to the standing army as contrasted with the militia. Ahab History Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, together with the thirty-two kings who had come to help him. 17 And the young men under ⚫ the provincial commanders went out first. And Ben-hadad sent out messengers and they reported to him saying, Men have come out from Samaria. 18 And he said, Whether they have come out with peaceful intent, take them alive; or whether they have come out for war, take them alive. 19So these (the young men under the provincial commanders) went out of the city, and the army which followed them. 20And they slew each his man, so that the Arameans fled. And the Israelites pursued them, but Ben-hadad, the king of Aram, escaped on a horse with horsemen. 21Then the king of Israel went out and captured a horses and chariots, and slew a great number of the Arameans. hadad's tions second 22 And the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, Go, Benstrengthen thyself, and mark and see what thou wilt do, for a year from prepnow the king of Aram will come up against thee. 23 And the servants of the araking of Aram said to him, Their gods are hill-gods, therefore they were too for a strong for us; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall cambe stronger than they. 24 And do this: take the kings away each from his paign place, and put commanders in their place, 25 and assemble an army, like the army that you have lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot; then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he listened to their advice and did so. § 75. Ahab's Victory over the Arameans at Aphek, I Kgs. 2026-34 Ahab History b second I Kgs. 20 26Now when the year had come around Ben-hadad mustered Ahab's the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. 27 And the great Israelites were mustered and provided with provisions, and went against victory them. And the Israelites encamped before them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans filled the country. 28Then a man of God came near and said to the king of Israel, Thus saith Jehovah, ‘Because the Arameans think, "Jehovah is a hill-god but not a god of the valleys," therefore will deliver all this great multitude into thy hand, that ye may know that I am Jehovah.' 29So they encamped opposite each other seven days. But on the seventh day the battle was joined; and the Israelites slew of the Arameans a hundred thousand footmen in one day. 30But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand of the men who were left. Ben-hadad also fled, and came into the city, into an innermost chamber. ■ 2021 So Gk, and Luc. The Heb. has the less probable reading, slew. § 75 This is the immediate sequel of the preceding narrative. The story has evidently grown during transmission, e.g., 29b, 30b, but these elements may well be from the author who wrote the present narrative. b2027 So Gk., Luc., Syr., Lat., and Targ. The Heb. word is otherwise unknown. Liberal terms offered to Ben hadad by Ahab The acted prophecy and its cation Ahab History our ropes 31 And his servants said to him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings; let us therefore put sackcloth about loins and about our heads and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will save your life. 32So they girded sackcloth about their loins and put ropes about their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, Your servant Ben-hadad says, 'Let me live.' And he replied, Is he yet alive? He is my brother. 33 Now the men began to divine his thought and quickly caught it up from him and said, Ben-hadad is your brother. Then he said, Go, bring him! And when Ben-hadad came out to him he took him up to himself in the chariot. 34And Ben-hadad said to him, The cities which my father took from your father, I will restore, and you may establish streetsd for yourself in Damascus as my father established in Samaria. And Ahabe said, I will let you go with this agreement. So he made an agreement with him and let him go. § 76. Messages of the Unknown Prophet, I Kgs. 2035-43 Very Late Popular Prophetic Story I Kgs. 20 35 Now a certain man of the sons of the prophets at the command of Jehovah said to his fellow, Smite me, I But the man refused pray. to smite him. 36Then he said to him, Since you have not obeyed the voice appli- of Jehovah, as soon as you have gone away from me, a lion shall slay you. Accordingly, as soon as he had gone away from him, a lion found him and slew him. 37Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray. And the man smote him so as to wound him. 38Then the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way and disguised himself with a covering over his eyes. 39 And as the king was passing by, he cried to the king and said, Your servant had gone out into the midst of the battle, when suddenly a man turned aside, and brought a man to me and said, 'Watch this man; if by any means he be missing, then must your life be for his life, or else you must pay a talent of silver!' 40And as your servant was looking here and there,f he was gone. And the king of Israel said to him, Such is your verdict: you yourself have decided it. Then he quickly took the covering away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets. © 2033 The Heb. as it reads is untranslatable. The reading above is based on the text reconstructed with the aid of the Gk. which has, and they took up the word from his mouth. d 2034 I.e., streets with bazaars for the Israelitish traders, who perhaps were under the direct protection and jurisdiction of their native government. This arrangement corresponds to the commercial clause in a modern treaty. In 854 B.C. Ahab and the Aramean king fought against Shalmanezer II. 2034 As often in the Heb., the change of subject is probably implied by the context. Otherwise it is necessary radically to change the text so as to read, You may let me go. $76 The language and atmosphere of this strange tale are entirely different from the sober narrative to which it is attached. It is closely akin to the very late tradition in 12-13, § 61. The extraordinary and inexplicable appear alike in both. In each a lion is the agent of divine judgment. The conception of the prophets is that of a very late and unhistorical period. The real point of the story is obscure." It seems to be a condemnation of Ahab's lenient policy toward his beaten foe. Like 12-1334, it may have been added after the late prophetic compilation of Kgs, had been made. The Heb., was a doer of hither and thither, is an exceedingly f 2040 So Gk., Luc., and Targ. awkward, if not impossible construction. |