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2 Kings 10

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Jehu Orders the Execution of Ahab's Seventy Sons 1–11

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, ​
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;
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.
4
But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand? ​
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 shalt bid us; we will not make any king: do thou that which is good in thine eyes.
6
Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, 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. ​
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 him them to Jezreel.
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.
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? ​
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. ​
11
So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he left him none remaining. ​

Jehu Executes the Relatives of Ahaziah of Judah 12–14

12
And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing house in the way,
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. ​
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; neither left he any of them. ​

Alliance with Jehonadab the Rechabite 15–17

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 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. ​
16
And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot. ​
17
And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which he spake to Elijah.

The Destruction of Baal Worship in Samaria 18–28

18
And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much. ​
19
Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal. ​
20
And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it.
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 another.
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.
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. ​
24
And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore 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.
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. ​
26
And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and burned them.
27
And they brake down the image of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day. ​
28
Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. ​

Jehu’s Partial Obedience and Reign Summary 29–36

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. ​
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. ​
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. ​
32
In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel; ​
33
From Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan.
34
Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
35
And Jehu slept with his fathers: and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead.
36
And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty and eight years. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for 2 Kings 10

Verse 1

seventy sons — Ben takes in grandsons as well as sons, so these are Ahab's male descendants, kept in Samaria under 'them that brought up Ahab's children'. Gideon too had 'threescore and ten sons' (Judg 8:30). Jehu's letters go to the rulers and elders.

Verse 4

two kings stood not before him — The two are Joram, struck by Jehu's arrow (2 Kings 9:24), and Ahaziah of Judah, smitten in his chariot (2 Kings 9:27). Amad, 'stand', is used twice in the verse: the kings could not stand, so how 'shall we stand?'

Verse 6

take ye the heads of the men — 'If ye be mine' demands allegiance, and the proof is the heads of the seventy, brought to Jezreel 'by to morrow this time'. Those who had 'brought them up' (gadal, to make great) are made the executioners.

Verse 9

Ye be righteous — Tsaddiq, just or innocent. Jehu owns his own act, 'I conspired against my master, and slew him' (qashar, to bind together, conspire; cf. 2 Kings 9:14), then asks 'who slew all these?', and v.10 answers from the word of the LORD.

Verse 10

nothing of the word of the LORD — 'Fall unto the earth' (naphal) means to fail. The word was spoken through Elijah against Ahab's house (1 Kings 21:21) and repeated to Jehu by the young prophet (2 Kings 9:7–8): 'the LORD hath done that which he spake'.

Verse 11

his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests — 'Kinsfolks' renders yada, 'to know': those known to him, his intimates. The sweep ends with 'none remaining' (sarid, a survivor), as 1 Kings 21:21 had said: 'will take away thy posterity'.

Verse 13

the brethren of Ahaziah — They were going 'to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen'. 'Brethren' includes kinsmen: 2 Chr 22:8 names 'the princes of Judah, and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah'. Judah's house was tied to Ahab's (2 Kings 8:18).

Verse 14

Take them alive — Chay, alive. They are slain 'at the pit of the shearing house' (Beth-eked, house of binding), 'two and forty men; neither left he any of them'. 2 Chr 22:8 calls it Jehu 'executing judgment upon the house of Ahab'.

Verse 15

Is thine heart right — Yashar, straight, upright. Jehonadab son of Rechab is the forefather of a house that kept his command not to drink wine (Jer 35:14). The hand given is the pledge, and Jehu takes him up 'into the chariot'.

Verse 16

my zeal for the LORD — Qinah, jealousy, the feeling Elijah voiced: 'I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts' (1 Kings 19:10). The verdict on Jehu's zeal is given at v.31: he 'took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD' with all his heart.

Verse 18

Ahab served Baal a little — Ahab had 'reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria' (1 Kings 16:32). Jehu's 'shall serve him much' is a pretext; v.19 states plainly that he acted 'in subtilty'.

Verse 19

in subtilty — 'Oqbah, trickery. The 'great sacrifice' (zebach) is the lure, and 'whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live' makes the gathering complete. The stated aim is to 'destroy' (abad) the worshippers of Baal.

Verse 23

none of the servants of the LORD — Jehonadab goes in with Jehu. The Baal-worshippers are literally those who 'serve' (abad) Baal, and the LORD's 'servants' (ebed) are of the same root: the search sorts the two kinds of service before the sword falls.

Verse 25

the guard and the captains — 'Guard' is ratsim, runners, the king's footmen. Jehu gives the command after the burnt offering ends: 'Go in, and slay them'. Elijah's earlier act was similar: the prophets of Baal were taken and slain at Kishon (1 Kings 18:40).

Verse 27

a draught house — The 'image' is matstsebah, a standing pillar; image and house were both broken down, as the law commanded: 'break down their images' (Deut 7:5). 'Draught house' is a latrine, and it stood so 'unto this day'.

Verse 28

destroyed Baal out of Israel — Shamad, to desolate or destroy utterly. The work Elijah began on Carmel (1 Kings 18) is carried through. The very next verse opens with 'Howbeit', for the reform stopped short.

Verse 29

the golden calves — Jeroboam 'made two calves of gold' and said 'It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem' (1 Kings 12:28), setting them at Bethel and Dan. Jehu 'departed not' (sur) from them, though he had cast Baal out.

Verse 30

fourth generation — Revi'i, fourth. It came to pass, as 2 Kings 15:12 says: Jehoahaz (13:1), Jehoash (13:10), Jeroboam son of Joash (14:23) and then Zachariah sat on the throne. The reward is for what was 'right in mine eyes' against Ahab's house.

Verse 31

took no heed — Shamar, to guard or keep. Jehu did not guard 'to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart'. The reason given is the same as in v.29: 'he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin'.

Verse 32

began to cut Israel short — Qatsah, to cut off or cut short, is the verb behind 'to cut Israel short', after 'began' (chalal). Hazael had been foretold as a scourge: 'him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay' (1 Kings 19:17; cf. 2 Kings 8:12). V.33 lists the lands east of Jordan he struck.

Verse 36

twenty and eight years — Jehu reigned this long 'in Samaria'. Counting himself, his line held the throne for five kings: Jehu, Jehoahaz (v.35), Jehoash, Jeroboam and Zachariah, the fourth generation promised in v.30 (2 Kings 15:12).