Navot's Vineyard and Achav's Punishment/1/en
Introduction
Who's to blame?
The judicial farce set up by Izevel to frame and execute Navot is one of the starkest examples of abuse of power described in Tanakh. Melakhim I 21 shares how Achav desires Navot's vineyard, offers to buy it, but is met with refusal. When the sullen king returns home, at a loss of how to achieve his desires, his wife Izevel takes matters into her own hands. She orchestrates a mock trial in which Navot is accused of blaspheming both God and king, leading to Navot's stoning. Soon after, Hashem accuses Achav: "have you murdered and also inherited," promising both personal punishment and an end to his dynasty.
Though the crime is undoubtedly a heinous one, the reader questions whether the punishment is is justly directed at Achav. After all, it was Izevel who plotted the entire murder, while Achav played no role at all in the proceedings. Why, then, was he also punished so severely?
