2 Kings 10
Jehu Wipes Out Ahab’s Family
1 Ahab had 70 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, ▼▼tn Heb “to the officers of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of Ahab, saying.” It is not certain why the officials of Jezreel would be in Samaria. They may have fled there after they heard what happened to Joram and before Jehu entered the city. They would have had time to flee while Jehu was pursuing Ahaziah.
2“You have with you the sons of your master, chariots and horses, a fortified city, and weapons. So when this letter arrives, ▼▼tn Heb “And now when this letter comes to you—with you are the sons of your master and with you are chariots and horses and a fortified city and weapons.”
3pick the best and most capable ▼▼tn Hebrew יָשָׁר (yashar) does not have its normal moral/ethical nuance here (“upright”), but a more neutral sense of “proper, right, suitable.” For the gloss “capable,” see HALOT 450 s.v. יָשָׁר.
of your master’s sons, place him on his father’s throne, and defend ▼▼tn Or “fight for.”
your master’s dynasty.” 4 They were absolutely terrified ▼▼tn Heb “they were very, very afraid.” The term מְאֹד (meʾod) “very,” is repeated for emphasis.
and said, “Look, two kings could not stop him! ▼▼tn Heb “did not stand before him.”
How can we?” ▼▼tn Heb “How can we stand?”
5So the palace supervisor, ▼▼tn Heb “the one who was over the house.”
the city commissioner, ▼▼tn Heb “the one who was over the city.”
the leaders, ▼▼tn Or “elders.”
and the guardians sent this message to Jehu, “We are your subjects! ▼▼tn Heb “servants.”
Whatever you say, we will do. We will not make anyone king. Do what you consider proper.” ▼▼tn Heb “Do what is good in your eyes.”
6 He wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are really on my side and are willing to obey me, ▼▼tn Heb “If you are mine and you are listening to my voice.”
then take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel at this time tomorrow.” ▼▼sn Jehu’s command is intentionally vague. Does he mean that they should bring the guardians (those who are “heads” over Ahab’s sons) for a meeting, or does he mean that they should bring the literal heads of Ahab’s sons with them (so reads Lucian’s Greek translation, the Syriac Peshitta, and some mss of the Targum)? The city leaders interpret his words in the literal sense, but Jehu’s command is so ambiguous he is able to deny complicity in the executions (see v. 9).
Now the king had 70 sons, and the prominent men ▼▼tn Heb “great men,” probably in wealth, position, and prestige.
of the city were raising them. 7When they received the letter, they seized the king’s sons and executed all 70 of them. ▼▼tn Heb “and when the letter came to them, they took the sons of the king and slaughtered seventy men.”
They put their heads in baskets and sent them to him in Jezreel. 8The messenger came and told Jehu, ▼▼tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
“They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” Jehu ▼▼tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
said, “Stack them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning.” 9In 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? 10Therefore take note that not one of the Lord’s words which he pronounced against Ahab’s dynasty ▼▼tn Heb “the house of Ahab.”
will fail to materialize. ▼▼tn Heb “will fall to the earth.”
The Lord has done what he announced through his servant Elijah.” ▼▼tn Heb “by the hand of his servant Elijah.”
11Then Jehu killed all who were left of Ahab’s family in Jezreel, and all his nobles, close friends, and priests. He left no survivors. 12 Jehu then left there and set out for Samaria. ▼▼tn Heb “and he arose and went and came to Samaria.”
While he was traveling through Beth Eked of the Shepherds, 13Jehu encountered ▼▼tn Heb “found.”
the relatives ▼▼tn Or “brothers.”
of King Ahaziah of Judah. He asked, “Who are you?” They replied, “We are Ahaziah’s relatives. We have come down to see how ▼▼tn Heb “for the peace of.”
the king’s sons and the queen mother’s sons are doing.” 14He said, “Capture them alive!” So they captured them alive and then executed all 42 of them by the cistern at Beth Eked. He left no survivors. 15 When he left there, he met ▼▼tn Heb “found.”
Jehonadab son of Rekab who had been looking for him. ▼▼tn Heb “and he went from there and found Jehonadab son of Rekab [who was coming] to meet him.”
Jehu greeted him and asked, ▼▼tn Heb “and he blessed him and said to him.”
“Are you as committed to me as I am to you?” ▼▼tn Heb “Is there with your heart [what is] right, as my heart [is] with your heart?”
Jehonadab answered, “I am!” Jehu replied, “If so, give me your hand.” ▼▼tc Heb “Jehonadab said, ‘There is and there is. Give your hand.’” If the text is allowed to stand, there are two possible ways to understand the syntax of וָיֵשׁ (vayesh), “and there is”: (1) The repetition of יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is and there is”) could be taken as emphatic, “indeed I am.” In this case, the entire statement could be taken as Jehonadab’s words or one could understand the words “give your hand” as Jehu’s. In the latter case the change in speakers is unmarked. (2) וָיֵשׁ begins Jehu’s response and has a conditional force, “if you are.” In this case, the transition in speakers is unmarked. However, it is possible that וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyoʾmer), “and he said,” or וַיֹּאמֶר יֵהוּא (vayyoʾmer yehu), “and Jehu said,” originally appeared between יֵשׁ and וָיֵשׁ and has accidentally dropped from the text by homoioarcton (note that both the proposed וַיֹּאמֶר and וָיֵשׁ begin with vav, ו). The present translation assumes such a textual reconstruction; it is supported by the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate.
So he offered his hand and Jehu ▼▼tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
pulled him up into the chariot. 16Jehu ▼▼tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
said, “Come with me and see how zealous I am for the Lord’s cause.” ▼▼tn Heb “and see my zeal for the Lord.”
So he ▼▼tc The MT has a plural form, but this is most likely an error. The LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate all have the singular.
took him along in his chariot. 17He went to Samaria and killed each of Ahab’s remaining family members who were in Samaria until he destroyed them, ▼▼tn Heb “him.” The pronoun refers to Ahab who represents his entire family.
in keeping with the Lord’s message which he had announced to Elijah. Jehu Executes the Prophets and Priests of Baal
18 Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, “Ahab worshiped ▼▼tn Or “served.
Baal a little; Jehu will worship ▼▼tn Or “serve.”
him with great devotion. ▼▼tn Heb “much” or “greatly.”
19So now, bring to me all the prophets of Baal, as well as all his servants and priests. ▼▼tn Heb “and now, all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests summon to me.”
None of them must be absent, for I am offering a great sacrifice to Baal. Any of them who fails to appear will lose his life.” But Jehu was tricking them ▼▼tn Heb “acted with deception [or, ‘trickery’].”
so he could destroy the servants of Baal. 20Then Jehu ordered, “Make arrangements for ▼▼tn Heb “set apart”; or “observe as holy.”
a celebration for Baal.” So they announced it. 21Jehu sent invitations throughout Israel, and all the servants of Baal came; not one was absent. They arrived at the temple of Baal and filled it up from end to end. ▼▼tn Heb “and the house of Baal was filled mouth to mouth.”
22Jehu ordered the one who was in charge of the wardrobe, ▼▼tn Heb “and he said to the one who was over the wardrobe.”
“Bring out robes for all the servants of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them. 23Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went to the temple of Baal. Jehu ▼▼tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
said to the servants of Baal, “Make sure there are no servants of the Lord here with you; there must be only servants of Baal.” ▼▼tn Heb “Search carefully and observe so that there are not here with you any servants of the Lord, but only the servants of Baal.”
24They went inside to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed 80 men outside. He had told them, “If any of the men inside gets away, you will pay with your lives!” ▼▼tn Heb “The man who escapes from the men whom I am bringing into your hands, [it will be] his life in place of his life.”
25 When he finished offering the burnt sacrifice, Jehu ordered the royal guard ▼▼tn Heb “runners.”
and officers, “Come in and strike them down! Don’t let any escape!” So the royal guard and officers struck them down with the sword and left their bodies lying there. ▼▼tn Heb “and they threw.” No object appears. According to M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 116), this is an idiom for leaving a corpse unburied.
Then they entered the inner sanctuary of the temple of Baal. ▼▼tn Heb “and they came to the city of the house of Baal.” It seems unlikely that a literal city is meant. Some emend עִיר (ʿir), “city,” to דְּבִיר (devir) “holy place,” or suggest that עִיר is due to dittography of the immediately preceding עַד (ʿad) “to.” Perhaps עִיר is here a technical term meaning “fortress” or, more likely, “inner room.”
26They hauled out the sacred pillar of the temple of Baal and burned it. 27They demolished ▼▼tn Or “pulled down.”
the sacred pillar of Baal and ▼▼tn The verb “they demolished” is repeated in the Hebrew text.
the temple of Baal; it is used as ▼▼tn Heb “and they made it into.”
a latrine ▼▼tn The consonantal text (Kethib) has the hapax legomenon מַחֲרָאוֹת (makharaʾot), “places to defecate” or “dung houses” (note the related noun חֶרֶא (khereʾ)/חֲרִי (khari), “dung,” HALOT 348-49 s.v. *חֲרָאִים). The marginal reading (Qere) glosses this, perhaps euphemistically, מוֹצָאוֹת (motsaʾot), “outhouses.”
to this very day. 28So Jehu eradicated Baal worship ▼▼tn Heb “destroyed Baal.”
from Israel. A Summary of Jehu’s Reign
29 However, Jehu did not repudiate the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had encouraged Israel to commit; the golden calves remained in Bethel and Dan. ▼▼tn Heb “Except the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat which he caused Israel to commit, Jehu did not turn aside from after them—the golden calves which [were in] Bethel and which [were] in Dan.”
30The Lord said to Jehu, “You have done well. You have accomplished my will and carried out my wishes with regard to Ahab’s dynasty. Therefore four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel.” ▼▼tn Heb “Because you have done well by doing what is proper in my eyes—according to all which was in my heart you have done to the house of Ahab—sons of four generations will sit for you on the throne of Israel.” In the Hebrew text the Lord’s statement is one long sentence (with a parenthesis). The translation above divides it into shorter sentences for stylistic reasons.
▼▼sn Jehu ruled over Israel from approximately 841-814 b.c. Four of his descendants (Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam II, and Zechariah) ruled from approximately 814-753 b.c. The dynasty came to an end when Shallum assassinated Zechariah in 753 b.c. See 2 Kgs 15:8-12.
31But Jehu did not carefully and wholeheartedly obey the law of the Lord God of Israel. ▼▼tn Heb “But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart.”
He did not repudiate the sins which Jeroboam had encouraged Israel to commit. ▼▼tn Heb “He did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam which he caused Israel to commit.”
32 In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel’s territory. ▼▼tn Heb “began to cut off Israel.”
Hazael attacked their eastern border. ▼ 33He conquered all the land of Gilead, including the territory of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh, extending all the way from the Aroer in the Arnon Valley through Gilead to Bashan. ▼▼tn Heb “all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassehites, from Aroer which is near the Arnon Valley, and Gilead, and Bashan.”
34 The rest of the events of Jehu’s reign, including all his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. ▼▼tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehu, and all which he did and all his strength, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
35Jehu passed away ▼▼tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
and was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoahaz replaced him as king. 36Jehu reigned over Israel for 28 years in Samaria.
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