Navot

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Biblical Figures
Navot (Naboth in English) owned a vineyard adjacent to the property of King Ahab of the Northern Kingdom. Ahab covets Navot's property and schemes to take ownership of it, which he ultimately did and for which he is properly chastised by the prophet Elijah.
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The Prophecies Fulfilled in Ahab's Demise
TALMUD
The prophetic visions of Micaiah and Elijah regarding the death of Ahab were dramatically fulfilled, showcasing the accuracy and power of biblical prophecy. The Talmudic tractate Sanhedrin, particularly its discussions on the judicial system and the World to Come, provides a rich context for understanding the fulfillment of these prophecies.
Apropos the death of Ahab, the Gemara cites another verse from that passage. The verse states: “And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood; and the harlots also washed themselves there, according to the word of the Lord that He spoke” (I Kings 22:38). Rabbi Elazar says: “The harlots [hazzonot]” can be read as visions [ḥezyonot], and the verse means: To cleanse, i.e., to fulfill, two visions, one of Micaiah and one of Elijah…
Sanhedrin 39b:7
Divine Justice for Navot
TANAKH
The story of Navot illustrates the immediate and severe divine retribution for injustice, as prophesied by Elijah. The biblical narrative in Kings I recounts how King Ahab and Queen Jezebel orchestrated the false accusation and execution of Navot to seize his vineyard, leading to a prophetic condemnation by Elijah.
Then the two scoundrels came and sat down opposite him; and those scoundrels testified against Naboth publicly as follows: “Naboth has reviled God and king.” Then they took him outside the town and stoned him to death. Word was sent to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.” As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Go and take possession of the vineyard that Naboth the Jezreelite refused to sell you for money; for Naboth is no longer alive, he is dead.” …
I Kings 21:13-19
Ahab's Repentance
COMMENTARY
King Ahab's profound grief and repentance following his immoral actions against Navot offer a powerful lesson in the consequences of sin and the potential for personal transformation. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz's modern translation and commentary on the Hebrew Bible provide an account of Ahab's emotional and physical manifestations of remorse.
It was when Ahav heard these matters that he rent his garments due to the severity of the rebuke and his shame at murdering an innocent individual simply out of greed for his property. In addition, he had expected that as the second king in a dynasty that had already ruled for many years, his descendants would continue to rule for a long period of time; this would no longer occur. And he placed sackcloth upon his flesh; he fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and walked slowly. These were all expressions of his grief.
Steinsaltz on I Kings 21:27
The Slippery Slope of Desire
HALAKHAH
Unchecked desire can lead to coveting, robbery, and even murder. In his monumental 12th-century legal code, the Mishneh Torah, Rambam uses the story of Ahab and Navot to illustrate the ethical and legal consequences of unchecked desire.
Desire leads to coveting and coveting leads to robbery.For if the owners do not desire to sell despite the offer of much money and many supplications by friends, the person motivated by desire will be moved to robbery, as Michah 2:2 states: "They coveted houses and stole."
And if the owner stands up against them to save his property, or in another way prevents the person motivated by desire from robbing, he will be moved to murder. Take, for example, the narrative of Ach'av and Navot.
Mishneh Torah, Robbery and Lost Property 1:11
The Sacred Duty to Preserve Ancestral Land
COMMENTARY
Navot's refusal to sell his vineyard to King Ahab underscores the profound moral and ancestral obligation to preserve one's inherited land. Sforno, a 16th-century Italian rabbi and biblical commentator, uses the story of Navot to discuss the ethical considerations of land ownership in biblical times.
ופגעו לי בעפרון, that he will sell me this cave even though it is not an agreeable thing for a highly placed person to sell any portion of his land-holdings. We know this from Navot (Kings I 21,3) who had been aghast at the suggestion of selling his vineyard to the king. His precise words were: חלילה לי מתתי את נחלת אבותי לך, “far be it from me to give you any part of my ancestral heritage.”
Sforno on Genesis 23:8:3
The Consequences of Refusal
MIDRASH
Navot's refusal to yield when King Ahab demanded his land led to his death, illustrating the severe consequences of such decisions. Midrash Tanchuma uses biblical narratives to teach this lesson, comparing Navot's actions with Mordechai's similar refusal to submit.
The prophet cried out: Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers … hide thyself for a little moment (Isa. 26:20). The Holy One, blessed be He, had declared: I counsel you to restrain yourselves and to surrender to the conditions that prevail at the moment. Naboth would not temporize (when Ahab demanded his land), and so it is written about him: Naboth is stoned, and is dead (I Kings 21:14). Mordecai likewise refused to temporize. He should have flattered the wicked man. Indeed, Israel was almost obliterated from the earth because he antagonized Haman.
Midrash Tanchuma, Vayechi 6:2

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