Teks -- 2 Kings 10:1-36 (NET)

Jehu Wipes Out Ahab’s Family

10:1 Ahab had seventy sons living in Samaria. 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, 10:2 “You have with you the sons of your master, chariots and horses, a fortified city, and weapons. So when this letter arrives, 10:3 pick the best and most capable of your master’s sons, place him on his father’s throne, and defend your master’s dynasty.” 10:4 They were absolutely terrified and said, “Look, two kings could not stop him! How can we?” 10:5 So the palace supervisor, the city commissioner, the leaders, and the guardians sent this message to Jehu, “We are your subjects! Whatever you say, we will do. We will not make anyone king. Do what you consider proper.” 10:6 He wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are really on my side and are willing to obey me, then take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel at this time tomorrow.” Now the king had seventy sons, and the prominent men of the city were raising them. 10:7 When they received the letter, they seized the king’s sons and executed all seventy of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to him in Jezreel. 10:8 The messenger came and told Jehu, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” Jehu said, “Stack them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning.” 10:9 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? 10:10 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.” 10:11 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. 10:12 Jehu then left there and set out for Samaria. While he was traveling through Beth Eked of the Shepherds, 10:13 Jehu encountered the relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah. He asked, “Who are you?” They replied, “We are Ahaziah’s relatives. We have come down to see how the king’s sons and the queen mother’s sons are doing.” 10:14 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. 10:15 When he left there, he met Jehonadab, son of Rekab, who had been looking for him. Jehu greeted him and asked, “Are you as committed to me as I am to you?” Jehonadab answered, “I am!” Jehu replied, “If so, give me your hand.” So he offered his hand and Jehu pulled him up into the chariot. 10:16 Jehu said, “Come with me and see how zealous I am for the Lord’s cause.” So he took him along in his chariot. 10:17 He went to Samaria and exterminated all the members of Ahab’s family who were still alive in Samaria, just as the Lord had announced to Elijah.

Jehu Executes the Prophets and Priests of Baal

10:18 Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, “Ahab worshiped Baal a little; Jehu will worship him with great devotion. 10:19 So now, bring to me all the prophets of Baal, as well as all his servants and priests. 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 so he could destroy the servants of Baal. 10:20 Then Jehu ordered, “Make arrangements for a celebration for Baal.” So they announced it. 10:21 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. 10:22 Jehu ordered the one who was in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out robes for all the servants of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them. 10:23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went to the temple of Baal. Jehu 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.” 10:24 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!” 10:25 When he finished offering the burnt sacrifice, Jehu ordered the royal guard 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. Then they entered the inner sanctuary of the temple of Baal. 10:26 They hauled out the sacred pillar of the temple of Baal and burned it. 10:27 They demolished the sacred pillar of Baal and the temple of Baal; it is used as a latrine to this very day. 10:28 So Jehu eradicated Baal worship from Israel.

A Summary of Jehu’s Reign

10:29 However, Jehu did not repudiate the sins which Jeroboam son of Nebat had encouraged Israel to commit; the golden calves remained in Bethel and Dan. 10:30 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.” 10:31 But Jehu did not carefully and wholeheartedly obey the law of the Lord God of Israel. He did not repudiate the sins which Jeroboam had encouraged Israel to commit. 10:32 In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel’s territory. Hazael attacked their eastern border. 10:33 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. 10:34 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. 10:35 Jehu passed away and was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoahaz replaced him as king. 10:36 Jehu reigned over Israel for twenty-eight years in Samaria.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Wesley: 2Ki 10:5 - The house

The chief governor of the kings palace.

Wesley: 2Ki 10:5 - City

The chief magistrate or military governor.

Wesley: 2Ki 10:7 - Sent them

Jehu justly required this, because the sovereign lord of all mens lives commanded it, but the Samaritans wickedly obeyed it, without any knowledge of, or regard to God's command.

Wesley: 2Ki 10:11 - Left none

In that place and kingdom; for he did leave some of the royal seed of Judah.

Wesley: 2Ki 10:15 - Rechab

A Kenite, 1Ch 2:55, and a man of singular prudence and piety.

Wesley: 2Ki 10:15 - Coming

To congratulate with him, for the destruction of that wicked family; and to encourage him to proceed in fulfilling the will of God.

Wesley: 2Ki 10:15 - Him

Jehu saluted Jehonadab.

Wesley: 2Ki 10:15 - Is, &c.

Dost thou heartily approve of me, and my present proceedings.

Wesley: 2Ki 10:18 - Jehu said

The words being manifestly false, and spoken with a design to deceive, cannot be excused, this being an unmovable principle, That we must not do the least evil, that the greatest good may come.

Wesley: 2Ki 10:25 - City

To some buildings belonging to this house of Baal, which may be here called the city; because they were very numerous and capacious. For as there were divers chambers and rooms built without the temple, belonging to it, for the use of the priests, and Levites. So it may probably be conceived, That this famous temple of Baal had many such buildings; in some of which, the priests of Baal, or of the groves, (whereof there were great numbers belonging to the king's court, 1Ki 18:19,) peradventure might dwell; and others of them might be for divers uses belonging to the house, and service of Baal.

Wesley: 2Ki 10:27 - Draught

house - A sink or common shore.

Wesley: 2Ki 10:29 - Jehu departed not

So that it is plain, his religion was but superficial: otherwise it would not have given way to his policy.

Wesley: 2Ki 10:30 - Done well

In part, and so far as is here expressed.

Wesley: 2Ki 10:31 - Took no heed

Sin, clearly shewed that his heart was not right with God.

JFB: 2Ki 10:1-4 - Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria

As it appears (2Ki 10:13), that grandsons are included it is probable that this number comprehended the whole posterity of Ahab. Their being all assembled in that capital might arise from their being left there on the king's departure for Ramoth-gilead, or from their taking refuge in some of the strongholds of that city on the news of Jehu's conspiracy. It may be inferred from the tenor of Jehu's letters that their first intention was to select the fittest of the royal family and set him up as king. Perhaps this challenge of Jehu was designed as a stroke of policy on his part to elicit their views, and to find out whether they were inclined to be pacific or hostile. The bold character of the man, and the rapid success of his conspiracy, terrified the civic authorities of Samaria and Jezreel into submission.

JFB: 2Ki 10:5 - he that was over the house

The governor or chamberlain of the palace.

JFB: 2Ki 10:5 - the bringers-up of the children

Anciently, and still also in many Eastern countries, the principal grandees were charged with the support and education of the royal princes. This involved a heavy expense which they were forced to bear, but for which they endeavored to find some compensation in the advantages of their connection with the court.

JFB: 2Ki 10:6 - take ye the heads of the men, your master's sons

The barbarous practice of a successful usurper slaughtering all who may have claims to the throne, has been frequently exemplified in the ancient and modern histories of the East.

JFB: 2Ki 10:8 - Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate, &c.

The exhibition of the heads of enemies is always considered a glorious trophy. Sometimes a pile of heads is erected at the gate of the palace; and a head of peculiarly striking appearance selected to grace the summit of the pyramid.

JFB: 2Ki 10:9-11 - said to all the people, Ye be righteous, &c.

A great concourse was assembled to gaze on this novel and ghastly spectacle. The speech which Jehu addressed to the spectators was artfully framed to impress their minds with the idea that so wholesale a massacre was the result of the divine judgments denounced on the house of Ahab; and the effect of it was to prepare the public mind for hearing, without horror, of a similar revolting tragedy which was soon after perpetrated, namely, the extinction of all the influential friends and supporters of the dynasty of Ahab, including those of the royal house of Judah.

JFB: 2Ki 10:13-14 - We are the brethren of Ahaziah

That is, not full, but step-brothers, sons of Jehoram by various concubines. Ignorant of the revolution that had taken place, they were travelling to Samaria on a visit to their royal relatives of Israel, when they were seized and put to death, because of the apprehension that they might probably stimulate and strengthen the party that still remained faithful in their allegiance to Ahab's dynasty.

JFB: 2Ki 10:13-14 - children of the queen

That is, of the queen mother, or regent, Jezebel.

JFB: 2Ki 10:15-18 - Jehonadab the son of Rechab

(See 1Ch 2:55). A person who, from his piety and simple primitive manner of life (Jer. 35:1-19), was highly esteemed, and possessed great influence in the country. Jehu saw in a moment the advantage that his cause would gain from the friendship and countenance of this venerable man in the eyes of the people, and accordingly paid him the distinguished attention of inviting him to a seat in his chariot.

JFB: 2Ki 10:15-18 - give me thine hand

Not simply to aid him in getting up, but for a far more significant and important purpose--the giving, or rather joining hands, being the recognized mode of striking a league or covenant, as well as of testifying fealty to a new sovereign; accordingly, it is said, "he [Jehonadab] gave him [Jehu] his hand."

JFB: 2Ki 10:19 - call unto me all the prophets of Baal

The votaries of Baal are here classified under the several titles of prophets, priests, and servants, or worshippers generally. They might be easily convened into one spacious temple, as their number had been greatly diminished both by the influential ministrations of Elijah and Elisha, and also from the late King Joram's neglect and discontinuance of the worship. Jehu's appointment of a solemn sacrifice in honor of Baal, and a summons to all his worshippers to join in its celebration, was a deep-laid plot, which he had resolved upon for their extinction, a measure in perfect harmony with the Mosaic law, and worthy of a constitutional king of Israel. It was done, however, not from religious, but purely political motives, because he believed that the existence and interests of the Baalites were inseparably bound up with the dynasty of Ahab and because he hoped that by their extermination he would secure the attachment of the far larger and more influential party who worshipped God in Israel. Jehonadab's concurrence must have been given in the belief of his being actuated solely by the highest principles of piety and zeal.

JFB: 2Ki 10:22 - Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal

The priests of Baal were clad, probably, in robes of white byssus while they were engaged in the functions of their office, and these were kept under the care of an officer in a particular wardrobe of Baal's temple. This treacherous massacre, and the means taken to accomplish it, are paralleled by the slaughter of the Janissaries and other terrible tragedies in the modern history of the East.

JFB: 2Ki 10:29 - Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam . . . Jehu departed not from after them

Jehu had no intention of carrying his zeal for the Lord beyond a certain point, and as he considered it impolitic to encourage his subjects to travel to Jerusalem, he re-established the symbolic worship of the calves.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:1 - Ahab had seventy sons

Ahab had seventy sons - As he had several wives, he might have many children. The Israelites, from the earliest part of their history, were remarkably fruitful. How amazingly did they multiply in Egypt, even under the hand of the severest oppression! And as to the individuals of whose families we have an account, they are quite remarkable: Rehoboam had thirty-eight sons; Abdon had forty; Tola had thirty; Ahab, seventy; and Gideon, seventy-one

Clarke: 2Ki 10:1 - Unto the rulers of Jezreel

Unto the rulers of Jezreel - It certainly should be, unto the rulers of Samaria; for to them and to that city the whole context shows us the letters were sent. See 2Ki 10:6

Clarke: 2Ki 10:1 - To them that brought up Ahab’ s children

To them that brought up Ahab’ s children - It appears that the royal children of Israel and Judah were intrusted to the care of the nobles, and were brought up by them, (see 2Ki 10:6); and to these, therefore, Jehu’ s letters are directed. It is supposed Isaiah (Isa 49:23) alludes to this custom: Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and queens thy nursing mothers.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:2 - A fenced city also

A fenced city also - All here seems to refer to Samaria alone; in it were the magazines and implements of war, etc. No reader need be told that these letters were all ironical. It was the same as if he had said, "Ye have no means of defense; Israel is with me: if you yield not up yourselves and the city, I will put you all to the sword.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:4 - Two kings stood not before him

Two kings stood not before him - That is Joram and Ahaziah.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:5 - He that was over the house, etc.

He that was over the house, etc. - Thus all the constituted authorities agreed to submit

Clarke: 2Ki 10:5 - Will do all that thou shalt bid us

Will do all that thou shalt bid us - They made no conditions, and stood pledged to commit the horrid murders which this most execrable man afterwards commanded.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:6 - Come to me to Jezreel

Come to me to Jezreel - Therefore the letters were not written to Jezreel, but from Jezreel to Samaria.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:7 - Put their heads in baskets

Put their heads in baskets - What cold-blooded wretches were the whole of these people!

Clarke: 2Ki 10:8 - Lay ye them in two heaps

Lay ye them in two heaps - It appears that the heads of these princes had arrived at Jezreel in the night time: Jehu ordered them to be left at the gate of the city, a place of public resort, that all the people might see them, and be struck with terror, and conclude that all resistance to such authority and power would be vain.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:9 - Ye be righteous

Ye be righteous - Another irony, intended partly to excuse himself, and to involve them in the odium of this massacre, and at the same time to justify the conduct of both, by showing that all was done according to the commandment of the Lord.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:11 - Jehu slew all

Jehu slew all - So it appears that the great men who had so obsequiously taken off the heads of Ahab’ s seventy sons, fell also a sacrifice to the ambition of this incomparably bad man.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:12 - The shearing house

The shearing house - Probably the place where the shepherds met for the annual sheep shearing.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:13 - The brethren of Ahaziah

The brethren of Ahaziah - The relatives of his family; for it does not appear that he had any brethren, properly so called: but we know that the term brethren among the Jews signified the relatives of the same family, and especially brothers’ and sisters’ children: and that these were such, see 2Ch 22:8

Clarke: 2Ki 10:13 - We go down to salute, etc.

We go down to salute, etc. - So promptly had Jehu executed all his measures, that even the nearest relatives of the murdered kings had not heard of their death, and consequently had no time to escape. They were all taken as in a net.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:14 - The pit of the shearing house

The pit of the shearing house - Probably the place where they washed the sheep previously to shearing, or the fleeces after they were shorn off.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:15 - Jehonadab the son of Rechab

Jehonadab the son of Rechab - For particulars concerning this man, his ancestry, and posterity, see the notes on Jeremiah 35 (note)

Clarke: 2Ki 10:15 - Is thine heart right

Is thine heart right - With me, in the prosecution of a reform in Israel; as my heart is with thy heart in the true religion of Jehovah, and the destruction of Baal

Clarke: 2Ki 10:15 - It is

It is - I wish a reform in the religion of the country; I am his friend who shall endeavor to promote it

Clarke: 2Ki 10:15 - Give me thine hand

Give me thine hand - This has been generally considered as exacting a promise from Jehonadab; but does it mean any more than his taking him by the hand, to help him to step into his chariot, in which Jehu was then sitting? Jehonadab was doubtless a very honorable man in Israel; and by carrying him about with him in his chariot, Jehu endeavored to acquire the public esteem. "Jehu must be acting right, for Jehonadab is with him, and approves his conduct."

Clarke: 2Ki 10:16 - Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord

Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord - O thou ostentatious and murderous hypocrite! Thou have zeal for Jehovah and his pure religion! Witness thy calves at Dan and Bethel, and the general profligacy of thy conduct. He who can call another to witness his zeal for religion, or his works of charity, has as much of both as serves his own turn.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:18 - Ahab served Baal a little

Ahab served Baal a little - Jehu had determined to have no worship in Israel but that of the golden calves at Dan and Bethel; therefore he purposes to destroy all the worshippers of Baal: and that he may do it without suspicion, he proclaims a great sacrifice; and that he may do it the more easily, he gathers them all together into one place.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:19 - Whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live

Whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live - Because, as he will thereby show himself without zeal for the service of his God, he will justly forfeit his life. All this was done in the very spirit of deceit.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:22 - He said unto him that was over the vestry

He said unto him that was over the vestry - The word vestry comes from vestiarium , and that from vestes , garments, from vestio , I clothe; and signifies properly the place where the sacerdotal robes and pontifical ornaments are kept. The priests of Baal had their robes as well as the priests of the Lord; but the garments were such that one could be easily distinguished from the other.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:23 - None of the servants of the Lord

None of the servants of the Lord - Though he was not attached to that service, yet he would tolerate it; and as he was led to suppose that he was fulfilling the will of Jehovah in what he was doing, he would of course treat his worship and worshippers with the more respect

He might have ordered the search to be made on pretense of expelling any of those whom they would consider the profane, especially as this was "a solemn assembly for Baal,"as was the custom with the heathen when any extraordinary exhibition of or for their god was expected; thus Callimachus, (Hymn to Apollo), after imagining the temple and its suburbs to be shaken by the approach of Apollo, cries out, Εκας, ἑκας, ὁστις, αλιτρος . To prevent any suspicion of his real design, such might have been Jehu’ s plea, else alarm must have been excited, and perhaps some would have escaped.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:25 - As soon as he had made an end of offering

As soon as he had made an end of offering - Had Jehu been a man of any conscientious principle in religion, he would have finished the tragedy before he offered the burnt-offering; but to a man of no religion, the worship of Jehovah and of Baal are alike. If he prefers either, it is merely as a statesman, for political purposes

Clarke: 2Ki 10:25 - To the guard and to the captains

To the guard and to the captains - לרצים ולשלשים leratsim uleshalashim ; to the couriers or runners, and the shalashim , the men of the third rank, those officers who were next to the nobles, the king and these being only their superiors. The runners were probably a sort of light infantry

Clarke: 2Ki 10:25 - The city of the house of Baal

The city of the house of Baal - Does not this mean a sort of holy of holies, where the most sacred images of Baal were kept? A place separated from the temple of Baal, as the holy of holies in the temple of Jehovah was separated from what was called the holy place.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:27 - Made it a draught house

Made it a draught house - A place for human excrement; so all the versions understand it. Nothing could be more degrading than this; he made it a public necessary.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:30 - Thy children of the fourth generation

Thy children of the fourth generation - These four descendants of Jehu were Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam the second, and Zechariah; see 2 Kings 14 and 15. This was all the compensation Jehu had in either world, as a recompense of his zeal for the Lord.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:31 - Jehu took no heed

Jehu took no heed - He never made it his study; indeed, he never intended to walk in this way; it neither suited his disposition nor his politics.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:32 - The Lord began to cut Israel short

The Lord began to cut Israel short - The marginal reading is best: The Lord cut off the ends; and this he did by permitting Hazael to seize on the coasts, to conquer and occupy the frontier towns. This was the commencement of those miserable ravages which Elisha predicted; see 2Ki 8:12. And we find from the next verse that he seized on all the land of Gilead, and that of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh; in a word, whatever Israel possessed on the east side of Jordan.

Clarke: 2Ki 10:34 - Are they not written in the book of the chronicles

Are they not written in the book of the chronicles - We have no chronicles in which there is any thing farther spoken of this bad man. His reign was long, twenty-eight years; and yet we know nothing of it but the commencement

For barbarity and hypocrisy Jehu has few parallels; and the cowardliness and baseness of the nobles of Samaria have seldom been equalled. Ahab’ s bloody house must be cut off; but did God ever design that it should be done by these means? The men were, no doubt, profligate and wicked, and God permitted their iniquity to manifest itself in this way; and thus the purpose of God, that Ahab’ s house should no more reign, was completely accomplished: see 1Ki 21:19, 1Ki 21:21, 1Ki 21:29. And by this conduct Jehu is said to have executed what was right in God’ s eyes, 2Ki 10:30. The cutting off of Ahab’ s family was decreed by the Divine justice; the means by which it was done, or at least the manner of doing, were not entirely of his appointing: yet the commission given him by the young prophet, 2Ki 9:7, was very extensive. Yet still many things seem to be attributed to God, as the agent, which he does not execute, but only permits to be done.

Defender: 2Ki 10:11 - none remaining

Jehu had been commissioned to destroy the house of Ahab (2Ki 9:7-9), and he carried it out with zeal. After slaying all those in Jezreel, he did the same in Samaria the capital (2Ki 10:17) and even Ahab's more distant relatives from Judah (2Ki 10:13, 2Ki 10:14). Jehu finally destroyed all the leaders of Baal worship in Israel as well (2Ki 10:20-28). Thus was the prophetic word of both Elijah and Elisha fulfilled (1Ki 21:21-24; 2Ki 9:8, 2Ki 9:9)."

Defender: 2Ki 10:31 - Jehu took no heed

Despite Jehu's apparent zeal to carry out God's commands against Ahab and Baal worship, it was more in self-interest than out of love for God. It is noteworthy that Shalmaneser III, a prominent king of Assyria, mentioned Jehu in his "Black Obelisk." This four-sided black limestone object contains a number of bas-relief panels, one of which depicts Jehu, the son of Omri, paying tribute to the Assyrian emperor. The obelisk is now in the British Museum."

TSK: 2Ki 10:1 - seventy sons // in Samaria // the rulers // them

seventy sons : Jdg 8:30, Jdg 10:4, Jdg 12:14

in Samaria : 2Ki 5:3; 1Ki 13:32, 1Ki 16:28; 2Ch 22:9

the rulers : Deu 16:18; 1Ki 21:8-14

them : Heb. nourishers

TSK: 2Ki 10:2 - as soon

as soon : 2Ki 5:6

TSK: 2Ki 10:3 - Look even // fight for

Look even : Deu 17:14, Deu 17:15; 1Sa 10:24, 1Sa 11:15; 2Sa 2:8, 2Sa 2:9; 1Ki 1:24, 1Ki 1:25, 1Ki 12:20

fight for : 2Sa 2:12-17; 1Ki 12:21; Joh 18:36

TSK: 2Ki 10:4 - Behold // how then shall

Behold : 2Ki 9:24, 2Ki 9:27

how then shall : Isa 27:4; Jer 49:19; Nah 1:6; Luk 14:31

TSK: 2Ki 10:5 - We are thy servants

We are thy servants : 2Ki 18:14; Jos 9:11, Jos 9:24, Jos 9:25; 1Ki 20:4, 1Ki 20:32; Jer 27:7, Jer 27:8, Jer 27:17; Joh 12:26

TSK: 2Ki 10:6 - If ye be mine // take ye // your master’ s sons // which brought them up

1Ki 21:8-11

If ye be mine : Heb. If ye be for me, 2Ki 9:32; Mat 12:30; Luk 9:50

take ye : Num 25:4

your master’ s sons : Deu 5:9; Jos 7:24, Jos 7:25; Job 21:19; Isa 14:21, Isa 14:22; Rev 2:20-23

which brought them up : ""The rich,""says Mr. Morier, ""hire a dedeh , or wet nurse for their children. If a boy, the father appoints a steady man from the age of two years to be his laleh , who, I conjecture, must stand in the same capacity as the bringers up of children mentioned in the catastrophe of Ahab’ s sons. But if it be a daughter, she has a gees sefeed , or white head, attached to her for the same purpose as the laleh . ""

TSK: 2Ki 10:7 - slew seventy

slew seventy : 2Ki 10:9, 2Ki 11:1; Judg. 9:5-57; 1Ki 21:21; 2Ch 21:4; Mat 14:8-11

TSK: 2Ki 10:8 - there came // Lay ye them // until the morning

there came : 2Sa 11:18-21; 1Ki 21:14; Mar 6:28

Lay ye them : Such barbarities are by no means uncommon in the East. ""It has been know to occur,""says Mr. Morier, ""after the combat was over, that prisoners have been put to death in cold blood, in order that the heads, which are immediately despatched to the king, and deposited in heaps at the place gates, might make a more considerable show."

until the morning : Deu 21:23

TSK: 2Ki 10:9 - Ye be righteous // I conspired

Ye be righteous : 1Sa 12:3; Isa 5:3

I conspired : 2Ki 9:14-24; Hos 1:4

TSK: 2Ki 10:10 - fall unto the earth // the Lord hath done // by

fall unto the earth : 1Sa 3:19, 1Sa 15:29; Jer 44:28, Jer 44:29; Zec 1:6; Mar 13:31

the Lord hath done : 2Ki 9:7-10; 1Ki 21:19, 1Ki 21:21-24, 1Ki 21:29

by : Heb. by the hand of, 2Ki 9:36 *marg.

TSK: 2Ki 10:11 - and // kinsfolks // his priests // he left

and : Psa 125:5; Pro 13:20

kinsfolks : or, acquaintance

his priests : 2Ki 23:20; 1Ki 18:19, 1Ki 18:40, 1Ki 22:6; Rev 19:20, Rev 20:10

he left : Jos 10:30, Jos 11:8; 1Ki 14:10, 1Ki 15:29, 1Ki 16:11, 1Ki 21:22; Job 18:19; Psa 109:13; Isa 14:21, Isa 14:22

TSK: 2Ki 10:12 - shearing house

shearing house : Heb. house of shepherds binding sheep, 2Ki 10:12

TSK: 2Ki 10:13 - met with // the brethren // salute

met with : Heb. found

the brethren : 2Ki 8:24, 2Ki 8:29, 2Ki 9:21-27; 2Ch 21:17, 2Ch 22:1-10

salute : Heb. the peace of, etc

TSK: 2Ki 10:14 - Take them alive // neither left

Take them alive : 2Ki 10:6, 2Ki 10:10, 2Ki 10:11; 1Ki 20:18

neither left : 2Ki 8:18, 2Ki 11:1; 2Ch 22:8, 2Ch 22:10

TSK: 2Ki 10:15 - lighted on // Jehonadab // Rechab // saluted // Is thine heart right // give me // he took him

lighted on : Heb. found, 2Ki 10:13, 2Ki 9:21 *marg.

Jehonadab : Jer 35:6, Jer 35:8, Jer 35:14-19, Jonadab

Rechab : 1Ch 2:55

saluted : Heb. blessed, Gen 31:55, Gen 47:7, Gen 47:10

Is thine heart right : 1Ch 12:17, 1Ch 12:18; Joh 21:15-17; Gal 4:12

give me : Ezr 10:19; Eze 17:18; Gal 2:9

he took him : Jehu asked for the hand of Jehonadab not merely for the purpose of assisting him into the chariot, but that he might give him an assurance that he would assist him in the prosecution of his desires; for giving the hand is considered as a pledge of friendship and fidelity, or a form of entering into a contract, among all nations. Mr. Bruce relates, that when he entreated the protection of a sheikh , the great people who were assembled came, ""and after joining hands, repeated a kind of prayer, of about two minutes long; by which they declared themselves and their children accursed, if ever they lifted their hands against me in the tell , (or field) in the desert, or on the river; or, in case that I, or mine, should fly to them for refuge, if they did not protect us at the risk of their lives, their families, and their fortunes, or, as they emphatically expressed it, to the death of the last male child among them.""Another striking instance occurs in Ockley’ s History of the Saracens. Telha, just before he died, asked one of Ali’ s men if he belonged to the emperor of the faithful; and being informed that he did, ""Give me then,""said he, ""your hand, that I may put mine in it, and by this action renew the oath of fidelity which I have already made to Ali.""Act 8:31

TSK: 2Ki 10:16 - Come with me

Come with me : 2Ki 10:31, 2Ki 9:7-9; Num 23:4, Num 24:13-16; 1Ki 19:10, 1Ki 19:14, 1Ki 19:17; Pro 27:2; Eze 33:31; Mat 6:2, Mat 6:5; Rom 10:2

TSK: 2Ki 10:17 - he slew // according

he slew : 2Ki 10:11, 2Ki 9:8; 2Ch 22:8; Psa 109:8, Psa 109:9; Mal 4:1

according : 2Ki 10:10, 2Ki 9:25, 2Ki 9:26; 1Ki 21:21

TSK: 2Ki 10:18 - Ahab served Baal // Jehu

Ahab served Baal : 2Ki 3:2; 1Ki 16:31, 1Ki 16:32, 1Ki 18:19, 1Ki 18:22, 1Ki 18:40

Jehu : Job 13:7; Rom 3:8; Phi 4:8

TSK: 2Ki 10:19 - all the prophets // all his servants // all his priests // But Jehu

all the prophets : 2Ki 3:13; 1Ki 22:6

all his servants : 2Ki 10:21

all his priests : 2Ki 10:11

But Jehu : 2Ki 10:18; Job 13:7; Pro 29:5; 2Co 4:2, 2Co 11:3, 2Co 11:13-15, 2Co 12:16-18; 1Th 2:3

TSK: 2Ki 10:20 - Proclaim

Proclaim : Heb. Sanctify, 1Ki 18:19, 1Ki 18:20, 1Ki 21:12; Joe 1:14

TSK: 2Ki 10:21 - And they came // the house of Baal // full from one end to another

And they came : Joe 3:2, Joe 3:11-14; Rev 16:16

the house of Baal : 1Ki 16:32

full from one end to another : or, so full that they stood mouth to mouth, Jdg 16:27

TSK: 2Ki 10:22 - vestments

vestments : Exo 28:2; Mat 22:11, Mat 22:12

TSK: 2Ki 10:23 - Jehonadab // the worshippers

Jehonadab : 2Ki 10:15

the worshippers : Mat 13:30, Mat 13:41, Mat 25:32, Mat 25:33

TSK: 2Ki 10:24 - If any of the men

If any of the men : 1Ki 20:30-42

TSK: 2Ki 10:25 - Go in // let // edge

Go in : Exo 32:27; Deu 13:6-11; Eze 9:5-7

let : Eze 22:21, Eze 22:22; Rev 16:6, Rev 16:7

edge : Heb. mouth

TSK: 2Ki 10:26 - images // and burned them

images : Heb. statues, 1Ki 14:23 *marg.

and burned them : 2Ki 19:18; 2Sa 5:21

TSK: 2Ki 10:27 - brake down the image // made it a draught house

brake down the image : 2Ki 18:4, 2Ki 23:7-14; Lev 26:30; Deu 7:5, Deu 7:25; 1Ki 16:32; 2Ch 34:3-7

made it a draught house : This was an ancient mode of degradation, which still continues in the East; and we are informed, that Abbas the Great, king of Persia, having conquered Bagdad, treated the tomb of Hanifah, one of the fathers of the church among the Turks, in a similar manner. Ezr 6:11; Dan 2:5, Dan 3:29

TSK: 2Ki 10:29 - the sins // made Israel // the golden calves // in Bethel

am 3120-3148, bc 884-856

the sins : 2Ki 13:2, 2Ki 13:11, 2Ki 14:24, 2Ki 15:9, 2Ki 15:18, 2Ki 15:24, 2Ki 15:28, 2Ki 17:22; 1Ki 12:28-30, 1Ki 13:33, 1Ki 13:34, 1Ki 14:16

made Israel : Gen 20:9; Exo 32:21; 1Sa 2:24; Mar 6:24-26; 1Co 8:9-13; Gal 2:12, Gal 2:13

the golden calves : Exo 32:4; Hos 8:5, Hos 8:6, Hos 10:5, Hos 13:2

in Bethel : 1Ki 12:29

TSK: 2Ki 10:30 - Because thou hast // according to all that // thy children

Because thou hast : 1Ki 21:29; Eze 29:18-20; Hos 1:4

according to all that : 1Sa 15:18-24; 1Ki 20:42, 1Ki 21:22

thy children : 2Ki 10:35, 2Ki 13:1, 2Ki 13:10, 2Ki 14:23, 2Ki 15:8-12

TSK: 2Ki 10:31 - took no heed // walk // he departed

took no heed : Heb. observed not, Deu 4:15, Deu 4:23; 1Ki 2:4; Psa 39:1, Psa 119:9; Pro 4:23; Heb 2:1, Heb 12:15

walk : Deu 5:33, Deu 10:12, Deu 10:13; 2Ch 6:16; Neh 10:29; Psa 78:10; Eze 36:27; Dan 9:10

he departed : 2Ki 10:29, 2Ki 3:3; 1Ki 14:16

TSK: 2Ki 10:32 - cut // Hazael

cut : Heb. cut off the ends of

Hazael : 2Ki 8:12, 2Ki 13:22; 1Ki 19:17

TSK: 2Ki 10:33 - eastward // the land of Gilead // even

eastward : Heb. toward the rising of the sun

the land of Gilead : Num 32:33-42; Deu 3:12-17; Jos 13:9-12

even : or, even to, Amo 1:3, Amo 1:4

TSK: 2Ki 10:34

2Ki 12:19, 2Ki 13:8

1Ki 11:41, 1Ki 14:19, 1Ki 14:29

TSK: 2Ki 10:35 - Jehu slept // Jehoahaz

am 3148, bc 856

Jehu slept : 2Sa 7:12; 1Ki 1:21, 1Ki 2:10, 1Ki 14:20, 1Ki 14:31

Jehoahaz : 2Ki 13:1, 2Ki 13:7, 2Ki 13:8

TSK: 2Ki 10:36 - the time

the time : Heb. the days were, 2Ki 10:36

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: 2Ki 10:1 - Ahab had seventy sons // Unto the rulers of Jezreel // To the elders // To them that brought up Ahab’ s children

Ahab had seventy sons either, first, properly sons by several wives; or rather, secondly, grandsons are comprehended, who are oft called sons , and grandfathers fathers , in Scripture. In Samaria either because they were bred up there, that being the chief city of the kingdom; or because upon the tidings of Joram’ s slaughter they fled thither, or were by their friends conveyed from several parts thither, as to the strongest place; in which it may seem by Jehu’ s message they intended to defend themselves and Ahab’ s children, and to set up one as king in Joram’ s stead; or rather, because they were left there by Joram when he went to Ramoth-gilead, that if the Syrians had prevailed against him, they might have safety in that very strong and great city, and he by their means succour from it.

Unto the rulers of Jezreel Heb. the princes of Jezreel , i.e. the great persons and officers of the court, which then was and had been for some time at Jezreel, who either had fled thither with Ahab’ s sons, upon the news of Jehu’ s actions and successes; or rather, had been sent by Joram with his sons to Samaria, to take care of them there.

To the elders either by age, or rather by office; the rulers or senators of Samaria.

To them that brought up Ahab’ s children that had a more particular care of the several children under the inspection of the princes or rulers here mentioned.

Poole: 2Ki 10:3

Thus he speaks, either because he had some notice of their intentions thus to do; or to make trial of them, whether they would do so, or would be true to him and his designs; or to signify to them his intentions of fighting against them, if they did so, that by the terror hereof he might bring them to a compliance with him.

Poole: 2Ki 10:4

All their power and interest, either in Jezreel, or in the army before or in Ramoth-gilead, could not hinder him from executing his design from killing the two kings, and from invading one of their kingdoms. It is true, he surprised the kings, which a little weakens their argument; but fear and self love made them easily yield to it.

Poole: 2Ki 10:5 - He that was over the house // He that was over the city // We will do all that thou shalt bid us

He that was over the house the chief governor of the king’ s palace or castle there.

He that was over the city the chief magistrate or military governor.

We will do all that thou shalt bid us they make no delays or conditions, but submit all to his mercy.

Poole: 2Ki 10:6 - Then he wrote a letter // Take ye the heads of the men

Then he wrote a letter: thus Jezebel is requited for her letter directed in like manner to the elders of Naboth’ s city, whereby his life was wickedly taken away, 1Ki 21:8 . And it is probable that some of these elders were concerned in that very business, which makes the judgment of God more remarkable.

Take ye the heads of the men which word seems to imply that some of them were grown up, who doubtless trod in their parents’ steps; and those that were younger were justly cut off for their parents’ sin; of which See Poole "Exo 20:5" ; See Poole "Deu 5:9" .

Poole: 2Ki 10:7 - Slew seventy persons

Slew seventy persons: Jehu justly required this, because the sovereign and most righteous Lord of all men’ s lives commanded it; but the Samaritans wickedly obeyed it, because they destroyed persons in a great measure innocent, merely out of slavish fear, and without any knowledge of or regard to God’ s command.

Poole: 2Ki 10:8 - At the entering in of the gate

At the entering in of the gate the place of judicature, to signify that this was an act of justice, and of God’ s righteous judgment; and the place of greatest concourse, where people went out of the city, and came into it, and whither they resorted for judgment and other occasions; that all men might behold this dreadful spectacle of Divine vengeance upon Ahab’ s family, and thereby might justify Jehu’ s cause and proceedings.

Poole: 2Ki 10:9 - To all the people // You are righteous

To all the people either, first, To the promiscuous multitude met there to gaze upon this sad and strange spectacle. So the sense is, Be not ye troubled nor affrighted with these unusual and dismal occurrences: if any thing be amiss in these actions, I do here publicly and solemnly acquit you as righteous and innocent; do not you therefore fear any vengeance from God or men for it: if there be any guilt, it is in me, and in those who cut off these heads. Or, secondly, To those who cut off and brought the heads; for the same persons did both, and were here present, as Jehu commanded them, 2Ki 10:6 : to them he speaks in the audience of all the people; or by all the people may be meant all those who brought the heads, and were there waiting for Jehu, according to his order. So the speech is in part ironical, to this purpose,

You are righteous in your own eves, and you look upon me as a traitor, and rebel, and murderer, because I have risen against and slain my master, which I acknowledge I have done. But if I am guilty, you are not innocent, and therefore cannot accuse me; for I have killed one, but you a great number. This explication seems probable; only the Hebrew word ham being generally used of the common people, may seem not so fitly to agree to these rulers and great men, who had brought the heads; and that expression, to all the people, implies that Jehu did not direct his speech to some particular persons, but to the whole body of the people then present, whom he clears from all blame, and to whom he appeals as witnesses between him and these persons.

Poole: 2Ki 10:10 - Elijah

But the truth is, neither I nor they are to be blamed; nor you that assisted and encouraged me herein; for this is not man’ s work, but God’ s, and done by his command. He mentions

Elijah rather than Elisha; partly because Elijah was now dead, and therefore his name and memory was more sacred than Elisha’ s, who was yet alive; this being the common humour and folly of mankind, to value and honour those that are dead, whom they contemned whilst they lived; and partly because Elijah’ s prophecy was known, and public, and famous; when Elisha’ s was delivered in a corner, and that not from his own mouth, but by one of the sons of the prophets.

Poole: 2Ki 10:11 - All his great men // His priests // Object // his great men // Answ // He left him none remaining

All his great men whom he had advanced and made great in wealth, for honour, and quality; who had been partners with him in his sins, and who were likely to be avenged of his death.

His priests his domestic priests, which had waited upon Ahab and Jezebel in their idolatrous services, and were fed at the king’ s table. Compare 1Ki 18:19 . Or, his chief officers of state, as that word is sometimes used; of which see 2Sa 8:18 , compared with 1Ch 18:17 .

Object. These were included in

his great men mentioned before.

Answ Yet may they well be mentioned apart, as a distinct and the most eminent sort of them.

He left him none remaining to wit, in that place and kingdom; for he did leave some of the royal seed of Judah, 2Ki 1:1,2 .

Poole: 2Ki 10:12

Where they used to shear sheep, and then to feast, after their manner, 1Sa 25:36 2Sa 13:23 . Or this may be the name of a place, Beth-hekel of the shepherds ; or, Beth-heked-rohim .

Poole: 2Ki 10:13 - The brethren

The brethren not strictly so, for they were killed before this, 2Ch 21:17 ; but his brethren’ s sons , as they are called, 2Ch 22:8 , or others of his near kinsmen, such being oft called brethren in Scripture; as Gen 13:8 .

Poole: 2Ki 10:14 - They took them alive, and slew them // At the pit of the shearing-house

They took them alive, and slew them partly in compliance with God’ s command, 2Ki 9:8 , for these were of the house of Ahab by the mother’ s side, 2Ki 8:18 ; and partly that they might neither claim the kingdom of Israel in right of their grandmother; as they might well have done, if God had not given it to Jehu; nor revenge the deaths of their near relations.

At the pit of the shearing-house where he intended to bury them.

Poole: 2Ki 10:15 - Jehonadab the son of Rechab // Coming to meet him // He saluted him // Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? // Give me thine hand

Jehonadab the son of Rechab a Kenite, 1Ch 2:55 , and a man of singular prudence and piety; as appears from this history, and from Jer 35:6 .

Coming to meet him to congratulate with him for the destruction of that wicked family, and to encourage and advise him to proceed in fulfilling the will of God revealed to him.

He saluted him Jehu saluted Jehonadab.

Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? dost thou heartily approve of and affect me, and my present proceedings, as my heart doth as sincerely cleave to thee as thine own heart doth?

Give me thine hand as a sign of friendship and consent. See Gal 2:9 . These may be the words, either,

1. Of Jehu; and so here is an ellipsis, If it be , for And Jehu said, If it be . Compare 1Ki 20:34 . Or,

2. Of Jehonadab, who having said, It is , adds, If it be , i.e. if thine heart be with mine, as thou sayest it is, give me thine hand . But this the ellipsis is larger than the former. And it seems not so decent and proper for Jehonadab, a stranger and subject, to speak thus to the king, as for the king to say so to him.

Poole: 2Ki 10:16 - My zeal for the Lord // They

My zeal for the Lord i.e. for the vindication of his honour and quarrel, and for the execution of his commands. Do not believe my words, but mine actions, which thine eyes shall behold.

They i.e. Jehu’ s servants, opened the door of his chariot, and lifted up Jehonadab into it.

Poole: 2Ki 10:17 - All that remained unto Ahab

All that remained unto Ahab either all his household; or rather, all his kindred and relations, though more remote from him.

Poole: 2Ki 10:18 - Jehu gathered all the people together // Jehu shall serve him much

Jehu gathered all the people together by their representatives, their elders or rulers, as was usual; to whom he imparts his mind; and they being generally corrupt, and timeservers, and such as had no sense of religion in them, durst not oppose his resolution, but seemed to comply with it.

Jehu shall serve him much: as if he had said, My quarrel is only with Ahab’ s family, and not with Baal; which my actions shall manifest; which words being manifestly false, and spoken with a design to deceive, cannot be excused from sin, though they were uttered with a pious intention; this being an unmovable principle, that we must not do the least evil of sin, that the greatest good may come, Rom 3:8 . And if Jehonadab did concur with Jehu herein, it was a human infirmity.

Poole: 2Ki 10:19 - All his servants // Quest // Answ // I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal // In subtlety

All his servants either,

1. All his ministers; of whom there may seem to have been several sorts, whereof two are here distinctly mentioned, his prophets and priests; and the rest of the inferior sort may be comprehended under this general title of servants, because they were to attend upon the others in their sacred ministrations. And these being once destroyed, Jehu rightly concluded that the rest would fall of course. And this sense may seem to be favoured by 2Ki 10:22 , wherein vestments were brought forth

for all these worshippers of Baal which were not commonly used by the people in the worship either of God or of Baal, but only by the priests or ministers. Or,

2. All his worshippers, as the same word is translated in the close of this verse.

Quest. How could all these be contained in one house of Baal?

Answ Well enough, for the number of Baal’ s worshippers had been vastly diminished by the ministry of Elijah and Elisha, and the rest of the prophets, and by Joram’ s neglect and disuse of that worship. For the generality of the Israelites had too much knowledge to have any real and religious respect to such senseless idols; only they practised it in compliance with the humour of their king and queen, and for worldly or wicked ends; and therefore when the king deserted it, they generally forsook it, some few silly and besotted persons excepted, who are here gathered together. Besides, this house or temple of Baal might be very large and capacious, and probably was so, because it was the chief of that sort, as being in the king’ s city, and nigh his palace, and for the use of the king and queen, and the while court, and for great and high solemnities. Moreover, as the name of the house or temple of God at Jerusalem oft signifies not only the principal building, but all the other buildings and courts belonging to it, in which all the worshippers stood when they worshipped; so it might be here; and so there was space sufficient for all the worshippers of Baal which can reasonably be thought to have been at this time in all Israel.

I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal I will offer to him a noble and acceptable sacrifice; not of sheep, or oxen, &c., as they understood it, but of his own beloved priests, and prophets, and servants, as he meant it.

In subtlety with another design, that he might both certainly discover and utterly destroy them all, without any further trouble, or danger of sedition or tumult in his kingdom.

Poole: 2Ki 10:20 - Proclaim

Proclaim Heb. sanctify . Prepare yourselves and all things necessary for this solemn day, and sacrifice, and feast, which I intend to keep.

Poole: 2Ki 10:21 - There was not a man left that came not // Into the house

There was not a man left that came not either,

1. Because they thought Jehu was serious and sincere in his professions; it being natural and usual for men too easily to believe what they wish to be true. And for the priests which Jehu destroyed before, 2Ki 10:11 , they might think that was done only because of their nearness and relation to Ahab and his family. Or,

2. For fear of their lives; for certain death was threatened to all that did not come, 2Ki 10:19 , which considering Jehu’ s fierce and bloody temper, they knew would be executed; whereas, if they did come, there was more than a possibility of the sparing of their lives; for Jehu was known to be indifferent and unconcerned in matters of religion, one that had served Baal when his prince Ahab lived and did so and forsook it when the next prince Joram did; and therefore it was doubtful whether Jehu had not in good earnest returned to his first love, to that religion which he had formerly embraced, and only deserted in complacency to others. Or,

3. By God’ s just providence, deceiving their minds and inclining their hearts to come to their own destruction.

Into the house i.e. the temple.

Poole: 2Ki 10:22 - Vestments

Vestments sacred garments; such as were used by the priests and others of the Lord’ s ministry in God’ s worship; and from thence the devil borrowed this custom in his worship.

Poole: 2Ki 10:23 - Look that there be here with you none of the servants of the Lord

The Baalites possibly did not know Jehonadab, and therefore suspected nothing; or if any of the more crafty sort suspected any thing, it was now too late to amend their error.

Look that there be here with you none of the servants of the Lord because their presence will offend Baal, and deride or pollute his worship; whence profane persons have been oft excluded from solemn acts of worship, both by Jews and heathens. So this did not raise their suspicion.

Poole: 2Ki 10:24 - When they went in // Jehu appointed fourscore men

When they went in when some in the name of the rest went to the altar to offer sacrifice.

Jehu appointed fourscore men far greater numbers being doubtless in readiness to assist then, in case of any opposition.

Poole: 2Ki 10:25 - As soon as he // Made an end of offering the burnt-offerings // To the guard, and to the captains // Cast them out // To the city of the house of Baal

As soon as he i.e. the chief priest of Baal: see 2Ch 23:17 .

Made an end of offering the burnt-offerings so far he suffered them to proceed; either because till then they were not all come into the house; or because having been taken in the very act of gross idolatry, their destruction was more just and reasonable.

To the guard, and to the captains i.e. to the fourscore men and their officers.

Cast them out i.e. cast their carcasses out of the city. But that was not proper work for the guard; nor could they so soon have done it; nor would they stay to do it, when they were going in haste to other work; nor indeed was it necessary to be done, because they intended to pull down the house, and bury them in its ruins, and turn it into a draught house, as it follows. This word therefore is and may be joined with the next, and both rendered, they went hastily and eagerly ; properly, they flung themselves out , ( hiphil for hithpahel , which is not unusual in the Hebrew language,) and went . The like expression is used Est 6:12 , hasted , Heb. pushed himself on, or flung himself, i.e. went with great haste; and in the Greek text, Mar 14:72 .

To the city of the house of Baal either,

1. To some city near to Samaria, where another eminent temple of Baal was erected. But this seems not to agree with the context, there being but one house or temple of Baal mentioned, both in the foregoing and following verses. Or rather,

2. To some buildings belonging to this house of Baal, which may be here called the city, either for some particular reason now unknown, or because they were very numerous and capacious. For as there were divers chambers and rooms built without the temple, belonging to it, for the use of the priests and Levites, &c.; so it may properly be conceived that this famous temple of Baal had many such buildings, in some of which the priests of Baal, or of the groves, (whereof there were great numbers belonging to the king’ s court, 1Ki 18:19 ) peradventure might dwell; and others of them might be for divers uses belonging to the house and service of Baal. And into these buildings the guard might go, and that hastily, to surprise and kill those inferior ministers of Baal, who were there employed in preparing things for the sacrifices which were to be offered, or in other services belonging to that house, or that solemnity.

Poole: 2Ki 10:26

Heb. it , i.e. the collection of the images, or each of them.

Poole: 2Ki 10:27 - The image of Baal // Brake down the house of Baal

The image of Baal the chief image, which they worshipped more than the rest.

Brake down the house of Baal and the like they did with the rest of the houses of Baal in Israel; as may be gathered both from the nature and reason of the thing, and from 2Ki 10:28 .

Poole: 2Ki 10:29 - Jehu departed not from after them

Jehu departed not from after them : herein he discovers his hypocrisy, that he follows God as far as his interest would permit; namely, in destroying the house of Ahab, and the worship of Baal, but no further; for he still resolves to keep up the worship of the calves; partly lest he should disoblige and irritate his own nobles and subjects, who had been long inured, and were heartily affected to it; and partly lest he should open a door for his people to return to their obedience to the house of David. And his sin and folly is the more inexcusable, both because he durst not trust that God with the keeping of his kingdom, of whose power, and faithfulness, and kindness to him he had such ample experience in his giving him the kingdom; and because he had so great and uncontrollable a power in the matters of religion; having first pretended, and seemed to set up, the worship of Baal with all his might, and then destroying it with no less vehemency, none daring to mutter against him in either case; and because the house of David, and kingdom of Judah, his competitor, now was, and was likely to be, in a feeble and declining condition, and much more likely to fall into his hands, than that his kingdom should come into theirs.

Poole: 2Ki 10:30 - The Lord said unto Jehu // Executing that which is right in mine eyes // Thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel

The Lord said unto Jehu by some prophet, as above, 2Ki 9:7 .

Executing that which is right in mine eyes i.e. in part, and so far as is here expressed, these actions were good and right, though his heart was not so.

Thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel and so they did; namely, Jehoahaz, below, 2Ki 10:35 ; Joash, 2Ki 13:10 Jeroboam, 2Ki 14:24 ; and Zachariah, 2Ki 5:8 .

Poole: 2Ki 10:31 - With all his heart // He departed not from the sins of Jeroboam

With all his heart: His obedience wanted three necessary properties, care or heedfulness, universality, and sincerity.

He departed not from the sins of Jeroboam his resolved continuance in one single course is justly alleged as an argument of his false-heartedness in all his other actions.

Poole: 2Ki 10:32 - In those days // To cut Israel short // In all the coasts of Israel

In those days in the time of Jehu’ s life and reign, as may be gathered by comparing 2Ki 10:31 .

To cut Israel short either to diminish the number of the people, by cutting them off; or to straiten their borders.

In all the coasts of Israel i.e. in their borders, or the uttermost part of their land beyond Jordan, as it is explained, 2Ki 10:33 . And at this time possibly he executed those cruelties mentioned 2Ki 8:12 .

Poole: 2Ki 10:33

From Jordan eastward, to wit, from the land of Canaan.

Haydock: 2Ki 10:1 - Seventy sons // City // Children

Seventy sons, as he had many wives. Gedeon had 70. (Calmet) ---

Grand-children might also be included. (Du Hamel) ---

But this is not necessary. (Calmet) ---

City, Hebrew, "of Jezrahel," a word which has probably been substituted instead of "Israel," which is more conformable to the Septuagint and Vulgate. Those who adhere to the Hebrew pretend that the princes had all fled from Jezrahel. ---

Children. This is the sense generally given to Nutritios Achab, which literally signifies, "nursing-fathers (preceptors, counsellors, &c.) of Achab," ver. 5. The king's children were perhaps educated in the most noble families, (ver. 6.) and in the best cities, 2 Paralipomenon xi. 23. Isaias (xlix. 23.) foretelling the happiness of the Israelites after the captivity, says, that kings and queens will nurse them.

Haydock: 2Ki 10:3 - Master

Master. Jehu would lead them into a snare, and insultingly challenges them to battle, shewing how little he feared their power. (Calmet) ---

He speaks ironically. (Du Hamel)

Haydock: 2Ki 10:8 - Morning

Morning, that all the people might see them. (Calmet) ---

Jehu did not choose to admit the Samaritans into the city during the night. (Menochius)

Haydock: 2Ki 10:9 - Just

Just executioners of the divine wrath. (Du Hamel) ---

You know what is right. (Menochius) ---

You are now in the same predicament with myself. (Haydock) ---

All the chief men had thus rendered themselves odious to the people, who could not choose them for leaders. He captiously infers, from his astonishing success, (Calmet) that his conduct is pleasing to God. (Menochius) ---

All the people seeing that so many had armed (Tirinus) against the house of Achab, might conclude that what they did was just. (Haydock)

Haydock: 2Ki 10:11 - Chief men // Friends // Priests

Chief men, probably including those perfidious wretches, who had so basely betrayed their trust, and slain the 70 sons of Achab, "the nobles of the kingdom, his kinsmen, and friends." (Chaldean; Arabic) ---

Friends. Some copies of the Septuagint have connoisseurs, of magicians, Leviticus xix. 31. ---

Priests, princes of the court (2 Kings viii. 18.) and those who offered sacrifice to idols, (Calmet) being of Achab's descendants. (Menochius) ---

He afterwards inveigled all the priests of Baal, to their entire ruin, ver. 19. (Haydock)

Haydock: 2Ki 10:12 - Cabin

Cabin. Hebrew Beth-heked, (Haydock) a term which the Septuagint do not translate. It means, "house of tying," as the sheep were tied to be shorn. (Menochius) ---

Eusebius places it in the great plain, 15 miles from Legion. (Calmet) ---

It was not a despicable hut, (Haydock) but like the houses where Nabal and Absalom shore their sheep, 1 Kings xxv., &c. (Tirinus)

Haydock: 2Ki 10:13 - Brethren // Queen

Brethren. The Arabs had destroyed all his brothers by the same mother; (2 Paralipomenon xxii. 1.) but these were near relations, and they durst not deny the fact. (Menochius) ---

In 2 Paralipomenon xxii. 8., they are styled princes of Juda, and sons of the brethren of Ochozias. Jehu must have used surprising diligence (Calmet) and secrecy (Haydock) to prevent the many important transactions and changes which had lately taken place from being known at Jerusalem, or even at Beth-heked, ver. 12., which was so little distant from Samaria. (Calmet) ---

Queen. The wife of Joram, or the children of Jezabel, (Menochius) with whom they were connected by affinity and friendship, to their great detriment. (Haydock)

Haydock: 2Ki 10:14 - Alive // Of them

Alive. That they might not attempt to defend themselves, (Menochius) as they might hope that Jehu would, at least, spare their lives. (Haydock) ---

Of them, as they were in some degree related to Achab, (Menochius) or might endeavour to obstruct his dominion. (Tirinus)

Haydock: 2Ki 10:15 - Jonadab // Blessed him // Heart // Thy hand

Jonadab, a holy personage, Jeremias xxxv. 6. The Rechabites were a sort of religious, descended from Jethro and the Cinites. (Calmet) ---

They dwelt in the country, and fed sheep, &c., Numbers x. 29. (Tirinus) ---

John of Jerus.[Jerusalem?] (c. 25.) says that Jonadab was a disciple of Eliseus, and followed his institute in all things, except continency. (Menochius) ---

Blessed him, wishing his peace and prosperity. (Menochius) ---

It is not clear whether Jehu or Jonadab pronounced this blessing. (Haydock) ---

Heart. Art thou friendly to my cause? ---

Thy hand, in sign of concord, and to help him up into his chariot. (Calmet) ---

It was of great consequence to obtain the approbation of a man (Haydock) who must have been so revered by the people. (Menochius) ---

Jehu acted with the utmost policy. (Haydock)

Haydock: 2Ki 10:18 - I will worship him more

I will worship him more. Jehu sinned in thus pretending to worship Baal, and causing sacrifices to be offered to him: because evil in not to be done, that good may come of it, Romans iii. 8. (Challoner) (Worthington) ---

St. Jerome, &c., excuse him from mortal sin, as his intention was good. (Tirinus) ---

If he had not thus dissembled, he could not have so effectually destroyed the adorers of Baal, who would have concealed themselves. But God rewarded his zeal, and not his falsehood. (Calmet) ---

He might speak ironically; though Theodoret, &c., admit a lie. (Menochius)

Haydock: 2Ki 10:19 - Servants

Servants. The number had greatly decreased under Joram. (Menochius)

Haydock: 2Ki 10:20 - Proclaim

Proclaim. Literally, "sanctify (Hebrew) a prohibition" to work, or to be absent, (Calmet) "and they proclaimed it. "

Haydock: 2Ki 10:21 - Other

Other. Literally, "from top to top." Hebrew, "from mouth to mouth," (Haydock) like a vessel brimfull. (Calmet) ---

Every corner was filled. All the priests and prophets made their appearance, through zeal to re-establish the honour of their idol, and for fear of death. (Menochius)

Haydock: 2Ki 10:22 - Wardrobe

Wardrobe, of vestments used in the service of Baal. The worship chiefly consisted in such outward pomp. The priests were probably adorned like those at the pillars of Hercules, who were from the same country. Sil. Ital. iii., velantur corpora lino, &c.

Haydock: 2Ki 10:24 - Life

Life. These 80 were stationed at the doors, while the rest slaughtered the unhappy idolaters, (Menochius) who were all by themselves, like the reprobate separated from the elect, at the last day. (Haydock)

Haydock: 2Ki 10:25 - Soldiers // Out

Soldiers. Hebrew, "runners, (or foot-guards, 3 Kings i. 5,) and chief officers," Exodus xiv. 7. ---

Out. Hebrew, "cast out" their carcasses, or "rushed out (themselves) into the city," which was styled "the temple of Baal;" or "penetrated into the fortress" and inmost recesses of that structure. (Osiander.) ---

We read of such a fortress, Judges ix. 46. (Haydock) ---

In every city where there was a temple of Baal, the fabric and idols were demolished. (Salien)

Haydock: 2Ki 10:27 - A jakes

A jakes, or necessary [latrine]. (Haydock) ---

See 1 Esdras vi. 11., and Daniel ii. 5.

Haydock: 2Ki 10:29 - Dan

Dan. This wicked policy, which was designed to prevent his subjects from submitting again to the kings of Juda, proved his ruin.

Haydock: 2Ki 10:30 - Generation

Generation. So Joachaz, Joas, Jeroboam II, and Zacharias, succeeded to the throne. This small temporal reward he obtained for the little good which he had done; while, on the other hand, he was punished for his manifold transgressions. Osee (i. 4,) reproaches him even for the blood which he had spilt in Jezrahel; for, though Achab and Joram were guilty, was Jehu innocent? Can this murder of Ochozias be justified? (Calmet) ---

"What advantage was it to him that he received some little transitory reward of a temporal kingdom, for his obedience in exterminating the house of Achab; which he indeed exhibited to gratify his own lust of dominion?" (St Augustine, contra mend. ii. c. 2.) This holy doctor observes, that moral good works are thus rewarded. (Worthington)

Haydock: 2Ki 10:32 - Weary

Weary. Hebrew, "to retrench or destroy." Hazael took occasion, from the absence of Jehu (Calmet) from Galaad, and the disturbances on the west of the Jordan, to dismember the provinces on the east, and to commit the horrid ravages foretold by Eliseus, chap. viii. 12. (Haydock)

Haydock: 2Ki 10:33 - Aroer

Aroer. See Josue xiii. 25. This was a most severe scourge, (Menochius) as all the eastern tribes were lost to Israel. (Haydock)

Gill: 2Ki 10:1 - And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria // and Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel // to the elders // and to them that brought up Ahab's children // saying

And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria,.... These might not be all his immediate sons, but some of them his grandsons, as such are sometimes called in Scripture:

and Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel; who fled thither, perhaps on Jehu's coming to Jezreel, having slain Joram, being the metropolis of the kingdom, to consult about a successor, or how to oppose Jehu, and to frustrate his designs: but the Septuagint version is, "to the rulers of Samaria", which seems most likely to be the true reading:

to the elders; the civil magistrates of the city of Samaria:

and to them that brought up Ahab's children: who had the care of their education; who either always dwelt at Samaria, being the royal city, or were sent with their charge thither, when Joram went to Ramothgilead, for safety, supposing he should be worsted by the Syrians; or they fled thither with them upon the death of Joram:

saying; as follows.

Gill: 2Ki 10:2 - Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master's sons are with you // and there are with you chariots and horses // a fenced city also // and armour

Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master's sons are with you,.... Sons of Ahab, and some of Joram, and all either the sons or grandsons of Ahab:

and there are with you chariots and horses; military ones:

a fenced city also: as Samaria was, well walled and fortified, and able to hold out a long siege:

and armour; of all sorts, to arm themselves and people with in their defence.

Gill: 2Ki 10:3 - Look even out the best and meetest of your master's sons // and set him on his father's throne // and fight for your master's house

Look even out the best and meetest of your master's sons,.... Most fit for government, whether on account of age or proper qualifications, and wisdom, courage, &c.

and set him on his father's throne; proclaim him king:

and fight for your master's house; that the crown may continue in his family; all which he did not desire might be, but in this sarcastic and sneering manner dares them to do it.

Gill: 2Ki 10:4 - But they were exceedingly afraid // and said, behold, two kings stood not before him // how then shall we stand

But they were exceedingly afraid,.... They were intimidated at once; for they saw the purport of those letters, that should they attempt anything of this kind, he would come upon them with his forces:

and said, behold, two kings stood not before him; the kings of Israel and Judah, Joram and Ahaziah; but they were unarmed, and therefore how should they stand before an armed body of men Jehu had with him? this shows the pusillanimity of these men to make use of such an argument as this:

how then shall we stand? that is, before Jehu; but they were in much better circumstances than the two kings, as they are truly represented in 2Ki 10:2.

Gill: 2Ki 10:5 - And he that was over the house // and he that was over the city // the elders also // and the bringers up of the children // sent to Jehu, saying, we are thy servants, and will do all that thou shall bid us // we will not make any king // do thou that which is good in thine eyes

And he that was over the house,.... The king's palace in Samaria, who had the custody, care, and government of it:

and he that was over the city; the commander and governor of it, that had the highest post in it under the king;

the elders also all other subordinate officers and magistrates:

and the bringers up of the children; who had the education of the king's sons committed to them:

sent to Jehu, saying, we are thy servants, and will do all that thou shall bid us. They were ready to do homage, and swear allegiance to him as their king, and obey all his commands as faithful subjects:

we will not make any king; or set up any on the throne, no, not any of the sons or grandsons of Ahab:

do thou that which is good in thine eyes, we will never oppose thee.

Gill: 2Ki 10:6 - Then he wrote a letter the second time to them // saying, if ye be mine // and if ye will hearken to my voice // take ye the heads of the men your master's sons // and come to me to Jezreel by tomorrow this time // (now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up;)

Then he wrote a letter the second time to them,.... Having gained his point by the former:

saying, if ye be mine, acknowledge yourselves my subjects and servants:

and if ye will hearken to my voice; obey my commands:

take ye the heads of the men your master's sons; that is, take off their heads:

and come to me to Jezreel by tomorrow this time meaning with the heads along with them:

(now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up;) they were in their houses, and under their tuition, and so had an authority over them, and could dispose of them at pleasure; they were not ordinary persons to whose care they were committed, but the principal men of the city.

Gill: 2Ki 10:7 - And it came to pass, when the letter came to them // that they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons // and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jezreel

And it came to pass, when the letter came to them,.... They did not in the least hesitate, but immediately complied with the contents of it:

that they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons; which was the whole number of them:

and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jezreel; as a present to Jehu, just as they carried the firstfruits, as Abarbinel observes.

Gill: 2Ki 10:8 - And there came a messenger, and told him, saying, they have brought the heads of the king's sons // and he said, lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning

And there came a messenger, and told him, saying, they have brought the heads of the king's sons,.... Perhaps this messenger to Jehu came from the great men of Samaria themselves, to let him know that they had obeyed his orders:

and he said, lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning; very probably it was towards or at the evening they were brought; and he ordered them to be taken out of the baskets, and laid in two heaps at the entering of the gate of the city, that they might be taken notice of, and publicly viewed by the people that passed and repassed the gate; and where they met in great numbers, either on account of the market there, or court of judicature there held, especially in mornings; and here they were to remain till the morning, though not without a guard, that they might still be more exposed to view; Noldius ^p renders it, "without the door of the gate", for they were brought at night, when the gate was shut.

Gill: 2Ki 10:9 - And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people // ye be righteous // behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him // but who slew all these

And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people,.... Who were gathered together to this shocking sight, or on the above accounts:

ye be righteous; having had no concern in taking off the heads of those men:

behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him; I own it, and some may blame me for it, and charge me with treason and murder:

but who slew all these? not he, but the chief men of Samaria, and therefore must be more guilty than he, having shed the blood of so many persons, who had not offended against God and man to so great a degree as Joram; this he said to lessen his own sin, and wipe off the reproach of it, that his character might appear fairer in the eyes of the people, concealing, at the same time, his orders for the slaying of them.

Gill: 2Ki 10:10 - Know now, that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spake concerning the house of Ahab // for the Lord hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah

Know now, that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spake concerning the house of Ahab,.... He would have them observe, that all this, and what else should follow of the same kind, were and would be brought about by the providence of God, according to divine predictions, and as just punishments on Ahab's family for their sins; and therefore neither he nor others were to be blamed for what was done, since they were only instruments made use of by the Lord, who both foretold all this, and gave orders for the execution of it:

for the Lord hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah; see 1Ki 21:21.

Gill: 2Ki 10:11 - So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel // and his great men // and his kinsfolks // and his priests // until he left him none remaining

So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel,.... Which to do, and to justify himself in so doing, was the design of what he said in the preceding verses:

and his great men; his ministers of state and counsellors, that advised him to, and abetted him in his idolatrous practices, and so justly suffered for the same; and perhaps some of them at least were those very men that cut off the heads of his sons in complaisance to Jehu:

and his kinsfolks: more distantly related to him or his acquaintance and familiars, his associates in sin and wickedness:

and his priests: who officiated for him and offered his sacrifices to Baal; the priests he kept in his palace, and ate at his table:

until he left him none remaining; either of his kindred or his priests, that is, that were at Jezreel; for there were others at Samaria, 2Ki 10:17.

Gill: 2Ki 10:12 - and as he was at the shearing house in the way

To make a clear riddance there of all that belonged to Ahab, as at Jezreel, and abolish idolatry there:

and as he was at the shearing house in the way; or, "the house of the binding of the shepherds", who, in shearing their sheep, bind their legs together; the Targum is,"the house of the gathering of the shepherds;''where they used to meet and converse together; with some it is the proper name of a place, Betheked, a country village between Jezreel and Samaria. Jerom speaks ^q of a village of this name, situated in a large plain, about fifteen miles from a place called Legion, which village he takes to be this here.

Gill: 2Ki 10:13 - Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah // and said, who are ye // and they answered, we are the brethren of Ahaziah // and we go down to salute the children of the king, and the children of the queen

Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah,.... At the above place; these were the sons of his brethren, called his brethren, as Lot was called Abraham's brother, being his brother's son; for as for his brethren, they had been slain by the Arabians before he was made king, 2Ch 22:1,

and said, who are ye? though perhaps he knew who they were:

and they answered, we are the brethren of Ahaziah; the sons of his brethren:

and we go down to salute the children of the king, and the children of the queen; meaning either the children of Ahab and Jezebel, or of Joram and his queen; for they knew nothing of the death of Joram and Jezebel, and the revolution made in the kingdom, and therefore with great simplicity tell who they were, and where they were going, and on what account.

Gill: 2Ki 10:14 - And he said, take them alive // and they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house // even forty and two men, neither left he any of them

And he said, take them alive,.... Gave orders to his guards to seize them, and make them captives:

and they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house; where they washed the sheep when they sheered them:

even forty and two men, neither left he any of them; they being, by their grandmother's side, of the house of Ahab, and so within the commission of Jehu to slay them, at least as he thought; though his chief view might be, lest they should make any pretensions to the crown, being descended from that house, or should hereafter attempt to avenge the death of their relations; but by the judgment of God they were cut off as idolaters.

Gill: 2Ki 10:15 - And when he was departed thence // he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him // and he saluted him // and said to him, is thy heart right, as my heart is with thy heart // and Jehonadab answered, it is // then give me thine hand // if it be, and he gave him his hand // and he took him up to him into the chariot

And when he was departed thence,.... From Betheked, or the shearing house:

he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; a Kenite, a descendant of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, a wise and good man, as appears by the laws and rules he gave to his posterity, who continued to the times of Jeremiah, and were then observant of them, Jer 35:6 this good man hearing of Jehu's coming to the throne, and of his destruction of the idolatrous family of Ahab, and of his zeal for the worship of God, and against idolatry, came forth from his tent to meet him, and congratulate him upon it:

and he saluted him; Jonadab saluted Jehu, according to Abarbinel; or "blessed him" ^r, wished him all happiness in his kingdom, and success in the reformation of it; though most understand it of Jehu's saluting Jonadab, which seems best to agree with the following:

and said to him, is thy heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? that is, hast thou the same cordial affection and sincere respect for me as I have for thee?

and Jehonadab answered, it is: to which some join the next clause, and read, "and it is"; which is doubling the answer, for the confirmation of it, as Kimchi says; though he also observes, that the latter may be interpreted as the answer of Jehu, by way of interrogation, "is it?":

then give me thine hand; and to the same purpose is our version:

if it be, and he gave him his hand; Jonadab gave Jehu his hand as a token of sincere friendship ^s, and cordial respect, and for the confirmation of the covenant between them, as Ben Melech; who also observes, that Jehu might bid him give him his hand to help him up into the chariot, since it follows:

and he took him up to him into the chariot; to ride with him to Samaria; the company of such a man, so famous for wisdom and goodness, he knew would give him much countenance among the people, and sanction to what he did.

Gill: 2Ki 10:16 - And he said, come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord of hosts // so they made him ride in his chariot

And he said, come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord of hosts,.... In destroying idolaters and idolatry, with an intent to do which he was going to Samaria; this seems to savour very much of vain glory, hypocrisy, and a pharisaical spirit:

so they made him ride in his chariot; the servants of Jehu by his order opened the chariot door, and assisted Jonadab in getting into it.

Gill: 2Ki 10:17 - And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria // till he had destroyed him // according to the word of the Lord, which he spake to Elijah

And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria,.... All that were in any connection with him, as related to his family, or as ministers of his in civil or religious things:

till he had destroyed him; his whole house, as he was ordered:

according to the word of the Lord, which he spake to Elijah; which is observed, to show the exact fulfilment of prophecy, see 1Ki 21:21.

Gill: 2Ki 10:18 - And Jehu gathered all the people together // and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu shall serve him much

And Jehu gathered all the people together,.... The people of Samaria, at least the principal of them:

and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu shall serve him much; which some understand as spoken ironically; but the words seem to be spoken with a design to deceive the idolatrous inhabitants of Samaria, making them to believe that he was hearty in the worship of Baal, and should show a greater respect to it, and more constantly attend it, than Ahab had done; and this he said with a view to draw them to the temple of Baal, and there destroy them, as the sequel shows; and in which he is not to be justified, however good his intention was; for evil is not to be done that good may come.

Gill: 2Ki 10:19 - for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal // whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live // but Jehu did it in subtlety, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal

All that were employed in the several parts of religious worship given him, and in performing any rite and ceremony belonging to it; in invocation of him, and singing praises to him, as the prophets; in offering sacrifices to him, as the priests; or in assisting them in their service, who may be meant by his servants or ministers:

for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; by which, though he might mean a sacrifice of his prophets, priests, servants, and worshippers, he would have it otherwise understood, and his design was to deceive, which cannot be justified:

whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live: but be put to death; this he said, pretending his great zeal for Baal, when his view was by this threatening to get all his worshippers together to destroy them, that none might escape as follows:

but Jehu did it in subtlety, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal: the Targum renders it, "with wisdom"; but Jarchi and Ben Gersom much better, "in deceit"; the word signifies supplantation, such as Esau charged Jacob with.

Gill: 2Ki 10:20 - And Jehu said, proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal // and they proclaimed it

And Jehu said, proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal,.... Such as with the Jews was an holy convocation, when they were forbidden and restrained from doing any work on that day; and such a day Jehu would have appointed and proclaimed for Baal, that the people might be at leisure to attend:

and they proclaimed it; according to his order, in Samaria.

Gill: 2Ki 10:21 - And Jehu sent through all Israel // and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that 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 one end to the other

And Jehu sent through all Israel,.... Persons to proclaim this solemn assembly:

and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not; some no doubt came cheerfully, having no suspicion of him, and the rather, as he might have been a worshipper of Baal in the times of Ahab; and as for what he had done to Baal's priests, they might consider that only as they were in connection with Ahab's family, whom to destroy was his political interest; and they were glad at heart their new king was so affected to Baal, and fond to see such a grand solemnity as they expected this to be; and others that might be suspicious of him, yet as they must die if they did not appear, and there was a possibility they might live, chose therefore to come:

and they came into the house of Baal; the temple which Ahab had built for him in Samaria, 1Ki 16:32.

and the house of Baal was full from one end to the other; not only the body of the temple, but all the outward court, every mouth, or corner, as in the original text: and this single house might be sufficient for all in the land; since the number of them might be greatly lessened by the ministry of Elijah and Elisha, as well as by the destruction the former made of the prophets of Baal; and by the schools of the prophets set up in various places, from whence prophets were sent out to instruct the people; and by Joram's putting away the image of Baal, which no doubt lessened the number of his worshippers.

Gill: 2Ki 10:22 - And he said unto him that was over the vestry // bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal // and he brought them forth vestments

And he said unto him that was over the vestry,.... That had the care of the garments, in which the priests of Baal ministered:

bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal; not for the priests only, but for all that worshipped; and this he ordered for the greater solemnity of this service, as he would have it thought; but, in truth, that the worshippers of Baal might be separated, and distinguished from the worshippers of the Lord, that not one of them might be among them:

and he brought them forth vestments; out of the chamber or wardrobe in which they were, and they put them on.

Gill: 2Ki 10:23 - And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal // and said unto the worshippers of Baal, search and look, that there be here with you none of the servants of the Lord, but the worshippers of Baal only

And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal,.... Who no doubt was led into the secret, and knew the design of Jehu, or he would not have gone into such an idolatrous place:

and said unto the worshippers of Baal, search and look, that there be here with you none of the servants of the Lord, but the worshippers of Baal only; pretending a great regard to the purity of their worship and sacrifices, that they might not be profaned ^t by the company of such who were not worshippers of Baal, but of Jehovah; whereas his view was to prevent any of the worshippers of God perishing with them, who might out of curiosity go in among them, to behold the manner of their service.

Gill: 2Ki 10:24 - And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings // Jehu appointed eighty men without // and said, if any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go, his life shall be for the life of him

And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings,.... To Baal, all things being ready for them:

Jehu appointed eighty men without; without the temple of Baal, at the several doors and avenues of it:

and said, if any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go, his life shall be for the life of him; should be put to death for it in his room; the life of a watchman set to guard should go for the life of one that escaped.

Gill: 2Ki 10:25 - And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering // that Jehu said to the guard, and to the captains, go in and slay them, let none come forth // and they smote them with the edge of the sword // and the guard and the captains cast them out // and went to the city of the house of Baal

And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering,.... The chief of the priests of Baal, whose office it was to do this service:

that Jehu said to the guard, and to the captains, go in and slay them, let none come forth; this he said to the eighty men set to guard the temple, and the officers over them; and perhaps they might also have a reinforcement, since such a number seems scarcely sufficient to destroy so many as were here; though indeed it must be considered they were armed men:

and they smote them with the edge of the sword; put them all to death:

and the guard and the captains cast them out; those that were slain, as the Targum, their dead bodies; but it can hardly be thought they would be at the trouble of casting them out, when the house was to be pulled down, and made a jakes (a common sewer or dung house) of, as follows; rather therefore it should be rendered, "they cast" or "flung themselves" ^u with great force, and in great haste, as Kimchi, and rushed out of the temple, being eager to do as follows:

and went to the city of the house of Baal; to pull it down; to some city near Samaria where was a temple of Baal; or rather this may design the buildings about the temple of Baal, in which the priests and their families lived, and were so large that they might be called a city of themselves.

Gill: 2Ki 10:26 - And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and burnt them.

And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and burnt them. Lesser images, the images of other deities, or what were placed as decorations of the temple.

Gill: 2Ki 10:27 - And they broke down the temple of Baal // and broke down the house of Baal // and made it a draught house until this day

And they broke down the temple of Baal,.... Which some take to be Belus, others Saturn, others the sun, which seems most probable:

and broke down the house of Baal; his temple, demolished it:

and made it a draught house until this day; a common sewer, a jakes; a fit place for dunghill gods to be thrown into, and an idol temple to be turned into.

Gill: 2Ki 10:28 - Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.

Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. His images and temples being served thus in all places, throughout the land of Israel, where there were any.

Gill: 2Ki 10:29 - Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin // Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan

Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin,.... Which is the common character given of that king, a blot never to be wiped off:

Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan: he did not abstain from the worship of them, partly because he might not think it idolatry, because God was worshipped in them; hence he calls the worshippers of the calves the servants of the Lord, 2Ki 10:23, and partly that he might not displease the princes of the people of Israel, who generally gave in to the worship of them; but chiefly lest the kingdom of Israel should return to the house of David, the worship of the calves being a piece of state policy, to keep them from going to Jerusalem to worship, lest thereby they should be drawn off from their allegiance to the king of Israel.

Gill: 2Ki 10:30 - And the Lord said unto Jehu // because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes // and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart // thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel

And the Lord said unto Jehu,.... By a prophet, he not being one himself; and this is generally supposed, by the Jews ^w, to be Jonah the son of Amittai:

because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes: in rooting out the idolatry of Baal, which was right in the sight of God, and was materially a good work, though it might not be done from a good principle, nor every step taken in doing it justifiable:

and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart: that he had decreed within himself should be done, and had foretold by his prophets would be done, the doing of which was acceptable and well pleasing to him:

thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel; as they did, namely, Jehoahaz, Joash, Jeroboam, and Zachariah, though the last reigned but six months, just enough to fulfil this promise.

Gill: 2Ki 10:31 - But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart // for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin

But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart,.... As to his moral conversation, he was not careful that it was according to the law of God, and what he did agreeable to it, it was not sincerely, and from the right principle:

for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin; which he would, if he had had a cordial respect to all the commandments of the law.

Gill: 2Ki 10:32 - In those days the Lord began to cut Israel short // and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel

In those days the Lord began to cut Israel short,.... To bring their dominions into a narrower compass; this was done in the days of Jehu, though he was so active and courageous, wherefore the hand of God was the more seen in it:

and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel; which bordered on his country, when he did what Elisha foretold he would, 2Ki 8:12.

Gill: 2Ki 10:33 - From Jordan eastward // all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Moabites // from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan

From Jordan eastward,.... This was principally the coast on which Hazael smote them, to the east of the land of Canaan:

all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Moabites; the country on the other side Jordan, given to these tribes by Moses, at their request, which were before the kingdoms of Sihon and of Og:

from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan: countries which the Israelites first conquered, and were the first they lost.

Gill: 2Ki 10:34 - Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? Of the preceding kings from the times of Jeroboam, in which their several acts were recorded, and his also.

Gill: 2Ki 10:35 - And Jehu slept with his fathers // and they buried him in Samaria // and Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead

And Jehu slept with his fathers,.... Died as they did:

and they buried him in Samaria; where Omri and Ahab, his predecessors, were buried, 1Ki 16:28.

and Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead; who reigned seventeen years, 2Ki 13:1.

Gill: 2Ki 10:36 - And the time that Jehu reigned was twenty and eight years.

And the time that Jehu reigned was twenty and eight years. Which was longer than any king of Israel had reigned.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Ayat / Catatan Kaki

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:1

¹ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

² 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.

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:2

¹ 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.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:3

¹ 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.

² tn Or “fight for.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:4

¹ tn Heb “they were very, very afraid.” The term מְאֹד (me’od) “very,” is repeated for emphasis.

² tn Heb “did not stand before him.”

³ tn Heb “How can we stand?”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:5

¹ tn Heb “the one who was over the house.”

² tn Heb “the one who was over the city.”

³ tn Or “elders.”

⁴ tn Heb “servants.”

⁵ tn Heb “Do what is good in your eyes.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:6

¹ tn Heb “If you are mine and you are listening to my voice.”

² 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).

³ tn Heb “great,” probably in wealth, position, and prestige.

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:7

¹ tn Heb “and when the letter came to them, they took the sons of the king and slaughtered seventy men.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:8

¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:10

¹ 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.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:12

¹ tn Heb “and he arose and went and came to Samaria.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:13

¹ tn Heb “found.”

² tn Or “brothers.”

³ tn Heb “for the peace of.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:15

¹ tn Heb “found.”

² tn Heb “and he went from there and found Jehonadab son of Rekab [who was coming] to meet him.”

³ tn Heb “and he blessed him and said to him.”

⁴ tn Heb “Is there with your heart [what is] right, as my heart [is] with your heart?”

⁵ 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.

⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:16

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “and see my zeal for the Lord.”

³ tc The MT has a plural form, but this is most likely an error. The LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate all have the singular.

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:17

¹ tn Heb “and he struck down all the remaining ones to Ahab in Samaria until he destroyed him.”

² tn Heb “according to the word of the Lord which he spoke to Elijah.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:18

¹ tn Or “served.

² tn Or “serve.”

³ tn Heb “much” or “greatly.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:19

¹ tn Heb “and now, all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests summon to me.”

² tn Heb “acted with deception [or, ‘trickery’].”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:20

¹ tn Heb “set apart”; or “observe as holy.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:21

¹ tn Heb “and the house of Baal was filled mouth to mouth.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:22

¹ tn Heb “and he said to the one who was over the wardrobe.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:23

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “Search carefully and observe so that there are not here with you any servants of the Lord, only the servants of Baal.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:24

¹ 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.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:25

¹ tn Heb “runners.”

² 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.

³ 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.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:27

¹ tn Or “pulled down.”

² tn The verb “they demolished” is repeated in the Hebrew text.

³ tn Heb “and they made it into.”

⁴ 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.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:28

¹ tn Heb “destroyed Baal.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:29

¹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

² 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.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:30

¹ 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.

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:31

¹ tn Heb “But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart.”

² tn Heb “He did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam which he caused Israel to commit.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:32

¹ tn Heb “began to cut off Israel.”

² 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.

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:33

¹ 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.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:34

¹ 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?”

NET Notes: 2Ki 10:35

¹ tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”

² map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 10:1

And Ahab had seventy ^{( a )} sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab's [children], saying,

^{( a )} The Scripture calls them sons who are either children or nephews.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 10:3

Look even out the best and meetest of your master's sons, and ^{( b )} set [him] on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house.

^{( b )} He wrote this, to prove them whether they would take his side or not.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 10:6

Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye [be] mine, and [if] ye will hearken unto my voice, ^{( c )} take ye the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow this time. Now the king's sons, [being] seventy persons, [were] with the great men of the city, which brought them up.

^{( c )} God as a just judge punishes the wicked children of wicked parents to the third and fourth generations.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 10:9

And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye [be] ^{( d )} righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these?

^{( d )} You cannot justly condemn me for the king's death, seeing as you have done the same to his posterity: for the Lord commanded me, and moved you to carry out his judgment.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 10:11

So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his ^{( e )} priests, until he left him none remaining.

^{( e )} Meaning, the idolatrous priests.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 10:14

And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house, [even] two and forty men; ^{( f )} neither left he any of them.

^{( f )} Thus God's vengeance is on them who have any part or familiarity with the wicked.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 10:15

And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab [coming] to meet him: and he ^{( g )} saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart [is] with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give [me] thine hand. And he gave [him] his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot.

^{( g )} For he feared God, and lamented the wickedness of those times: therefore Jehu was glad to join with him: of Rechab read (Jer 35:2).

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 10:18

And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them, Ahab served ^{( h )} Baal a little; [but] Jehu shall serve him much.

^{( h )} Here Baal is taken for Ashtaroth the idol of the Zidonians, who Jezebel caused to be worshipped, as it is also so used in (1Ki 22:53).

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 10:23

And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the ^{( i )} servants of the LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only.

^{( i )} Thus God would have his servants preserved and idolaters destroyed, as in his law he gives express command, (Deu 13:5).

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 10:25

And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, [and] slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast [them] out, and went to the ^{( k )} city of the house of Baal.

^{( k )} Which was near Samaria.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 10:30

And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing [that which is] right in mine eyes, [and] hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that [was] in mine heart, thy ^{( l )} children of the fourth [generation] shall sit on the throne of Israel.

^{( l )} Thus God approves and rewards his zeal, in executing God's judgment, though his wickedness was later punished.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Rentang Ayat

MHCC: 2Ki 10:1-14

In the most awful events, though attended by the basest crimes of man, the truth and justice of God are to be noticed; and he never did nor can command any thing unjust or unreasonable. Jehu destroyed all that remained of the house of Ahab; all who had been partners in his wickedness. When we think upon the sufferings and miseries of mankind, when we look forward to the resurrection and last judgment, and think upon the vast number of the wicked waiting their awful sentence of everlasting fire; when the whole sum of death and misery has been considered, the solemn question occurs, Who slew all these? The answer is, SIN. Shall we then harbour sin in our bosoms, and seek for happiness from that which is the cause of all misery?

MHCC: 2Ki 10:15-28

Is thine heart right? This is a question we should often put to ourselves. I make a fair profession, have gained a reputation among men, but, is my heart right? Am I sincere with God? Jehonadab owned Jehu in the work, both of revenge and of reformation. An upright heart approves itself to God, and seeks no more than his acceptance; but if we aim at the applause of men, we are upon a false foundation. Whether Jehu looked any further we cannot judge. The law of God was express, that idolaters were to be put to death. Thus idolatry was abolished for the present out of Israel. May we desire that it be rooted out of our hearts.

MHCC: 2Ki 10:29-36

It is justly questionable whether Jehu acted from a good principle, and whether he did not take some false steps in doing it; yet no services done for God shall go unrewarded. But true conversion is not only from gross sin, but from all sin; not only from false gods, but from false worships. True conversion is not only from wasteful sins, but from gainful sins; not only from sins which hurt our worldly interests, but from those that support and befriend them; in forsaking which is the great trial whether we can deny ourselves and trust God. Jehu showed great care and zeal for rooting out a false religion, but in the true religion he cared not, took no heed to please God and do his duty. Those that are heedless, it is to be feared, are graceless. The people were also careless, therefore it is not strange that in those days the Lord began to cut Israel short. They were short in their duty to God, therefore God cut them short in their extent, wealth, and power.

Matthew Henry: 2Ki 10:1-14

We left Jehu in quiet possession of Jezreel, triumphing over Joram and Jezebel; and we must now attend his further motions. He knew the whole house of Ahab must be cut off, and therefore proceeded in this bloody work, and did not do it deceitfully, or by halves, Jer 48:10.

I. He got the heads of all the sons of Ahab cut off by their own guardians at Samaria. Seventy sons (or grandsons) Ahab had, Gideon's number, Jdg 8:30. In such a number that bore his name his family was likely to be perpetuated, and yet it is extirpated all at once. Such a quiver full of arrows could not protect his house from divine vengeance. Numerous families, if vicious, must not expect to be long prosperous. These sons of Ahab were now at Samaria, a strong city, perhaps brought thither upon occasion of the war with Syria, as a place of safety, or upon notice of Jehu's insurrection; with them were the rulers of Jezreel, that is, the great officers of the court, who went to Samaria to secure themselves or to consult what was to be done. Those of them that were yet under tuition had their tutors with them, who were entrusted with their education in learning, agreeable to their birth and quality, but, it is to be feared, brought them up in the idolatries of their father's house and made them all worshippers of Baal. Jehu did not think fit to bring his forces to Samaria to destroy them, but, that the hand of God might appear the more remarkably in it, made their guardians their murderers. 1. He sent a challenge to their friends to stand by them, 2Ki 10:2, 2Ki 10:3. "You that are hearty well-wishers to the house of Ahab, and entirely in its interests, now is your time to appear for it. Samaria is a strong city; you are in possession of it; you have forces at command; you may choose out the likeliest person of all the royal family to head you; you know you are not tied to the eldest, unless he be the best and meetest of your master's sons. If you have any spirit in you, show it, and set one of them on his father's throne, and stand by him with your lives and fortunes."Not that he desired they should do this, or expected they would, but thus he upbraided them with their cowardice and utter inability to contest with the divine counsels. "Do if you dare, and see what will come of it."Those that have forsaken their religion have often, with it, lost both their sense and their courage, and deserve to be upbraided with it. 2. Hereby he gained from them a submission. They prudently reasoned with themselves: " Behold, two kings stood not before him, but fell as sacrifices to his rage; how then shall we stand? "2Ki 10:4. Therefore they sent him a surrender of themselves: " We are thy servants, thy subjects, and will do all that thou shalt bid us, right or wrong, and will set up nobody in competition with thee."They saw it was to no purpose to contend with him, and therefore it was their interest to submit to him. With much more reason may we thus argue ourselves into a subjection to the great God. Many kings and great men have fallen before his wrath, for their wickedness; and how then shall we stand? Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? No, we must either bend or break. 3. This was improved so far as to make them the executioners of those whom they had the tuition of (2Ki 10:6): If you be mine, bring me the heads of your master's sons by tomorrow at this time. Though he knew it must be done, and was loth to do it himself, one would think he could not expect they should do it. Could they betray such a trust? Could they be cruel to their master's sons? It seems, so low did they stoop in their adoration to the rising sun that they did it; they cut off the heads of those seventy princes, and sent them in baskets a present to Jehu, 2Ki 10:7. Learn hence not to trust in a friend nor to put confidence in a guide not governed by conscience. One can scarcely expect that he who has been false to his God should ever be faithful to his prince. But observe God's righteousness in their unrighteousness. These elders of Jezreel had been wickedly obsequious to Jezebel's order for the murder of Naboth, 1Ki 21:11. She gloried, it is likely, in the power she had over them; and now the same base spirit makes them as pliable to Jehu and as ready to obey his orders for the murder of Ahab's sons. Let none aim at arbitrary power, lest they be found rolling a stone which, some time or other, will return upon them. Princes that make their people slaves take the readiest way to make them rebels; and by forcing men's consciences, as Jezebel did, they lose their hold of them. When the separated heads were presented to Jehu, he slyly upbraided those that were the executioners of this vengeance. The heads were laid in two heaps at the gate, the proper place of judgment. There he acquitted the people before God and the world (2Ki 10:9, You are righteous ), and, by what the rulers of Samaria had now done, comparatively acquitted himself: "I slew but one; they have slain all these: I did it by conspiracy and with design; they have done this merely in compliance and with an implicit obedience. Let not the people of Samaria, nor any of the friends of the house of Ahab, ever reproach me for what I have done, when their own elders, and the very guardians of the orphans, have done this."It is common for those who have done something base to attempt the mitigation of their own reproach by drawing others in to do something worse. But, (2.) He resolves all into the righteous judgment of God (2Ki 10:10): The Lord hath done that which he spoke by Elijah. God is not the author of any man's sin, but even by that which men do from bad principles God serves his own purposes and glorifies his own name; and he is righteous in that wherein men are unrighteous. When the Assyrian is made the rod of God's anger, and the instrument of his justice, he meaneth not so, neither does his heart think so, Isa 10:7.

II. He proceeded to destroy all that remained of the house of Ahab, not only those that descended from him, but those that were in any relation to him, all the officers of his household, ministers of state, and those in command under him, called here his great men (2Ki 10:11), all his kinsfolks and acquaintance, who had been partners with him in his wickedness, and his priests, or domestic chaplains, whom he employed in his idolatrous services and who strengthened his hand that he should not turn from his evil way. Having done this in Jezreel, he did the same in Samaria (2Ki 10:17), slew all that remained to Ahab in Samaria. This was bloody work, and is not now, in any case, to be drawn into a precedent. Let the guilty suffer, but not the guiltless for their sakes. Perhaps such terrible destructions as these were intended as types of the final destruction of all the ungodly. God has a sword, bathed in heaven, which will come down upon the people of his curse, and be filled with blood. Isa 34:5, Isa 34:6. Then his eye will not spare, neither will he pity.

III. Providence bringing the brethren of Ahaziah in his way, as he was going on with this execution, he slew them likewise, 2Ki 10:12-14. The brethren of Ahaziah were slain by the Arabians (2Ch 22:1), but these were the sons of his brethren, as it is there explained (2Ki 10:8), and they are said to be princes of Judah, and to minister to Ahaziah. Several things concurred to make them obnoxious to the vengeance Jehu was now executing. 1. They were branches of Ahab's house, being descended from Athaliah, and therefore fell within his commission. 2. They were tainted with the wickedness of the house of Ahab. 3. They were now going to make their court to the princes of the house of Ahab, to salute the children of the king and the queen, Joram and Jezebel, which showed that they were linked to them in affection as well as in affinity. These princes, forty-two in number, being appointed as sheep for the sacrifice, were slain with solemnity, at the pit of the shearing-house. The Lord is known by these judgments which he executeth.

Matthew Henry: 2Ki 10:15-28

Jehu, pushing on his work, is here,

I. Courting the friendship of a good man, Jehonadab the son of Rechab, 2Ki 10:15, 2Ki 10:16. This Jehonadab, though mortified to the world and meddling little with the business of it (as appears by his charge to his posterity, which they religiously observed 300 years after, not to drink wine nor dwell in cities, Jer 35:6, etc.), yet, upon this occasion, went to meet Jehu, that he might encourage him in the work to which God had called him. The countenance of good men is a thing which great men, if they be wise, will value, and value themselves by. David prayed, Let those that fear thee turn to me, Psa 119:79. This Jehonadab, though no prophet, priest, or Levite, no prince or ruler, was, we may suppose, very eminent for prudence and piety, and generally respected for that life of self-denial and devotion which he lived: Jehu, though a soldier, knew him and honoured him. He did not indeed think of sending for him, but when he met him (though it is likely he drove now as furiously as ever) he stopped to speak to him; and we are here told what passed between them. 1. Jehu saluted him; he blessed him (so the word is), paid him the respect and showed him the good-will that were due to so great an example of serious godliness. 2. Jehonadab assured him that he was sincerely in his interest and a hearty well-wisher to his cause. Jehu professed that his heart was right with him, that he had a true affection for his person and a veneration for the crown of his Nazariteship, and desired to know whether he had the same affection for him and satisfaction in that crown of royal dignity which God had put upon his head: Is thy heart right? a question we should often put to ourselves. "I make a plausible profession, have gained a reputation among men, but is my heart right? Am I sincere and inward with God?"Jehonadab gave him his word ( It is ), and gave him his hand as a pledge of his heart, yielded to him (so giving the hand is rendered, 2Ch 30:8), concurred and covenanted with him, and owned him in the work both of revenge and of reformation he was now about. 3. Jehu took him up into his chariot and took him along with him to Samaria. He put some honour upon him, by taking him into the chariot with him (Jehonadab was not accustomed to ride in a chariot, much less with a king); but he received more honour from him, and from the countenance he gave to his present work. All sober people would think the better of Jehu when they saw Jehonadab in the chariot with him. This was not the only time in which the piety of some has been made to serve the policy of others, and designing men have strengthened themselves by drawing good men into their interests. Jehonadab is a stranger to the arts of fleshly wisdom, and has his conversation in simplicity and godly sincerity; and therefore, if Jehu be a servant of God and an enemy to Ball, he will be his faithful friend. "Come then"(says Jehu), "come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord; and then thou wilt see reason to espouse my cause."This is commonly taken as not well said by Jehu, and as giving cause to suspect that his heart was not right with God in what he did, and that the zeal he pretended for the Lord was really zeal for himself and his own advancement. For, (1.) He boasted of it, and spoke as if God and man were mightily indebted to him for it. (2.) He desired it might be seen and taken notice of, like the Pharisees, who did all to be seen of men. An upright heart approves itself to God and covets no more than his acceptance. If we aim at the applause of men, and make their praise our highest end, we are upon a false bottom. Whether Jehu looked any further we cannot judge; however Jehonadab went with him, and, it is likely, animated and assisted him in the further execution of his commission (2Ki 10:17), destroying all Ahab's friends in Samaria. A man may hate cruelty and yet love justice, may be far from thirsting after blood and yet may wash his feet in the blood of the wicked, Psa 58:10.

II. Contriving the destruction of all the worshippers of Baal. The service of Baal was the crying sin of the house of Ahab: that root of this idolatry was plucked up, but multitudes yet remained that were infected with it, and would be in danger of infecting others. The law of God was express, that they were to be put to death; but they were so numerous, and so dispersed throughout all parts of the kingdom, and perhaps so alarmed with Jehu's beginnings, that it would be a hard matter to find them all out and an endless task to prosecute and execute them one by one. Jehu's project therefore is to cut them all off together. 1. By a wile, by a fraud, he brought them together to the temple of Baal. He pretended he would worship Baal more than ever Ahab had done, 2Ki 10:18. Perhaps he spoke this ironically, or to try the body of the people whether they would oppose such a resolution as this, and would resent his threatening to increase his predecessor's exactions, and say, "If it be so, we have no part in Jehu, nor inheritance in the son of Nimshi."But it rather seems to have been spoken purposely to deceive the worshippers of Baal, and then it cannot be justified. The truth of God needs not any man's lie. He issued a proclamation, requiring the attendance of all the worshippers of Baal to join with him in a sacrifice to Baal (2Ki 10:19, 2Ki 10:20), not only the prophets and priests, but all, throughout the kingdom, who worshipped Baal, who were not nearly so many as they had been in Elijah's time. Jehu's friends, we may suppose, were aware of what he designed, and were not offended at it; but the bigoted besotted Baalites began to think themselves very happy, and that now they should see golden days again. Joram had put away the image of Baal, 2Ki 3:2. If Jehu will restore it, they have what they would have, and come up to Samaria with joy from all parts to celebrate the solemnity; and they are pleased to see the house of Baal crowded (2Ki 10:21), to see his priests in their vestments (2Ki 10:22), and themselves perhaps with some badges or other to notify their relation to Baal, for there were vestments for all his worshippers. 2. He took care that none of the servants of the Lord should be among them, 2Ki 10:23. This they took as a provision to preserve the worship of Baal from being profaned by strangers; but it was a wonder that they did not, by this, see themselves brought into a snare and discern a design upon them. No marvel if those that suffer themselves to be deceived by Baal (as all idolaters were by their idols), are deceived by Jehu to their destruction. 3. He gave order for the cutting of them all off, and Jehonadab joined with him therein, 2Ki 10:23. When a strict search was made lest any of the servants of God should, either for company or curiosity, have got among them - lest any wheat should be mixed with those tares, and when eighty men were set to stand guard at all the avenues to Baal's temple, that none might escape (2Ki 10:24), then the guards were sent in to put them all to the sword and to mingle their blood with their sacrifices, in a way of just revenge, as they themselves had sometimes done, when, in their blind devotion, they cut themselves with knives and lancets till the blood gushed out, 1Ki 18:28. This was accordingly done, and the doing of it, though seemingly barbarous, was, considering the nature of their crime, really righteous. The Lord, whose name is jealous, is a jealous God. 4. The idolaters being thus destroyed, the idolatry itself was utterly abolished. The buildings about the house of Baal (which were so many and so stately that they are here called a city ), where Baal's priests and their families lived, were destroyed; all the little images, statues, pictures, or shrines, which beautified Baal's temple, with the great image of Baal himself, were brought out and burnt (2Ki 10:26, 2Ki 10:27), and the temple of Baal was broken down, and made a dunghill, the common sink, or sewer, of the city, that the remembrance of it might be blotted out or made infamous. Thus was the worship of Baal quite destroyed, at least for the present, out of Israel, though it had once prevailed so far that there were but 7000 of all the thousands of Israel that had not bowed the knee to Baal, and those concealed. Thus will God destroy all the gods of the heathen, and, sooner or later, triumph over them all.

Matthew Henry: 2Ki 10:29-36

Here is all the account of the reign of Jehu, though it continued twenty-eight years. The progress of it answered not to the glory of its beginning. We have here,

I. God's approbation of what Jehu had done. Many, it is probable, censured him as treacherous and barbarous - called him a rebel, a usurper, a murderer, and prognosticated ill concerning him, that a family thus raised would soon be ruined; but God said, Well done (2Ki 10:30), and then it signified little who said otherwise. 1. God pronounced that to be right which he had done. It is justly questionable whether he did it from a good principle and whether he did not take some false steps in the doing of it; and yet (says God), Thou hast done well in executing that which is right in my eyes. The extirpating of idolaters and idolatry was a thing right in God's eyes, for it is an iniquity he visits as surely and severely as any: it was according to all that was in his heart, all he desired, all he designed. Jehu went through with his work. 2. God promised him a reward, that his children of the fourth generation from him should sit upon the throne of Israel. This was more than what took place in any of the dignities or royal families of that kingdom; of the house of Ahab there were indeed four kings, Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, and Joram, but the last two were brothers, so that it reached but to the third generation, and that whole family continued but about forty-five years in all, whereas Jehu's continued in four, besides himself, and in all about 120 years. Note, No services done for God shall go unrewarded.

II. Jehu's carelessness in what he was further to do. By this it appeared that his heart was not right with God, that he was partial in his reformation. 1. He did not put away all the evil. He departed from the sins of Ahab, but not from the sins of Jeroboam - discarded Baal, but adhered to the calves. The worship of Baal was indeed the greater evil, and more heinous in the sight of God, but the worship of the calves was a great evil, and true conversion is not only from gross sin, but from all sin - not only from false gods, but from false worships. The worship of Baal weakened and diminished Israel, and made them beholden to the Sidonians, and therefore he could easily part with that; but the worship of the calves was a politic idolatry, was begun and kept up for reasons of state, to prevent the return of the ten tribes to the house of David, and therefore Jehu clave to that. True conversion is not only from wasteful sins, but from gainful sins - not only from those sins that are destructive to the secular interest, but from those that support and befriend it, in forsaking which is the great trial whether we can deny ourselves and trust God. 2. He put away evil, but he did not mind that which was good (2Ki 10:31): He took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel. He abolished the worship of Baal, but did not keep up the worship of God, nor walk in his law. He had shown great care and zeal for the rooting out of a false religion; but in the true religion, (1.) He showed no care, took no heed, lived at large, was not at all solicitous to please God and to do his duty, took no heed to the scriptures, to the prophets, to his own conscience, but walked at all adventures. Those that are heedless, it is to be feared, are graceless; for, where there is a good principle in the heart, it will make men cautious and circumspect, desirous to please God and jealous of doing any thing to offend him. (2.) He showed no zeal; what he did in religion he did not do with his heart, with all his heart, but did it as if he did it not, without any liveliness or concern. It seems, he was a man that had little religion himself, and yet God made use of him as an instrument of reformation in Israel. It is a pity but that those that do good to others should always be good themselves.

III. The judgment that came upon Israel in his reign. We have reason to fear that when Jehu took no heed himself to walk in God's law the people were generally as careless as he, both in their devotions and in their conversations. There was a general decay of piety and increase of profaneness; and therefore it is not strange that the next news we hear is, In those days the Lord began to cut Israel short, 2Ki 10:32. Their neighbours encroached upon them on every side; they were short in their duty to God, and therefore God cut them short in their extent, wealth, and power. Hazael king of Syria was, above any other, vexatious and mischievous to them, smote them in all the coasts of Israel, particularly the countries on the other side Jordan, which lay next him, and most exposed; on these he made continual inroads, and laid them waste. Now the Reubenites and Gadites smarted for the choice which their ancestors made of an inheritance on that side Jordan, which Moses reproved them for, Num. 32. Now Hazael did what Elisha foresaw and foretold he would do. Yet, for doing it, God had a quarrel with him and with his kingdom, as we may find, Amo 1:3, Amo 1:4. Because those of Damascus have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron, therefore (says God) I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad.

Lastly, The conclusion of Jehu's reign, 2Ki 10:34-36. Notice is taken, in general, of his might; but, because he took no heed to serve God, the memorials of his mighty enterprises and achievements are justly buried in oblivion.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 10:1-3

Extermination of the Seventy Sons of Ahab in Samaria. - 2Ki 10:1-3. As Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria ( בּנים in the wider sense, viz., sons, including grandsons see at 2Ki 10:13, as is evident from the fact that אמנים , foster-fathers, are mentioned, whereas Ahab had been dead fourteen years, and therefore his youngest sons could not have had foster-fathers any longer), Jehu sent a letter to the elders of the city and to the foster-fathers of the princes, to the effect that they were to place one of the sons of their lord upon the throne. There is something very strange in the words הזּקנים יזרעאל אל־שׂרי , "to the princes of Jezreel, the old men,"partly on account of the name Jezreel, and partly on account of the combination of הזּקנים with שׂרי . If we compare 2Ki 10:5, it is evident that הזּקנים cannot be the adjective to יז שׂרי , but denotes the elders of the city, so that the preposition אל has dropped out before הזקנים . יזרעאל שׂרי , the princes or principal men of Jezreel, might certainly be the chief court-officials of the royal house of Ahab, since Ahab frequently resided in Jezreel. But against this supposition there is not only the circumstance that we cannot discover any reason why the court-officials living in Samaria should be called princes of Jezreel, but also 2Ki 10:5, where, instead of the princes of Jezreel, the governor of the city and the governor of the castle are mentioned. Consequently there is an error of the text in יזרעאל , which ought to read אל העיר , though it is older than the ancient versions, since the Chaldee has the reading יזרעאל , and no doubt the Alexandrian translator read the same, as the Septuagint has sometimes τῆς πόλεως , like the Vulgate, and sometimes Σαμαρείας , both unquestionably from mere conjecture. The "princes of the city"are, according to 2Ki 10:5, the prefect of the palace and the captain of the city; the זקנים , "elders,"the magistrates of Samaria; and אחאב אמנים , the foster-fathers and tutors appointed by Ahab for his sons and grandsons. אחאב is governed freely by האמנים . In 2Ki 10:2 the words from ואתּכם to הנּשׁק form an explanatory circumstantial clause: "since the sons of your lord are with you, and with you the war-chariots and horses, and a fortified city and arms,"i.e., since you have everything in your hands, - the royal princes and also the power to make one of them king. It is perfectly evident from the words, "the sons of your lord,"i.e., of king Joram, that the seventy sons of Ahab included grandsons also. This challenge of Jehu was only a ruse , by which he hoped to discover the feelings of the leading men of the capital of the kingdom, because he could not venture, without being well assured of them, to proceed to Samaria to exterminate the remaining members of the royal family of Ahab who were living there. על נלחם , to fight concerning, i.e., for a person, as in Jdg 9:17.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 10:4-5

This ruse had the desired result. The recipients of the letter were in great fear, and said, Two kings could not stand before him, how shall we? and sent messengers to announce their submission, and to say that they were willing to carry out his commands, and had no desire to appoint a king.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 10:6-7

Jehu then wrote them a second letter, to say that if they would hearken to his voice, they were to send to him on the morrow at this time, to Jezreel, the heads of the sons of their lord; which they willingly did, slaying the seventy men, and sending him their heads in baskets. אד בּני אנשׁי ראשׁי , "the heads of the men of sons of your lord,"i.e., of the male descendants of Ahab, in which אנשׁי may be explained from the fact that בּני־אדניכם has the meaning "royal princes"(see the similar case in Jdg 19:22). In order to bring out still more clearly the magnitude of Jehu's demand, the number of the victims required is repeated in the circumstantial clause, "and there were seventy men of the king's sons with ( את ) the great men of the city, who had brought them up."

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 10:8-10

When the heads were brought, Jehu had them piled up in two heaps before the city-gate, and spoke the next morning to the assembled people in front of them: "Ye are righteous. Behold I have conspired against my lord, and have slain him, but who has slain all these?"Jehu did not tell the people that the king's sons had been slain by his command, but spake as if this had been done without his interfering by a higher decree, that he might thereby justify his conspiracy in the eyes of the people, and make them believe what he says still further in 2Ki 10:10 : "See then that of the word of the Lord nothing falls to the ground (i.e., remains unfulfilled) which Jehovah has spoken concerning the house of Ahab; and Jehovah has done what He spake through His servant Elijah."

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 10:11

The effect of these words was, that the people looked quietly on when he proceeded to slay all the rest of the house of Ahab, i.e., all the more distant relatives in Jezreel, and "all his great men,"i.e., the superior officers of the fallen dynasty, and "all his acquaintances,"i.e., friends and adherents, and "all his priests,"probably court priest, such as the heathen kings had; not secular counsellors or nearest servants (Thenius), a meaning which כּהנים never has, not even in 2Sa 8:18 and 1Ki 4:5.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 10:12-14

Extermination of the Brothers of Ahaziah of Judah and of the Other Members of Ahab's Dynasty. - 2Ki 10:12. Jehu then set out to Samaria; and on the way, at the binding-house of the shepherds, he met with the brethren of Ahaziah, who were about to visit their royal relations, and when he learned who they were, had them all seized, viz., forty-two men, and put to death at the cistern of the binding-house. ויּלך ויּבא , "he came and went,"appears pleonastic; the words are not to be transposed, however, as Böttcher and Thenius propose after the Syriac, but ויּלך is added, because Jehu did not go at once to Samaria, but did what follows on the way. By transposing the words, the slaying of the relations of Ahaziah would be transferred to Samaria, in contradiction to 2Ki 10:15. - The words from וגו בּית הוּא onwards, and from ויהוּא to יהוּדה מלך , are two circumstantial clauses, in which the subject יהוּא is added in the second clause for the sake of greater clearness: "when he was at the binding-house of the shepherds on the road, and Jehu (there) met with the brethren of Ahaziah, he said..." הרעים בּית־עקד ( Βαιθακάθ , lxx) is explained by Rashi, after the Chaldee רעיּא כנישׁת בית , as signifying locus conventus pastorum , the meeting-place of the shepherds; and Gesenius adopts the same view. But the rest of the earlier translators for the most part adopt the rendering, locus ligationis pastorum , from עקד , to bind, and think of a house ubi pastores ligabant oves quando eas tondebant . In any case it was a house, or perhaps more correctly a place, where the shepherds were in the habit of meeting, and that on the road from Jezreel to Samaria; according to Eusebius on the Onom. s.v. Βαιθακάθ , a place fifteen Roman miles from Legio (Lejun, Megiddo), in the great plain of Jezreel: a statement which may be correct with the exception of the small number of miles, but which does not apply to the present village of Beit Kad to the east of Jenin (Rob. Pal. iii. p. 157), with which, according to Thenius, it exactly coincides. עחזיהוּ אחי , for which we have אח אחי בּני , Ahaziah's brothers' sons, in 2Ch 22:8, were not the actual brothers of Ahaziah, since they had been carried off by the Arabians and put to death before he ascended the throne (2Ch 21:17), but partly step-brothers, i.e., sons of Joram by his concubines, and partly Ahaziah's nephews and cousins. לשׁלום , ad salutandum , i.e., to inquire how they were, or to visit the sons of the king (Joram) and of the queen-mother, i.e., Jezebel, therefore Joram's brothers. In 2Ch 22:1 they are both included among the "sons"of Ahab.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 10:15-17

As Jehu proceeded on his way, he met with Jehonadab the son of Rechab, and having saluted him, inquired, "Is they heart true as my heart towards thy heart?"and on his replying ישׁ , "it is (honourable or true)," he bade him come up into the chariot, saying וישׁ , "if it is (so), give me thy hand;"whereupon he said still further, "Come with me and see my zeal for Jehovah,"and then drove with him to Samaria, and there exterminated all that remained of Ahab's family. Jehonadab the son of Rechab was the tribe-father of the Rechabites (Jer 35:6). The rule which the latter laid down for his sons and descendants for all time, was to lead a simple nomad life, namely, to dwell in tents, follow no agricultural pursuits, and abstain from wine; which rule they observed so sacredly, that the prophet Jeremiah held them up as models before his own contemporaries, who broke the law of God in the most shameless manner, and was able to announce to the Rechabites that they would be exempted from the Chaldaean judgment for their faithful observance of their father's precept (Jer 35). Rechab, from whom the descendants of Jehonadab derived their tribe-name, was the son of Hammath, and belonged to the tribe of the Kenites (1Ch 2:55), to which Hobab the father-in-law of Moses also belonged (Num 10:29); so that the Rechabites were probably descendants of Hobab, since the Kenites the sons of Hobab had gone with the Israelites from the Arabian desert to Canaan, and had there carried on their nomad life (Jdg 1:16; Jdg 4:11; 1Sa 15:6; see Witsii Miscell. ss. ii. p. 223ff.). This Jehonadab was therefore a man distinguished for the strictness of his life, and Jehu appears to have received him in this friendly manner on account of the great distinction in which he was held, not only in his own tribe, but also in Israel generally, that he might exalt himself in the eyes of the people through his friendship.

(Note: According to C. a Lapide, Jehu took him up into his chariot "that he might establish his authority with the Samaritans, and secure a name for integrity by having Jehonadab as his ally, a man whom all held to be both an upright and holy man, that in this way he might the more easily carry out the slaughter of the Baalites, which he was planning, without any one daring to resist him.")

- In את־לבבך הישׁ , "is with regard to thy heart honourable or upright?" את is used to subordinate the noun to the clause, in the sense of quoad (see Ewald, §277, a.). לאחאב כּל־הנּשׁארים , "all that remained to Ahab,"i.e., all the remaining members of Ahab's house.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 10:18-20

Extermination of the Prophets and Priests of Baal and of the Baal-Worship. - 2Ki 10:28. Under the pretence of wishing to serve Baal even more than Ahab had done, Jehu appointed a great sacrificial festival for this idol, and had all the worshippers of Baal throughout all the land summoned to attend it; he then placed eighty of his guards around the temple of Baal in which they were assembled, and after the sacrifice was offered, had the priests and worshippers of Baal cut down by them with the sword. Objectively considered, the slaying of the worshippers of Baal was in accordance with the law, and, according to the theocratical principle, was perfectly right; but the subjective motives which impelled Jehu, apart from the artifice, were thoroughly selfish, as Seb. Schmidt has correctly observed. For since the priests and prophets of Baal throughout the Israelitish kingdom were bound up with the dynasty of Ahab, with all their interests and with their whole existence, they might be very dangerous to Jehu, if on any political grounds he should happen not to promote their objects, whereas by their extermination he might hope to draw to his side the whole of the very numerous supporters of the Jehovah-worship, which had formerly been legally established in Israel, and thereby establish his throne more firmly. The very fact that Jehu allowed the calf-worship to continue, is a proof that he simply used religion as the means of securing his own ends (2Ki 10:29). עצרה קדּשׁוּ (2Ki 10:20), "sanctify a festal assembly,"i.e., proclaim in the land a festal assembly for Baal (compare Isa 1:13; and for עצרה = עצרת , see at Lev 23:36). ויּקראוּ , and they proclaimed, sc. the festal meeting.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 10:21

The temple of Baal was filled לפה פּה , "from one edge (end) to the other." פּה in this sense is not to be derived from פּאה , a corner (Cler., Ges.), but signifies mouth, or the upper rim of a vessel. Metaphora sumta a vasibus humore aliquo plenis: Vatabl.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 10:22

על־המּלתּחה אשׁר is the keeper of the wardrobe (Arab. praefectus vestium ), for the ἁπ. λεγ. מלתּחה signifies vestiarium (Ges. Thes. p. 764). The reference is not to the wardrobe of the king's palace, out of which Jehu had every one who took part in the feast supplied with a festal dress or new caftan (Deres., Then., etc.), but the wardrobe of the temple of Baal, since the priests of Baal had their own sacred dresses like the priests of almost all religions (as Silius has expressly shown in his Ital. iii. 24-27, of the priests of the Gadetanic Hercules). These dresses were only worn at the time of worship, and were kept in a wardrobe in the temple.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 10:23-24

Jehu then came with Jehonadab to the temple, and commanded the worshippers of Baal to be carefully examined, that there might not be one of the worshippers of Jehovah with (among) them. When the priests of Baal were preparing to offer sacrifice, Jehu had eighty men of his guards stationed before the temple, and laid this injunction upon them: "Whoever lets one of the men escape whom I bring into your hands (we must read ימלּט instead of ימּלט ), his life shall answer for his (the escaped man's) life. נפשׁו תּחת נפשׁו , as in 1Ki 20:39.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 10:25

כּכלּתו : when he (the sacrificing priest, not Jehu) had finished the burnt-offering (the singular suffix ו may also be taken as indefinite, when one had finished, vid., Ewald, §294, b .), Jehu commanded the runners and aides-de-camp: Come and smite them (the worshippers of Baal), without one coming out (escaping); whereupon they smote them with the edge of the sword, i.e., slew them unsparingly. ויּשׁליכוּ : and the runners and aides-de-camp threw (those who had been slain) away, and went into the citadel of the temple of Baal. בּית־הבּעל עיר cannot be the city of the temple of Baal, i.e., that part of the city in which the temple of Baal stood, for the runners were already in the court of the temple of Baal; but it is no doubt the temple-citadel, the true temple-house ( עיר from עוּר , locus circumseptus ) - templum Baalis magnifice exstructum instar arcis alicujus (Seb. Schm.).

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 10:26

They then fetched the columns ( מצּבת ) out of the temple and burned them (the suffix in ישׂרפוּה refers to the plural מצּבת taken as an abstract noun, as in 2Ki 3:3; cf. Ewald, §317, a .). They then broke in pieces the הבּעל מצּבת , column of Baal, i.e., the real image of Baal, probably a conical stone dedicated to Baal, whereas the מצּבת , which were burned, were wooden columns as πάρεδροι or σύμβοομοι of Baal (see Movers, Phöniz . i. p. 674).

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 10:27

Lastly, they destroyed the temple itself and made it למחראות , privies, for which the Masoretes have substituted the euphemistic מוצאות , sinks, as a mark of the greatest insult, many examples of which are to be met with among Oriental tribes (vid., Ezr 6:11; Dan 2:5, and Haevernick in loc .). - Thus Jehu exterminated Baal from Israel. This remark in 2Ki 10:28 forms the introduction to the history of Jehu's reign, with which the last epoch in the history of the ten tribes begins.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 10:28-29

Jehu exterminated the worship of Baal from Israel; but the sins of Jeroboam, the golden calves at Bethel and Dan, that is to say, the idolatrous worship of Jehovah, he allowed to remain. "The golden calves, etc.:"this is a supplementary and explanatory apposition to "the sins of Jeroboam."

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 10:30-31

Jehu is promised the possession of the throne to the fourth generation of his sons for having exterminated the godless royal house of Ahab (vid., 2Ki 15:12). The divine sentence, "because thou hast acted well to do right in mine eyes. (because thou) hast done as it was in my heart to the house of Ahab,"refers to the deed as such, and not to the subjective motives by which Jehu had been actuated. For it is obvious that it had not sprung from pure zeal for the honour of the Lord, from the limitation added in 2Ki 10:31 : "but Jehu did not take heed to walk in the law of Jehovah with all his heart, and did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam."

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 10:32-33

Therefore (this link of connection follows from the actual fact, though it is not distinctly mentioned in the text) Hazael had now to inflict chastisement upon faithless Israel. In Jehu's days Jehovah began "to cut off in Israel,"i.e., to rend away certain portions from the kingdom. "Hazael smote them (the Israelites) on the whole of the border of Israel,"i.e., of the kingdom, "from Jordan to the sun-rising (i.e., on the eastern side of the Jordan), the whole of the land of Gilead ( כּל־ארץ את is dependent upon יכּה which must be supplied from יכּם ), namely, the territory of the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and Half-Manasseh, from Aroer on the brook Arnon (now Araayr, a ruin on the northern border of the Mojeb (Arnon) valley; see at Num 32:34), the southern border of the Israelitish land to the east of the Jordan (Deu 2:36; Deu 3:12), both Gilead and Bashan,"the two countries into which Gilead in the broader sense was divided (see at Deu 3:8-17). - These conquests took place during the twenty-eight years' reign of Jehu, since Hazael began to reign before Jehu, viz., while Joram was king, and had already fought successfully against the Israelites at Ramoth in Joram's reign (2Ki 8:28-29), but not in the later part of Jehu's reign, as Thenius supposes.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 10:34-36

Conclusion of the history of Jehu's reign. The length of his reign is not given till the end in this instance (2Ki 10:36), contrary to the usual custom in our books, because his ascent of the throne is not expressly mentioned in what precedes; but the general character of his reign is given in immediate connection with the account of his anointing and of the extermination of Ahab's dynasty.

Constable: 2Ki 9:30--18:1

C. The Second Period of Antagonism 9:30-17:41

The kingdoms of Israel and Judah continued without an alliance between them for the rest of the time the Northern Kingdom existed. This period began with Jehu's accession to the throne in 841 B.C. and continued until the Assyrian captivity of the Northern Kingdom in 722 B.C.

Constable: 2Ki 9:30--11:1

1. Jehu's evil reign in Israel 9:30-10:36

Since the writer did not record Jehu's coronation, we should probably regard his reign as beginning when Joram died (9:24). Jehu began Israel's fifth and longest royal dynasty. He and his descendants reigned 88 years (841-753 B.C.). He himself reigned 28 years (841-814 B.C.). His contemporaries in Judah were Queen Athaliah and King Joash.

Constable: 2Ki 10:1-17

Jehu's purges of the royal families 10:1-17

Jehu challenged the nobles of Samaria and Jezreel who were rearing Ahab's 70 male descendants to select an heir and to battle Jehu. This would decide whether Ahab's house or Jehu's would rule Israel. Rather than fight a battle they were sure they would lose they submitted to Jehu and slew Ahab's sons. In the ancient Near East conquering kings sometimes piled the heads of their defeated foes at the city gate to show their power and to discourage future rebellion.⁶⁶ Jehu then proceeded to execute the nobles who had killed Ahab's sons. However in this purge Jehu demonstrated too much zeal. God judged his own dynasty later for these unlawful assassinations (cf. Hosea 1:4). Jehu was wise and obedient to kill Ahab's sons (cf. 2 Sam. 1:14-15), but he overstepped his authority by killing the nobles.

"Jehu's killings exceed reform and become atrocities, . . . a fact Hos 1:4-5 makes clear. Eventually, Jehu becomes very much like those he replaces, which makes him more of a political opportunist than a catalyst for change."⁶⁷

Jehu also wiped out the members of Ahab's family who were still alive in the Southern Kingdom whom God evidently brought together to make Jehu's job easier (vv. 12-14).⁶⁸

Jonadab also rejoiced in the destruction of Ahab's line, though he may not have approved of all Jehu's killing (vv. 15-17). Other Scripture describes Jonadab as a faithful follower of Yahweh who observed the Mosaic Law strictly (cf. Jer. 35:6-7).

Constable: 2Ki 10:18-28

Jehu's purge of Baalism 10:18-28

This purge evidently took place in Samaria (1 Kings 16:32). Jehu's true religious preferences had not yet become known publicly. The Hebrew words translated "pillar" in verses 26 and 27 are not the same indicating that Jehu desecrated two or more kinds of objects, probably flammable wooden and non-flammable stone idols. Jehu also converted the temple of Baal into a public latrine, the greatest possible insult to Baal, the god of fertility. His act made it an unclean place as well. Jehu thus effectively eradicated the Baal worship that Ahab and Jezebel had officially established as Israel's religion.

Constable: 2Ki 10:29-36

Jehu's assessment 10:29-36

God blessed Jehu for eliminating the line of Ahab and Baalism. However, Jehu did not go far enough. He allowed the cult of Jeroboam to continue. Furthermore he was not careful to obey the Mosaic Law with all his heart (v. 31). Consequently God cut his line off eventually, and Israel lost much Transjordanian territory to Hazael, king of Aram.

"Despite his cometlike beginning, spiritually speaking, Jehu was a falling star, so his reign is largely passed over in silence."⁶⁹

"Despite his attacks against Baalism, Jehu does not lead the nation into separatist Yahwism. He allows the worship instituted by Jeroboam to continue. In effect, then, he expels the foreign religion (Baalism) in favor of the long-standing Israelite state religion begun by Jeroboam. Apparently he believes reform beyond the elimination of Ahab's children, Ahab's wife, and Ahab's religion, that is, what secures his power, does not concern him. Indeed he acts as the instrument of punishment against the corrupt Omride dynasty, but he does not operate out of Elijah-like motives. Rather, he is, like Syria, Assyria, and Babylon, an instrument that punishes but exhibits few personal moral strengths. Israel is now back to where it was before Ahab and Jezebel assumed leadership, but it has certainly not come back to the Lord."⁷⁰

Guzik: 2Ki 10:1-36 - The Reforms of Jehu

2 Kings 10 - The Reforms of Jehu

A. Jehu executes the house of Ahab.

1. (1-11) Ahab's descendants are executed at Jezreel.

Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote and sent letters to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to those who reared Ahab's sons, saying: Now as soon as this letter comes to you, since your master's sons are with you, and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and weapons, choose the best qualified of your master's sons, set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house. But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, "Look, two kings could not stand up to him; how then can we stand?" And he who was in charge of the house, and he who was in charge of the city, the elders also, and those who reared the sons, sent to Jehu, saying, "We are your servants, we will do all you tell us; but we will not make anyone king. Do what is good in your sight." Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying: If you are for me and will obey my voice, take the heads of the men, your master's sons, and come to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow. Now the king's sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them. So it was, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons and slaughtered seventy persons, put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel. Then a messenger came and told him, saying, "They have brought the heads of the king's sons." And he said, "Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning." So it was, in the morning, that he went out and stood, and said to all the people, "You are righteous. Indeed I conspired against my master and killed him; but who killed all these? Know now that nothing shall fall to the earth of the word of the LORD which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab; for the LORD has done what He spoke by His servant Elijah." So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and his close acquaintances and his priests, until he left him none remaining.

a. Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria: These were a significant danger to the anointed King Jehu. First, they were the descendants of Ahab and had a great interest in battling back to keep the throne of Israel among the dynasty of Omri. Second, they were in Samaria, the capital city of Israel - meaning they were away from Jehu, who killed King Joram in Jezreel.

b. Fight for your master's house: Jehu challenged any partisans of the house of Omri to declare themselves and prepare to fight for their master's house.

c. When the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons and slaughtered seventy persons: Jehu's letter - and his previous bold action against Joram and Ahaziah - powerfully persuaded the leaders of Israel to execute the sons of Ahab on behalf of Jehu.

d. Put their heads in baskets and sent them to him: The nobles were so afraid of Jehu that they sent this grim evidence of their obedience.

i. "It was a contemporary custom throughout the ancient east to 'pile-up' the heads of the captured rebels by the main city gate as a public warning against rebellion." (Wiseman)

ii. "This was suitable to Ahab's sin. He had sent for baskets of grapes out of Naboth's vineyard at Jezreel; and now the heads of his sons are brought thither in baskets." (Trapp)

e. You are righteous: When the people saw the severed heads of 70 descendants of Ahab, they feared that judgment had gone too far and they would be punished for it. Jehu assured them that they had done right - and that none had the right to accuse him, because he acted at the command of God.

i. "You are righteous in your own eyes, and you look upon me as a traitor, and rebel, and murderer, because I have risen against and slain my master, which I acknowledge I have done. But if I am guilty, you are not innocent, and therefore cannot accuse me; for I have killed one, but you a great number." (Poole)

2. (12-14) Jehu meets 42 members of Ahaziah's family and executes them.

And he arose and departed and went to Samaria. On the way, at Beth Eked of the Shepherds, Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, "Who are you?" So they answered, "We are the brothers of Ahaziah; we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother." And he said, "Take them alive!" So they took them alive, and killed them at the well of Beth Eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them.

a. Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah: This was to the great misfortune of these men. Since Jehu was committed to execute all those connected with the house of Ahab, these men were also targets of judgment. Ahaziah was a descendant of King Ahab through his mother (who was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel). Therefore, their mention of the queen mother did not help them.

b. He left none of them: This was characteristic of Jehu; whole-hearted and energetic obedience.

i. Some believe that the execution of Ahaziah's family was an example of Jehu going too far. "The sword of judgment, so far as the expressed purpose of Jehovah was concerned, should have been confined to the house of Ahab. But a reckless and ambitious hand was wielding it, and it devoured beyond the allotted limits." (Knapp)

3. (15-17) Jehu executes the remainder of Ahab's family at Samaria.

Now when he departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab, coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, "Is your heart right, as my heart is toward your heart?" And Jehonadab answered, "It is." Jehu said, "If it is, give me your hand." So he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot. Then he said, "Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD." So they had him ride in his chariot. And when he came to Samaria, he killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed them, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke to Elijah.

a. He met Jehonadab the son of Rechab: This was the mysterious founder of the Rechabites, who were a reform movement among the people of God, protesting the immoral and impure lives of many in Israel and Judah.

i. In Jeremiah 35, God used the Rechabites and the memory of Jehonadab as an example of faithfulness and obedience, to rebuke His unfaithful and disobedient people.

ii. "Jeremiah records that Jehonadab was the leader of an aesthetic group that lived an austere, nomadic life in the desert, drinking no wine and depending solely on the Lord for their sustenance. Separatists to the core and strong patriots, they lived in protest to the materialism and religious compromise in Israel." (Patterson and Austel)

iii. "According to Josephus, Jehu and Jehonadab were friends of long standing, and both detested the luxurious surrounding of the royal family." (Dilday)

b. Is your heart right, as my heart is toward your heart? Jehu wanted to know if Jehonadab was on his side. Jehonadab was optimistic at emergence of this energetic reformer; Jehu was hungry for the approval of this popular religious leader and reformer. It isn't too cynical to think that Jehu wanted to use Jehonadab to add legitimacy to his reign as king.

i. "Jehonadab was doubtless a very honourable man in Israel; and by carrying him about with him in his chariot, Jehu endeavoured to acquire the public esteem. 'Jehu must be acting right, for Jehonadab is with him, and approves his conduct.' " (Clarke)

c. Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD: The zeal of Jehu was noted in his complete and energetic obedience to the LORD, to the disregard of his own safety and comfort. Yet this statement reveals the dangerous root of pride in Jehu - he is proud of his own zeal.

i. "When proceeding against Baal worship, his words to Jehonadab, 'Come with me, and see my zeal for Jehovah,' are in themselves a revelation of a proud spirit." (Morgan)

ii. "His ostentatious display of his reforming zeal revealed how little he had God's glory in mind in the midst of all his feverish activity and abolition." (Knapp)

B. Jehu strikes against Baal worship.

1. (18-23) Jehu arranges a big sacrifice for Baal.

Then Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, "Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much. Now therefore, call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. Let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live." But Jehu acted deceptively, with the intent of destroying the worshipers of Baal. And Jehu said, "Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal." So they proclaimed it. Then Jehu sent throughout all Israel; and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. So they came into the temple of Baal, and the temple of Baal was full from one end to the other. And he said to the one in charge of the wardrobe, "Bring out vestments for all the worshipers of Baal." So he brought out vestments for them. Then Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Rechab went into the temple of Baal, and said to the worshipers of Baal, "Search and see that no servants of the LORD are here with you, but only the worshipers of Baal."

a. Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much: Jehu feigned devotion to Baal to lure the priests and worshippers of Baal into a trap. Jehu acted deceptively, with the intent of destroying the worshippers of Baal.

i. I have a great sacrifice: "The person who made the sacrifice is not stated, it may be indefinite . . . The text does not say that Jehu acted as sacrificing priest." (Wiseman)

ii. The priests of Baal believed the deception. "They were excited that their new king, Jehu, and the famous sheik of the Rechabites, Jehonadab, were now distinguished converts and were joining them in a ceremonial sacrifice to Baal." (Dilday)

b. Search and see that no servants of LORD are here with you, but only worshippers of Baal: Jehu wanted to be certain that all the worshippers of the true God were put out of the place.

2. (24-28) Jehu wipes out Baal worship in Israel.

So they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had appointed for himself eighty men on the outside, and had said, "If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escapes, whoever lets him escape, it shall be his life for the life of the other." Now it happened, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, "Go in and kill them; let no one come out!" And they killed them with the edge of the sword; then the guards and the officers threw them out, and went into the inner room of the temple of Baal. And they brought the sacred pillars out of the temple of Baal and burned them. Then they broke down the sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the temple of Baal and made it a refuse dump to this day. Thus Jehu destroyed Baal from Israel.

a. As soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering: Jehu chose to offer the sacrifice to Ball first, and then to call for the execution of the worshippers of Baal.

b. And tore down the temple of Baal and made it a refuse dump: Ahab built this temple for his wife Jezebel (1 Kings 16:32); Jehu tore it down. He worked to completely eliminate the worship of Baal from Israel, making him a unique king among the other rulers of the Northern Kingdom.

i. Beginning with the first king of Israel - Jeroboam - Israel was steeped in idolatry. Jeroboam began with false representations of the true God (the golden calves described in 1 Kings 12:25-33). The successive kings of Israel continued his idolatry (Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, and Omri), until the reign of Ahab. Under King Ahab, Israel moved from the false worship of the true God to the state supported worship of Baal (1 Kings 16:29-34). The son of Ahab (Jehoram/Joram) continued this practice until he was assassinated by Jehu, who destroyed the infrastructure of state-sponsored Baal worship in Israel.

ii. He destroyed this temple of Baal and utterly desecrated it. To say he made it a refuse dump is literally that he made it a public toilet. "A place for human excrement; so all the versions understand it. Nothing could be more degrading than this." (Clarke)

3. (29-31) The half-way obedience of Jehu

However Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin, that is, from the golden calves that were at Bethel and Dan. And the LORD said to Jehu, "Because you have done well in doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation." But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin.

a. However Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam: Jehu aggressively worked against the worship of Baal in Israel. However, he promoted the false worship of the true God, after the pattern of Jeroboam who set up the golden calves that were at Bethel and Dan.

i. "Do not be content to be strong against evil; be eagerly ambitious of good. It is easier to be vehement against the abominations of others than to judge and put away your own secret sins." (Meyer)

ii. "Jehu did obey God up to a certain point. It happened to be a profitable thing to him to exterminate the old royal house of Ahab, because it would confirm himself upon his own throne; but anything beyond that did not pay, and therefore Jehu did not touch it." (Spurgeon)

b. Because you have done well in doing what is right in My sight: Clearly, there was much good in the reign of Jehu. He was absolutely committed to fulfilling God's judgment against the house of Ahab and in driving the worship of Baal out of Israel. For this, he would be rewarded with a dynasty that would last four generations.

i. This was clear praise of Jehu's actions; yet Hosea 1:4 condemns them. For in a little while I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. We can see that both 2 Kings 10:30 and Hosea 1:4 are true, in that Jehu was both good and bad.

· Jehu carried out God's will, but he went too far and executed more people than God intended.

· Jehu carried out God's will, but he did it for personal glory and out of pride.

· Jehu carried out God's will, but he only did it partially. He stopped the idolatry of Baal, but he continued the sinful idolatry of Jeroboam.

c. But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: Yet, Jehu was also clearly disobedient and did not obey or serve God with all his heart.

i. "Herein he discovers his hypocrisy, that he follows God as far as his interest would permit . . . but no further." (Poole)

ii. We might see Jehu as a great Israeli patriot. He protested against Joram and the house of Ahab for the harm they did to Israel, and knew that to be strong, Israel must be cleansed of Baal worship. He knew that Israel had to come back to the true God, but was unconcerned about how they did it. For Jehu, it was just as good to worship Yahweh at the temple of the golden calves at Dan or Bethel, and it was better for Israel if they did it at those places rather than at Jerusalem.

iii. When we compare Jehu to the other kings of Israel, we see that he was the best of a bad group. No other king in Israel fought against idolatry as much as Jehu did; sadly, even he did not fight against it with all his heart.

iv. By not taking heed to walk in the law of the LORD God, Jehu showed that he did not live a life of fellowship with God. He was a success in one regard, but a successful failure. "How terrible a warning is the story of this man - that it is possible to be an instrument in the hand of God and yet never be in fellowship with Him." (Morgan)

v. "Jehu's zeal, on the contrary, consumed and destroyed everybody and everything that stood in the way of his own advantage or aggrandizement, but never touched himself. He appears to have been a total stranger to real exercise of soul." (Knapp)

vi. "Hating one sin he loved another, and thus proved that the fear of the Most High did not reign in his breast. He was merely a hired servant, and received the throne as his wages, but a child of God he never was." (Spurgeon)

C. A summary of Jehu's reign.

1. (32-33) Syria captures large portions of Israel's territory.

In those days the LORD began to cut off parts of Israel; and Hazael conquered them in all the territory of Israel from the Jordan eastward: all the land of Gilead; Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh; from Aroer, which is by the River Arnon, including Gilead and Bashan.

a. In those days the LORD began to cut off parts of Israel: This was the work of the LORD. These neighboring rulers and their kingdoms were prompted and made successful by God.

b. All the territory of Israel from the Jordan eastward: For hundreds of years before this - since the time of the entry into the Promised Land more than 600 years before - Israel held substantial portions of land on the eastern side of the Jordan River. This land was held by the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh. Now this land was taken by the enemies of Israel, because of their sin and unfaithfulness to the covenant.

i. This included the rich and fruitful lands of Gilead and Bashan.

2. (34-36) The summary of the reign of Jehu.

Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Jehu rested with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. Then Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place. And the period that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

a. And they buried him in Samaria: Though incomplete in his own goodness, this man was the best of a bad group. Jehu's goodness was rewarded with a long reign (twenty-eight years).

b. Twenty-eight years: This was a long reign, but notable only at its beginning. Jehu had the energy and influence to truly turn the nation back to God, but his half-commitment to God left that potential unfulfilled and points to a lack of any real relationship with God.

i. "We have no chronicles in which there is any thing farther spoken of this bad man. His reign was long, twenty-eight years; and yet we know nothing of it but the commencement." (Clarke)

ii. "The great lesson to be drawn from this remarkable man's life is that of being constantly on guard, as servants of God, lest we be found doing His work - whether it be in the exercise of discipline, or the accomplishment of reformation - in a spirit of unbrokenness and without due exercise of heart and conscience between Him who is 'a God of judgment,' and by whom 'actions are weighed.' " (Knapp)

© 2006 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Pendahuluan / Garis Besar

JFB: 2 Kings (Pendahuluan Kitab)

THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF KINGS, in the ancient copies of the Hebrew Bible, constitute one book. Various titles have been given them; in the Septuagint and the Vulgate they are called the Third and Fourth Books of Kings. The authorship of these books is unknown; but the prevailing opinion is that they were compiled by Ezra, or one of the later prophets, from the ancient documents that are so frequently referred to in the course of the history as of public and established authority. Their inspired character was acknowledged by the Jewish Church, which ranked them in the sacred canon; and, besides, it is attested by our Lord, who frequently quotes from them (compare 1Ki 17:9; 2Ki 5:14 with Luk 4:24-27; 1Ki 10:1 with Mat 12:42).

JFB: 2 Kings (Garis Besar)

• MOAB REBELS. (2Ki 1:1)
• AHAZIAH'S JUDGMENT BY ELIJAH. (2Ki 1:2-8)
• ELIJAH BRINGS FIRE FROM HEAVEN ON AHAZIAH'S MESSENGERS. (2Ki 1:9-16)
• AHAZIAH DIES, AND IS SUCCEEDED BY JEHORAM. (2Ki 1:17-18)
• ELIJAH DIVINES JORDAN. (2Ki 2:1-10)
• HE IS TAKEN UP TO HEAVEN IN A CHARIOT OF FIRE. (2Ki 2:11-18)
• ELISHA HEALS THE WATERS. (2Ki 2:19-25)
• JEHORAM'S EVIL REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 3:1-3)
• MESHA, KING OF MOAB, REBELS. (2Ki 3:4-5)
• ELISHA PROMISES WATER AND VICTORY OVER MOAB. (2Ki. 3:6-24)
• ELISHA AUGMENTS THE WIDOW'S OIL. (2Ki 4:1-7)
• PROMISES A SON TO THE SHUNAMMITE. (2Ki 4:8-17)
• RAISES HER DEAD SON. (2Ki. 4:18-37)
• PURIFIES DEADLY POTTAGE. (2Ki 4:38-41)
• SATISFIES A HUNDRED MEN WITH TWENTY LOAVES. (2Ki 4:42-44)
• NAAMAN'S LEPROSY. (2Ki 5:1-7)
• ELISHA SENDS HIM TO JORDAN, AND HE IS HEALED. (2Ki 5:8-15)
• ELISHA REFUSES NAAMAN'S GIFTS. (2Ki 5:15-19)
• GEHAZI, BY A LIE, OBTAINS A PRESENT, BUT IS SMITTEN WITH LEPROSY. (2Ki 5:20-27)
• ELISHA CAUSES IRON TO SWIM. (2Ki 6:1-7)
• DISCLOSES THE KING OF SYRIA'S COUNSEL. (2Ki 6:8-17)
• HIS ARMY SMITTEN WITH BLINDNESS. (2Ki 6:18-23)
• BEN-HADAD BESIEGES SAMARIA. (2Ki 6:24-33)
• ELISHA PROPHESIES INCREDIBLE PLENTY IN SAMARIA. (2Ki. 7:1-16)
• THE UNBELIEVING LORD TRODDEN TO DEATH. (2Ki 7:17-20)
• THE SHUNAMMITE'S LAND RESTORED. (2Ki 8:1-6)
• HAZAEL KILLS HIS MASTER, AND SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 8:7-15)
• JEHORAM'S WICKED REIGN. (2Ki 8:16-23)
• AHAZIAH SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 8:24)
• JEHU IS ANOINTED. (2Ki. 9:1-23)
• AHAZIAH IS SLAIN. (2Ki 9:27-35)
• JEZEBEL EATEN BY DOGS. (2Ki 9:36-37)
• JEHU CAUSES SEVENTY OF AHAB'S CHILDREN TO BE BEHEADED. (2Ki. 10:1-17)
• HE DESTROYS THE WORSHIPPERS OF BAAL. (2Ki 10:18-29)
• JEHOASH SAVED FROM ATHALIAH'S MASSACRE. (2Ki 11:1-3)
• HE IS MADE KING. (2Ki 11:4-12)
• ATHALIAH SLAIN. (2Ki 11:13-16)
• JEHOIADA RESTORES GOD'S WORSHIP. (2Ki 11:17-20)
• JEHOASH REIGNS WELL WHILE JEHOIADA LIVED. (2Ki. 12:1-18)
• HE IS SLAIN. (2Ki 12:19-21)
• JEHOAHAZ'S WICKED REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 13:1-7)
• JOASH SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki. 13:8-25)
• AMAZIAH'S GOOD REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki 14:1-6)
• HE SMITES EDOM. (2Ki 14:7)
• JOASH DEFEATS HIM. (2Ki 14:8-16)
• HE IS SLAIN BY A CONSPIRACY. (2Ki 14:17-20)
• AZARIAH SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 14:21-22)
• JEROBOAM'S WICKED REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 14:23-29)
• AZARIAH'S REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki 15:1-7)
• ZECHARIAH'S REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 15:8-16)
• MENAHEM'S REIGN. (2Ki 15:17-21)
• PEKAHIAH'S REIGN. (2Ki 15:22-24)
• PEKAH'S REIGN. (2Ki 15:27-31)
• JOTHAM'S REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki 15:32-38)
• AHAZ' WICKED REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki. 16:1-16)
• HE SPOILS THE TEMPLE. (2Ki 16:17-19)
• HOSHEA'S WICKED REIGN. (2Ki 17:1-6)
• SAMARIA TAKEN, AND ISRAEL FOR THEIR SINS CARRIED CAPTIVE. (2Ki. 17:7-41)
• HEZEKIAH'S GOOD REIGN. (2Ki 18:1-3)
• HE DESTROYS IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 18:4-37)
• SENNACHERIB BESIEGES JERUSALEM. (2Ki. 18:17-37)
• HEZEKIAH IN DEEP AFFLICTION. (2Ki 19:1-5)
• COMFORTED BY ISAIAH. (2Ki 19:6-7)
• SENNACHERIB SENDS A BLASPHEMOUS LETTER TO HEZEKIAH. (2Ki 19:8-13)
• HEZEKIAH'S PRAYER. (2Ki. 19:14-34)
• AN ANGEL DESTROYS THE ASSYRIANS. (2Ki 19:35-36)
• SENNACHERIB SLAIN. (2Ki 19:37)
• HEZEKIAH'S LIFE LENGTHENED. (2Ki 20:1-7)
• THE SUN GOES TEN DEGREES BACKWARD. (2Ki 20:8-20)
• MANASSEH'S WICKED REIGN, AND GREAT IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 21:1-18)
• AMON'S WICKED REIGN. (2Ki 21:19-26)
• JOSIAH'S GOOD REIGN. (2Ki 22:1-2)
• HE PROVIDES FOR THE REPAIR OF THE TEMPLE. (2Ki 22:3-7)
• HILKIAH FINDS THE BOOK OF THE LAW. (2Ki 22:8-15)
• JOSIAH CAUSES THE LAW TO BE READ. (2Ki 23:1-3)
• HE DESTROYS IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 23:4-28)
• JEHOIAKIM PROCURES HIS OWN RUIN. (2Ki 24:1-7)
• JEHOIACHIN SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 24:8-9)
• JERUSALEM TAKEN. (2Ki 24:10-16)
• ZEDEKIAH'S EVIL REIGN. (2Ki 24:17-20)
• JERUSALEM AGAIN BESIEGED. (2Ki 25:1-3)
• ZEDEKIAH TAKEN. (2Ki. 25:4-30)

TSK: 2 Kings (Pendahuluan Kitab)

The events detailed in these books (Kings) are highly interesting and important. The account of the wisdom, magnificence, and extended commerce of Solomon; the rash and impolitic conduct of Rehoboam; the disobedient prophet; the widow of Zarephath; Elijah and the prophets of Baal; Ben-hadad’s pride and defeat; Elijah’s assumption into heaven; Elisha’s succession to his ministry, and the series of illustrious miracles he performed; the panic flight of the Syrians; the history of Ben-hadad and Hazael; and the predicted death of Ahab and Jezebel, and their children, are all pregnant with instruction, and have furnished themes for frequent dissertation. We perceive in these impressive histories the characters and qualities of men painted with the utmost fidelity, and the attributes of God displayed with great effect. we contemplate the exact accomplishment of God’s promises and threatenings, the wisdom of his dispensations, and the mingled justice and mercy of his government. The particulars and circumstances are sketched out with a brief and lively description, and the imagination lingers with pleasure in filling up the striking outlines presented to our view. The authenticity of these books is attested by the prophecies they contain, which were subsequently fulfilled; by the citation of our Saviour and his Apostles; by their universal reception by the Jewish and Christian churches; and by the corresponding testimonies of profane authors and ancient sculptures.

TSK: 2 Kings 10 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

Overview

2Ki 10:1, Jehu, by his letters, causes seventy of Ahab’s children to be beheaded; 2Ki 10:8, He excuses the fact by the prophecy of Elijah; 2Ki 10:12, At the shearing house he slays two and forty of Ahaziah’s brethren; 2Ki 10:15, He takes Jehonadab into his company; 2Ki 10:18, By subtilty he destroys all the worshippers of Baal; 2Ki 10:29, Jehu follows Jeroboam’s sins; 2Ki 10:32, Hazael oppresses Israel; 2Ki 10:34, Jehoahaz succeeds Jehu.

Poole: 2 Kings 10 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

KINGS CHAPTER 10

Jehu by his letters causeth seventy of Ahab’ s sons to be slain: the fact is excused by Elijah’ s prophecy, 2Ki 10:1-11 . Also forty-two of king Ahaziah’ s brethren, 2Ki 10:12-14 . By subtlety he slayeth all the priests and prophets of Ahab; breaketh down his images and temple, 2Ki 10:18-28 . He followeth the sin of Jeroboam, 2Ki 10:29-31 . Hazael oppresseth Israel: Jehoahaz suceeedeth Jehu, 2Ki 10:32-36 .

MHCC: 2 Kings 10 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

(2Ki 10:1-14) Ahab's sons and Ahaziah's brethren put to death.

(2Ki 10:15-28) Jehu destroys the worshippers of Baal.

(2Ki 10:29-36) Jehu follows Jeroboam's sins.

Matthew Henry: 2 Kings (Pendahuluan Kitab)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Second Book of Kings

This second book of the Kings (which the Septuagint, numbering from Samuel, called the fourth ) is a continuation of the former book; and, some think, might better have been made to begin with the fifty-first verse of the foregoing chapter, where the reign of Ahaziah begins. The former book had an illustrious beginning, in the glories of the kingdom of Israel, when it was entire; this has a melancholy conclusion, in the desolations of the kingdoms of Israel first, and then of Judah, after they had been long broken into two: for a kingdom divided against itself cometh to destruction. But, as Elijah's mighty works were very much the glory of the former book, towards the latter end of it, so were Elisha's the glory of this, towards the beginning of it. These prophets out-shone their princes; and therefore, as far as they go, the history shall be accounted for in them. Here is, I. Elijah fetching fire from heaven and ascending in fire to heaven, ch. 1 and 2. II. Elisha working many miracles, both for prince and people, Israelites and foreigners, ch. 3-7. III. Hazael and Jehu anointed, the former for the correction of Israel, the latter for the destruction of the house of Ahab and the worship of Baal, ch. 8-10. IV. The reign of several of the kings, both of Judah and Israel, ch. 11-16. V. The captivity of the ten tribes, ch. 17. VI. The good and glorious reign of Hezekiah, ch. 18-20. VII. Manassah's wicked reign, and Josiah's good one, ch. 21-23. VIII. The destruction of Jerusalem by the king of Babylon, ch. 24 and 25. This history, in the several passages of it, confirms that observation of Solomon, That righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is the reproach of any people.

Matthew Henry: 2 Kings 10 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

We have in this chapter, I. A further account of Jehu's execution of his commission. He cut off, I. All Ahab's sons (2Ki 10:1-10). 2. All Ahab's kindred (2Ki 10:11-14, 2Ki 10:17). 3. Ahab's idolatry: his zeal against this he took Jonadab to be witness to (2Ki 10:15, 2Ki 10:16), summoned all the worshippers of Baal to attend (2Ki 10:18-23) and slew them all (2Ki 10:24, 2Ki 10:25), and then abolished that idolatry (2Ki 10:26-28). II. A short account of the administration of his government. 1. The old idolatry of Israel, the worship of the calves, was retained (2Ki 10:29-31). 2. This brought God's judgments upon them by Hazael, with which his reign concludes (2Ki 10:32-36).

Constable: 2 Kings (Pendahuluan Kitab)

Introduction

Second Kings continues the narrative begun in 1 Kings. It opens with the translation of godly Elijah to heaven and closes with the transportation of the ungodly Jews to Babylon. For discussion of title, writer, date, and scope of 2 Kings, see the introductory section in my notes on 1 Kings.

Message¹

Second Kings is a sequel to 1 Kings. First Kings covers about one and a half centuries and 2 Kings about three centuries. In both books the two thrones are in view: the earthly and the heavenly.

First Kings emphasizes the facts of these thrones. The earthly throne consistently failed, but the heavenly throne consistently prevailed. Second Kings emphasizes the consequences that result from each of these situations. Its major value is its revelation of the failure of man and the victory of God.

The failure of man comes through the content of this book, but the victory of God comes through the pre-exilic prophets who wrote during the three centuries covered in 2 Kings. These prophets were Hosea, Amos, and Jonah in Israel. In Judah they were Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah.

Notice first the revelation of this book concerning human failure.

The reason the nations failed was the people lost their vision of Yahweh. We can see this quite clearly in the attitudes and actions of the kings. Most of the kings were evil because they had no vision of the throne in heaven. They did not appreciate their position under God. A few of them were good, but even these fell short of the standard of devotion to God that David had set. Some of them conducted reforms, but none of them removed the places of pagan worship in the land (the "high places"). Essentially they conducted state business with little concern for God. Idolatry and foreign alliances are the evidence that the people lacked a vision of God. Another evidence of this is the people's inability to perceive their national setbacks as divine discipline. The prophets were constantly trying to help the people see this.

The method by which the nations failed was the people forgot their national vocation. They developed, on the one hand, an improper exclusiveness. They did not believe God could have any pity or mercy on any other people but themselves. Jonah demonstrated this attitude. On the other hand, they failed to be exclusive as God meant them to be. They formed alliances with other nations contrary to God's will. God intended His people to be a blessing to all other people and to trust in Him alone. The people not only lost their vision of God, they also lost their vision of their own vocation as a unique nation in the world (Exod. 19:5).

The evidence that the nations failed was the people lost their spiritual sensitivity. It is amazing but true that the ministry of the writing prophets that occupies so much space in the Old Testament was very ineffective in their own day (e.g., Isa. 53:1). The religious reformations that did take place were fairly superficial (cf. 2 Kings 22:8-20). When Hezekiah began his reform it took 16 days simply to carry the accumulated rubbish out of the temple (2 Chron. 29:17). In Josiah's day not even one copy of the Law was available until someone discovered one among the debris in the temple. When the people heard it read they were completely unfamiliar with it (2 Chron. 34:14-21).

Notice too in this book the revelation concerning the victory of God. There is much evidence of this as well.

The reason for God's victory is traceable to His promise, with an oath, to bless Abraham's descendants (Gen. 22:16-18). He will allow nothing to keep Him from fulfilling that promise. His covenant with Abraham underlies all of His dealings with the Israelites that this book documents. Remember that the Davidic Covenant grew out of the Abrahamic Covenant. God's covenants rested on His love.

The method by which God accomplished victory was by using the prophets as His messengers to communicate with His people and by using direct intervention to control their history.

The evidence of God's victory is the continued existence of the physical seed of Abraham. The Jews still exist today. Arnold Toynbe, the historian, called the Jews a fossil race. God has preserved them to fulfill His purposes on the earth. So even though they failed Him, He has not failed them.

I would summarize the message of 2 Kings, therefore, as follows. Though people fail God, God will not fail people. This is foundational to the doctrine of eternal security that the New Testament expounds more fully.

The main reason the Israelites failed God was they lost sight of Him. Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision (of God) the people cast off restraint." When people lose sight of God their ideals deteriorate. They turn to idolatry to fill the vacuum left by God's absence. Also, their purposes suffer defeat. They do not achieve fulfillment or realize their destiny. Furthermore their consciences become dead. They become unresponsive to the Word of God. You have a high calling. Point people to God.

On the other hand, God will never fail humanity (Isa. 42:1, 4). The man who said this, Isaiah, could do so because He did not lose sight of God. His vision of God was clear and great (Isa. 1:1; 6:1). It enabled him to maintain confidence in the throne in heaven when the throne on earth was failing terribly (Isa. 40:27-31). Is your confidence in God? Many evangelicals are wringing their hand in distress because the Christian cause seems to be suffering in America. God is still on His throne.

If we are to serve our generation faithfully, we must see God. When we do, we will find inspiration in the certainty of His ultimate victory. How can we keep God in our view? Read the Word daily. Pray. Bring Him into all your decisions, your worries, your fears. Do not lose sight of Him for one day. Do not forget your vocation in life (Matt. 28:19-20). Ask God to keep you spiritually sensitive.

Constable: 2 Kings (Garis Besar)

Outline

(Continued from notes on 1 Kings)

3. Ahaziah's evil reign in Israel -1 Kings 22:51-2 Kings 1:18

4. Jehoram's evil reign in Israel 2:1-8:15

5. Jehoram's evil reign in Judah 8:16-24

6. Ahaziah's evil reign in Judah 8:25-9:29

C. The second period of antagonism 9:30-17:41

1. Jehu's evil reign in Israel 9:30-10:36

2. Athaliah's evil reign in Judah 11:1-20

3. Jehoash's good reign in Judah 11:21-12:21

4. Jehoahaz's evil reign in Israel 13:1-9

5. Jehoash's evil reign in Israel 13:10-25

6. Amaziah's good reign in Judah 14:1-22

7. Jeroboam II's evil reign in Israel 14:23-29

8. Azariah's good reign in Judah 15:1-7

9. Zechariah's evil reign in Israel 15:8-12

10. Shallum's evil reign in Israel 15:13-16

11. Menahem's evil reign in Israel 15:17-22

12. Pekahiah's evil reign in Israel 15:23-26

13. Pekah's evil reign in Israel 15:27-31

14. Jotham's good reign in Judah 15:32-38

15. Ahaz's evil reign in Judah ch. 16

16. Hoshea's evil reign in Israel 17:1-6

17. The captivity of the Northern Kingdom 17:7-41

III. The surviving kingdom chs. 18-25

A. Hezekiah's good reign chs. 18-20

1. Hezekiah's goodness 18:1-12

2. Sennacherib's challenge to Hezekiah 18:13-37

3. Yahweh's immediate encouragement 19:1-13

4. Hezekiah's prayer 19:14-19

5. Yahweh's answer 19:20-37

6. Hezekiah's illness and recovery 20:1-11

7. The prophecy of Babylonian captivity 20:12-19

8. Hezekiah's death 20:20-21

B. Manasseh's evil reign 21:1-18

C. Amon's evil reign 21:19-26

D. Josiah's good reign 22:1-23:30

1. Josiah's goodness 22:1-2

2. Josiah's reforms 22:3-23:27

3. Josiah's death 23:28-30

E. Jehoahaz's evil reign 23:31-35

F. Jehoiakim's evil reign 23:36-24:7

G. Jehoiachin's evil reign 24:8-17

H. Zedekiah's evil reign 24:18-25:7

I. The captivity of the Southern Kingdom 25:8-30

Constable: 2 Kings

2 Kings

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 2 Kings (Pendahuluan Kitab)

THE FOURTH BOOK OF KINGS.

INTRODUCTION.

This Book brings us to the conclusion of the kingdom of Israel, (chap. xvii.) and to the captivity of Juda, at Babylon, chap. xxv. We behold some virtuous princes reigning over the two tribes [of Juda and Benjamin], while the ten were uniformly governed by men of perverse morals. (Worthington) --- Yet there were some who adhered to the Lord in both kingdoms. David and his descendants (Haydock) occupy the throne near 480 years; and, after the captivity, continue in some degree of honour till the coming of Christ. (Worthington) --- But various families rule over Israel; some by usurpation, (Haydock) others by God's appointment: who thus chooses to chastise the wicked. He still watches over his Church, and sends his prophets for the instruction of all. (Worthington) --- We have enquired in the preface of the former Book, who composed this. (Haydock) --- The kingdom of Israel subsists about 250, (Worthignton) or 254 years. This Book contains the transactions of 308 years. (Calmet) --- But the chronology is extremely perplexed. To the sixth year of Ezechias, when Israel was led away captive, the kingdom of Juda seems to have lasted 260, and that of Israel only 241 years, though they both commenced at the same period. The errors regard the kings of Isreal, according to Houbigant, who would assign the following years to the respective kings of Juda and Israel. 1. Of Juda: Solomon, 40; Roboam, 17; Abiam, 3; Asa, 41, Josaphat, 25; Joram, 8; Ochozias, 1; (the same is said to have begun to reign in the preceding year, the 11th of Joram, 4 Kings ix. 29, incorrectly) Athalia, 6; Joas, 40; Amasias, 29p; (he reigns 15 after the death of Joas, king of Isreal) Azarias, 52; Joatham, 16; Achaz, 16; Ezechias, 6; in which year, the three hundredth from the commencement of Solomon's reign, and the two hundred and sixtieth of the kingdom of Juda, Samaria was taken. 2. The kings of Israel: Jeroboam, 22; Nadab, 2; Baasa, 24; Ela, 2; Zambri, 7 days; Amri, 12; Achab, 22; Ochozias, 2; Joram, 12; Jehu, 28; Joachaz, 17; Joas, 16; Jeroboam, 41; Zacharias, 10½; (in the text 10 is omitted.; Haydock) Sellum, 1 month; Manahem, 10; Phaceia, 2; Phacee, 30; (in the text, 20.; Haydock) Osee, 9; in all, 261½ years, (Houbigant, Chron. Sac.) or 261 years and 7 months. The variation of 19 months, which still appears, may be owing to some of the years being incomplete. (Haydock) --- 3. After a reign of 28 years over Juda, Ezechias is succeeded by Manasses, who reigns 55: Amon, 2; Josias, 31; Joachaz, a few months; Eliacim, or Joakim, 11; Joachin, Conias, or Jechonias, had reigned ten years with his father. After three months and ten days reigning alone, he is led away to Babylon with part of the people. Matthanias, or Sedecias, is appointed in his stead; but proving refractory, is also, after nine years, deprived of his sight, and conducted with 832 of his subjects to Babylon. Nabuchodonosor had already led away 3023, under Joachin. After the death of Godolias, who was left to govern the miserable remains of the people, the year of the world 3417, he made 745 more captives, and thus an end was put to the kingdom of Juda. The scourge had been retarded for some time, by the repentance of Manasses, and the prayers of the prophets. (Calmet)

Gill: 2 Kings (Pendahuluan Kitab)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS

This, and the preceding book, are properly but one book divided into two parts, because of the size of it, as the book of Samuel; it is a continuation of the history of the kings of Israel and Judah; and for a further account of it the reader is referred to the title of the preceding book.

Gill: 2 Kings 10 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 10

This chapter gives a further account of the destruction of the house of Ahab by Jehu, or his orders, even of all his sons and relations, 2Ki 10:1, and also of the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, 2Ki 10:12, of his taking up Jehonadab the son of Rechab into his chariot, to be a witness of his zeal for the Lord, 2Ki 10:15, and of his gathering together the prophets, priests, and worshippers of Baal, and slaying them, 2Ki 10:18 and of his extirpation of the idolatry of Baal, 2Ki 10:26, nevertheless he continued the worship of the calves, 2Ki 10:29 wherefore Israel was distressed by the king of Syria, 2Ki 10:32 and the chapter is concluded with the reign and death of Jehu, 2Ki 10:34.