21:1 After this the following episode took place. 1 Naboth the Jezreelite owned a vineyard in Jezreel adjacent to the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. 2
21:15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she 3 said to Ahab, “Get up, take possession of the vineyard Naboth the Jezreelite refused to sell you for silver, for Naboth is no longer alive; he’s dead.” 21:16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, 4 he got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
9:15 Here are the details concerning the work crews 9 King Solomon conscripted 10 to build the Lord’s temple, his palace, the terrace, the wall of Jerusalem, 11 and the cities of 12 Hazor, 13 Megiddo, 14 and Gezer.
9:1 After Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the other construction projects he had planned, 15
1 tn Heb “after these things.” The words “the following episode took place” are added for stylistic reasons.
2 sn King Ahab of Samaria. Samaria, as the capital of the northern kingdom, here stands for the nation of Israel.
3 tn Heb “Jezebel”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
4 tc The Old Greek translation includes the following words here: “he tore his garments and put on sackcloth. After these things.”
5 tn Heb “if it is good in your eyes.”
6 tc The Old Greek translation includes the following words: “And it will be mine as a garden of herbs.”
7 tn Heb “so your eyes might be open toward this house night and day, toward the place about which you said, ‘My name will be there.’”
8 tn Heb “by listening to the prayer which your servant is praying concerning this place.”
9 sn The work crews. This Hebrew word מַס (mas) refers to a group of laborers conscripted for royal or public service.
10 tn Heb “raised up.”
11 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
12 tn The words “the cities of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
13 map For location see Map1-D2; Map2-D3; Map3-A2; Map4-C1.
14 map For location see Map1-D4; Map2-C1; Map4-C2; Map5-F2; Map7-B1.
15 tn Heb “and all the desire of Solomon which he wanted to do.”
16 tn Heb “to him.” The referent (Hosea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “I will visit.” The verb פָּקַד (paqad, “to visit”) has a very broad range of meanings: (1) “to pay attention to; to look at” (a) favorably: to look after; to provide for; to care for; (b) unfavorably: to seek vengeance for; to punish for; (2) militarily: (a) “to muster; to enroll”; (b) “to inspect; to review”; (3) leadership: (a) “to rule over; to oversee”; (b) Hiphil: “to appoint an overseer” (see BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד; HALOT 955-58 s.v. פקד). In this context, the nuance “to punish” or “to take vengeance” (see 1b above) is most appropriate. Cf. KJV, ASV “I will avenge”; NAB, NASB, NRSV “I will punish.”
18 tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NRSV); NCV “family”; CEV “descendants.”
19 tn The plural form of דָּם (dam, “blood”) refers to “bloodshed” (BDB 196 s.v. דָּם 2.f). This is an example of a plural of abnormal condition (GKC 400 §124.n). The plural is used to represent natural objects which are found in an unnatural or abnormal condition. The plural is used because the natural object is normally found as a whole or in one unit, but in the abnormal condition the object is found in many parts. Normally, blood is contained as a whole within the body. However, when a brutal murder occurs, blood is shed and literally spilled all over the place. Cf. NIV “the massacre”; TEV, CEV, NLT “the murders.”
20 tn Heb “I will visit the bloodshed of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu.”
21 tn Heb “the kingdom of the house of Israel” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV). This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
22 sn The proper name יִזְרְעֶאל (yizré’e’l, “Jezreel”) sounds like יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra’el, “Israel”). This phonetic wordplay associates the sin at Jezreel with the judgment on Israel, stressing poetic justice.
23 tn Heb “In that day” (so NIV; NAB, NRSV “On that day”).
24 tn Heb “I will break the bow” (so NAB, NRSV). The phrase “break the bow” (וְשַׁבָרְתִּי אֶת־קֶשֶׁת, véshavarti ’et-qeshet) is figurative. The term קֶשֶׁת (qeshet, “bow”) frequently refers to the warrior’s weapon (2 Sam 22:35; Ps 18:35; Job 20:24; Hos 2:20; Zech 9:10; 10:4). The reference to the warrior’s bow is a synecdoche of specific (bow) for general (military weaponry or power; see HALOT 1155 s.v. קֶשֶׁת 3). The noun קֶשֶׁת is used figuratively for “power” several times (e.g., Gen 49:24; 1 Sam 2:4; Jer 49:35; Job 29:20; Ps 37:15; BDB 906 s.v. 1.e).