2 Kings 9
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:
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Elisha
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Bidkar
-
Jehu
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Naboth
-
Jezebel
-
Zimri
-
Hazael
-
Jehonadab
5.Ahaziah
B. Indicate what transpired at each of the following places:
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Ramoth-gilead
-
Beth-gan
-
Jezreel
-
Ascent of Gur
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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 9:1-10
I. THE ANOINTING OF JEHU 9:1-13
Jehu, the commander of the garrison at Ramoth-gilead, was selected by God to execute the divine wrath against the Omri dynasty. Quite unexpectedly, Jehu was thrust into a position to challenge the reigning monarch by (1) the anointing by a prophet (2 Kings 9:1-10); and (2) the acclamation of his fellow officers (2 Kings 9:11-13).
A. THE ANOINTING BY A PROPHET 9:1-10
**TRANSLATION
(1) And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, Gird up your loins, and take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead. (2) When you come to that place, find Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi there, and go and make him rise from the midst of his brethren, and take him into an inner chamber. (3) Then take the flask of oil, and pour it out on his head, and say, Thus says the LORD: I have anointed you king over Israel; then open the door, and flee, and do not tarry. (4) So the young man, even the young man who was a prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. (5) And he came, and behold the captains of the army were sitting; and he said, I have a word for you, O captain. And Jehu said, Unto which of us? And he said, To you, O captain. (6) And he went into the house, and poured oil upon his head, and he said to him, Thus says the LORD God of Israel: I have anointed you for king over the people of the LORD, over Israel. (7) And you shall smite the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel. (8) For all the house of Ahab shall be destroyed, and I will cut off to Ahab male descendants, him that is shut up and him that is left in Israel. (9) And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. (10) And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door and fled.
COMMENTS**
In the present paragraph Elisha carries out his commission to transfer the kingdom of Israel from the unworthy dynasty of Omri to that of a new dynasty. The prophet dispatched one of the prophetical students to Ramoth-gilead where general Jehu was commandant (2 Kings 9:1). He instructed his disciple to single out Jehu, take him behind closed doors (2 Kings 9:2), and anoint him to be king of Israel. Having done this the young prophet was to hastily depart (2 Kings 9:3). Secrecy was of extreme importance, lest the king should find out what was happening and prepare himself for resistance. Many years before Elijah had been commissioned to anoint this general as king, but, since the time was not ripe during his ministry, he had delegated this responsibility to his successor. Jehu had served as a soldier under Ahab, and under his two sons Ahaziah and Joram. He had worked his way up the ranks until he was chief captain of the host.
The young prophet carried out the instructions of Elisha and went to Ramoth-gilead (2 Kings 9:4). There he found the various officers sitting about informally chatting with one another. Looking at Jehu but addressing no one in particular, the prophet announced, I have a word for you, O captain. To clarify the recipient of the message, Jehu asked which of the officers he wished to address, and the prophet singled out Jehu (2 Kings 9:5). Jehu then left his seat and led the way from the courtyard where the officers had been sitting, into the house which adjoined the court.
In the privacy of that room the prophet took his flask of oil and anointed Jehu king over Israel in the name of the Lord. Along with the crown came a commission. Jehu was to smite, i.e., utterly destroy, the house of Ahab in order that God might avenge the deaths of his prophets and other worshipers at the hand of Jezebel (2 Kings 9:7). This general persecution of Yahweh worshipers had at one time reduced the number of the faithful in Israel to a mere seven thousand (1 Kings 19:18). Jezebel was at the bottom of the antagonism toward the people of God, at times taking matters into her own hands (e.g., 1 Kings 18:13; 1 Kings 21:8-14), and at times stirring up her husband (1 Kings 21:25) to do evil. For these crimes, all the posterity of Ahab must be cut off (2 Kings 9:8)[557] so that the house of Ahab would become like the house of Jeroboam (1 Kings 15:29) and the house of Baasha (1 Kings 16:11), both of which had been exterminated because of religious apostasy. As for Jezebel herself, her corpse would be eaten by dogs, and no one would be sufficiently interested in her fate to see that she received a decent burial. These details about the fate of Jezebel previously had been prophesied by Elijah (cf. 1 Kings 21:23). Having completed his mission of anointing and commissioning Jehu, the young prophet hastily departed (2 Kings 9:10).
[557] For an explanation of the phrases in 2 Kings 9:8, see comments on 1 Kings 14:10.
2 Kings 9:11-13
B. THE ACCLAMATION OF HIS FELLOW OFFICERS 9:11-13
**TRANSLATION
(11) And Jehu went out unto the servants of his master and one said unto him, Is all well? Why did this madman come unto you? And he said unto them, You know the man and his message. (12) And they said, Not so. Tell it, we pray you, to us. And he said, Thus and so did he say to me, saying, Thus says the LORD: I have anointed you for king over Israel. (13) And they hastened, and took each man his garment, and placed them under him on top of the stairs, and they blew the trumpet, and said, Jehu reigns!
COMMENTS**
When Jehu emerged from the house, his colleagues quizzed him about the crazy-acting messenger who had disappeared almost as suddenly as he had appeared. Jehu suspected that the whole scene had been arranged beforehand by his junior officersthat the young prophet and the officers of the host had banded together to force him to make a move against the unpopular Jehoram (2 Kings 9:11). The officers firmly and sincerely disavowed any knowledge of what the young man might have said, and pressed their leader to relate it to them. Jehu then reported to them all that the prophet had said (2 Kings 9:12). The military commanders at Ramoth-gilead received the news enthusiastically and immediately began to render to Jehu royal homage by spreading their garments upon the dust for him to walk upon. They improvised an enthronement ceremony by having Jehu ascend the outside stairs which led to the upper story of the house. When he took his position on the top-most step, they blew the trumpets and proclaimed Jehu to be king (2 Kings 9:13).
2 Kings 9:14-16
II. CONFRONTATION AT JEZREEL 9:14-37
The historian takes pains to paint the backdrop for the coup d-’etat in 2 Kings 9:14-16. Then, in a matter-of-fact way, he narrates the bloody deaths of Jehoram of Israel (2 Kings 9:17-26), Ahaziah of Judah (2 Kings 9:27-29), and Jezebel (2 Kings 9:30-37).
A. SETTING FOR THE COUP D-‘ETAT 9:14-16
**TRANSLATION
(14) So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi conspired against Joram (now Joram was keeping Ramoth-gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael the king of Aram. And Joram the king had returned to convalesce in Jezreel from the wounds which the Arameans had inflicted upon him when he fought against Hazael the king of Aram). And Jehu said, If your minds are thus, do not let a fugitive escape from the city to go to tell it in Jezreel. (16) So Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel; for Joram was resting there, and Ahaziah the king of Judah had gone down to visit Joram.
COMMENTS**
By the open acts which took place at Ramoth-gilead, Jehu’s conspiracy against the crown was launched. These soldiers happened to be at Ramoth-gilead in Transjordan because Joram had ordered the city to be defended against the incursions of the Arameans (2 Kings 9:14). The king himself, however, was not present, for he had retired to Jezreel to recuperate from battle wounds. After he was proclaimed to be king, Jehu proposed to his supporting officers that they must take all precaution to prevent anyone loyal to Joram from escaping to warn the king of their plans (2 Kings 9:15). Secrecy was absolutely essential. Had the word reached Jezreel, the king might have been able to field a sizable army of loyalists, consequently plunging the entire nation into a bloody civil war. This Jehu wanted to avoid at all costs. On the very day of his anointing, Jehu gathered a small chariot force and swiftly made his way to Jezreel, hoping to arrive before any suspicion of rebellion or revolt (2 Kings 9:16).
2 Kings 9:17-26
B. THE DEATH OF JEHORAM OF ISRAEL 9:17-26
**TRANSLATION
(17) Now the watchman was standing upon the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu as he came, and he said, A company I see! And Joram said, Take a horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, Is all well? (18) So a horseman went to meet him and he said, Thus says the king: Is all well? And Jehu said, What concern is it of yours? Turn in behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came unto them, and he did not return. (19) And he sent a second horseman, and he came unto them, and said, Thus says the king: Is all well? And Jehu said, What concern is it of yours? Turn in behind me. (20) And the watchman told, saying, He came unto them, and he did not return. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi, for he drives like a madman. (21) And Joram said, Hitch up! And he hitched up his chariot. And Joram the king of Israel and Ahaziah the king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu. And they found him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. (22) And it came to pass when Joram saw Jehu that he said, Is all well, Jehu? And Jehu said, How can it be so long as the harlotries of Jezebel your mother and her many witchcrafts con tinue. (23) And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, Treachery, O Ahaziah! (24) And Jehu drew his bow, and smote Joram between his shoulders, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he slumped over in his chariot. (25) Then he said to Bidkar his captain, Take up, cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember when you and I rode together after Ahab his father, and the LORD laid this burden upon him: (26) Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons (oracle of the LORD); and I will recompense you in this portion (oracle of the LORD). Now lift him up, and cast him into the portion according to the word of the LORD.
COMMENTS**
A watchman in the tower at Jezreel spied the band approaching and notified the king. Joram was not alarmed, and suspected that the small group of chariots was bringing news from the war front. He dispatched a messenger to find out if the news was good or bad (2 Kings 9:17). Jehu refused to answer the question of the messenger, but said to him in effect, What does it matter to a common man like you whether or not my tidings are peaceful? He then directed the messenger to fall in behind him, and the messenger had no choice but to obey. The watchman noting this suspicious behavior reported it at once to the king. Joram should now have realized something was amiss, but he seems to have been oblivious to danger (2 Kings 9:18). A second messenger was sent out with the same question, and he too was rebuffed and ordered to fall in behind Jehu (2 Kings 9:19). The sending of the second messenger was an indication that the king was displeased with the detention of the first. When the second messenger failed also to return, Joram realized that whoever was leading that chariot band was acting in open defiance of the royal will. From the reckless pace at which the chariots were heading for Jezreel the watchman at Jezreel concluded that General Jehu, who had a reputation for such driving, was leading the group (2 Kings 9:20).
When Joram heard that Jehu led the company which was approaching, his apprehension disappeared. Jehu was known for his loyalty to the house of Ahab. The king and his nephew from Judah decided to ride out to meet the great general to find out why he had abandoned his post at Ramoth-gilead. It so happened in God’s judicial providence that the kings meet Jehu and his company in the portion of ground which Ahab had so ruthlessly taken away from Naboth (2 Kings 9:21). Joram asked the same question which the two messengers asked, but perhaps there is a bit different connotation to it. Jehu at any rate interpreted the king’s question, Is all well? to mean, Is all well between you and me? Jehu answered the question in the negative. Now that the king is within bowshot, Jehu threw off his mask and announced, as it were, his conspiracy. No peace between Jehu and Joram could exist so long as the idolatrous influence of the queen mother was allowed to continue. The witchcrafts of Jezebel would be those magical acts commonly practiced in heathen kingdoms of that day but forthrightly condemned in the Law of Moses (2 Kings 9:22). By so speaking of the queen mother, Jehu was clearly indicating that he was no longer willing to be a subject of her son.
Joram realized his precarious position and ordered his chariot driver to turn the chariot. At the same time, Joram shouted to Ahaziah to warn him of the treachery (2 Kings 9:23). Jehu by this time had his bow in hand, and he quickly shot an arrow that penetrated the king’s back and came out his heart. The king immediately slumped into his chariot dead (2 Kings 9:24). Jehu then gave orders to one of his captains to cast the corpse of the king into the portion of ground which had formerly belonged to Naboth. Several years earlier both men had ridden with Ahab in his chariot, and they had heard the burden or sentence pronounced against him by Elijah (2 Kings 9:25). Due to the lapse of some fifteen years, Jehu could not recall the exact words of the prophecy, but he remembered the gist of it, viz., that in Naboth’s plot Ahab would be recompensed for his crime (2 Kings 9:26). The execution of Naboth’s sons was not previously mentioned, but Ahab would have to have had them slain, else he could not have come into possession of the plot. The evil pronounced against Ahab had been deferred to the days of his sons since Ahab did manifest some repentance with regard to the violence done against Naboth.
2 Kings 9:27-29
C. THE DEATH OF AHAZIAH OF JUDAH 9:27-29
**TRANSLATION
(27) When Ahaziah king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of Beth-Gan. But Jehu pursued after him, and said, Also smite him in the chariot. And they did so at the ascent of Gur which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there. (28) And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and they buried him in the sepulcher with his fathers in the city of David. (29) Now in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah had begun to reign over Judah.
COMMENTS**
When Ahaziah saw what had happened to Joram, he fled southward toward the land of Judah by the way of Beth-Gan,[558] a village due south of Jezreel. Jehu ordered that Ahaziah also be slain. Ahaziah was the grandson of Ahab, and hence was part of the house of Ahab which Jehu was to slay. As Ahaziah’s chariot slowed down at the steep ascent of Gur at the southern edge of the plain of Esdraelon, Jehu’s archers were able to overtake him and inflict a wound upon him. Ahaziah then changed directions and headed west toward Megiddo, partly because he was now in no condition to make the rugged climb back to Jerusalem, and partly because he wished to throw off his pursuers. There he died, either of the wounds he had received at the ascent of Gur, or as a result of some new violence on the part of Jehu (cf. 2 Chronicles 22:8-9). Ahaziah’s servants then transported the body of their master to Jerusalem and buried him in his own sepulcher in the city of David (2 Kings 9:28). Like Egyptian kings, the kings of Judah seem to have made it their business to see to the construction of their tombs as soon as they mounted the throne. Even though Ahaziah had reigned but a year, he had already prepared his place of burial.[559]
[558] The Septuagint so renders. The KJV has elected to render as two common nouns, garden house the meaning of which is dubious.
[559] On the discrepancy between 2 Kings 9:29 and 2 Kings 8:25 as to the year of Ahaziah’s accession, see the comments on the earlier passage.
2 Kings 9:30-37
D. THE DEATH OF JEZEBEL 9:30-37
**TRANSLATION
(30) Now when Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she put on eye make-up, and adorned her head, and looked out the window. (31) When Jehu came in the gate, she said, Is all well, O Zimri, who slays his master? (32) And he lifted up his face unto the window, and said, Who is with me? Who? And two or three eunuchs looked out unto him. (33) And he said, Throw her down. And they threw her down, and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses; and he trampled her underfoot. (34) And he went in, and ate and drank, and said, Go, I pray you, and visit this accursed one, and bury her; for she is the daughter of a king. (35) And they went to bury her; but they found nothing of her except the skull, the feet, and the palms of her hands. (36) And they returned, and told him, and he said, it is the word of the LORD which He spoke by the hand of His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; (37) and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the ground in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say this was Jezebel.
COMMENTS**
After pursuing Ahaziah as far as Ibleam, Jehu turned about and headed back to Jezreel. About three hours would have elapsed since the death of King Joram. Jezebel, who had probably witnessed from the walls of Jezreel the death of her son, was resignedly waiting for her confrontation with Jehu. When she heard he was coming, she put on eye make-up,[560] adorned her head, and took up her position near a window (2 Kings 9:30). Even though she was a grandmother of at least fifty years, Jezebel still hoped to be able to capture the affections of Jehu with her beauty.[561] The question asked of Jehu by Jezebel is probably to be interpreted as conciliatory rather than inflammatory. The queen asked: Is all well now between you and me? She probably intended her appellation Zimri to be an honorific one, recalling the fact that another Israelite general had revolted and slain his master and reigned as king (2 Kings 9:31).
[560] From the earliest times women throughout the Near East would paint a dark dye on their upper and lower eyelids. Such make-up was designed to increase the apparent size of the eye and give it unnatural brilliancy. [561] Other commentators think Jezebel was simply preparing to meet death in a manner befitting a queen.
Jehu was not about to be deterred by the wiles of Jezebel. He was deaf to her flatteries, blind to her seductions. Spying some palace eunuchs behind the queen, Jehu cried out, Who is with me? (2 Kings 9:32). The eunuchs stepped forward and peered from the window as if to respond positively to the general’s challenge. Throw her down, ordered Jehu. Though Jezebel was the queen mother, she was nothing more to Jehu than a wicked woman who was in his way. The eunuchs grabbed the screaming queen and flung her to the courtyard below. As she fell her body bounced off certain wall projections at once smearing her blood on those walls, and showering it on the horses that pulled Jehu’s chariot. The general then had his chariot driven over her crumpled corpse (2 Kings 9:33). Rawlinson remarks concerning the treatment afforded this royal personage: History presents no parallel to such an indignity.[562]
[562] Rawlinson, PC, p. 196.
Jehu was completely unaffected by the bloodshed in which he had been involved. He immediately entered the palace and ordered a meal for himself. Not until after he had satisfied his appetite did he give any thought to the corpse of the late queen ignominiously lying untended on the cold earth without. Jehu ordered that this cursed woman, who had instigated and participated in so many crimes, be taken and given a decent burial. After all, in spite of all the trouble she had caused, Jezebel was the daughter of a king (2 Kings 9:34) and at the least deserved dignified burial. But when the servants went to bury the queen mother, all they could find of her was the skull, the feet, and the palms of her hands (2 Kings 9:35).
When the servants reported back to Jehu what they had found, the general remembered a prophecy delivered many years earlier by Elijah. That prophecy, recorded in 1 Kings 21:23, is here expanded, either because Jehu’s recollection was not exact, or because the record in I Kings is abbreviated. As Jehu remembered it, Elijah had said four things about the fate of Jezebel: (1) that dogs would devour her; (2) that this would take place in the portion of Jezreel, i.e., the cultivated space or portion of land outside the wall of the city; (3) that the carcass of Jezebel would be as dung upon the face of the ground; (4) that the fragments of the body would be so scattered that it would be impossible to bury all her remains in one tomb (2 Kings 9:36-37).