Here is an amusing post from the Inverse Condemnation blog about a Biblical example of eminent domain abuse. Here is an excerpt:
"We've all heard the story of what may be the very first recorded eminent domain action -- or at least the first case of eminent domain abuse -- the Old Testament's telling of the story of Naboth's Vineyard.
You remember: Naboth the Jezreelite owned a vineyard that had been in his family for a while, but King Ahab wanted to make better use of the land to plant his own stuff. So he offered to buy it, but Naboth said no. So Ahab's wife Jezebel (yeah, that Jezebel) told him "King up, man, you are the King. And it's good to be the king. We'll get that land." So she plotted, and cooked up some false charges against Naboth. And after he was stoned to death, the King grabbed the land."
Read the entire post for the rest of the story. It just goes to show that Government's appetite for private property has always been voracious.
By the way, it did not work out well for King Ahab. As R.C. Sproul puts it:
"King Ahab exercised eminent domain when he confiscated Naboth's vineyard. Naboth had labored strenuously to cultivate his vineyard, and when the king saw that it was a productive operation, he took it as his own possession. God's wrath was poured out against Ahab (1 Kings 21:1-19)."
