מלכים א, פרק כ״א, פסוק כ׳

A sudden, unannounced encounter shatters the secrecy surrounding a stolen vineyard. The King of Israel comes face to face with the prophet Elijah moments after a horrific injustice, triggering a tense exchange of shock, denial, and ultimate condemnation.

The king's initial reaction blends utter astonishment with a desperate attempt to evade responsibility. Startled by the prophet's surprise appearance [ביאור שטיינזלץ], the king questions whether his old adversary has once again found a pretext to accuse and punish him [רד״ק, רלב״ג]. Beneath this defensive posture lies a deeper denial. The king tries to claim innocence, challenging the prophet on whether he can truly be held guilty for a murder physically carried out by his wife, Jezebel. He attempts to frame the entire plot as something that occurred completely without his knowledge [מלבי״ם, מצודת דוד].

The prophet immediately rejects this evasion with absolute certainty. He declares the king fully guilty, making it clear that the atrocity was committed with the king's complete consent and that such profound wickedness cannot be justified [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The prophet then explains the root of this guilt, describing the king as someone who has entirely sold himself over to a life of angering God [רש״י, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The primary approach among commentators is that the king invested so much energy into sinning that his every thought and action was devoted to wickedness, as though he were a slave to evil. To illustrate the sheer depth of this commitment, a Midrash recalls how the king would actively erase God's name from Torah scrolls, replacing it with the name of the idol Baal [רד״ק]. Alternatively, this concept of selling oneself is understood on a much more personal level. The king had essentially sold himself as a slave to his wife, Jezebel, existing only to carry out her demands. Because he surrendered his will to her, every wicked act she orchestrated is legally and morally attributed directly to him [מלבי״ם].