1 Kings 21:8

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.

📖 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

Referenced Verses

• Num 11:16 : 16 The Response of God The LORD said to Moses,“Gather to me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know are elders of the people and officials over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting; let them take their position there with you.
• Deut 16:18-19 : 18 Provision for Justice You must appoint judges and civil servants for each tribe in all your villages that the LORD your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly. 19 You must not pervert justice or show favor. Do not take a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and distort the words of the righteous.
• Deut 21:1-9 : 1 Laws Concerning Unsolved Murder If a homicide victim should be found lying in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you, and no one knows who killed him, 2 your elders and judges must go out and measure how far it is to the cities in the vicinity of the corpse. 3 Then the elders of the city nearest to the corpse must take from the herd a heifer that has not been worked– that has never pulled with the yoke– 4 and bring the heifer down to a wadi with flowing water, to a valley that is neither plowed nor sown. There at the wadi they are to break the heifer’s neck. 5 Then the Levitical priests will approach(for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve him and to pronounce blessings in his name, and to decide every judicial verdict) 6 and all the elders of that city nearest the corpse must wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. 7 Then they must proclaim,“Our hands have not spilled this blood, nor have we witnessed the crime. 8 Do not blame your people Israel whom you redeemed, O LORD, and do not hold them accountable for the bloodshed of an innocent person.” Then atonement will be made for the bloodshed. 9 In this manner you will purge out the guilt of innocent blood from among you, for you must do what is right before the LORD.
• 2 Sam 11:14-15 : 14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote:“Station Uriah at the front in the thick of the battle and then withdraw from him so he will be cut down and killed.”
• 1 Kgs 20:7 : 7 The king of Israel summoned all the leaders of the land and said,“Notice how this man is looking for trouble. Indeed, he demanded my wives, sons, silver, and gold, and I did not resist him.”
• 1 Kgs 21:1 : 1 Ahab Murders Naboth After this the following episode took place. Naboth the Jezreelite owned a vineyard in Jezreel adjacent to the palace of King Ahab of Samaria.
• 2 Kgs 10:1-7 : 1 Jehu Wipes Out Ahab’s Family Ahab had seventy sons living in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the leading officials of Jezreel and to the guardians of Ahab’s dynasty. This is what the letters said, 2 “You have with you the sons of your master, chariots and horses, a fortified city, and weapons. So when this letter arrives, 3 pick the best and most capable of your master’s sons, place him on his father’s throne, and defend your master’s dynasty.” 4 They were absolutely terrified and said,“Look, two kings could not stop him! How can we?” 5 So the palace supervisor, the city commissioner, the leaders, and the guardians sent this message to Jehu,“We are your subjects! Whatever you say, we will do. We will not make anyone king. Do what you consider proper.” 6 He wrote them a second letter, saying,“If you are really on my side and are willing to obey me, then take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel at this time tomorrow.” Now the king had seventy sons, and the prominent men of the city were raising them. 7 When they received the letter, they seized the king’s sons and executed all seventy of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to him in Jezreel.
• 2 Kgs 10:11 : 11 Then Jehu killed all who were left of Ahab’s family in Jezreel, and all his nobles, close friends, and priests. He left no survivors.
• 2 Chr 32:17 : 17 He wrote letters mocking the LORD God of Israel and insulting him with these words:“The gods of the surrounding nations could not rescue their people from my power. Neither can Hezekiah’s god rescue his people from my power.”
• Ezra 4:7-8 : 7 And during the reign of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their colleagues wrote to King Artaxerxes of Persia. This letter was first written in Aramaic but then translated.[Aramaic:] 8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter concerning 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 in Trans-Euphrates:
• Neh 6:5 : 5 The fifth time that Sanballat sent his assistant to me in this way, he had an open letter in his hand.
• Esth 3:12-15 : 12 So the royal scribes were summoned in the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month. Everything Haman commanded was written to the king’s satraps and governors who were in every province and to the officials of every people, province by province according to its script and people by people according to its language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written and sealed with the king’s signet ring. 13 Letters were sent by the runners to all the king’s provinces stating that they should destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elderly, both women and children, on a particular day, namely the thirteenth day of the twelfth month(that is, the month of Adar), and to loot and plunder their possessions. 14 A copy of this edict was to be presented as law throughout every province; it was to be made known to all the inhabitants, so that they would be prepared for this day. 15 The messengers scurried forth with the king’s order. The edict was issued in Susa the citadel. While the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in an uproar!
• Esth 8:8-9 : 8 Now you write in the king’s name whatever in your opinion is appropriate concerning the Jews and seal it with the king’s signet ring. Any decree that is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring cannot be rescinded. 9 The king’s scribes were quickly summoned– in the third month(that is, the month of Sivan), on the twenty-third day. They wrote out everything that Mordecai instructed to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces all the way from India to Ethiopia– a hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all– to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, and to the Jews according to their own script and their own language. 10 Mordecai wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring. He then sent letters by couriers on horses, who rode royal horses that were very swift. 11 The king thereby allowed the Jews who were in every city to assemble and to stand up for themselves– to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any army of whatever people or province that should become their adversaries, including their women and children, and to confiscate their property. 12 This was to take place on a certain day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus– namely, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month(that is, the month of Adar). 13 A copy of the edict was to be presented as law throughout each and every province and made known to all peoples, so that the Jews might be prepared on that day to avenge themselves from their enemies.