2 Kings 9

2 KINGS CHAPTER 9

The Era of Israel’s 4th Dynasty (9:1-15:12)

Elisha Anoints Jehu

      • The prophet Elisha called one of the sons of the prophets and told him, “Tuck your robes into your belt, take this flask of olive oil with you, and go to Ramoth Gilead. When you get there look for Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat and the grandson of Nimshi. Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room. Take the flask of olive oil, pour it onto his head and say, ‘This is what Yahweh says: “I anoint you as king over Israel.”’ Then open the door and run away without delay.”

        • NLT Illustrated Study Bible writes, “The writer recaps Jehu’s coup that instituted the fourth dynasty in Israel in four phases: (1) Elisha sent a member of the prophetic band to the army camp at Ramoth-gilead to anoint Jehu as the next king of Israel (9:1-10); (2) Jehu’s men learned of the prophet’s visit to their commander and proclaimed Jehu as king (9:11-15); (3) Both Joram and King Azaiah of Judah were killed (9:16-29); and (4) Jezebel was killed (9:30-37). Although Jehu received prophetic endorsement of his kingship, his anointing did not signify approval of all his subsequent actions. It did, however, carry a divine charge to execute the house of Ahab as punishment for his wickedness and idolatry (9:8-10). This Jehoshaphat is not to be confused with the former king of Judah, who was the son of Asa.”

        • ESV Study Bible continues, “Jehu was described in 1 Kings 19:16 only as ‘son of Nimshi’ (cf also 2 Kgs 9:20), but Nimshi now turns out in fact to have been his grandfather rather than his father (who shares his name with a Judean king, Jehoshaphat). This use of Hebrew ben to mean ‘grandson’ rather than ‘son’ certainly occurs in the OT (e.g., Gen 29:5; 31:28), but it is unusual for the grandfather to be referred to in citations of this particular kind; perhaps Nimshi was a particularly well-known person.”

      • So the young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead, and when he arrived he found the army officers sitting together. He said, “I have a message for you, commander.” Jehu asked, “For which one of us?” He answered, “For you, commander.” So Jehu got up and went into the house. The young prophet poured the olive oil on Jehu’s head, saying to him, “This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anoint you as king over the people of Yahweh, Israel. You are to strike down the family of your master, Ahab. I will avenge on Jezebel the shed blood of My servants the prophets and the shed blood of all Yahweh’s servants. Ahab’s entire family will die. I will cut off every male belonging to Ahab in Israel, even the weak and incapacitated. I will make Ahab’s family like the family of Nebat’s son Jeroboam and the family of Ahijah’s son Baasha. Dogs will devour Jezebel on the plot of ground in Jezreel and no one will bury her.’” Then the young prophet opened the door and ran away.

        • Guzik remarks, “This was more than we were told Elisha told this man from the school of prophets to say (2 Kings 9:1-3). Either Elisha told him to say this and it was not recorded previously, or he came under the inspiration of the Spirit when he did what Elisha told him to do, and spoke this in spontaneous prophecy to Jehu.”

      • When Jehu rejoined his fellow officers one of them asked, “Is everything all right? Why did this madman visit you?” He replied, “You know the sort and their ranting.” They said, “You’re lying! Tell us what he said.” Jehu said, “He talked to me about this and that and said: ‘This is what Yahweh says: I anoint you king over Israel.’” Each of them quickly took off his cloak and they spread them out at Jehu’s feet on the steps. They blew the trumpet and proclaimed, “Jehu is king!” Then Jehu, Jehoshaphat’s son and Nimshi’s grandson conspired against Joram.

        • Guzik says, “It was easy to dismiss this prophet as a crazed, babbling madman. It was easy for both Jehu and his associates to think of any God-honoring man as demented. Yet Jehu knew – and the others soon did also – that the man was a true prophet of God…A moment before, these men regarded the prophet as a madman; now they took his word seriously and proclaimed the reluctant Jehu as the king of Israel. This shows the sense of dissatisfaction they had with Joram.”

Jehu Assassinates Joram and Ahaziah

      • Now Joram had been in Ramoth Gilead with the whole Israelite army on guard against King Hazael of Syria. But King Joram had gone back to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received from the Syrians when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. Jehu said, “If you want me to be king, don’t let anyone slip out of the city and go tell the news in Jezreel.” Then Jehu got in his chariot and went to Jezreel because Joram was resting there and King Ahaziah of Judah had gone down to visit him.

        • NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible writes, “The joint campaign conducted by Joram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah against Aram provides the background against which our Biblical sources describe the death of both kings. It is probably to these same events that the fragmentary ninth-century BC Tell Dan inscription alludes. Tell Dan was located in the northern region of Israel at the foot of Mount Hermon, and the discoveries were made in 1993 and 1994. The inscription appears to commemorate a victory by an Aramean king over kings of Israel and Judah and to claim responsibility for their deaths, naming them as Ahaziah of Judah and Jehoram of Israel. If this is so, the Aramean king is presumably Hazael, and he is likely engaging in oversimplification and hyperbole that is typical of victory steles; for although the deaths of Ahaziah of Judah and Jehoram of Israel certainly followed their conflict with Hazael, the Biblical testimony suggests that the events surrounding them were more complex that the stele implies. Perhaps Hazael regarded Jehu as a vassal and felt justified in claiming Jehu’s feats as his own…”

Tel Dan Stele, Israel Museum. Via wikipedia

      • Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel. When he saw Jehu’s troops coming he shouted, “I see troops!” Joram said, “Send a horseman out to meet them and ask, ‘Do you come in peace?’” So a man on horseback went out to meet him and said, “This is what the king says: ‘Do you come in peace?’” Jehu replied, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn around and ride behind me.” The watchman reported, “He reached them, but he isn’t coming back. The one driving the chariot drives like Jehu, Nimshi’s grandson- he drives like a maniac.” Joram said, “Hitch up my chariot.” They prepared his chariot and King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah set out to meet Jehu, each in his own chariot. They met him at the plot of land that had belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?” He answered, “How can there be peace as long as the whorings and sorceries of your mother Jezebel abound?” Joram turned around and fled, shouting to Ahaziah, “It’s treason, Ahaziah!”

        • On what Jehu means by “whorings and sorceries,” NET Bible’s text critical notes explain, “In this instance ‘adulterous acts’ [‘whorings’] is employed metaphorically for idolatry. As elsewhere in the OT, worshiping other gods is viewed as spiritual adultery and unfaithfulness to the one true God. The phrase ‘many acts of sorcery’ could be taken literally, for Jezebel undoubtedly utilized pagan divination practices, but the phrase may be metaphorical, pointing to her devotion to pagan customs in general.”

      • Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow went through his heart and he slumped down into his chariot. Jehu told his officer Bidkar, “Pick him up and throw him on the field that belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. Remember when you and I rode side by side behind his father Ahab, when Yahweh pronounced this oracle against him: ‘As surely as I saw Naboth’s blood and the blood of his sons yesterday- declares Yahweh- I will repay you on this plot of land.” Therefore, in accordance with the word of Yahweh, pick him up and throw him on the plot of land.

        • Guzik writes, “This confirms that Jehu saw himself as a fulfiller of God’s will in bringing judgment on the house of Ahab.”

      • When King Ahaziah of Judah saw this, he fled in the direction of Beth Haggan. Jehu chased him shouting, “Shoot him too!” They shot him in his chariot while he going up the ascent of Gur, which is near Ibleam. He escaped to Megiddo, but died there. His servants took his body back by chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his ancestors’ tomb in the city of David. Ahaziah had become king of Judah in the 11th year of Ahab’s son Joram.

        • This passage is difficult for a couple of reasons. First, the parallel account of Ahaziah’s death in 2 Chron 22:9 seems to be at odds with the account listed here. Also, this passage states that Ahaziah became king in the 11th year of Joram’s reign whereas we just read in ch 8 that he became king in the 12th year of Joram’s reign. (2 Kings 8 and 2 Chron 22 also disagree on Ahaziah’s age when he began to reign, but this is likely a copyist issue, as there are some LXX and Syriac manuscripts that agree with the Chronicler. For this reason, many translators consider the Masoretic incorrect in this instance and side with the alternative traditions.) On these two issues:

          • I have not been able to locate a reconciliation of the two accounts of Ahaziah’s death that I really find satisfactory. The best reconciliation attempt (in my opinion, even though I still don’t find it satisfactory or particularly compelling), is that 2 Kings doesn’t actually contradict 2 Chronicles, rather 2 Chron just gives a more complete description of events and 2 Kings is a short summary. The Apologetics Press article, “Ahaziah’s Death,” details that argument.

        • ESV Study Bible indicates a plausible explanation for the second issue, “In 8:25 one reads of ‘the twelfth year.’ Accession dates could be reckoned in different ways, particularly in terms of the way that part-years were handled, resulting in such apparent discrepancies. The new information is given here to clarify how it could be that both men died at the same time if Jehoram reigned for 12 years (3:1) yet Ahaziah, who came to the throne in Jehoram’s ‘twelfth year,’ reigned for one year…”

Jehu Executes Jezebel

      • When Jezebel heard that Jehu was approaching Jezreel, she painted her eyes, fixed her hair, and looked out the window. As Jehu came through the gate she said, “Do you come in peace you Zimri, you murderer of your master?” He looked up at the window and called out, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked down at him and he said, “Throw her down!” So they threw her down and some of her blood splattered on the wall and on the horses as Jehu rode over her and they trampled her underfoot. Then Jehu went inside, ate, and drank. Afterward, he said, “Someone see to this cursed woman and bury her. After all, she’s the daughter of a king.” But when they went out to bury her, they could find no more of her than her skull, feet, and the palms of her hands. When they went back and told him he said, “This is Yahweh’s word which He spoke through His servant Elijiah from Tishbe: ‘Dogs will devour Jezebel’s flesh in the plot of land at Jezreel. Jezebel’s corpse will be like manure on the surface of the ground in the plot of land at Jezreel so that no one will be able to say, ‘This is Jezebel.’”

        • On Jezebel’s getting fixed up to address Jehu, NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible writes, “The significance of these actions is not entirely clear. It could mean nothing more than that Jezebel meets her end proudly, dressed up as a queen should be. It’s intriguing nonetheless that her posture echoes the ‘woman at the window’ morif found on carved ivory plaques from various ancient Near Eastern sites, which may represent the goddess Astarte, one of the consorts of Baal. In this case, Jezebel is represented as the very incarnate of the religion she brought into Israel from Sidon. Alternatively, Jezebel’s reference to Zimri…may be a not-so-subtle warning about the failure of Israel’s last military coup. By making herself alluring, she may be encouraging him to take over the harem and thus establish his legitimacy through her.”

        • On eunuchs, the same source notes, “It was common practice in the ancient world for the king to have a harem…and for the harem to be provided with guards. These guards were typically eunuchs (castrated men), so that the king could be sure that the males who were in close proximity to his women were not capable of sexual relationship with them. Eunuchs also performed an important role in the official hierarchy of the ancient Near East more generally. In Neo-Assyrian sources, e.g., they are attested at the royal court, in the army, in the bureaucracy, and in the provincial administration. They functioned, among many roles, as the king’s personal attendants, cooks, palace guards, scribes, and envoys to foreign rulers. They belonged to an official guild or corps, headed by rab sa resi, who was one of the king’s closest advisors. It was a great honor to belong to this corp, and it was also a path to material advancement. Perhaps in order that their loyalty should be assured, Assyrian eunuchs received significant grants or arable land and laborers from the king and various tax exemptions. Although this has been a matter of dispute among Assyriologists, it now seems more than likely that the beardless figures found in various Neo-Assyrian reliefs are intended as representations of eunuchs- a contention supported by the numerous seals of Neo-Assyrian officials (the majority of all the Neo-Assyrian seals) that likewise depict beardless worshipers.”

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