Naboth

Naboth "the Jezreelite" is the central figure of a passage from the Old Testament. According to the story, Naboth owned a plot on the eastern slope of the hill of Jezreel, south-west of the Sea of Galilee. Described as a small "plot of ground", the vineyard seems to have been all he possessed and lay close to the palace of King Ahab, who wished to acquire it to "have it for a garden of herbs" (probably as a ceremonial garden for Baal worship). The king promised compensation, based upon the assumption that Naboth owned the vineyard in fee simple; Naboth, however, had inherited his land from his father, and, according to Jewish law, could not alienate it. Accordingly, he refused to sell it to the king.