 Ahab humbled himself at Elijah's words, and God spared the king accordingly, instead postponing the prophesied destruction of Ahab's house to his son's reign.Johannes Pedersen said that "The story teaches us that the king is bound to respect the proprietary rights of families..." According to Rabbanic Literature, Naboth's soul was the lying spirit that was permitted to deceive Ahab to his death.Elijah's prophecy on the doom of Ahab's house was fulfilled when Jehu executed Ahab's son Jehoram by shooting him in the back with an arrow, and had his body thrown into the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, as punishment for his parents' sin in illegally stealing Naboth's land.