Willis : Hebrew Law 
15 
bear witness against him, “and then carry him out and stone 
him to death”. All this was done, and “Jezebel said to Ahab, 
Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, 
which he refused to give thee for money; for Naboth is not 
alive but dead.” This then Ahab arose and did. Up to this 
point the forms of the law had been observed. Of course the 
charge was false and the judges’ examination of the witnesses 
had been perfunctory, but Naboth had been given a trial ac- 
cording to the technical forms of Hebrew legal procedure. 
But Ahab’s taking possession was contrary to the principles 
of Hebrew substantive law. If Naboth had children, as he 
did — -tho they perhaps were also murdered — they succeeded 
him. If he had no children his nearest of kin succeeded him. 
There is no evidence anywhere of a law of escheat in Hebrew 
law. Hence Ahab could find no justification in prior customs 
and judicial decisions for his act of appropriation of Naboth’s 
Vineyard. The case is simply an illustration of usurpation by 
royal power. It may have established a precedent for other 
kings, but after the time of the kings it ceased to be a prec- 
edent and the reign of true Hebrew law again revived. Prob- 
ably Ahab, without Jezebel, would never have dared to carry 
his scheme thru in the high-handed way in which he did. The 
attitude of the people as a whole toward Ahab’s conduct in 
flaunting their law is probably expressed, in Elijah’s condem- 
nation of the king and in the account of how divine vengeance 
overtook Joram, the son of Ahab, for the guilt of his father . 54 
A legal transaction which occurred in the time of Jeremiah 
is as significant as a regular suit before the elders, and, there- 
fore, will be referred to in this place. The legal transaction 
referred to is that of Jeremiah’s purchase of a field in 
Anathoth from his cousin Hanamel, son of Shallum. Hana- 
mel came to Jeremiah while the latter was in the court of the 
prison, where he was confined by order of the king because 
of his prophecy of the destruction of the state, and said “Buy 
my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the land 
of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is thine, and the 
redemption is thine ; buy it for thyself.” From this proposal 
we learn that a modified form of sale was permitted an indi- 
vidual at this time, but if he desired to dispose of his inheri- 
tance he first had to give his nearest of kin an opportunity 
54 21 I Kings 1-29; 9 II Kings 22-26. 
