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 lived with Naboth.
Parallel Translations
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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 lived with Naboth.
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So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth.
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So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, and that dwelt with Naboth.
Cross-references (14)
Passages linked to 1 Kings 21:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Numbers 11:16 Yahweh said to Moses, “Gather to me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; and bring them to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you.
- Deuteronomy 16:18-19 You shall make judges and officers in all your gates, which Yahweh your God gives you, according to your tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality. You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.
- Deuteronomy 21:1-9 If someone is found slain in the land which Yahweh your God gives you to possess, lying in the field, and it isn’t known who has struck him, then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure to the cities which are around him who is slain. It shall be that the elders of the city which is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer of the herd, which hasn’t been worked with and which has not drawn in the yoke. The elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. The priests the sons of Levi shall come near, for them Yahweh your God has chosen to minister to him, and to bless in Yahweh’s name; and according to their word shall every controversy and every assault be decided. All the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. They shall answer and say, “Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. Forgive, Yahweh, your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and don’t allow innocent blood among your people Israel.” The blood shall be forgiven them. So you shall put away the innocent blood from among you, when you shall do that which is right in Yahweh’s eyes.
- 2 Samuel 11:14-15 In the morning, David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. He wrote in the letter, saying, “Send Uriah to the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck, and die.”
- 1 Kings 20:7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, “Please notice how this man seeks mischief; for he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I didn’t deny him.”
- 1 Kings 21:1 After these things, Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
- 2 Kings 10:1-7 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, even the elders, and to those who brought up Ahab’s sons, saying, “Now as soon as this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons are with you, and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and armor, Select the best and fittest of your master’s sons, set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.” But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, “Behold, the two kings didn’t stand before him! How then shall we stand?” He who was over the household, and he who was over the city, the elders also, and those who raised the children, sent to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants, and will do all that you ask us. We will not make any man king. You do that which is good in your eyes.” Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, “If you are on my side, and if you will listen to my voice, take the heads of the men who are your master’s sons, and come to me to Jezreel by tomorrow this time.” Now the king’s sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who brought them up. When the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and killed them, even seventy people, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him to Jezreel.
- 2 Kings 10:11 So Jehu struck all that remained of Ahab’s house in Jezreel, with all his great men, his familiar friends, and his priests, until he left him no one remaining.
- 2 Chronicles 32:17 He also wrote letters insulting Yahweh, the God of Israel, and speaking against him, saying, “As the gods of the nations of the lands, which have not delivered their people out of my hand, so shall the God of Hezekiah not deliver his people out of my hand.”
- Ezra 4:7-8 In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in Syrian, and delivered in the Syrian language. Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows,
- Ezra 4:11 This is the copy of the letter that they sent: To King Artaxerxes, From your servants the men beyond the River.
- Nehemiah 6:5 Then Sanballat sent his servant to me the same way the fifth time with an open letter in his hand,
- Esther 3:12-15 Then the king’s scribes were called in on the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month; and all that Haman commanded was written to the king’s local governors, and to the governors who were over every province, and to the princes of every people, to every province according to its writing, and to every people in their language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus, and it was sealed with the king’s ring. Letters were sent by couriers into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to plunder their possessions. A copy of the letter, that the decree should be given out in every province, was published to all the peoples, that they should be ready against that day. The couriers went out in haste by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given out in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Susa was perplexed.
- Esther 8:8-13 Write also to the Jews, as it pleases you, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring; for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may not be reversed by any man.” Then the king’s scribes were called at that time, in the third month, which is the month Sivan, on the twenty-third day of the month; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews, and to the local governors, and the governors and princes of the provinces which are from India to Ethiopia, one hundred twenty-seven provinces, to every province according to its writing, and to every people in their language, and to the Jews in their writing, and in their language. He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king’s ring, and sent letters by courier on horseback, riding on royal horses that were bred from swift steeds. In those letters, the king granted the Jews who were in every city to gather themselves together, and to defend their life, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, their little ones and women, and to plunder their possessions, on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar. A copy of the letter, that the decree should be given out in every province, was published to all the peoples, that the Jews should be ready for that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Ki 21:8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name,…
1Ki 21:8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed [them] with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that [were] in his city, dwelling with Naboth.
Ver. 8. So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal.] She was king, and he queen, as was afore noted; she wrought upon his impotencies, and did what she listed. The he-viper putteth his head into the she-viper’s mouth, and she biteth it off: so the uxorious person parteth with his authority.
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Unto the elders.] Who were her creatures likely, and therefore so morigerous.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Whom she very well knew to be fit for…
Whom she very well knew to be fit for her purpose.
In his city, i.e. in Jezreel. So she seeks to destroy him with a pretence of justice, and with as little reflection upon Ahab as might be.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And set two men, sons of Belial, before him,…
And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him,.... Worthless wretches, that have cast off the yoke of the law, as Belial signifies, lawless abandoned creatures, that have no conscience of anything; "knights of the post", as we call them, that will swear anything; these were to be set before Naboth, right against him to confront him, and accuse him to his face, and charge him with crimes next mentioned:
saying, thou didst blaspheme God and the king: and so was guilty of death for the former, if not for both, and of confiscation of estate for the latter, which was the thing aimed at; and Jezebel was willing to make sure work of it, and therefore would have him accused of both:
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and then carry him out, and stone him, that he die; immediately, without requiring the witnesses to give proof of their charge, and without giving Naboth leave to answer for himself.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 8. She wrote letters in Ahab's name] She…
Verse 8. She wrote letters in Ahab's name] She counterfeited his authority by his own consent; and he lent his signet to stamp that authority.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Ki 21:8. She sent the letters unto the elders…
1Ki 21:8. She sent the letters unto the elders and nobles — Whom she very well knew to be fit for her purpose; that were in his city — In Jezreel. Thus she seeks to destroy him with a pretence of justice, and with as little reflection on Ahab as might be.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Seal - The seal is a very ancient invention.…
Seal - The seal is a very ancient invention. Judah’s signet and Pharaoh’s signet-ring are mentioned in Genesis Gen 38:18; Gen 41:42. Signets of Egyptian kings have been found which are referred to about 2000 B.C. Sennacherib’s signet, and an impression of Sargon’s, are still extant. There can be no doubt that in the East, from a very remote antiquity, kings had seals and appended them to all documents which they set forth under their authority. (Compare also Est 3:12; Est 8:8; Dan 6:17). The Hebrew mode of sealing seems to have been by attaching a lump of clay to the document, and impressing the seal thereupon Job 38:14.
His city - i. e., Jezreel 1Ki 21:1. The mode in which it is spoken of here, and in 1Ki 21:11, seems to imply that it was not the city from which Jezebel wrote. The court was evidently at this time residing at Samaria 1Ki 20:43; and Ahab may either have met Naboth there, or have gone down (compare 1Ki 21:16) to Jezreel to make his request, and then, on being refused, have returned to Samaria. The distance is not more than seven miles.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Chief men. Hebrew chorim, "those in white," the usual…
Chief men. Hebrew chorim, "those in white," the usual colour of magistrates and noblemen, Ecclesiastes ix. 8., and Daniel vii. 9. The angels generally appear arrayed in white. Among the Egyptians and the Greeks, the rich were remarkable for the whiteness of their robes. (Herodotus ii. 36.) (Homer, Odyssey z.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed…
So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal--The seal-ring contained the name of the king and gave validity to the documents to which it was affixed (Est 8:8; Dan 6:17). By allowing her the use of his signet-ring, Ahab passively consented to Jezebel's proceeding. Being written in the king's name, it had the character of a royal mandate.
sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city--They were the civic authorities of Jezreel, and would, in all likelihood, be the creatures and fit tools of Jezebel. It is evident that, though Ahab had recently been in Jezreel, when he made the offer to Naboth, both he and Jezebel were now in Samaria (Kg1 20:43).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 8. Sealed them with his seal — “In giving…
8. Sealed them with his seal — “In giving validity to documents, names were not in those days, nor are they now in the East, signed by the hand in writing, but impressed by a seal on which the name is engraved. Hence the importance which is attached to the signet throughout the sacred books.” — Kitto.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 8. she wrote letters in Ahab’s name] She was…
8. she wrote letters in Ahab’s name] She was the real ruler, he only king in name. The letters would be prepared for her by the royal secretaries. Jezebel’s part was to take the signet ring of her husband, and therewith affix the royal seal that the document might go forth with authority. Apparently Ahab asked no question about the means which his wife meant to employ.
the elders and to the nobles] The law ordered (Deu_16:18) that there should be judges appointed in every city, and we cannot doubt the existence of such a tribunal in a place so important as Jezreel, where the elders and nobles would form the bench of magistrates. The sequel shews that for such an offence as that charged against Naboth they had the power of life and death. But the whole proceeding is very Oriental. The royal letter dictates the sentence, and how it is to be obtained, and the persons to whom it is addressed make no scruple about obeying, although the last words of this verse increase the enormity of their proceeding by telling that they ‘were in his city, dwelling with Naboth’, and so it would seem well acquainted with his character.
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The words ‘in his city’ are omitted in the LXX.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (8) Sealed them with his seal—with the name, or…
(8) Sealed them with his seal—with the name, or token, of the king, engraved on stone, and impressed (see Job_38:14) on a lump of clay attached to the letter. The sealing (as the modern sense of “signature” implies) was the pledge of authenticity and authority. (See Gen_38:18; Neh_9:38; Neh_10:1; Est_3:10; Est_3:12, Dan_6:17, &c.) The use of the seal—ordinarily worn or carried on the person—implies Ahab’s knowledge that something is being done in his name, into which he takes care not to inquire.
In his city.—This would be most naturally interpreted as Jezreel; but if Naboth dwelt or sojourned at Samaria, it may be Samaria. Jezebel naturally desires that neither Ahab nor she herself, though close at hand, should appear in the matter; but gives the necessary authority in writing, because without it the deed could not be done.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain So she wrote letters Heb. writings in Ahab"s name,…
So she wrote letters Heb. writings in Ahab"s name, and sealed them with his seal The use of the seal, for the purpose of authentication, is of great antiquity. Some of the Egyptian signets are more than 4, 000 years old. Their use in the age of the patriarchs is attested by Gen_38:15 and 41:42; their importance is proved by the text, by Est_3:10 Est_8:2, Est_8:8, 10 (cf. "Herod," 3:128); Dan_6:17; Jer_32:10; Hag_2:23, etc. Whether this seal which does not necessarily prove that those who used it could not write was impressed upon the writings themselves according to the modern practice of the East, or upon a piece of clay, (Job_38:14) which was then attached to the letter by strings, we have no means of knowing. The use of Ahab"s seal affords a strong presumption that he was privy to her designs (Bahr), but of this we cannot be absolutely certain, and sent the letters unto the elders see Deu_16:18 and to the nobles same Neh_2:16 Neh_4:13; Ecc_10:17 that were in his city, dwelling or inhabitants, as in ver. 11 with Naboth.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 wrote letters in Ahab's name
wrote letters in Ahab's name
Possible meanings are 1) she wrote Ahab's name on the letters. AT: "wrote letters and signed them with Ahab's name" or 2) the word "name" is a metonym for authority. AT: "wrote letters on behalf of Ahab" (See: Metonymy)
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the wealthy who sat with him
The word "wealthy" refers to wealthy people. AT: "the wealthy people who sat with Naboth" (See: Nominal Adjectives)
seat Naboth above the people
Having Naboth sit in a place of honor is spoken of as if it were having him sit above the rest of the people who were present. AT: "have Naboth sit in a place of honor among the people" (See: Metaphor)
let them testify against him
"have them accuse him"
translationWords
epistle
Ahab
name
seal
send
elder
life
preach
fast
testimony
curse
God
king
stone
die
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 21:8-9 Call the citizens together: This kind of assembly…
21:8-9 Call the citizens together: This kind of assembly would normally address sin that could bring divine judgment against the people (see Deut 21:1-9; Josh 7:10-12; 1 Sam 7:1-6). Jezebel convened it to bring false charges against an innocent person.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.