Text -- 2 Kings 9:1-22 (NET)

Jehu Becomes King

9:1 Now Elisha the prophet summoned a member of the prophetic guild and told him, “Tuck your robes into your belt, take this container of olive oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. 9:2 When you arrive there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi and take him aside into an inner room. 9:3 Take the container of olive oil, pour it over his head, and say, ‘This is what the Lord says, “I have designated you as king over Israel.”’ Then open the door and run away quickly!” 9:4 So the young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead. 9:5 When he arrived, the officers of the army were sitting there. So he said, “I have a message for you, O officer.” Jehu asked, “For which one of us?” He replied, “For you, O officer.” 9:6 So Jehu got up and went inside. Then the prophet poured the olive oil on his head and said to him, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I have designated you as king over the Lord’s people Israel. 9:7 You will destroy the family of your master Ahab. I will get revenge against Jezebel for the shed blood of my servants the prophets and for the shed blood of all the Lord’s servants. 9:8 Ahab’s entire family will die. I will cut off every last male belonging to Ahab in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. 9:9 I will make Ahab’s dynasty like those of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah. 9:10 Dogs will devour Jezebel on the plot of ground in Jezreel; she will not be buried.’” Then he opened the door and ran away. 9:11 When Jehu rejoined his master’s servants, they asked him, “Is everything all right? Why did this madman visit you?” He replied, “Ah, it’s not important. You know what kind of man he is and the kinds of things he says.” 9:12 But they said, “You’re lying! Tell us what he said.” So he told them what he had said. He also related how he had said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘I have designated you as king over Israel.’” 9:13 Each of them quickly took off his cloak and they spread them out at Jehu’s feet on the steps. The trumpet was blown and they shouted, “Jehu is king!”

Jehu the Assassin

9:14 Then Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. Now Joram had been in Ramoth Gilead with the whole Israelite army, guarding against an invasion by King Hazael of Syria. 9:15 But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received from the Syrians when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. Jehu told his supporters, “If you really want me to be king, then don’t let anyone escape from the city to go and warn Jezreel.” 9:16 Jehu drove his chariot to Jezreel, for Joram was recuperating there. (Now King Ahaziah of Judah had come down to visit Joram.) 9:17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and saw Jehu’s troops approaching. He said, “I see troops!” Jehoram ordered, “Send a rider out to meet them and have him ask, ‘Is everything all right?’” 9:18 So the horseman went to meet him and said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” Jehu replied, “None of your business! Follow me.” The watchman reported, “The messenger reached them, but hasn’t started back.” 9:19 So he sent a second horseman out to them and he said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” Jehu replied, “None of your business! Follow me.” 9:20 The watchman reported, “He reached them, but hasn’t started back. The one who drives the lead chariot drives like Jehu son of Nimshi; he drives recklessly.” 9:21 Jehoram ordered, “Hitch up my chariot.” When his chariot had been hitched up, King Jehoram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went out in their respective chariots to meet Jehu. They met up with him in the plot of land that had once belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. 9:22 When Jehoram saw Jehu, he asked, “Is everything all right, Jehu?” He replied, “How can everything be all right as long as your mother Jezebel promotes idolatry and pagan practices?”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:1

¹ tn Heb “one of the sons of the prophets.”

² tn Or “flask.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:2

¹ tn Heb “and go and set him apart from his brothers and bring him into an inner room in an inner room.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:3

¹ tn Heb “anointed.”

² tn Heb “and open the door and run away and do not delay.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:4

¹ tc Heb “the young man, the young man, the prophet.” The MT is probably dittographic, the phrase “the young man” being accidentally repeated. The phrases “the young man” and “the prophet” are appositional, with the latter qualifying more specifically the former.

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:5

¹ tn Heb “and he arrived and look, the officers of the army were sitting.”

² tn Heb “[there is] a word for me to you, O officer.”

³ tn Heb “To whom from all of us?”

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:6

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

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

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:7

¹ tn Or “strike down the house of Ahab your master.”

² tn Heb “I will avenge the shed blood of my servants the prophets and the shed blood of all the servants of the Lord from the hand of Jezebel.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:8

¹ tc The LXX has the second person, “you.”

² tn Heb “and I will cut off from Ahab those who urinate against a wall, [including both those who are] restrained and let free [or, ‘abandoned’] in Israel.” On the phrase וְעָצוּר וְעָזוּב (vÿ’atsur vÿ’azur, translated here “weak and incapacitated”) see the note at 1 Kgs 14:10.

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:9

¹ tn Heb “house.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:10

¹ sn Note how the young prophet greatly expands the message Elisha had given to him. In addition to lengthening the introductory formula (by adding “the God of Israel”) and the official declaration that accompanies the act of anointing (by adding “the Lord’s people”), he goes on to tell how Jehu will become king (by a revolt against Ahab’s dynasty), makes it clear that Jehu will be an instrument of divine vengeance, and predicts the utter annihilation of Ahab’s family and the violent death of Jezebel.

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:11

¹ tn Heb “went out to.”

² tc The MT has the singular, “he said,” but many witnesses correctly read the plural.

³ tn Heb “Is there peace?”

⁴ tn Heb “He said, ‘You, you know the man and his thoughts.’” Jehu tries to deflect their question by reminding them that the man is an eccentric individual who says strange things. His reply suggests that the man said nothing of importance. The translation seeks to bring out the tone and intent of Jehu’s reply.

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:12

¹ tn Heb “So he said, ‘Like this and like this he said to me, saying.’” The words “like this and like this” are probably not a direct quote of Jehu’s words to his colleagues. Rather this is the narrator’s way of avoiding repetition and indicating that Jehu repeated, or at least summarized, what the prophet had said to him.

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:13

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

² tn Heb “and they hurried and took, each one his garment, and they placed [them] beneath him on the bone [?] of the steps.” The precise nuance of גֶרֶם (gerem), “bone,” is unclear. Some suggest the nuance “bare” here; it may be a technical architectural term in this context.

³ tn Heb “they blew the trumpet.” This has been translated as a passive to avoid the implication that the same ones who shouted had all blown trumpets.

⁴ tn Or “has become.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:14

¹ tn Heb “he and all Israel.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:15

¹ tn Heb “which the Syrians inflicted [on] him.”

² sn See 2 Kgs 8:28-29a.

³ tn The words “his supporters” are added for clarification.

⁴ tn Heb “If this is your desire.” נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) refers here to the seat of the emotions and will. For other examples of this use of the word, see BDB 660-61 s.v.

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:16

¹ tn Heb “rode [or, ‘mounted’] and went.”

² tn Heb “lying down.”

³ tn Heb “to see.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:17

¹ tn Heb “the quantity [of the men] of Jehu, when he approached.” Elsewhere שִׁפְעַה (shif’ah), “quantity,” is used of a quantity of camels (Isa 60:6) or horses (Ezek 26:10) and of an abundance of water (Job 22:11; 38:34).

² tn The term שִׁפְעַת (shifat) appears to be a construct form of the noun, but no genitive follows.

³ tn Heb “said.”

⁴ tn Heb “Get a rider and send [him] to meet him and let him ask, ‘Is there peace?’”

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:18

¹ tn Heb “the rider of the horse.”

² tn Heb “Is there peace?”

³ tn Heb “What concerning you and concerning peace?” That is, “What concern is that to you?”

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:19

¹ tn Heb “and he came to them.”

² tc The MT has simply “peace,” omitting the prefixed interrogative particle. It is likely that the particle has been accidentally omitted; several ancient witnesses include it or assume its presence.

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:20

¹ tn Heb “and the driving is like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:21

¹ tn The words “my chariot” are added for clarification.

² tn Heb “and he hitched up his chariot.”

³ tn Heb “each in his chariot and they went out.”

⁴ tn Heb “they found him.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 9:22

¹ tn Heb “How [can there be] peace as long as the adulterous acts of Jezebel your mother and her many acts of sorcery [continue]?” In this instance “adulterous acts” 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.