Bible Strands
1 Kings 21:11
So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel had instructed in the letters she had written to them.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports that the elders and nobles of Naboth’s city execute the directives Jezebel sent in her letters. This occurs immediately after Jezebel’s written instructions to stage a false trial against Naboth and before the city’s leaders carry out the subsequent steps.
The words — The verb וַ/יַּעֲשׂוּ֩ (va/i.ya.'a.Su) literally means “and they did,” while הַ/זְּקֵנִ֣ים (ha./ze.ke.Nim) identifies the “elders” who carry out the order. These terms anchor the narrative in the immediate execution of a written command rather than a verbal decree.
The thread — The narrative contrasts with Exodus 1:17, where the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had instructed, and echoes Exodus 23:1, which prohibits joining the wicked by being a malicious witness. Both references frame the legal manipulation as a violation of covenantal justice.
Why it lands — The text states that local leaders complied with a written plot to fabricate charges, showing how institutional authority can be weaponized through written directives. It asks the reader to recognize the danger of allowing written commands to override direct obedience to God’s law.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.
Cross-references
- Exodus 1:17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had instructed; they let the boys live.
- Exodus 1:21 And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own.
- Exodus 23:1 “You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness.
- Leviticus 19:15 You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
- 1 Samuel 22:17 Then the king ordered the guards at his side, “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because they too sided with David. For they knew he was fleeing, but they did not tell me.” But the king’s servants would not lift a hand to strike the priests of the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 23:20 Now, O king, come down whenever your soul desires, and we will be responsible for delivering him into your hand.”
- 2 Kings 10:6 Then Jehu wrote them a second letter and said: “If you are on my side, and if you will obey me, then bring the heads of your master’s sons to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow.” Now the sons of the king, seventy in all, were being brought up by the leading men of the city.
- 2 Chronicles 24:21 But they conspired against Zechariah, and by order of the king, they stoned him in the courtyard of the house of the LORD.
- Proverbs 29:12 If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials will be wicked.
- Proverbs 29:26 Many seek the ruler’s favor, but a man receives justice from the LORD.