21:2 Give me your vineyard. In Canaanite nations a king could seize property and personal belongings at pleasure, because in theory all the property was owned by the royal family and only entrusted to their subjects. In Israel, God owned the land (Ex. 19:3–8; Lev. 25:23) and the people held it as His stewards (Num. 14:8; 35:34; Deut. 1:8). The powers of an Israelite monarch were limited in contrast to the powers of a Canaanite king (Deut. 17:14–20; 1 Sam. 8:9–19; 10:25). When Ahab wanted his neighbor’s vineyard, his thought was to negotiate a purchase (cf. 16:24).