2 Kings 9

2 Kings 9:1

Ephrem the Syrian: “Then the prophet Elisha called a member of the company of prophets and said to him, ‘Gird up your loins; take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead.’ ” Here the Scripture reports the just sentence that befalls the house of Ahab. Immediately it speaks about the choice of the judge and executor of the judgment. And this was Jehu, the son of Nimshi, who, on the word of the Lord, anointed one of the prophets for the royalty. And this was the disciple of Elisha who was sent by his master to the city of Ramoth-gilead, which was under the siege of the Israelites. He entered their camp and went to the tent where the commanders of the army gathered and standing before them, he naively said, “I have a message for you, commander.” Jehu said in reply, “For which one of us?” The servant realized that he was the one indicated by Elisha. In fact, he did not know his name, but even though the son of the prophet did not know him nor had ever seen him, he saw the importance of this situation, and his mind was troubled, so that he said, “For you, commander.” He showed that through the revelation of God he had realized that he was the one chosen by God. And immediately he took him into an inner chamber, according to the order of his master. And two things were also hidden: Jehu understood that that affair had to remain secret and that the news [of the anointing] should not be divulged at that time among the people. Therefore he anointed him and ordered him to take revenge against the house of Ahab. Then the prophet fled at once from the camp, and shortly later the entire assembly was in an admirable unanimity before king Jehu against Israel.So he went out with a group of select men. But he met Joram, king of Israel, in the course of his journey, and little later Ahaziah, king of Judah. He was able to defeat them after the first attack and killed them both. Jehu said to Bidkar, “ ‘Lift him out, and throw him on the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite,’ because last night I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his children.” He is thinking here about what had been said to him at night, or maybe he believes that this vengeance and the fact that he would kill Joram had been predicted to him at night through a vision. Jehu had also indicated to Bidkar another reason for killing Joram in his place and for ordering him to throw him on the plot of Naboth, saying, “When you and I rode side by side behind his father Ahab how the Lord uttered this oracle against him: ‘For the blood of Naboth and for the blood of his children that I saw yesterday, says the Lord, I swear I will repay you on this very plot of ground,’ ” that is, outside the walls of Jezreel where the goods of Naboth were. After this action accomplished outside the gates of Jezreel, he entered the city to complete what he had successfully begun. — ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 9:1-24

2 Kings 9:30

Ephrem the Syrian: They thought that she would have wept over her dead son, but in the very hour in which she heard that the king had come, she painted her eyes, a raving old woman, adorned her head with a miter and looked from her window so that she might be looked at. She thought that maybe [Jehu] would be seduced by her look and would take her among his wives. Maybe she had heard of the story of Adonijah, who at the time of Solomon was aided by Abishag the Shunammite and demanded that she became his wife, so that, through the queen, he might be elevated to the throne of the kingdom. So she believed that Jehu too, in order to confirm and pacify his troubled and agitated new reign, would walk the path of Adonijah. These were the thoughts of Jezebel until she was still able to control herself.But after seeing Jehu, who was entering the gate, she remembered the horrible murder of her son and could not stand the sight of his murderer any longer nor could she restrain her fury but insulted him angrily and abused him before the crowd by saying, “Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of your master?” Indeed, nothing could break the violence of that insolent woman, neither the hope of marriage, nor the fear of an imminent death, nor the fear of her adversary who brandished his sword while threatening her. She, who tortured the others, was not able to save herself, but she provoked the king like a madwoman, addressing him with insulting words, so that she kindled his rage even more and greater resentment rose against her. — ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 9:30

2 Kings 9:32

Ephrem the Syrian: Jehu, who had seen the woman who had spoken to him and had recognized her to be Jezebel, ordered the eunuchs who were beside her to throw her out of the window, and they immediately threw her with force and spattered the wall with her blood. Horses passed there and trampled her corpse, and, a little later, dogs lacerated her flesh, so that nobody could say, This was Jezebel.[Let us see] the symbolic meaning [of this passage]. Ahab was struck in battle and fell, and after his fall, his servants came to mourn and weep over him, and they placed him into the tomb of the kings with honor. But the same thing did not happen to Jezebel. After the eunuchs had thrown her to the ground and her bones were broken in the fall, horses trampled her and dogs lacerated her. The reason for this difference is that Ahab, even though he committed many crimes, showed repentance now and then. Jezebel, by contrast, did not only violate justice and cause rage with her abominable behavior but also drove her husband to crime and exhorted him to commit iniquities. And later, she never repented in the times of her prosperity or in those of calamity, nor [did she turn] away from her path of perversity. Even in the very time of her condemnation to death, she became furious like a madwoman. Therefore there were many reasons why justice should be particularly harsh against her. In addition, observe and understand how Jezebel, who had terrified prophets and enslaved kings, was thrown by slaves into shame and dishonor and was lacerated by the teeth of dogs. That happened so that the mouth of liars might be stopped, and they might not say, “Why does the way of the guilty prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?” — ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 9:32