C. F. Keil and Franz Delitzsch on 1 Kings 21:4

1Ki 21:4

Instead of respecting this tender feeling of shrinking from the transgression of the law and desisting from his coveting, Ahab went home, i.e., to Samaria (cf. 1Ki 21:8), sullen and morose (סר וזעף as in 1Ki 20:43), lay down upon his bed, turned his face (viz., to the wall; cf. 2Ki 20:2) - “after the manner of sorrowful persons, who shrink from and refuse all conversation, and even the sight of others” (Seb. Schmidt) - and did not eat. This childish mode of giving expression to his displeasure at Naboth’s refusal to comply with his wish, shows very clearly that Ahab was a man sold under sin (1Ki 21:20), who only wanted the requisite energy to display the wickedness of his heart in vigorous action.