2 Kings 9:12

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, ¹  “This is what the Lord says, ‘I have designated you as king over Israel.’”

2 Kings 11:12

11:12 Jehoiada ²  led out the king’s son and placed on him the crown and the royal insignia. ³  They proclaimed him king and poured olive oil on his head. ⁴  They clapped their hands and cried out, “Long live the king!”

[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.

[11:12]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoiada) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:12]  ³ tn The Hebrew term עֵדוּת (’edut) normally means “witness” or “testimony.” Here it probably refers to some tangible symbol of kingship, perhaps a piece of jewelry such as an amulet or neck chain. See the discussion in M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 128. Some suggest that a document is in view, perhaps a copy of the royal protocol or of the stipulations of the Davidic covenant. See HALOT 790-91 s.v. עֵדוּת.

[11:12]  ⁴ tn Or “they made him king and anointed him.”