Bible Strands
1 Kings 21:5
Soon his wife Jezebel came in and asked, “Why are you so sullen that you refuse to eat?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jezebel approaches her husband Ahab after he retreats to his bed and refuses food following Naboth’s refusal to sell his vineyard. She enters his presence and directly questions his sudden change in demeanor.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַתְּדַבֵּר (vate-dabbēr) literally means “and she spoke,” marking her direct verbal intervention. Her question begins with מַה־זֶּה (mah-zeh), translating to “why this,” which highlights the abruptness of Ahab’s sullen withdrawal.
The thread — The motif of a spouse confronting a withdrawn partner appears in 2 Samuel 13:4, where a counselor questions Amnon’s prolonged depression. The dynamic of royal manipulation is established earlier in 1 Kings 16:31, which notes Ahab’s marriage to Jezebel as an escalation of apostasy.
Why it lands — The text records Jezebel’s direct inquiry before revealing Ahab’s underlying grievance, forcing the reader to confront how personal refusal can trigger relational withdrawal. It demands recognition of how domestic tension often precedes systemic injustice.
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
But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?
Cross-references
- Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.
- 2 Samuel 13:4 and he asked Amnon, “Why are you, the son of the king, so depressed morning after morning? Won’t you tell me?” Amnon replied, “I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”
- 1 Kings 16:31 And as if it were not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he even married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and he then proceeded to serve and worship Baal.
- 1 Kings 18:4 for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
- 1 Kings 19:2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I have not made your life like the lives of those you killed!”
- 1 Kings 21:25 (Surely there was never one like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, incited by his wife Jezebel.
- Nehemiah 2:2 so the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, though you are not ill? This could only be sadness of the heart.” I was overwhelmed with fear
- Esther 4:5 Then Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs appointed to her, and she dispatched him to Mordecai to learn what was troubling him and why.