1 Kings 16:31

And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
thing	הֲנָקֵ֣ל ha.na.Kel	H7043	to be (causatively · interrogative particle + verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
walk	יָלַךְ yâlak	H3212	to walk (literally or figuratively)
sins	בְּחַטֹּ֖אות be.cha.Tot	H2403	an offence (sometimes habitual sinfulness) · preposition + noun, common feminine plural construct
Jeroboam	יָרָבְעָ֣ם ya.ra.ve.'Am	H3379	Jarobam · proper noun, a man's name
son	בֶּן ben-	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Nebat	נְבָ֑ט ne.Vat	H5028	Nebat · proper noun, a man's name
took	וַיִּקַּ֨ח vai.yi.Kach	H3947	to take (in the widest variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
wife	אִשָּׁ֜ה 'i.Shah	H802	a woman · noun, common feminine singular absolute
Jezebel	אִיזֶ֗בֶל 'i.Ze.vel	H348	Izebel · proper noun, a woman's name
daughter	בַּת bat-	H1323	a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms… · noun, common feminine singular construct
Ethbaal	אֶתְבַּ֙עַל֙ 'et.Ba.'al	H856	Ethbaal · proper noun, a man's name
king	מֶ֣לֶךְ Me.lekh	H4428	a king · noun, common masculine singular construct
Zidonians	צִידֹנִ֔ים tzi.do.Nim	H6722	a Tsidonian or inhabitant of Tsidon · noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
went	יָלַךְ yâlak	H3212	to walk (literally or figuratively)
served	וַֽיַּעֲבֹ֣ד vai.ya.'a.Vod	H5647	to work (in any sense) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Baal	הַבַּ֔עַל ha.Ba.'al	H1168	Baal · definite article + noun, masculine singular absolute
worshipped	וַיִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּ vai.yish.Ta.chu	H7812	to depress · conjunction + verb, sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

2 Kings 17:16 And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all…
2 Kings 10:18 And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much.
Judges 18:7 Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidoni…
Deuteronomy 7:3-4 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.
Judges 2:11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:
1 Kings 21:25-26 But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
Genesis 6:2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
Genesis 30:15 And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 16:29–end

We have here the beginning of the reign of Ahab, of whom we have more particulars recorded than of any of the kings of Israel. We have here only a general idea given us of him, as the worst of all the kings, that we may expect what the particulars will be. He reigned twenty-two years, long enough to do a great deal of mischief. I. He exceeded all his predecessors in wickedness, did evil above all that were before him (Kg1 16:30), and, as if it were done with a particular enmity both to God and Israel, to affront him and ruin them, it is said, He did more purposely to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger, and, consequently, to send judgments on his land, than all the kings of Israel that w…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 16:29

Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him--The worship of God by symbols had hitherto been the offensive form of apostasy in Israel, but now gross idolatry is openly patronized by the court. This was done through the influence of Jezebel, Ahab's queen. She was "the daughter of Eth-baal, king of the Zidonians." He was priest of Ashtaroth or Astarte, who, having murdered Philetes, king of Tyre, ascended the throne of that kingdom, being the eighth king since Hiram. Jezebel was the wicked daughter of this regicide and idol priest--and, on her marriage with Ahab, never rested till she had got all the forms of her native Tyrian worship introduced into h…

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Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 16:31

He took to wife Jezebel - This was the head and chief of his offending; he took to wife, not only a heathen, but one whose hostility to the true religion was well known, and carried to the utmost extent. 1. She was the idolatrous daughter of an idolatrous king; 2. She practiced it openly; 3. She not only countenanced it in others, but protected it, and gave its partisans honors and rewards; 4. She used every means to persecute the true religion; 5. She was hideously cruel, and put to death the prophets and priests of God; 6. And all this she did with the most zealous perseverance and relentless cruelty. Notwithstanding Ahab had built a temple, and made an altar for Baal, and set up the worsh…

Dictionary and topics

Ahab — Father’s brother. (1.) The son of Omri, whom he succeeded as the seventh king of Israel. His history is recorded in 1 Kings 16-22. His wife was Jezebel (q.v.), who exercised a very evil influence…
Baal — Lord. (1.) The name appropriated to the principal male god of the Phoenicians. It is found in several places in the plural BAALIM (Judg. 2:11; 10:10; 1 Kings 18:18; Jer. 2:23; Hos. 2:17). Baal is…
Baasha — Bravery, the third king of the separate kingdom of Israel, and founder of its second dynasty (1 Kings 15; 16; 2 Chr. 16:1-6). He was the son of Ahijah of the tribe of Issachar. The city of Tirzah he…
Eth-baal — With Baal, a king of Sidon (B.C. 940-908), father of Jezebel, who was the wife of Ahab (1 Kings 16:31). He is said to have been also a priest of Astarte, whose worship was closely allied to that of…
Ethbaal — (with Baal), king of Sidon and father of Jezebel. (1 Kings 16:31) Josephus represents him as a king of the Tyrians as well as of the Sidonians. We may thus identify him with Eithobalus, who, after…
Jezebel — Chaste, the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of the Zidonians, and the wife of Ahab, the king of Israel (1 Kings 16:31). This was the “first time that a king of Israel had allied himself by marriage…
Tyre — A rock, now es-Sur; an ancient Phoenician city, about 23 miles, in a direct line, north of Acre, and 20 south of Sidon. Sidon was the oldest Phoenician city, but Tyre had a longer and more…
Zidon, Or Sidon — (Genesis 10:15,19; Joshua 11:8; 19:28; Judges 1:31; 18:28; Isaiah 23:2,4,12; Jeremiah 25:22; 27:3; Ezekiel 28:21,22; Joel 3:4) (Joel 4:4); Zech 9:2; Matt 11:21,22; 15:21; Mark 3:8; 1:24,31; Luke…
Zidonians — the inhabitants of Zidon. They were among the nations of Canaan; left to give the Israelites practice in the art of war, (Judges 3:3) and colonies of them appear to have spread up into the hill…
Ahab · .Marries Jezebel — .Marries Jezebel

1 Kings 16:31

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 16:29–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 16:29

Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 16:31

Dictionary and topics

1 Kings 16:31

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 16:29–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 16:29

Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 16:31

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 1 Kings 16:31

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Kings 16:30-32

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Kings 16:31-33

Rashi on 1 Kings 16:31