2 Kings 10
OGCCHAPTER NINETEEN
THE REVOLUTION OF 841 B.C.
The revolution of 841 B.C. may well be the most important political development in the history of the Hebrew monarchy since the schism of 931 B.C. Both kingdoms were affected immediately by what transpired. Besides the obvious political changes brought on by the revolution, one can trace the effects of this coup in the religious, economic and social realms as well. The story starts with the anointing of Jehu (2 Kings 9:1-13) and continues with the confrontation at Jezreel (2 Kings 9:14-37). The author then discusses the aftermath of the coup in Israel (2 Kings 10:1-27).
REVIEW OF CHAPTER NINETEEN
I. FACTS TO MASTER
A. Indicate how each of the following figure in the events discussed in this chapter:
-
Elisha
-
Bidkar
-
Jehu
-
Naboth
-
Jezebel
-
Zimri
-
Hazael
-
Jehonadab
5.Ahaziah
B. Indicate what transpired at each of the following places:
-
Ramoth-gilead
-
Beth-gan
-
Jezreel
-
Ascent of Gur
-
Megiddo
-
Beth-eked
C. Important numbers:
Number of the sons of Ahab slain
Number of Judaean princes slain
Number of soldiers Jehu used to slay the Baal worshipers
II. QUESTIONS TO PONDER
What elements in Israelite society would have been most upset by the policies of the Omri dynasty?
Why did not Elisha personally go to anoint Jehu? Why choose this particular time for the coup?
Why did Joram and Ahaziah ride out to confront Jehu when he approached Jezreel?
Why did Jezebel paint her eyes and attire her head when Jehu came to Jezreel?
When Jezebel called Jehu Zimri was she being defiant, or complimentary?
In what way were Elijah’s predictions about Jezebel fulfilled? Approximately how many years had elapsed since that prophecy had been uttered?
How did Jehu get rid of potential rivals among the descendants of Ahab? How was this a masterful stroke?
Why did Jehu covet the support of Jehonadab?
Why did Jehu kill the forty-two princes of Judah?
Was Jehu’s method of rounding up and executing the Baal worshipers justified?
THE JEHU DYNASTY 841-753 B.C. … your sons to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.
JEHU
(841-814 B.C.)
REVOLUTION
JEHOAHAZ
(814-798 B.C.)
RETRIBUTION
JEHOASH
(798-782 B.C.)
RECOVERY
JEROBOAM II
(782-753 B.C.)
RESTORATION
ZECHARIAH
(753 B.C)
RUIN
This is the word of the Lord which He spoke to Jehu. . And so it was.
Mount Carmel
Samaria was a fortified city built on a hill Drawings by Horace Knowles from the British and Foreign Bible Society
2 Kings 10:1-11
III. THE AFTERMATH OF THE COUP 10:1-27
In chapter 10 the historian discusses some of the consequences of the revolution of 841 B.C. He discusses the bloody massacre of the house of Omri (2 Kings 10:1-11) and of the royal house of Judah (2 Kings 10:12-14). He then inserts a note to show how Jehu gained the support of the more conservative elements of the nation (2 Kings 10:15-17). The chapter reaches its climax in the account of how Jehu deceitfully gathered and then slew the Baal worshipers (2 Kings 10:18-27).
A. THE EXTERMINATION OF THE HOUSE OF OMRI 10:1-11
**TRANSLATION
(1) Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent them to Samaria unto the rulers of Jezreel, the elders, and unto those who brought up Ahab’s children, saying (2) And now when this letter comes unto you, seeing the sons of your master are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fortified city, and armor; (3) select the best and the most upright of the sons of your master, and set him upon the throne of his father, and fight on behalf of the house of your master. (4) But they feared exceedingly, and said, Behold two kings could not stand before him, how then shall we stand? (5) And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, and the elders, and those who had brought up the children sent unto Jehu, saying, Your servants are we, and whatever you say unto us, we will do. We will not make any man king. Do that which is good in your eyes. (6) And he wrote unto them a second letter, saying, If you are mine, and you hearken to my voice, take the heads of the sons of your master, and come unto me about this tune tomorrow to Jezreel. Now the sons of the king, seventy men, were with the great ones of the city who were bringing them up. (7) And it came to pass when the letter came unto them, that they took the sons of the king, and slew seventy men, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them unto him to Jezreel. (8) And the messenger came, and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the sons of the king. And he said, Set them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning. (9) And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said unto all the people, You are righteous. Behold I conspired against my master, and I slew him; but who smote all of these? (10) Know now that there shall fall to the ground nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD has spoken concerning the house of Ahab. The LORD has done that which He spoke by the hand of Elijah his servant. (11) So Jehu smote all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great ones, and his acquaintances, and his priests, until he left none remaining.
COMMENTS**
The immediate question after the death of Joram wasWould any member of his family rise up to claim the throne and dispute the succession with Jehu? Ahab had seventy sons, i.e., male descendants, who lived in the capital, Samaria. Jehu decided to take the initiative in dealing with this potential threat. Letters were sent to the elders of the nation[563] and those who had tutored and trained Ahab’s sons. In them Jehu taunted and challenged his potential adversaries. The sons of the deceased king, the legitimate heirs to the throne, lived in Samaria. Furthermore, the main chariot force of the country, and the chief arsenal containing both armor and arms were there as well (2 Kings 10:2). Jehu scornfully challenged them to make use of these resources against him. Let them select the boldest and ablest son of Joram, make him king and leader against him. Omri had been able to establish himself on the throne of Israel only after a civil war, and Jehu is fully prepared to fight for the throne if necessary. But he was confident that the garrison at Samaria would not dare to venture forth against the army of Ramoth-gilead which had so recently proclaimed him to be king(2 Kings 10:3).
[563] It is not clear why these elders are called rulers of Jezreel. One would expect here rulers of Samaria which the Septuagint actually reads.
The elders in Samaria were men of peace, and not military commanders. They were intimidated by the scornful and ominous tone of Jehu’s letters. How could these agents of an unpopular regime hope to be able to rally enough support to challenge a popular general like Jehu? Joram and Ahaziah had not been able to stand before Jehu; how could they succeed where two kings had failed? Of course this argument was fallacious, for those two kings had been taken by surprise and treacherously murdered. But the most flimsy argument can convince a coward that bold action is inappropriate (2 Kings 10:4). So the chief officials of Samariathe majordomo of the royal palace, the mayor of the city, the elders, and those who had raised Ahab’s childrensent a letter of capitulation to Jehu. The bluff had worked! The leaders might have simply declined the challenge to put forth a rival king; but they went much further. They placed themselves unreservedly on Jehu’s side when they declared, We are your servants and will do all that you ask. They closed their brief note by urging Jehu to take whatever steps he thought were necessary to confirm himself in the kingdom (2 Kings 10:5).
The reply of the rulers of Jezreel gave Jehu an opportunity of which he was not slow to take advantage. He fired back a letter which in effect demanded that they demonstrate the loyalty they had so recently professed. If they were really his servants, and if they would follow his orders, then let them decapitate their master’s sons and bring their heads to Jezreel within twenty-four hours (2 Kings 10:6). Heads of rebels and pretenders were generally brought to the sovereign, and then exposed in some public place in order that the public might be convinced that they were really dead. As Jezreel was but twenty miles from Samaria, the order could easily be carried out in the time stipulated. Nevertheless, prompt action would have been necessary, and thus the leaders had little time for consideration and deliberation. Having committed themselves in their letter to obedience, the leaders of Samaria seemed to have no choice but to allow themselves to become the tools of Jehu. Without hesitation they slew the seventy princes, put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jezreel by messenger (2 Kings 10:7). Jehu had ordered them to bring the heads to Jezreel; but because they so greatly feared Jehu, they decided to send the heads by messenger.
When the heads of Ahab’s sons arrived at Jezreel, Jehu ordered that they be put on public display in two heaps at the city gate (2 Kings 10:8). Such a spectacle must have awakened the morbid curiosity of the inhabitants of Jezreel and attracted a great throng of spectators. The next morning, Jehu went out to address the crowds at the gate. Since they were upright men, Jehu called upon them to render a judgment. He openly admitted that he had slain his master; but who, he asked, slew all these? (2 Kings 10:9). He confessed to one murder; but here are seventy murders! Everyone knew by that time how these sons of Ahab had met their death. They were slain, not by Jehu and his soldiers, but by the most trusted officials of the former regime. Did this not prove that all the leaders of the nation were weary of the Ahabites? Did this not clear Jehu of any private or selfish motive in what he had done? Furthermore, Jehu argued, what had transpired had been predicted by Elijah the prophetAhab had been requited in the portion of Jezreel; the dogs had eaten the flesh of Jezebel; the house of Ahab was being destroyed. Since the accomplishment had gone so far, Jehu was confident that the entire prophecy of Elijah would shortly be fulfilled. The whole house of Ahab would perish (2 Kings 10:10)it would become like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah (1 Kings 21:23).
Encouraged by his past success, Jehu proceeded to great lengths. He slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel. This no doubt included the princesses as well as the princes. In addition he executed his great men, perhaps even those who had been used by Jehu to slay the seventy sons of Ahab, and the Baal priests who were on the royal payroll. The details of how these priests met their death is recorded later in chapter 10. Thus did Jehu destroy the entire Ahabite faction from the land (2 Kings 10:11).
2 Kings 10:12-14
B. THE MASSACRE OF THE ROYAL HOUSE OF JUDAH 10:12-14
**TRANSLATION
(12) And he arose, departed, and came to Samaria. When he was at Beth-eked in the way, (13) Jehu met the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are you? And they said, We are brethren of Ahaziah, and we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother. (14) And he said, Take them alive! And they took them alive, and slew them at the well of Beth-eked, forty-two men, and he left not a man of them.
COMMENTS**
Having eliminated all potential opposition both in Jezreel and throughout the land, Jehu set out for Samaria. At Betheked,[564] an insignificant and unidentified spot en route (2 Kings 10:12), Jehu happened upon a group of forty-two relatives[565] of the deceased King Ahaziah of Judah. When interrogated as to who they were and what business they might have, these men indicated that they were on their way to Jezreel to visit their Northern cousins, the children of King Joram and also the queen mother Jezebel (2 Kings 10:13). This explanation sounds suspicious. For one thing, it would a priori be unlikely that forty- two princes would set off suddenly to visit relatives at another capital. Furthermore, it is hardly possible that these forty-two men could still be ignorant of the bloody revolution which had taken place in the North. Several days must have passed since King Joram was slain, and it would appear from 2 Kings 9:28 that the body of King Ahaziah had already been brought to Jerusalem and buried. Even if these men had left Jerusalem before the arrival of the king’s corpse, surely they would have encountered many travelers who would have filled them in about the bloody deeds perpetrated against the house of Ahab. The only conclusion to which one can come is that these men from Judah were coming north to give aid and assistance to their relatives of the house of Ahab. But Jehu was not deceived. He at first ordered these men taken alive, but afterwards thought it would be safer to have them put out of the way. And so these forty-two, who were also descendants of Ahab, were slain at the well of Beth-eked (2 Kings 10:14).
[564] A spot where the shepherds of the area were accustomed to shear their flocks. Beth-eked literally means the house of binding, and takes its name from the practice of tying the sheep’s four feet together before shearing.
[565] The actual brethren of Ahaziah had been carried off and slain by the Arabians (2 Chronicles 21:17; 2 Chronicles 22:1); the youths here mentioned were their sons (2 Chronicles 22:8), and therefore Ahaziah’s nephews.
2 Kings 10:15-17
B. JEHU AND JEHONADAB 10:15-17
**TRANSLATION
(15) And he departed from there, and found Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; and he blessed him, and said unto him, Is your heart right as my heart is with your heart? And Jehonadab said, It is. If it is, give me your hand. And he gave his hand, and he took him up unto him into the chariot. (16) And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot. (17) When he came to Samaria, he smote all that remained to Ahab in Sa maria, until he had destroyed him according to the word of the LORD which he had spoken to Elijah.
COMMENTS**
Between Beth-eked and Samaria, Jehu happened upon the great Kenite chief Jehonadab, the founder of a remarkable sect of conservative Yahwists. Jehonadab was somewhat of an ascetic who required his sons to live in tents, to possess neither house, nor field, nor vineyard, and to abstain wholly from the use of wine (cf. Jeremiah 35:8-10). Jehu was anxious for the endorsement of this noted leader, and so he blessed him, i.e., greeted him, and inquired whether or not this zealous servant of the Lord was sympathetically inclined toward the revolution. Without a moment’s pause, the Kenite chief cast his lot with Jehu, for he had chafed many years in the presence of Ahab’s religious policy. Having received from Jehonadab a positive and enthusiastic endorsement, Jehu extended his hand to the venerable old man and took him up into his chariot. This action would at once honor the patriarch, and at the same time suggest to the populace that the two men were in accord with regard to the bloody anti-Ahab policy (2 Kings 10:15).
Jehonadab evidently approved of the measures already taken by Jehu, and the general hinted to him that further severe measures were about to be taken. These acts Jehu referred to as my zeal for the Lord. Though Jehonadab did not know exactly what Jehu had in mind, he must have had a good idea of what was about to happen. So being in agreement with Jehu’s cause, the patriarch agreed to ride to the capital with the general. So they, i.e., Jehu and his attendants, made provision for Jehonadab to ride in the royal chariot (2 Kings 10:16). When they arrived in Samaria, Jehu slew all that remained of Ahab’s house, viz., the daughters of Ahab, and the wives and perhaps families of the seventy sons already slain. This action fulfilled the word which God had spoken against the house of Ahab by the mouth of Elijah the prophet (2 Kings 10:17).
2 Kings 10:18-27
D. THE MASSACRE OF THE BAAL WORSHIPERS 10:18-27
**TRANSLATION
(18) And Jehu gathered all the people, and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. (19) And now call all the prophets of Baal and all his servants and all his priests unto me; let no man be lacking, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Any who is lacking shall not live. But Jehu did this deceitfully in order to destroy the servants of Baal. (20) And Jehu said, Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it. (21) And Jehu sent throughout all Israel, and every servant of Baal came, so that there did not remain a man who did not come. And they came to the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to the other. (22) And he said to the one who was over the vestry, Bring out garments for all the servants of Baal. And he brought forth to them the vestments. (23) And Jehu came along with Jehonadab son of Rechab to the house of Baal; and he said unto the servants of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but worshipers of Baal only. (24) When they had gone in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed outside eighty men, and said, If any of the men whom I have brought into your hand escapes, your life instead of his life. (25) And it came to pass when he had finished making the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guards and to the officers, Go in, smite them! Let not a man go out! And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the runners and the officers cast them out, and went unto the city of the house of Baal. (26) And they brought forth the pillars of the house of Baal, and burned them. (27) And they broke in pieces the pillar of Baal, and broke down the house of Baal, and they made it into a dung house unto this day.
COMMENTS**
Up to this point, the revolution of 841 B.C. had appeared to be nothing more than a dynastic change such as had been forced upon the nation by Baasha (1 Kings 15:27-29), Zimri (1 Kings 16:9-12), and Omri (1 Kings 16:17-19). No one as yet suspected that deep religious motives were at the root of this revolution. Jehu’s remarks about the whoredoms and witchcrafts of Jezebel (2 Kings 9:22) were heard only by a few trusted conspirators. His zeal for Yahweh whispered in the ear of Jehonadab (2 Kings 10:16) had heretofore been kept secret. Thus when Jehu publicly boasted of his intention to serve Baal even more zealously than bad his predecessors, there was nothing to prevent the people from giving credence to his words (2 Kings 10:18). Consequently the prophets, priests, and worshipers of Baal were summoned to the great sacrifice with which, it was believed, Jehu would inaugurate his reign. The absence of any Baal worshiper would be interpreted as rebellion against the crown, deserving of capital punishment. All of this Jehu did deceitfully, for his intention was to utterly destroy the worshipers of this foreign god (2 Kings 10:19). Idolaters were liable to death under the Law of Moses, and Jehu would have had a perfect right to eradicate Baal worship throughout the land. However, the end does not justify the means. To draw several hundred of his subjects by false pretenses into a trap and then slay them for doing what he had himself invited them to do, is an act wholly unjustifiable.
Having stated in summary fashion how Jehu assembled the Baal worshipers, the author then proceeds to give the details. The king requested the Baal cult leaders to proclaim a solemn assembly, i.e., a day when worldly business was suspended for the sake of a religious gathering. The Baal officials were only too happy to comply with this order (2 Kings 10:20). An edict of the king went throughout the kingdom ordering all Baal worshipers to participate in the king’s inaugural sacrifice. No doubt the Baal worshipers enthusiastically responded to the royal order. By the hundreds, perhaps thousands, they assembled in the courtyards of the house of Baal which Ahab had built in Samaria (2 Kings 10:21). It was customary when a king called for a great festival that those who assembled be supplied with appropriate garments so that the festivities might be as colorful as possible. So as not to arouse any suspicion, Jehu complied with this custom and ordered the keeper of the vestry to supply the worshipers with proper garb. Probably the robes were secured both from the wardrobe of the temple itself and from that of the royal palace (2 Kings 10:22).
Keeping up the pretense that he was a devotee of Baal, Jehu himself entered the house of Baal along with Jehonadab whom he wished to have as a witness to his zeal for the Lord. He then addressed the worshipers and urged that extreme vigilance be exercised to make sure that none but true worshipers of Baal were present. Of course the real object of the king was to spare the lives of any Yahweh worshipers who might have attended the festival out of curiosity, or to have their share in the revelry which attended the worship of Baal. Jehu’s request would not be thought suspicious in view of the general habit of restricting the more sacred rites of a religion to sincere devotees. The worship ceremonies would be profaned by the presence of scoffers or those not truly sincere (2 Kings 10:23).
When the whole multitude of Baal worshipers had entered the sacred precincts to make the appropriate animal sacrifices, Jehu stationed at the entrance eighty trusted soldiers who were known devotees of Yahweh. These executioners were warned that any man who allowed a Baal worshiper to escape would forfeit his own life (2 Kings 10:24). When the officiating priest[566] had finished offering the sacrifices, Jehu gave the order to his guards (lit., runners) and captains to enter the temple precincts and slay the helpless worshipers. Doubtlessly some of the soldiers guarded the exits while others waded into the unarmed multitude wielding their swords right and left and casting the bodies out of their way as they pressed forward to the slaughter.
[566] Some think that Jehu himself is the one who offered the sacrifices. However the Hebrew could equally well be translated, when one finished or when they finished. Still another possibility is that Jehu might be said to have offered, the sacrifice because he furnished the victims offered not because he immolated them with his own hand.
From the outer courts where the multitude had assembled, the soldiers entered the city of the house of Baal, i.e., the inner sanctuary where Baal was enthroned surrounded by the images of his fellow gods. This area was probably reserved for priests only, and no doubt many had taken refuge here when the slaughter had commenced (2 Kings 10:25). The wooden pillars or images representing either various aspects of Baal, or perhaps subordinate deities, were brought forth and burned (2 Kings 10:26). The stone pillar representing Baal himself was broken in pieces. The house of Baal was virtually torn down, and what ruins that remained were made a draught-house, i.e., a depository for all the filth of the city (2 Kings 10:27). Thus did Jehu eliminate the worship of the Tyrian Baal from Israel (2 Kings 10:28).
2 Kings 10:28-36
I. REIGN OF JEHU IN ISRAEL 10:28-36
**TRANSLATION
(28) So Jehu destroyed Baal in Israel. (29) Only Jehu did not torn from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin, the calves of gold which were in Bethel and Dan. (30) And the LORD said onto Jehu, Because you have done well in doing what is upright in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all which was in My heart, sons of the fourth generation shall sit for you upon the throne of Israel. (31) But Jehu did not take heed to walk in the Law of the LORD the God of Israel with all of his heart; he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam who made Israel to sin. (32) In those days the LORD began to cut short Israel, and Hazael smote them along the frontiers of Israel; (33) from the Jordan eastward, all the hind of Gilead, the Gadites, Reubenites and the Manassites from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan. (34) Now the rest of the acts of Jehu and all which he did and all of his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? (35) And Jehu slept with his fathers and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place. (36) And the time which Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.**
Tench King of Israel JEHU 841-814 B.C. (Yabweb is He)
2 Kings 9-10 Synchronism Jehu 1 = Athaliah 1 Contemporary Prophet Elisha
The great Cod that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors, Proverbs 26:10
COMMENTS
While Jehu was zealous for Yahweh as over against Baal, he was not of a mind to lead a reformation of Yahweh worship. The calf worship of the North had been under the curse of God from its inception (cf. 1 Kings 13:2). But the calf worship was thought to be essential to the maintenance of the Northern Kingdom. Abolish it, and all Israel would return to the house of David (1 Kings 12:26-30). Jehu was not prepared to run this risk. Thus his reformation was a half-reformation, a partial turning to the Lord which brought no permanent blessing upon the nation (2 Kings 10:29). Through some prophetmost probably Elishathe Lord spoke to Jehu commending him for executing the divine wrath against the house of Ahab and the Baal worshipers. Nothing, it should be noted, is here said about the motives of Jehu which were probably largely selfish. For this external obedience, God rewarded Jehu with an external, earthly honor. God promised him that four generations of his children would rule on the throne of Israel. Counting the reign of Jehu himself, this dynasty ruled for five generations, over a hundred years. No other dynasty in the North ruled for over three generations or for more than fifty years. Yet in spite of this precious promise, Jehu did not serve the Lord with all his heart, and he continued to tolerate the calf worship instituted by Jeroboam (2 Kings 10:31).
For continuing to maintain the illicit calf worship, the Lord began to cut Israel short (lit., to cut off in Israel). This probably means that certain territories were lost to Hazael the Aramean king, who began to attack along the entire Israelite frontier in the north and east (2 Kings 10:32). Hazael seems to have wrested the entire Transjordan territoryBashan and Gilead as far south as the Arnon river, from the hands of Jehu. This affected most directly the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh (2 Kings 10:33). Jehu’s only consolation was that he was able to keep Hazael from crossing the Jordan.
Many other events of Jehu’s reign might have been recorded by the author of Kings, and for this additional information he refers his readers to his resource book, the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. It is strange to find a reference to the might of Jehu in view of the fact that all of his wars seem to have been unsuccessful. One must conclude that Jehu gained much distinction as a military leader and demonstrated great acts of personal valor in the Aramean wars, even though he was forced to concede territory to his enemy (2 Kings 10:34). Only one other Northern king reigned longer than the twenty-eight years ascribed to Jehu, that being Jeroboam II who reigned forty-one years. Jehu was buried in the capital at Samaria and was succeeded on the throne by his son Jehoahaz (2 Kings 10:34-35).