2 Kings 10
10
Jehu Wipes Out Ahab’s Family
1 Ahab had seventy sons living in Samaria.#map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the leading officials of Jezreel and to the guardians of Ahab’s dynasty. This is what the letters said,#tn Heb “to the officers of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of Ahab, saying.” It is not certain why the officials of Jezreel would be in Samaria. They may have fled there after they heard what happened to Joram and before Jehu entered the city. They would have had time to flee while Jehu was pursuing Ahaziah. 2 “You have with you the sons of your master, chariots and horses, a fortified city, and weapons. So when this letter arrives,#tn Heb “And now when this letter comes to you – with you are the sons of your master and with you are chariots and horses and a fortified city and weapons.” 3 pick the best and most capable#tn Hebrew יָשָׁר (yashar) does not have its normal moral/ethical nuance here (“upright”), but a more neutral sense of “proper, right, suitable.” For the gloss “capable,” see HALOT 450 s.v. יָשָׁר. of your master’s sons, place him on his father’s throne, and defend#tn Or “fight for.” your master’s dynasty.”
4 They were absolutely terrified#tn Heb “they were very, very afraid.” The term מְאֹד (me’od) “very,” is repeated for emphasis. and said, “Look, two kings could not stop him!#tn Heb “did not stand before him.” How can we?”#tn Heb “How can we stand?” 5 So the palace supervisor,#tn Heb “the one who was over the house.” the city commissioner,#tn Heb “the one who was over the city.” the leaders,#tn Or “elders.” and the guardians sent this message to Jehu, “We are your subjects!#tn Heb “servants.” Whatever you say, we will do. We will not make anyone king. Do what you consider proper.”#tn Heb “Do what is good in your eyes.”
6 He wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are really on my side and are willing to obey me,#tn Heb “If you are mine and you are listening to my voice.” then take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel at this time tomorrow.”#sn Jehu’s command is intentionally vague. Does he mean that they should bring the guardians (those who are “heads” over Ahab’s sons) for a meeting, or does he mean that they should bring the literal heads of Ahab’s sons with them? (So LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and some mss of the Targum) The city leaders interpret his words in the literal sense, but Jehu’s command is so ambiguous he is able to deny complicity in the executions (see v. 9). Now the king had seventy sons, and the prominent#tn Heb “great,” probably in wealth, position, and prestige. men of the city were raising them. 7 When they received the letter, they seized the king’s sons and executed all seventy of them.#tn Heb “and when the letter came to them, they took the sons of the king and slaughtered seventy men.” They put their heads in baskets and sent them to him in Jezreel. 8 The messenger came and told Jehu,#tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity. “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” Jehu#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity. said, “Stack them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning.” 9 In the morning he went out and stood there. Then he said to all the people, “You are innocent. I conspired against my master and killed him. But who struck down all of these men? 10 Therefore take note that not one of the judgments the Lord announced against Ahab’s dynasty has failed to materialize. The Lord had done what he announced through his servant Elijah.”#tn Heb “Know then that there has not fallen from the word of the Lord to the ground that which the Lord spoke against the house of Ahab. The Lord has done that which he spoke by the hand of his servant Elijah.” 11 Then Jehu killed all who were left of Ahab’s family in Jezreel, and all his nobles, close friends, and priests. He left no survivors.
12 Jehu then left there and set out for Samaria.#tn Heb “and he arose and went and came to Samaria.” While he was traveling through Beth Eked of the Shepherds, 13 Jehu encountered#tn Heb “found.” the relatives#tn Or “brothers.” of King Ahaziah of Judah. He asked, “Who are you?” They replied, “We are Ahaziah’s relatives. We have come down to see how#tn Heb “for the peace of.” the king’s sons and the queen mother’s sons are doing.” 14 He said, “Capture them alive!” So they captured them alive and then executed all forty-two of them in the cistern at Beth Eked. He left no survivors.
15 When he left there, he met#tn Heb “found.” Jehonadab, son of Rekab, who had been looking for him.#tn Heb “and he went from there and found Jehonadab son of Rekab [who was coming] to meet him.” Jehu greeted him and asked,#tn Heb “and he blessed him and said to him.” “Are you as committed to me as I am to you?”#tn Heb “Is there with your heart [what is] right, as my heart [is] with your heart?” Jehonadab answered, “I am!” Jehu replied, “If so, give me your hand.”#tc Heb “Jehonadab said, ‘There is and there is. Give your hand.’” If the text is allowed to stand, there are two possible ways to understand the syntax of וָיֵשׁ (vayesh), “and there is”: (1) The repetition of יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is and there is”) could be taken as emphatic, “indeed I am.” In this case, the entire statement could be taken as Jehonadab’s words or one could understand the words “give your hand” as Jehu’s. In the latter case the change in speakers is unmarked. (2) וָיֵשׁ begins Jehu’s response and has a conditional force, “if you are.” In this case, the transition in speakers is unmarked. However, it is possible that וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyo’mer), “and he said,” or וַיֹּאמֶר יֵהוּא (vayyo’mer yehu), “and Jehu said,” originally appeared between יֵשׁ and וָיֵשׁ and has accidentally dropped from the text by homoioarcton (note that both the proposed וַיֹּאמֶר and וָיֵשׁ begin with vav, ו). The present translation assumes such a textual reconstruction; it is supported by the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate. So he offered his hand and Jehu#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity. pulled him up into the chariot. 16 Jehu#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity. said, “Come with me and see how zealous I am for the Lord’s cause.”#tn Heb “and see my zeal for the Lord.” So he#tc The MT has a plural form, but this is most likely an error. The LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate all have the singular. took him along in his chariot. 17 He went to Samaria and exterminated all the members of Ahab’s family who were still alive in Samaria,#tn Heb “and he struck down all the remaining ones to Ahab in Samaria until he destroyed him.” just as the Lord had announced to Elijah.#tn Heb “according to the word of the Lord which he spoke to Elijah.”
Jehu Executes the Prophets and Priests of Baal
18 Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, “Ahab worshiped#tn Or “served. Baal a little; Jehu will worship#tn Or “serve.” him with great devotion.#tn Heb “much” or “greatly.” 19 So now, bring to me all the prophets of Baal, as well as all his servants and priests.#tn Heb “and now, all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests summon to me.” None of them must be absent, for I am offering a great sacrifice to Baal. Any of them who fail to appear will lose their lives.” But Jehu was tricking them#tn Heb “acted with deception [or, ‘trickery’].” so he could destroy the servants of Baal. 20 Then Jehu ordered, “Make arrangements for#tn Heb “set apart”; or “observe as holy.” a celebration for Baal.” So they announced it. 21 Jehu sent invitations throughout Israel, and all the servants of Baal came; not one was absent. They arrived at the temple of Baal and filled it up from end to end.#tn Heb “and the house of Baal was filled mouth to mouth.” 22 Jehu ordered the one who was in charge of the wardrobe,#tn Heb “and he said to the one who was over the wardrobe.” “Bring out robes for all the servants of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them. 23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went to the temple of Baal. Jehu#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity. said to the servants of Baal, “Make sure there are no servants of the Lord here with you; there must be only servants of Baal.”#tn Heb “Search carefully and observe so that there are not here with you any servants of the Lord, only the servants of Baal.” 24 They went inside to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside. He had told them, “If any of the men inside get away, you will pay with your lives!”#tn Heb “The man who escapes from the men whom I am bringing into your hands, [it will be] his life in place of his life.”
25 When he finished offering the burnt sacrifice, Jehu ordered the royal guard#tn Heb “runners.” and officers, “Come in and strike them down! Don’t let any escape!” So the royal guard and officers struck them down with the sword and left their bodies lying there.#tn Heb “and they threw.” No object appears. According to M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 116), this is an idiom for leaving a corpse unburied. Then they entered the inner sanctuary of the temple of Baal.#tn Heb “and they came to the city of the house of Baal.” It seems unlikely that a literal city is meant. Some emend עִיר (’ir), “city,” to דְּבִיר (dÿvir) “holy place,” or suggest that עִיר is due to dittography of the immediately preceding עַד (’ad) “to.” Perhaps עִיר is here a technical term meaning “fortress” or, more likely, “inner room.” 26 They hauled out the sacred pillar of the temple of Baal and burned it. 27 They demolished#tn Or “pulled down.” the sacred pillar of Baal and#tn The verb “they demolished” is repeated in the Hebrew text. the temple of Baal; it is used as#tn Heb “and they made it into.” a latrine#tn The consonantal text (Kethib) has the hapax legomenon מַחֲרָאוֹת (makhara’ot), “places to defecate” or “dung houses” (note the related noun חרא (khr’)/חרי (khri), “dung,” HALOT 348-49 s.v. *חֲרָאִים). The marginal reading (Qere) glosses this, perhaps euphemistically, מוֹצָאוֹת (motsa’ot), “outhouses.” to this very day. 28 So Jehu eradicated Baal worship#tn Heb “destroyed Baal.” from Israel.
A Summary of Jehu’s Reign
29 However, Jehu did not repudiate the sins which Jeroboam son of Nebat had encouraged Israel to commit; the golden calves remained in Bethel#map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3. and Dan.#tn Heb “Except the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat which he caused Israel to commit, Jehu did not turn aside from after them – the golden calves which [were in] Bethel and which [were] in Dan.” 30 The Lord said to Jehu, “You have done well. You have accomplished my will and carried out my wishes with regard to Ahab’s dynasty. Therefore four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel.”#tn Heb “Because you have done well by doing what is proper in my eyes – according to all which was in my heart you have done to the house of Ahab – sons of four generations will sit for you on the throne of Israel.” In the Hebrew text the Lord’s statement is one long sentence (with a parenthesis). The translation above divides it into shorter sentences for stylistic reasons.sn Jehu ruled over Israel from approximately 841-814 b.c. Four of his descendants (Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam II, and Zechariah) ruled from approximately 814-753 b.c. The dynasty came to an end when Shallum assassinated Zechariah in 753 b.c. See 2 Kgs 15:8-12. 31 But Jehu did not carefully and wholeheartedly obey the law of the Lord God of Israel.#tn Heb “But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart.” He did not repudiate the sins which Jeroboam had encouraged Israel to commit.#tn Heb “He did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam which he caused Israel to commit.”
32 In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel’s territory.#tn Heb “began to cut off Israel.” Hazael attacked their eastern border.#tn Heb “Hazael struck them down in all the territory of Israel, from the Jordan on the east.” In the Hebrew text the phrase “from the Jordan on the east” begins v. 33. 33 He conquered all the land of Gilead, including the territory of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh, extending all the way from the Aroer in the Arnon Valley through Gilead to Bashan.#tn Heb “all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassehites, from Aroer which is near the Arnon Valley, and Gilead, and Bashan.”
34 The rest of the events of Jehu’s reign, including all his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.#tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehu, and all which he did and all his strength, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?” 35 Jehu passed away#tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.” and was buried in Samaria.#map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1. His son Jehoahaz replaced him as king. 36 Jehu reigned over Israel for twenty-eight years in Samaria.
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2 Kings 10
10
1Ahab had nowe seuentie sonnes in Samaria. And Iehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria vnto the rulers of Izreel, and to the Elders, and to the bringers vp of Ahabs children, to this effect, 2Nowe when this letter commeth to you, (for ye haue with you your masters sonnes, yee haue with you both charets and horses, and a defenced citie, and armour) 3Consider therefore which of your masters sonnes is best and most meete, and set him on his fathers throne, and fight for your masters house. 4But they were exceedingly afraid, and saide, Behold two Kings coulde not stande before him, how shall we then stand? 5And he that was gouernour of Ahabs house, and he that ruled the citie, and the Elders, and the bringers vp of the children sent to Iehu, saying, We are thy seruants, and will doe all that thou shalt bid vs: we will make no King: do what seemeth good to thee. 6Then he wrote another letter to them, saying, If ye be mine, and wil obey my voyce, take the heads of ye men that are your masters sonnes, and come to me to Izreel by to morowe this time. (Nowe the Kings sonnes, euen seuentie persons were with the great men of the citie, which brought them vp) 7And when the letter came to them, they tooke the Kings sonnes, and slewe the seuentie persons, and layde their heads in baskets, and sent them vnto him to Izreel. 8Then there came a messenger and tolde him, saying, They haue brought the heads of the Kings sonnes. And he sayd, Let them lay them on two heapes at the entring in of the gate vntil the morning. 9And when it was day, he went out, and stood and sayd to all the people, Ye be righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these? 10Knowe nowe that there shall fall vnto the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spake concerning the house of Ahab: for the Lord hath brought to passe the things that hee spake by his seruant Eliiah. 11So Iehu slew al that remained of the house of Ahab in Izreel, and all that were great with him, and his familiars and his priestes, so that he let none of his remaine. 12And he arose, and departed and came to Samaria. And as Iehu was in the way by an house where the shepheards did shere, 13He met with the brethre of Ahaziah king of Iudah, and sayd, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah, and goe downe to salute the children of the King and the children of the Queene. 14And he sayde, Take them aliue. And they tooke them aliue, and slew them at the well beside the house where the sheepe are shorne, euen two and fourtie men, and he left not one of them. 15And when he was departed thence, hee met with Iehonadab the sonne of Rechab comming to meete him, and he blessed him, and sayde to him, Is thine heart vpright, as mine heart is towarde thine? And Iehonadab answered, Yea, doubtlesse. Then giue me thine hande. And when he had giuen him his hande, he tooke him vp to him into the charet. 16And he sayde, Come with me, and see the zeale that I haue for the Lord: so they made him ride in his charet. 17And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained vnto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the worde of the Lord, which he spake to Eliiah. 18Then Iehu assembled all the people, and sayd vnto them, Ahab serued Baal a litle, but Iehu shall serue him much more. 19Now therefore call vnto me all ye prophets of Baal, all his seruants, and all his priests, and let not a man be lacking: for I haue a great sacrifice for Baal: whosoeuer is lacking, he shall not liue. But Iehu did it by a subtiltie to destroy ye seruats of Baal. 20And Iehu sayd, Proclaime a solemne assemblie for Baal. And they proclaimed it. 21So Iehu sent vnto all Israel, and all the seruants of Baal came, and there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was full from ende to ende. 22Then he said vnto him that had the charge of the vestrie, Bring forth vestments for al the seruants of Baal. And he brought the out vestments. 23And when Iehu went, and Iehonadab the sonne of Rechab into the house of Baal, he sayde vnto the seruants of Baal, Searche diligently, and looke, lest there be here with you any of the seruants of the Lord, but the seruants of Baal only. 24And when they went in to make sacrifice and burnt offering, Iehu appoynted foure score men without, and sayd, If any of the men whome I haue brought into your hands, escape, his soule shalbe for his soule. 25And when hee had made an ende of the burnt offring, Iehu sayde to the garde, and to the captaines, Goe in, slay them, let not a man come out. And they smote them with the edge of the sworde. And the garde, and the captaines cast them out, and went vnto the citie, where was the temple of Baal. 26And they brought out the images of the temple of Baal, and burnt them. 27And they destroyed the image of Baal, and threwe downe the house of Baal, and made a iakes of it vnto this day. 28So Iehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. 29But from the sinnes of Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat which made Israel to sinne, Iehu departed not from them, neither from the golden calues that were in Beth-el and that were in Dan. 30And the Lord sayde vnto Iehu, Because thou hast diligently executed that which was right in mine eyes, and hast done vnto the house of Ahab according to all things that were in mine heart, therefore shall thy sonnes vnto the fourth generation sit on the throne of Israel. 31But Iehu regarded not to walke in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart: for hee departed not from the sinnes of Ieroboam, which made Israel to sinne. 32In those dayes the Lord began to lothe Israel, and Hazael smote them in all the coastes of Israel, 33From Iorden Eastward, euen all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and them that were of Manasseh, from Aroer (which is by the riuer Arnon) and Gilead and Bashan. 34Concerning the rest of the actes of Iehu, and all that he did, and all his valiant deedes, are they not written in the booke of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 35And Iehu slept with his fathers, and they buryed him in Samaria, and Iehoahaz his sonne reigned in his stead. 36And the time that Iehu reigned ouer Israel in Samaria is eight and twentie yeeres.
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