1 Kings 21:8

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַתִּכְתֹּ֤ב סְפָרִים֙ בְּשֵׁ֣ם אַחְאָ֔ב וַתַּחְתֹּ֖ם בְּחֹתָמ֑וֹ וַתִּשְׁלַ֣ח *הספרים **סְפָרִ֗ים אֶל־הַזְקֵנִ֤ים וְאֶל־הַֽחֹרִים֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּעִיר֔וֹ הַיֹּשְׁבִ֖ים אֶת־נָבֽוֹת׃

Transliteration

wa-tiktōb səpārîm in-šēm ʾaḥʾāb wa-taḥtōm with-ḥōtāmô wa-tišlaḥ səpārîm to-the-zəqēnîm and-to-the-ḥōrîm who in-ʿîrô the-yōšəbîm with-nābôt.

Grammar Details

• *wa-tiktōb*: conjunction + imperfect, 3rd singular feminine, Qal - and she wrote
• *səpārîm*: noun, masculine plural - letters/documents
• *šēm*: noun, masculine singular construct - name of
• *ʾaḥʾāb*: proper name, masculine - Ahab
• *wa-taḥtōm*: conjunction + imperfect, 3rd singular feminine, Qal - and she sealed
• *ḥōtāmô*: noun, masculine singular + 3rd person masculine singular suffix - his seal
• *wa-tišlaḥ*: conjunction + imperfect, 3rd singular feminine, Qal - and she sent
• *zəqēnîm*: adjective/noun, masculine plural - elders
• *ḥōrîm*: noun, masculine plural - nobles/free men
• *ʿîrô*: noun, feminine singular + 3rd person masculine singular suffix - his city
• *yōšəbîm*: participle, masculine plural, Qal - dwelling/living
• *nābôt*: proper name, masculine - Naboth

Word Meanings

• *səpārîm*: letters/documents/scrolls
• *ḥōtāmô*: his seal/his signet
• *zəqēnîm*: elders/older men
• *ḥōrîm*: nobles/free men/officials
• *yōšəbîm*: dwelling/living/sitting

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  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.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were in his city, dwelling with Naboth.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  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.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  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.

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  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.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  And she wrote a letter vnder Achabs name, and sealed it with his signet, and sent it vnto ye Elders and rulers in his cite, which dwelt aboute Naboth,

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  So she wrote letters in Ahabs name, and sealed them with his seale, and sent the letters vnto the Elders, and to the nobles that were in his citie dwelling with Naboth.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  And so she wrote a letter in Ahabs name, and sealed it with his seale, and sent the letter vnto the elders, and to the nobles that were in his citie dwelling with Naboth.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  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.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  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, [and] who lived with Naboth.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  And she writeth letters in the name of Ahab, and sealeth with his seal, and sendeth the letters unto the elders, and unto the freemen, who are in his city, those dwelling with Naboth,

• American Standard Version (1901)

  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.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  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.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  So she sent a letter in Ahab's name, stamped with his stamp, to the responsible men and the chiefs who were in authority with Naboth.

• World English Bible (2000)

  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.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  She wrote out orders, signed Ahab’s name to them, and sealed them with his seal. She then sent the orders to the leaders and to the nobles who lived in Naboth’s city.

Referenced Verses

• Num 11:16 : 16 The LORD said to Moses, 'Gather seventy men from the elders of Israel whom you know to be leaders of the people and their officials. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting, and have them stand there with you.'
• Deut 16:18-19 : 18 Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes in every town the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall judge the people fairly. 19 Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
• Deut 21:1-9 : 1 If someone is found dead in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, lying in a field, and it is unknown who struck him, 2 then your elders and judges must come out and measure the distance to the surrounding cities. 3 The elders of the city nearest to the slain person shall take a heifer that has never been worked or yoked, 4 and they are to bring the heifer down to a valley with flowing water, a valley that has not been plowed or sown. There they are to break the heifer’s neck. 5 The priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister to Him and to pronounce blessings in His name; and every dispute and every case of assault is to be settled by their decision. 6 All the elders of the city nearest to the slain person shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, 7 and they shall declare, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it. 8 LORD, make atonement for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, and do not hold the guilt of innocent blood against Your people Israel.’ And the bloodshed will be atoned for. 9 So you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from among you, because you will be doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD.
• 2 Sam 11:14-15 : 14 The next morning, David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In the letter, David wrote, 'Put Uriah at the front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and killed.'
• 1 Kgs 20:7 : 7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, 'See how this man is seeking trouble! He sent for my wives, my sons, my silver, and my gold, and I did not refuse him.'
• 1 Kgs 21:1 : 1 After these events, there was a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite, in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria.
• 2 Kgs 10:1-7 : 1 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria, and Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to the guardians of Ahab’s children, saying: 2 When this letter reaches you, since your master’s sons are with you, and you have chariots, horses, a fortified city, and weapons, 3 select the best and most upright of your master’s sons, set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house. 4 But they were extremely afraid and said, "Look, two kings could not stand against him, so how can we stand?" 5 So the one in charge of the palace, the one in charge of the city, the elders, and the guardians sent a message to Jehu, saying, "We are your servants, and we will do everything you tell us. We will not make anyone king; do whatever seems best to you." 6 Then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying, "If you are on my side and will obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow." Now the king’s sons, seventy in all, were being raised by the prominent men of the city. 7 When the letter reached them, they took the king’s sons, slaughtered all seventy of them, put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel.
• 2 Kgs 10:11 : 11 So Jehu struck down all who remained of Ahab’s house in Jezreel—all his great men, close acquaintances, and priests—leaving not a single survivor.
• 2 Chr 32:17 : 17 Sennacherib also wrote letters to ridicule the LORD, the God of Israel, and to say against Him, "Just as the gods of the nations of other lands did not deliver their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver His people from my hand."
• Ezra 4:7-8 : 7 And during the reign of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his associates wrote to Artaxerxes, king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated. 8 Rehum, the commander, and Shimshai, the scribe, wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes, as follows:
• Ezra 4:11 : 11 this is a copy of the letter they sent to him: "To King Artaxerxes: From your servants, the men of the region beyond the River, and now.
• Neh 6:5 : 5 Then Sanballat sent his servant to me a fifth time with the same message, and in his hand was an open letter.
• Esth 3:12-15 : 12 On the thirteenth day of the first month, the king’s scribes were summoned and an edict was written according to all that Haman commanded. It was addressed to the satraps of the king, to the governors of each province, and to the officials of every people, to each province in its script and to each people in its language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring. 13 Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces, ordering the destruction, killing, and annihilation of all the Jews—young and old, children and women—in a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their possessions. 14 A copy of the edict was to be issued as a law in every province and made known to all the peoples, so that they would be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in the citadel of Susa. And while the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in confusion.
• Esth 8:8-9 : 8 Now you may write in the king’s name concerning the Jews as you see fit and seal it with the king’s signet ring. For a document written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s ring cannot be revoked. 9 The king’s scribes were summoned on that day, the third month (the month of Sivan), on the twenty-third day, and an edict was written exactly as Mordecai commanded concerning the Jews, to the satraps, governors, and officials of the 127 provinces from India to Cush, each province in its own script and language, and to the Jews in their own script and language. 10 Mordecai wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed it with the king’s signet ring, and sent the letters by mounted couriers riding fast horses bred from royal mares. 11 The king’s decree gave the Jews in every city the right to assemble and defend themselves, to destroy, kill, and annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, including women and children, and to plunder their possessions. 12 This was to take place on a single day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar. 13 A copy of the written decree was to be issued as law in every province, publicly proclaimed to all people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.