And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.
That I may have it for a garden of herbs. Whether Ahab thought that the vineyard of a subject might properly enough be converted into a kitchen garden for a king, or he set, as the Hebrews generally did, a high value on the possession of such a garden, at all events one chief reason for his eager desire to possess the vineyard of Naboth was its contiguity to the palace grounds. The herbs cultivated in such a garden as Ahab wished to form, were of course those indigenous to the country and the climate: the culinary vegetables of the Hebrews comprising gourds, cucumbers, melons; onions, leeks, and garlic; rice, anise, and cumin; mustard, cassia, and cinnamon; the former class being prized for their refrigerating qualities, tending to allay thirst as well as cool and refresh in the hot season, which prevailed during the greater part of the year; while the latter were useful as condiments, in seasoning viands, and serving tonics.