The Meaning of 1 Kings 21:16 Explained

1 Kings 21:16

KJV: And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

YLT: And it cometh to pass, at Ahab's hearing that Naboth is dead, that Ahab riseth to go down unto the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to possess it.

Darby: And it came to pass when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jizreelite, to take possession of it.

ASV: And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And it came to pass, when Ahab  heard  that Naboth  was dead,  that Ahab  rose up  to go down  to the vineyard  of Naboth  the Jezreelite,  to take possession  of it. 

What does 1 Kings 21:16 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Kings 21:1-29 - Breaking Three Commandments
From a worldly point of view Naboth might have done a good stroke of business by selling his estate to. Ahab. A royal price and assured favor might have been his-but he had a conscience! Above the persuasive tones of the monarch's offer sounded the voice of God: "The land shall not be sold for ever, for the land is mine." See Leviticus 25:23; Numbers 36:7; Ezekiel 46:18.
Ahab knew perfectly well that Jezebel could not give him the property of another except by foul means, but he took pains not to inquire. Though the direct orders for Naboth's death did not come from him, yet, by his silence, he was an accomplice and an accessory; and divine justice penetrates all such specious excuses. God holds us responsible for wrongs which we do not arrest, though we have the power. The crime was blacker because of the pretext of religion, as suggested by a fast. See also 2 Kings 9:26. The blood of murdered innocence cries to God, and his requital, though delayed, is inevitable. See Revelation 6:9-10. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Kings 21

1  Ahab being denied Naboth's vineyard, is grieved
5  Jezebel writing letters against Naboth, he is condemned of blasphemy
15  Ahab take possession of the vineyard
17  Elijah denounces judgments against Ahab and Jezebel
25  Wicked Ahab repenting, God defers the judgment

What do the individual words in 1 Kings 21:16 mean?

So it was when heard Ahab that was dead Naboth that got up Ahab [and] went down unto the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite to take possession Of
וַיְהִ֛י כִּשְׁמֹ֥עַ אַחְאָ֖ב כִּ֣י מֵ֣ת נָב֑וֹת וַיָּ֣קָם אַחְאָ֗ב לָרֶ֛דֶת אֶל־ כֶּ֛רֶם נָב֥וֹת הַיִּזְרְעֵאלִ֖י לְרִשְׁתּֽוֹ ס

וַיְהִ֛י  So  it  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
כִּשְׁמֹ֥עַ  when  heard 
Parse: Preposition-k, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
אַחְאָ֖ב  Ahab 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַחְאָב 
Sense: king of Israel, son of Omri, husband of Jezebel.
כִּ֣י  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
מֵ֣ת  was  dead 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
נָב֑וֹת  Naboth 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָבֹות  
Sense: the vineyard owner of Jezreel who Ahab and Jezebel had killed so that they could have his vineyard.
וַיָּ֣קָם  that  got  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
אַחְאָ֗ב  Ahab 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַחְאָב 
Sense: king of Israel, son of Omri, husband of Jezebel.
לָרֶ֛דֶת  [and]  went  down 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
אֶל־  unto 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
כֶּ֛רֶם  the  vineyard 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֶּרֶם 
Sense: vineyard.
נָב֥וֹת  of  Naboth 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָבֹות  
Sense: the vineyard owner of Jezreel who Ahab and Jezebel had killed so that they could have his vineyard.
הַיִּזְרְעֵאלִ֖י  the  Jezreelite 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִזְרְעֵאלִי  
Sense: an inhabitant of Jezreel.
לְרִשְׁתּֽוֹ  to  take  possession 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine singular
Root: יָרַשׁ  
Sense: to seize, dispossess, take possession off, inherit, disinherit, occupy, impoverish, be an heir.