1 Kings 19:16

And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel,.... This was a son of Jehoshaphat, and a grandson of Nimshi; nor does he appear to have been anointed by Elijah, but by Elisha;

And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. Abel-meholah - the meadow of dancing, in the valley of the Jordan.

The son of Nimshi, i. e. his grandson, for he was the son of Jehoshaphat, ; he constituted Elisha prophet, by casting his mantle over him, here, .

1 Kings 19:16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint [to be] king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint [to be] prophet in thy room.Ver. 16. Of Abelmeholah.] Which was, say some, in the tribe of Manasseh, on this side of Jordan, like as Elias was of the tribe of Gad. Isidor and Epiphanius tell us that at the birth of Elisha one of Jeroboam’ s golden calves lowed so loud, that it was heard at Jerusalem, and that thereupon one of the priests pronounced that there was one born that day that should be the ruin of idolatry. Others, to set forth the transcendent zeal of Elijah, have legended of him, that when he drew his mother’ s breasts he was seen to suck in fire. Jerome. Adrichom.

(16) And Jehu.—Of this charge Elijah fulfilled in person but one part, in the call of Elisha: for the fulfilment of the other two parts, see 2 Kings 8:8-13; 2 Kings 9:1-6. This apparently imperfect correspondence of the event to the charge, is a strong indication of the historical character of the narrative. The history, indeed, records no actual anointing of Elisha; and it is remarkable that in no other place is any such anointing of a prophet referred to, unless Psalms 105:15 be an exception. The anointing, signifying the gift of grace, was first instituted for the priests (Exodus 40:15; Numbers 3:3); next it was extended to the royal office, and became, in common parlance, especially attached to it. The prophetic office, as the third great representative of the power of Jehovah, might well be hallowed by the same ordinance, especially as the prophets dispensed it to the kings; but, whether the prophets were always consecrated with the sacred oil, or whether, as in the Prophet of prophets, the “anointing with the Holy Ghost and with power” sometimes superseded the outward sign, we do not know. Abelmeholah (“the meadow of the dance,” see 1 Kings 4:12) lay in the rich country near the Jordan valley and the plain of Esdraelon; it was therefore on Elijah’s way.

Verse 16. Elisha - shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.] Jarchi gives a strange turn to these words: "Thy prophecy (or execution of the prophetic office) does not please me, because thou art the constant accuser of my children." With all their abominations, this rabbin would have us to believe that those vile idolaters and murderers were still the beloved children of God! And why? Because God had made a covenant with their fathers; therefore said the ancient as well as the modern siren song: "Once in the covenant, always in the covenant; once a son, and a son for ever." And yet we have here the testimony of God's own prophet, and the testimony of their history, that they had forsaken the covenant, and consequently renounced all their interest in it.

16. And Jehu the son of Nimshi] We learn from the account of Jehu’s anointing (2 Kings 9:2) that Nimshi was Jehu’s grandfather. He was ‘Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi.’ He was one of Ahab’s captains, and heard the sentence which Elijah pronounced against Ahab for the murder of Naboth (2 Kings 9:25-26). When Jehoram had succeeded Ahab, Jehu was anointed and conspired against him, and slew not only Jehoram but also caused to be slain seventy sons of Ahab, and the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and all the worshippers of Baal. For the history of these doings see 2 Kings 10. It is clear that Jehu looked upon himself as God’s ordained instrument, and considered his actions as ‘zeal for the Lord.’ We may therefore conclude that there had been made known to him something of the message which the Lord here gives to Elijah, and that inspired by it, he rose against the house of Ahab. For details of Jehu’s history, see notes on 2 Kings 9:10. of Abel-meholah] See above on 1 Kings 4:12. These words are omitted by the LXX. For the history of Elisha see 2 Kings chapp. 2–8. At the time of his call Elisha was probably a young man. His father and mother were still alive, and he was living with them. prophet in thy room] These words would teach Elijah that he was not to expect the accomplishment of all God’s purpose during his own lifetime, but only to prepare a representative to be ready when it was God’s will to call him away. Till Elijah is about to be taken up into heaven (2 Kings 2) we read no more of Elisha than is told us in this chapter. He ministered unto Elijah and was ready to attend him on his last journey, and in those days of his ministration he doubtless received all the teaching which God had given to his master, and was made to see how the hand of God was ever working amidst His people.

Jehu, the son of Nimshi - In reality the grandson of Nimshi. But he seems to have been commonly known by the above title 2 Kings 9:20; 2 Chronicles 22:7, perhaps because his father had died and his

16. Jehu the son of Nimshi — See the fulfilment of this prophecy in 2 Kings 9:1-10. Abel-meholah — A place in the Jordan valley not yet certainly identified with any modern town, but probably in the plain south of Bethshean.