2 Kings 10:15-17

10:15 When he left there, he met ¹  Jehonadab, son of Rekab, who had been looking for him. ²  Jehu greeted him and asked, ³  “Are you as committed to me as I am to you?” ⁴  Jehonadab answered, “I am!” Jehu replied, “If so, give me your hand.” ⁵  So he offered his hand and Jehu ⁶  pulled him up into the chariot. 10:16 Jehu ⁷  said, “Come with me and see how zealous I am for the Lord’s cause.” ⁸  So he ⁹  took him along in his chariot. 10:17 He went to Samaria and exterminated all the members of Ahab’s family who were still alive in Samaria, ¹⁰  just as the Lord had announced to Elijah. ¹¹ 

[10:15]  ¹ tn Heb “found.”

[10:15]  ² tn Heb “and he went from there and found Jehonadab son of Rekab [who was coming] to meet him.”

[10:15]  ³ tn Heb “and he blessed him and said to him.”

[10:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “Is there with your heart [what is] right, as my heart [is] with your heart?”

[10:15]  ⁵ 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 (vayyo’mer), “and he said,” or וַיֹּאמֶר יֵהוּא (vayyo’mer 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.

[10:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “and see my zeal for the Lord.”

[10:16]  ⁹ tc The MT has a plural form, but this is most likely an error. The LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate all have the singular.

[10:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he struck down all the remaining ones to Ahab in Samaria until he destroyed him.”

[10:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “according to the word of the Lord which he spoke to Elijah.”