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Ahab's Criminal Request of Naboth: Why Naboth Refused (1Kings 21:2–4)


Seiten 275 - 289

DOI https://doi.org/10.13173/zeitaltobiblrech.21.2015.0275




Bar-Ilan University

1 J.M. Miller, The Fall of the House of Ahab, VT 17, 1967, (307–324), 312–313; A. Rofé, The Vineyard of Naboth: The Origin and Message of the Story, Beit Mikra 33, 1988 (Hebrew), (432–446), 438–444; C.V. Camp, 1 and 2 Kings, in: C.A. Newsom / S.H. Ringe (eds.), Women's Bible Commentary, Expanded edition, Louisville, KY 1998, (102–116), 110; Trible, The Odd Couple: Elijah and Jezebel, in: C. Spiegel / C. Buchmann (eds.), Out of the Garden: Women Writers of the Bible, New York, NY 1994, (166–179), 169. On the complex issue regarding when the Book of Kings was composed, see e.g., J. Gray, I and II Kings: A Commentary, OTL, London 1970, 6–12; M. Cogan, 1 Kings: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, AB 10; New York, NY 2001, 96–100; M.A. Sweeney, I and II Kings, OTL, Louisville, KY 2007, 4–8. For an updated survey on this issue regarding the stories of Elijah, see M. Garsiel, From Earth to Heaven: A Literary Study of Elijah Stories in the Book of Kings, Bethesda, MD 2014, 1–16.

2 N. Na'aman, Naboth's Vineyard and the Foundation of Jezreel, JSOT 33, 2008, (197–218), 197, 206. For a survey of the various views regarding the history of this story, see ibid., 209 (n. 9), 200, 211–214. See also the Malbim in situ. [Who says,] “then if this vineyard was in Samaria near the palace, and after the palace in Samaria was a general matter that could affect the general public, because Samaria was the capital, and it was necessary for the palace to be splendid for the honor of the nation and its benefit, then it was a bad thing to take the vineyard. Therefore, he said that the vineyard was in Jezreel, and Ahab was the king of Samaria. This meant that Samaria was his capital, not Jezreel, and his temple in Jezreel was not the palace, only his temple, not because he was the king.”

3 Cf. A. Rofé, Vineyard of Naboth (see above note 1), 438–444; M. Cogan, 1 Kings (see above note 1) 486.

4 For a comprehensive survey of the research from different perspectives, see M. Garsiel, From Earth (see above note 1) 107–141, esp. 107–115. For some discussion on the structure and division into scenes of Ch. 21, see, e.g., P.T. Cronauer, The Stories about Naboth the Jezreelite: A Source, Composition, and Redaction Investigation of 1 Kings 21 and Passages in 2 Kings 9, Library of Hebrew Bible / Old Testament studies 424, New York, NY et al. 2005, 117–122.

5 E.g., G.H. Jones, 1 and 2 Kings. 2 Vols., New Century Bible, Grand Rapids, MI 1985, 353.

6 From Earth (see above note 1), 112.

7 Following M. Cogan, 1 Kings (see above note 1) 477.

8 See also P.J. Budd, Numbers, WBC 5, Waco, TX 1984, 303; G.J. Wenham, The Book of Leviticus, NICOT, London et al. 1979, 320. It is noteworthy that Wenham refers to the story in 1Kings 21:3.

9 G.J. Botterweck, גאל, TDOT 2, 1975, 350–351; M.Z. Kaddari, Millon ha'ivrit hamiqra'it / A Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (Alef–Taw), Ramat Gan, 2006 (Hebrew), 135.

10 See below on relevant aspects concerning Zelophehad's daughters.

11 B.A. Levine, Numbers 21–36: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, AB 4A, New York, NY et al. 2000, 575, 578–579.

12 It is interesting that though the plain meaning of the biblical text does not indicate a time limit for this law, Talmudic sages stated that it was intended “for that generation alone” (BT: Taanit 30b. See the parallel in BT: Baba Batra 120a).

13 For a discussion see F. Stavrakopoulou, Land of Our Fathers: The Roles of Ancestor Veneration in Biblical Land Claims, The Library of Hebrew Bible / Old Testament Studies 473, New York, NY et al. 2012, 11; see also the literature mentioned in nn. 37–38. In our opinion, it is possible that Naboth's refusal stemmed from this principle.

14 M.V. Fox, Proverbs 10–31: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, AB 18B, New York, NY et al. 2009, 730.

15 P.C. Craigie, The Book of Deuteronomy, NICOT, Grand Rapids, MI 1976, 332. See also D.L. Christensen, Deuteronomy I–II, WBC 6, Nashville, TN 2001–2002, 662.

16 P.C. Craigie, Book of Deuteronomy (see above note 15) 268; D.L. Christensen, Deuteronomy I–II (see above note 15) 662.

17 Cf. D.L. Christensen, Deuteronomy I–II (see above note 15) 662.

18 W. McKane, Proverbs: A New Approach, OTL, London 51980, 379; R.E. Murphy, Proverbs, WBC 22, Nashville, TN 1998, 171. For the link between the verses in Proverbs with the instructions of the Egyptian Amenemope, see W. McKane, ibid. 379; M.V. Fox, Proverbs 10–31 (see above note 14) 731–732. Fox (732–733) speaks of this link between what is written in Deuteronomy and the two verses in Proverbs.

19 For a discussion of whether the verse is a later addition or an integral part of the chapter, see, e.g., W. Eichrodt, Ezekiel: A Commentary, OTL, Philadelphia, PA 1970, 578. For its link to other verses in Ezekiel, see e.g., L.C. Allen, Ezekiel 1–19, WBC 28; Nashville, TN 1994, 268.

20 J.W. Wevers, Ezekiel, New Century Bible, London 1969, 332; G.A. Cooke, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Ezekiel, ICC, Edinburgh 1936, 513. The scholars who maintain that Ezekiel wished to uproot completely the “law of the king” seem to have a logical argument. See G.A. Cooke, ibid. 513; R. Kasher, Ezekiel: Introduction and Commentary, Mikra Leyisrael – A Biblical Commentary for Israel, 2 Vols., Tel Aviv et al. 2004 (Hebrew), 900–901.

21 For a discussion on the identity of the ‘president’ see, e.g., D.L. Block, The Book of Ezekiel: Chapters 25–48, NICOT, Grand Rapids, MI 1998, 680–681.

22 G.A. Cooke, Ezekiel (see above note 20) 513. The first example / text that Cooke refers to is the story of Naboth's vineyard, cf. D.L. Block, Ezekiel 25–48 (see above note 21) 680.

23 R. Kasher, Ezekiel (see above note 20) 901.

24 L.C. Allen, Ezekiel 1–19 (see above note 19) 268.

25 W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel: A Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel: Chapters 25–48, Hermeneia, Philadelphia, PA 1983, 497.

26 G.A. Cooke, Ezekiel (see above note 20) 513; W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel 25–48 (see above note 25) 497.

27 See below for a discussion of the meaning and linkages of this clause.

28 D.L. Block, Ezekiel 25–48 (see above note 21) 680.

29 H. Tadmor, On the History of Samaria in the Biblical Period, in: Y. Aviram (ed.), Eretz Shomron, Jerusalem 1973 (Hebrew), (67–74), 68.

30 Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible: A Historical Geography, Jerusalem 1987 (Hebrew), 257.

31 N. Na'aman, Naboth's Vineyard (see above note 2) 210.

32 M.A. Sweeney, I and II Kings (see above note 1) 47.

33 M.A. Sweeney, I and II Kings (see above note 1) 249.

34 F. Reiterer, שם, TDOT 15, 2006, (131–174), 133. It contains examples from the Bible and from other Semitic languages.

35 See, e.g., Exod 3:15; 2Sam 24:21, 14:7; Isa 48:19, 56:5; 66:22; Neh 1:14; Job 18:17; Prov 10:7. Likewise see B. Porten, Name, Personal Names in Israel, Entsiklopedyah Mikra'it 8, 1982, 33–51. For the term ‘name’ in the sense of ‘son’ and for a clear parallelism between name and seed in Mesopotamian literature see a few examples: E. Reiner, šumu, CAD 17, 1992, 295–296. See e.g., the following examples “šumašu u zerešu lihaliqu” = “if only the great gods would destroy his name and his seed”.

36 See, e.g., M. Noth, Numbers: A Commentary, OTL, Philadelphia, PA 1968, 211.

37 P.J. Budd, Numbers (see above note 8) 301.

38 B.A. Levine, Numbers 21–36 (see above note 11) 356.

39 B.A. Levine, Numbers 21–36 (see above note 11) 575.

40 H. Ringgren, גרע, TDOT 3, 1978, 66–67.

41 See e.g., B.A. Levine, Numbers 21–36 (see above note 11) 357–358 and the references to the literature. Talmudic Sages presented the complaints and criticisms of Zelophehad's daughters in a dramatic-legal framework. See BT: Baba Batra, 119b.

42 B.A. Levine, Numbers 21–36 (see above note 11) 358; P.J. Budd, Numbers (see above note 8) 301.

43 A. Skaist, Levirat, RlA 6, 1983, 605–608; R. Westbrook, The Law of the Biblical Levirate, RIDA 24, 1977, 65–87.

44 E.g., P.J. Budd, Numbers (see above note 8) 301–302.

45 B.A. Levine, Numbers 21–36 (see above note 11) 357.

46 E.g., S.R. Driver, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Deuteronomy, ICC, New York, NY 1909, 283; R. Westbrook, Biblical Levirate (see above note 43), echo to the connection between ‘name’ and heritage. See Ruth 4:10: “And also Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Machlon I have acquired for a wife to establish the name of the dead on his heritage and the name of the deceased will not be obliterated from among his brothers and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses today.”

47 E. Samet, Were the Daughters of Tzelofchad Early Jewish Feminists?”, in: www.etzion.org.il/vbm/archive/5-parsha/41pinchas.r, 2000, 5.

48 In Israel, e.g., H.C. Brichto, Kin, Cult, Land and Afterlife — A Biblical Complex, HUCA 44, 1973, (1–54), 13–17; T.J. Lewis, The Ancestral Estate (נַחֲלַת אֱלֹהיִם) in 2 Sam 14:16, JBL 110, 1991, 597–612; ibid., Ancestor Worship, ABD 1, 1992, 240–242; E. Bloch-Smith, Judahite Burial Practices and Beliefs about the Dead, JSOT.S 123, Sheffield 1992, esp. 145–148; B.B. Schmidt, Israel's Beneficent Dead: Ancestor Cult and Necromancy in Ancient Israelite Religion and Tradition, Winona Lake, IN 1994; R.E. Friedman / S.D. Overton, Death and Afterlife: The Biblical Silence, in: A.J. Avery-Peck / J. Neusner (eds.), Death, Life after Death, Resurrection and the World to Come in the Judaisms of Antiquity, Judaism in Late Antiquity IV, HdO I/49, Leiden et al. 2000, (35–59), 37–38. For a new, comprehensive study, see F. Stavrakopoulou, Land of our Fathers (see above note 13) esp. 1–28. On this type of worship in Mesopotamia, see M. Bayliss, The Cult of Dead Kin in Assyria and Babylonia, Iraq 35, 1973, 115–125; A. Skaist, The Ancestor Cult and Succession in Mesopotamia, in: B. Alster (ed.) Death in Mesopotamia: Papers Read at the XXVIe Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Copenhagen 1980, 123–128; K. Van der Toorn, The Domestic Cult at Emar, JCS 47, 1995, 35–49; J.C. de Moor, Standing Stones and Ancestor Worship, UF 27, 1995, 1–20. In some ancient Near Eastern cultures, where there was no male heir, daughters were responsible for ancestor worship. At times, the father was not satisfied with giving his heritage to his daughter, but also awarded her the status of ‘son’ in order to enable her to carry out the rites of ancestor worship (e.g., K. Grosz, Daughters Adopted as Sons at Nuzi and Emar, in: J.-M. Durand (ed.), La femme dans le proche-orient antique. Comte rendu de la XXXIIIe Recontre Assyriologique Internationale (Paris, 7–10 Juillet 1986), Paris 1987, 81–86.

49 H.C. Brichto, Kin, Cult, Land (see above note 48) 9, and following him, R.E. Friedman / S.D. Overton, Death and Afterlife (see above note 48); B.A. Levine, Numbers 21–36 (see above note 11) 357–358. It is very possible that Ben Sira (30:4) was referring to the importance of ancestor worship when he stated: “The father's death is as if he did not die because he left behind him someone like him.” On the importance of ancestor worship according to a modern philosopher, we can learn from the words of Ernst Renan in his famous lecture at the Sorbonne in 1882, entitled “What is a Nation?”: “From among all kinds of worship, ancestor worship is the most legitimate, for our ancestors have made us what we are.” (E. Renan, Nation and Narration. Transl. M. Thom, London 1990, [8–22], 19).

50 E. Dommershausen, חלל, TDOT 4, 1980, (409–417), 409–410.

51 Eg., J. Gray, I and II Kings (see above note 1) 439; M. Cogan, 1 Kings (see above note 1) 478.

52 E.g., G.H. Jones, 1 and 2 Kings (see above note 5) 353.

53 M. Garsiel, From Earth (see above note 1) 113.

54 E.g., M. Cogan, 1 Kings (see above note 1) 480.

55 This is how Garsiel (From Earth [see above note 1] 112) defined Ahab's request.

56 K. Baltzer, Naboths Weinberg (1 Kön 21). Der Konflikt zwischen israelitischem und kanaanäischem Bodenrecht,WuD 8, 1965, (73–88), 73.

57 See M. Garsiel, From Earth (see above note 1) 113.

58 G.H. Jones, 1 and 2 Kings (see above note 5) 352.

59 Cf. M. Garsiel, From Earth (see above note 1) 113.

60 M. Garsiel, From Earth (see above note 1) 113–114.

61 For the ways of repetition in biblical stories, see the comprehensive study of M. Sternberg, The Structure of Repetition: Strategies of Informational Redundancy, in: ibid., The Poetics of Biblical Narrative. Ideological Literature and the Drama of Reading, Bloomington, IN 1985, 365–438.

62 Cf. M. Garsiel, From Earth (see above note 1) 114.

63 N. Na'aman, Naboth's Vineyard (see above note 2) 211–212.

64 On this issue, see e.g., W.G. Lambert, Nebuchadnezzar, King of Justice, Iraq 27, 1965, 1–11.

65 A. Malamat, Mari and the Early Israelite Experience, The Schweich Lectures of the British Academy 1984, Oxford 1992, 48–52.

66 G.H. Jones, 1 and 2 Kings (see above note 5) 353.

67 F.I. Andersen / D.N. Freedman, Micah: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, AB, New York, NY et al. 2000, 270–272. See also for an in-depth discussion of the meaning of the verbs שק and חמד.

68 F.I. Andersen / D.N. Freedman, Micah (see above note 67) 274.

69 S. Vargon, The Book of Micah: A Study and Commentary, Ramat Gan 1994 (Hebrew), 66.

70 R.L. Smith, Micah-Malachi, WBC 32, Waco, TX 1984, 24.

71 On the linguistic and structural difficulties with this verse, see J.L. Mays, Micah: A Commentary, OTL, London 1976, 148. For a discussion in-depth of the chiastic structure and elliptical formulation of it, see F.I. Andersen / D.N. Freedman, Micah (see above note 67) 268–269.

72 S. Vargon, Micah (see above note 69) 194.

73 For an evaluation of Omri and Ahab's behavior in Kings, see 1Kings 16:23–34. They are considered the most sinful of all the kings of Israel who preceded them. On evaluations of the sins attributed to them by the prophet, see R.L. Smith, Micah-Malachi (see above note 70) 53; J.L. Mays, Micah (see above note 71) 148.

74 J.L. Mays, Micah (see above note 71) 148.

75 H. Tadmor, History of Samaria (see above note 29) 68.

76 See N. Na'aman, Naboth's Vineyard (see above note 2) 209–210, where there's a long list of scholars who agree with this opinion. For a positive evaluation of the establishment of the Shomron, see BT: Sanhedrin 102b: “Rabbi Yochanan said: ‘Why did Omri merit becoming a king? Because he added one town in the Land of Israel, as it states – and he bought the mountain of the Shomron from Shemer with talents of silver and he built up the mountain […]’”

77 M.A. Sweeney, I and II Kings (see above note 1) 249.

78 N. Na'aman, Naboth's Vineyard (see above note 2) 207–211.

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