2 Kings 9 commentary

In these and the like events, we must acknowledge the secret working of God, disposing men to fulfil his purposes respecting them. Jehu was anointed king over Israel, by the Lord's special choice. The Lord still had a remnant of his people, and would yet preserve his worship among them. Of this Jehu was reminded. He was commanded to destroy the house of Ahab, and, as far as he acted in obedience to God, and upon right principles, he needed not to regard reproach or opposition. The murder of God's prophets is strongly noticed. Jezebel persisted in idolatry and enmity to Jehovah and his servants, and her iniquity was now full.

Those who faithfully deliver the Lord's message to sinners, have in all ages been treated as madmen. Their judgment, speech, and conduct are contrary to those of other men; they endure much in pursuit of objects, and are influenced by motives, into which the others cannot enter. But above all, the charge is brought by the worldly and ungodly of all sorts, who are mad indeed; while the principles and practice of the devoted servants of God, prove to be wise and reasonable. Some faith in the word of God, seems to have animated Jehu to this undertaking.

Jehu was a man of eager spirit. The wisdom of God is seen in the choice of those employed in his work. But it is not for any man's reputation to be known by his fury. He that has rule over his own spirit, is better than the mighty. Joram met Jehu in the portion of Naboth. The circumstances of events are sometimes ordered by Divine Providence to make the punishment answer to the sin, as face answers to face in a glass. The way of sin can never be the way of peace, Isa 57:21. What peace can sinners have with God? No peace so long as sin is persisted in; but when it is repented of and forsaken, there is peace. Joram died as a criminal, under the sentence of the law. Ahaziah was joined with the house of Ahab. He was one of them; he had made himself so by sin. It is dangerous to join evil-doers; we shall be entangled in guilt and misery by it.

Instead of hiding herself, as one afraid of Divine vengeance, Jezebel mocked at fear. See how a heart, hardened against God, will brave it out to the last. There is not a surer presage of ruin, than an unhumbled heart under humbling providences. Let those look at Jezebel's conduct and fate, who use arts to seduce others to commit wickedness, and to draw them aside from the ways of truth and righteousness. Jehu called for aid against Jezebel. When reformation-work is on foot, it is time to ask, Who sides with it? Her attendants delivered her up. Thus she was put to death. See the end of pride and cruelty, and say, The Lord is righteous. When we pamper our bodies, let us think how vile they are; shortly they will be a feast for worms under ground, or beasts above ground. May we all flee from that wrath which is revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.

CHAPTER 9

2Ki 9:1-23. Jehu Is Anointed.

1. Ramoth-gilead--a city of great importance to the Hebrew people, east of Jordan, as a fortress of defense against the Syrians. Jehoram had regained it (2Ki 8:29). But the Israelitish army was still encamped there, under the command of Jehu.

Elisha ... called one of the children of the prophets--This errand referred to the last commission given to Elijah in Horeb (1Ki 19:16).

box of oil--(See 1Sa 10:1).

2. carry him to an inner chamber--both to ensure the safety of the messenger and to prevent all obstruction in the execution of the business.

3. I have anointed thee king over Israel--This was only a part of the message; the full announcement of which is given (2Ki 9:7-10).

flee, and tarry not--for fear of being surprised and overtaken by the spies or servants of the court.

4-6. So the young man ... went to Ramoth-gilead--His ready undertaking of this delicate and hazardous mission was an eminent proof of his piety and obedience. The act of anointing being done through a commissioned prophet, was a divine intimation of his investiture with the sovereign power. But it was sometimes done long prior to the actual possession of the throne (1Sa 16:13); and, in like manner, the commission had, in this instance, been given also a long time before to Elijah [1Ki 19:16], who, for good reasons, left it in charge to Elisha; and he awaited God's time and command for executing it [Poole].

10. in the portion of Jezreel--that is, that had formerly been the vineyard of Naboth.

11. Is all well? &c.--Jehu's attendants knew that the stranger belonged to the order of the prophets by his garb, gestures, and form of address; and soldiers such as they very readily concluded such persons to be crackbrained, not only from the sordid negligence of their personal appearance and their open contempt of the world, but from the religious pursuits in which their whole lives were spent, and the grotesque actions which they frequently performed (compare Jr 29:26).

13. they hasted, and took every man his garment--the upper cloak which they spread on the ground, as a token of their homage to their distinguished commander (Mt 21:7).

top of the stairs--from the room where the prophet had privately anointed Jehu. That general returned to join his brother officers in the public apartment, who, immediately on learning his destined elevation, conducted him to the top of the stairs leading to the roof. This was the most conspicuous place of an Oriental structure that could be chosen, being at the very top of the gate building, and fully in view of the people and military in the open ground in front of the building [Kitto]. The popularity of Jehu with the army thus favored the designs of Providence in procuring his immediate and enthusiastic proclamation as king, and the top of the stairs was taken as a most convenient substitute for a throne.

14-15. Joram had kept Ramoth-gilead--rather, "was keeping," guarding, or besieging it, with the greater part of the military force of Israel. The king's wounds had compelled his retirement from the scene of action, and so the troops were left in command of Jehu.

16. So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel--Full of ambitious designs, he immediately proceeded to cross the Jordan to execute his commission on the house of Ahab.

17-24. there stood a watchman on the tower of Jezreel--The Hebrew palaces, besides being situated on hills had usually towers attached to them, not only for the pleasure of a fine prospect, but as posts of useful observation. The ancient watchtower of Jezreel must have commanded a view of the whole region eastward, nearly down to the Jordan. Beth-shan stands on a rising ground about six or seven miles below it, in a narrow part of the plain; and when Jehu and his retinue reached that point between Gilboa and Beth-shan, they could be fully descried by the watchman on the tower. A report was made to Joram in his palace below. A messenger on horseback was quickly despatched down into the plain to meet the ambiguous host and to question the object of their approach. "Is it peace?" We may safely assume that this messenger would meet Jehu at the distance of three miles or more. On the report made of his being detained and turned into the rear of the still advancing troops, a second messenger was in like manner despatched, who would naturally meet Jehu at the distance of a mile or a mile and a half down on the plain. He also being turned into the rear, the watchman now distinctly perceived "the driving to be like the driving of Jehu, the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously." The alarmed monarch, awakened to a sense of his impending danger, quickly summoned his forces to meet the crisis. Accompanied by Ahaziah, king of Judah, the two sovereigns ascended their chariots to make a feeble resistance to the impetuous onset of Jehu, who quickly from the plain ascended the steep northern sides of the site on which Jezreel stood, and the conflicting parties met "in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite," where Joram was quickly despatched by an arrow from the strong arm of Jehu. We were impressed with the obvious accuracy of the sacred historian; the localities and distances being such as seem naturally to be required by the incidents related, affording just time for the transactions to have occurred in the order in which they are recorded [Howe].

25. cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, &c.--according to the doom pronounced by divine authority on Ahab (1Ki 21:19), but which on his repentance was deferred to be executed on his son.

26. the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the Lord--Although their death is not expressly mentioned, it is plainly implied in the confiscation of his property (see 1Ki 21:16).

2Ki 9:27-35. Ahaziah Is Slain.

27. Ahaziah--was grandnephew to King Joram, and great-grandson to King Ahab.

Ibleam--near Megiddo, in the tribe of Issachar (Jos 17:11; Jud 1:27); and Gur was an adjoining hill.

30. Jezebel painted her face--literally, "her eyes," according to a custom universal in the East among women, of staining the eyelids with a black powder made of pulverized antimony, or lead ore mixed with oil, and applied with a small brush on the border, so that by this dark ligament on the edge, the largeness as well as the luster of the eye itself was thought to be increased. Her object was, by her royal attire, not to captivate, but to overawe Jehu.

35. found no more of her than the skull, and the palms of her hands, &c.--The dog has a rooted aversion to prey on the human hands and feet.

2Ki 9:36, 37. Jezebel Eaten by Dogs.

36. This is the word of the Lord--(See 1Ki 21:23). Jehu's statement, however, was not a literal but a paraphrased quotation of Elijah's prophecy.

One of the children of the prophets - The Jews say that this was Jonah the prophet, the son of Amittai.

Gird up thy loins - What thou hast to do requires the utmost despatch.

The young man the prophet - This should be translated, The servant of the prophet; that is, the servant which Elisha now had in place of Gehazi.

King over the people of the Lord - This pointed out to Jehu that he was to rule that people according to God's law; and consequently, that he was to restore the pure worship of the Most High in Israel.

Thou shalt smite the house of Ahab - For their most cruel murders they have forfeited their own lives, according to that immutable law, "He that sheddeth man's blood by man shall his blood be shed." This and the two following verses contain the commission which Jehu received from the Lord against the bloody house of Ahab.

The dogs shall eat Jezebel - How most minutely was this prophecy fulfilled! See 2Kgs 9:33, etc.

Wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? - Was it because he was a holy man of God that he was reputed by a club of irreligious officers to be a madman? In vain do such pretend that they fight for religion, and are the guardians of the public welfare and morals, if they persecute religion and scoff at holy men. But this has been an old custom with all the seed, the sons, of the serpent. As to religious soldiers, they are far to seek, and ill to find, according to the old proverb.

Ye know the man, and his communication - Ye know that he is a madman, and that his message must be a message of folly. Jehu did not appear willing to tell them what had been done, lest it should promote jealousy and envy.

They said, It is false - Or, as the Chaldee has it, Thou liest. Or, perhaps, it might be thus understood, "We know he has said nothing but folly and lies, nevertheless, let us hear what he has said.

Took every man his garment - This was a ceremony by which they acknowledged him as king; and it was by such a ceremony that the multitudes acknowledged Jesus Christ for the Messiah and King of Israel, a little before his passion: see Mat 21:7 (note), and the note there. The ceremony was expressive: "As we put our garments under his feet, so we place every thing under his authority, and acknowledge ourselves his servants."

On the top of the stairs - The Chaldee, the rabbins, and several interpreters, understand this of the public sun-dial; which in those ancient times, was formed of steps like stairs, each step serving to indicate, by its shadow, one hour, or such division of time as was commonly used in that country. This dial was, no doubt, in the most public place; and upon the top of it, or on the platform on the top, would be a very proper place to set Jehu, while they blew their trumpets, and proclaimed him king. The Hebrew מעלות maaloth is the same word which is used 2Kgs 20:9-11, to signify the dial of Ahaz; and this was probably the very same dial on which that miracle was afterwards wrought: and this dial, מעלות maaloth, from עלה alah, to go up, ascend, was most evidently made of steps; the shadows projected on which, by a gnomon, at the different elevations of the sun, would serve to show the popular divisions of time. See the notes on 2Kgs 20:9 (note), etc.

Joram had kept Ramoth-gilead - The confederate armies appear to have taken this city; but they were obliged to watch their conquests, as they perceived that Hazael was determined to retake it if possible.

Jehu - went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there - From the preceding verse we learn, that Joram had been wounded in his attack on Ramoth-gilead, and had gone to Jezreel to be cured; and neither he nor Ahaziah knew any thing of the conspiracy in Ramoth-gilead, because Jehu and his captains took care to prevent any person from leaving the city; so that the two kings at Jezreel knew nothing of what had taken place.

A watchman on the tower - These watchmen, fixed on elevated places and generally within hearing of each other, served as a kind of telegraphs, to communicate intelligence through the whole country. But, in some cases, it appears that the intelligence was conveyed by a horseman to the next stage, as in the case before us. At this time, when the armies were at Ramoth-gilead, they were, no doubt, doubly watchful to observe the state of the country, and to notice every movement. See on 2Sam 13:34 (note).

What hast thou to do with peace? - "What is it to thee whether there be peace or war? Join my company, and fall into the rear."

He driveth furiously - Jehu was a bold, daring, prompt, and precipitate general. In his various military operations he had established his character; and now it was almost proverbial.

Joram - and Ahaziah - went out - They had no suspicion of what was done at Ramoth-gilead; else they would not have ventured their persons as they now did.

What peace, so long as the whoredoms - Though the words whoredom, adultery, and fornication, are frequently used to express idolatry, and false religion, in general; yet here they may be safely taken in their common and most obvious sense, as there is much reason to believe that Jezebel was the patroness and supporter of a very impure system of religion; and to this Jehu might refer, rather than to the calf-worship, to which himself was most favourably disposed.

There is treachery, O Ahaziah - This was the first intimation he had of it: he feels for the safety of his friend Ahaziah, and now they fly for their lives.

Drew a bow with his full strength - The marginal reading is correct: He filled his hand with a bow. That is, "He immediately took up his bow, set his arrow, and let fly." This is the only meaning of the passage.

Between his arms - That is, between his shoulders; for he was now turned, and was flying from Jehu.

Cast him in the portion of the field - This was predicted, 1 Kings 21; and what now happened to the son of Ahab is foretold in 1Kgs 21:29 of that chapter.

The blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons - We are not informed in 1 Kings 21 that any of Naboth's family was slain but himself: but as the object both of Ahab and Jezebel was to have Naboth's vineyard entirely, and for ever, it is not likely that they would leave any of his posterity, who might at a future time reclaim it as their inheritance. Again, to secure this point, Jezebel had Naboth convicted of treason and atheism; in order that his whole family might be involved in his ruin.

Fled by the way of the garden - The account of the death of Ahaziah, as given in 2Chr 22:8, 2Chr 22:9, is very different from that given here: When Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab - he sought Ahaziah; and they caught him, (for he was hid in Samaria), and brought him to Jehu; and when they had slain him, they buried him. "The current of the story at large is this," says Dr. Lightfoot: "Jehu slayeth Joram in the field of Jezreel, as Ahaziah and Joram were together; Ahaziah, seeing this, flees, and gets into Samaria, and hides himself there. Jehu marcheth to Jezreel, and makes Jezebel dogs' meat: from thence he sends to Samaria for the heads of Ahab's children and posterity: which are brought him by night, and showed to the people in the morning. Then he marcheth to Samaria, and by the way slayeth forty-two of Ahab's kinsmen; and findeth Jehonadab, the father of the Rechabites. Coming into Samaria, he maketh search for Ahaziah: they find him hid, bring him to Jehu, and he commands to carry him up towards Gur, by Ibleam, and there to slay him. It may be, his father Joram had slain his brethren there, as Ahab had done Naboth, in Jezreel. They do so; smite him there in his chariot; and his charioteer driveth away to Megiddo before he dies. The story in the book of Kings is short: but the book of Chronicles shows the order." Lightfoot's Works, vol. i., p. 88.

In the eleventh year of Joram - The note in our margin contains as good an account of this chronological difficulty as can be reasonably required: Then he began to reign as viceroy to his father in his sickness; 2Chr 21:18, 2Chr 21:19. But in Joram's twelfth year he began to reign alone; 2Kgs 8:26.

She painted her face, and tired her head - She endeavored to improve the appearance of her complexion by paint, and the general effect of her countenance by a tiara or turban head-dress. Jonathan, the Chaldee Targumist, so often quoted, translates this וכחלת בצדידא עינהא vechachalath bitsdida eynaha: "She stained her eyes with stibium or antimony." This is a custom in Astatic countries to the present day. From a late traveler in Persia, I borrow the following account: - "The Persians differ as much from us in their notions of beauty as they do in those of taste. A large soft, and languishing black eye, with them constitutes the perfection of beauty. It is chiefly on this account that the women use the powder of antimony, which, although it adds to the vivacity of the eye, throws a kind of voluptuous languor over it, which makes it appear, (if I may use the expression), dissolving in bliss. The Persian women have a curious custom of making their eye-brows meet; and if this charm be denied them, they paint the forehead with a kind of preparation made for that purpose." E. S. Waring's Tour to Sheeraz, 4th., 1807, page 62.

This casts light enough on Jezebel's painting, etc., and shows sufficiently with what design she did it, to conquer and disarm Jehu, and induce him to take her for wife, as Jarchi supposes. This staining of the eye with stibium and painting was a universal custom, not only in Asiatic countries, but also in all those that bordered on them, or had connections with them. The Prophet Ezekiel mentions the painting of the eyes, Eze 23:40.

That the Romans painted their eyes we have the most positive evidence. Pliny says, Tanta est decoris affectatio, ut tinguantur oculi quoque. Hist. Nat. lib. xi., cap. 37. "Such is their affection of ornament, that they paint their eyes also." That this painting was with stibium or antimony, is plain from these words of St. Cyprian, De Opere et Eleemosynis, Inunge aculos tuos non stibio diaboli, sed collyrio Christi, "Anoint your eyes, not with the devil's antimony, but with the eye-salve of Christ." Juvenal is plain on the same subject. Men as well as women in Rome practiced it: -

Ille supercilium madida fuligine tactum

Obliqua producit acu pingitque trementes

Attollens oculos.

Sat. ii., ver. 93. "With sooty moisture one his eye-brows dyes,

And with a bodkin paints his trembling eyes."

The manner in which the women in Barbary do it Dr. Russel particularly describes: - "Upon the principle of strengthening the sight, as well as an ornament, it is become a general practice among the women to black the middle of their eye-lids by applying a powder called ismed. Their method of doing it is by a cylindrical piece of silver, steel, or ivory, about two inches long, made very smooth, and about the size of a common probe. This they wet with water, in order that the powder may stick to it, and applying the middle part horizontally to the eye, they shut the eye-lids upon it, and so drawing it through between them, it blacks the inside, leaving a narrow black rim all round the edge. This is sometimes practiced by the men, but is then regarded as foppish." Russel's Nat. Hist. of Aleppo, page 102. See Parkhurst, sub voc. פך

Had Zimri peace, who slew his master? - Jarchi paraphrases this place thus: "If thou hast slain thy master, it is no new thing; for Zimri also slew Elah, the son of Baasha;" which words were rather intended to conciliate than to provoke. But the words are understood by most of the versions thus: Health to Zimri, the slayer of his master!

So they threw her down - What a terrible death! She was already, by the fall, almost dashed to pieces; and the brutal Jehu trampled her already mangled body under his horse's feet!

She is a king's daughter - Jezebel was certainly a woman of a very high lineage. She was daughter of the king of Tyre; wife of Ahab, king of Israel; mother of Joram, king of Israel; mother-in-law of Joram, king of Judah; and grandmother of Ahaziah, king of Judah.

The skull - the feet, and the palms of her hands - The dogs did not eat those parts, say Jarchi and Kimchi, because in her festal dances she danced like a dog, on her hands and feet, wantonly moving her head. What other meaning these rabbins had, I do not inquire. She was, no doubt, guilty of the foulest actions, and was almost too bad to be belied.

How literally was the prediction delivered in the preceding book, (1Kgs 21:23, The dogs shall eat Jezebel, by the wall of Jezreel), fulfilled! And how dearly did she and her husband Ahab pay for the murder of innocent Naboth!

And the carcass of Jezebel shall be as dung - As it was not buried under the earth, but was eaten by the dogs, this saying was also literally fulfilled.

They shall not say, This is Jezebel - As she could not be buried, she could have no funeral monument. Though so great a woman by her birth, connections, and alliances, she had not the honor of a tomb! There was not even a solitary stone to say, Here lies Jezebel! not even a mound of earth to designate the place of her sepulture! Judgment is God's strange work; but when he contends, how terrible are his judgments! and when he ariseth to execute judgment, who shall stay his hand? How deep are his counsels, and how terrible are his workings!

Ramoth - The kings of Israel and Judah were both absent, and Jehu, as it seems, was left in chief command.

I may avenge,&c. - That they were idolaters was bad enough: yet that is not mentioned here: the controversy God has with them, is for being persecutors. Nothing fills the measure of the iniquity of any prince so as this doth, nor brings a surer or sorer ruin.

Mad fellow - They perceived him to be a prophet by his habit, and gestures, and manner of speech. And these prophane soldiers esteemed the prophets mad - men. Those that have no religion, commonly speak of those that are religious with disdain, and look upon them as crack - brained. They said of our Lord, He is beside himself; of St. Paul, that much learning had made him mad. The highest wisdom is thus represented as folly, and they that best understand themselves, as men beside themselves.

They hasted - God putting it into their hearts thus readily to own him. Under him - Under Jehu. A ceremony used in the eastern parts towards superiors, in token of reverence to his person, that they would not have his feet to touch the ground, and that they put themselves and their concerns under his feet, and into his disposal. The stairs - In some high and eminent place, whence he might be seen and owned by all the soldiers, who were called together upon this great occasion.

Portion of Naboth - The very sight of that ground was enough to make Jehu triumph and Joram tremble. The circumstances of events are sometimes so ordered by Divine providence, as to make the punishment answer the sin, as face answers face in a glass.

Whoredoms, &c. - This may be understood, either literally; spiritual whoredom, which is idolatry, being often punished with corporal: and witchcraft was often practised by idolaters: or spiritually, of her idolatry, which is often called whoredom, because it is a departing from God, to whom we are tied by many obligations; and witchcraft, because it doth so powerfully bewitch men's minds; and because it is a manifest entering into covenant with the devil. He mentions not Joram's, but his mother's sins; because they were more notorious and infamous: and because they were the principal cause why God inflicted, and he was come to execute these judgments. The way of sin can never be the way of peace.

The arrow - It was one of God's arrows, which he ordained against the persecutor.

He died - The history is briefly and imperfectly described here, and the defects supplied in (the book of Chronicles, is great part written for that end, to supply things omitted in the book of Kings) out of both it may be thus compleated: he fled first to Megiddo, and thence to Samaria, where he was caught, and thence brought to Jehu, and by his sentence was put to death at Megiddo.

Had Zimri - Remember thy brother traitor Zimri had but a very short enjoyment of the benefit of his treason.

And said - It seems he had forgot the charge given him above, ver.10. A king's daughter - He doth not say, because she was a king's wife, lest he should seem to shew any respect to that wicked house of Ahab, which God had devoted to utter destruction.

AND Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird [illegible: 1+ letters]p [illegible: 1+ letters]hy loins , and take this box of oyl in thine hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead.

For haste, to take this opportunity when the Kings of Israel and Iudah were both absent, chap. 8. 29. and Iehu, as it seems, was left in Chief Command.

2 And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimishi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber .

Partly, that the Work may not be hindred: and partly, for the security of thy own person. See v. 3.

Marginal references: Heb. [illegible: 1+ letters] ber in a [illegible: 1+ letters] ber.

3 Then take the box of oyl, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel : then open the door, and flee, and tarry not.

This was not his whole Message; but the rest of it is particularly declared, v. 7, 8, 9, 10. and is to be understood here.

Marginal references: 1 King. 19. 1[illegible: 1+ letters].

4 ¶ So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead .

Which is here noted, as an eminent act of obedience, whereby he run into a manifest hazard of his life.

6 And he arose, and went into the house , and he poured the oyl on his head , and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel.

i. e. Into an inner Chamber in the House, v. 2.

Thereby in Gods Name letting him in to the actual possession of the Kingdom. For if Elijah did before this time Anoint him, as some think, from 1 King. 19. 16. that unction did onely confer a remote right to the Kingdom, as Samuel's unction did to David, 1 Sam. 16. 13. Though others think Elijah did perform that command by Elisha, to whom he lef[illegible: 1+ letters] it in charge, and Elisha waited Gods time and command for the actual execution of it, which he received at this time.

Marginal references: 2 Chr. 22. 7.

7 And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master , that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel.

i. e. Kill and destroy, as that word is used, Gen. 8. 21. and elsewhere.

Thy former Lord and King.

Marginal references: 1 Kin. 21. 15.

10 And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel , and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled.

In that part of Land in or near the City, which belonged to Naboth.

11 ¶ Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord , and one said unto him, Is all well ? Wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto him, Ye know the man, and his communication .

To the rest of the Commanders and Officers there present.

Is not this unlucky Messenger come with some ill tidings?

They perceived him to be a Prophet by his habit, and gestures, and manner of speech. And these prophane Soldiers esteemed the Lords Prophets mad men; partly, because of their neglect of themselves, and contempt of all worldly Wealth and Honour, which the wise Men of this World so greedily seek, and of their strange and uncouth manner of living: partly, because of their Holy Exercises to which they devoted themselves, which they esteemed nothing but a Religious phrenzy: and partly, because of those unusual and seemingly ridiculous gestures and actions which the Prophets sometimes used in raptures of Spirit, or in the [illegible: 1+ letters]ervours of Devotion. Compare Ier. 29. 26. Ioh. 10. 20. Act. 26. 24.

You rightly guess that he was a mad man, and so it appears by his discourse with me, which was, after the manner of that sort of men, vain and impertinent, to tell me of my [illegible: 1+ letters]ins, or of my duty, or such things as are not worth my speaking, or your hearing.

Marginal references: Heb. peace.

12 And they said, It is false , tell us now . And he said, Thus and thus spake he to me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel.

There is something extraordinary and of great importance in his Message, as we plainly perceive by his calling thee into an inner Chamber, by his great expedition, and by his gesture and carriage.

His concealment of the thing made them more greedy to know it.

13 Then they hasted , and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs , and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king.

Being well pleased with the thing; partly, from the advantage which hereby they expected; pattly, from that desire of change which is in most mens natures; and principally, by Gods Providence, inclining their hearts to Iehu.

A Ceremony used in the Eastern parts towards Superiors, in token of great reverence to his Person, that they would not have his Feet to touch the ground, and that they put themselves and their concerns under his Feet, and into his disposa[illegible: 1+ letters] See on Matth. 21. 7.

In some high and eminent place, whence he might be seen and owned by all the Soldiers, who were called together upon this great occasion.

Marginal references: Heb. reign [illegible: 1+ letters].

14 So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram: (Now Joram had kept Ramoth-gilead , he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria:

Which Interpreters conclude to have been taken by Ioram before this time, though the taking of it be not mentioned. This they gather, First, From the mention of the inner chamber, ver. 2. and of the top of the stairs here. Secondly, From ver. 15. let none go forth out of the city. But these Arguments seem not to be cogent. Not the former, because there might be some Suburbs or out-Buildings be longing to the City, or not far from it, which the Israelites might have in their possession. Nor the later, as we shall there see. And if it was taken, why should all Israel be there to keep it, for which a strong Garison was sufficient? The words therefore may be otherwise rendred, exactly according to the Hebrew, Ioram had kept, or did keep (to wit, by his Army left there) or put guards, or laid siege at, or to (for so the Particle Beth is oft used) Ramoth-Gilead. And therefore he had all Israel, i. e. all the Military Force of Israel, with him, that he might both maintain the siege, and withall oppose Hazael who sought to relieve it.

15 But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel, of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria)▪ And Jehu said, If it be your minds, then let none go forth nor escape out of the city , to go tell it in Jezreel .

When he came with an Army, either to retake the City taken by Ioram: or, to raise the Siege.

Or, from the City; either from within the City, or from before it, from the Siege or Army.

That we may surprise him, and so more easily subdue him.

Marginal references: Chap. 8. 29.; Heb. Jehoram.; Heb. smote.; Heb. let [illegible: 1+ letters]o escaper go, &c.

16 So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel , (for Joram lay there ) and Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram.

Accompanied with the Horsemen of his Army.

Accompanied with the Horsemen of his Army.

17 And there stood a watch-man on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. And Joram said, Take an horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, Is it peace ?

Enquire who it is comes, and if he come upon peaceable terms. For he feared, lest either the Syrians had prevailed there; or, some Sedition or Rebellion was raised against him; which the example of Libnah, and his own guilty Conscience, made him fear.

18 So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace ? turn thee behind me. And the watch-man told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he cometh not again.

What right hast thou, or thy Master that sent thee, to Peace?

20 And the watch-man told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not again: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously .

As his temper is hasty and fierce, so is his March.

Marginal references: Or, marching.; Heb. in madness.

21 And Joram said, Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And Joram king of Israel, and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out againt Jehu , and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite .

Or, to meet Iehu, to know his intentions, and by his presence to repress any Seditious inclinations which might be in Iehu or his followers.

In that Field which formerly belonged to Naboth, part whereof was inclosed by Ahab, and made a Garden.

Marginal references: Heb. Bind.; Heb. found▪

22 And it came to pass when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace , Jehu? And he answered, What peace , so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel, and her witchcrafts are so many?

Dost thou come to me with a Peaceable mind, or in a way of Hostility? For now, when it was too late, he began to suspect some Treachery: which God hid from him before, to prepare him for destruction.

What cause hast thou to expect Peace, when thou hast so long abetted, and dost still abet, and allow thy Mother in her abominable practises?

Which are to be understood, Either, First, Literally; Spiritual Whoredom, which is Idolatry, being oft punished with corporal. See ver. 30. and witchcraft there was oft practised by Idolaters. Or rather, Mystically and Spiritually, of her Idolatry, which is oft called whoredom, because it is a departing from God, to whom we are all tied by many obligations; and witchcraft, either, because it doth so powerfully bewitch and deceive mens minds; or, because it is a manifest entring into Covenant with the Devil. For Idolatry being her chief sin, and the cause of all the rest, it seems improbable, that Iehu would omit that in the Inditement which he drew against her. He mentions not Ioram's, but his Mothers sins; partly, because they were more notorious and infamous: partly, because they were the principal cause why God inflicted, and he was come to execute these Judgments: partly, because by his connivence he had made them his own: and partly, because he could find no gross and odious matter wherewith to charge him, except about the worship of the Calves; which he forbore to mention, both lest it should lose his Interest amongst his Officers and Soldiers, who were devoted to that worship; and because he himself intended to keep it up.

23 And Joram turned his hands , and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah.

Either, that therewith he might turn the Reins of the Chariot: or, that by this motion he might direct his Charioteer to turn it from Iehu.

24 And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms , and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot.

Between his shoulders, when he was turned, or turning back, the Chariot being probably open behind, as many times they were.

Marginal references: Heb. filled his hand with a bow.; Heb. bowed.

25 Then said Iohn to Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for remember how that when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father , the LORD laid this burden upon him.

Which might be when Ahab went in his Chariot, attended with his Nobles or Chief Officers (of which these were two) to take a formal and solemn possession of Naboth's Land: for then the Prophet Elijah met him, and denounced this Judgment against him, 1 King. 21. 17, &c.

i. e. This grievous Prophecy: for such are oft and truly called burdens, as Isa. 13. 1. and 15. 1. Ier. 23. 33, 34. Nah. 1. 1.

Marginal references: Or, I and tho[illegible: 1+ letters] were with them that rode together.; 1 Kin. 21. 29.

26 Surely, I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons , said the LORD, and I will requite thee in this plat , saith the LORD. Now therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground , according to the word of the LORD.

Who, as it seems, were killed with their Father by Iezabel's advice, to make the possession of the Vineyard more sure to Ahab, though it be not mentioned in its proper place, 1 Kin. 21. 13. For it is not unusual to bring in such fragments of History in succeeding Writings which were neglected in the History of those matters. Thus we read of the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, Amos 1. 1. which was not Recorded in his History in the Books of the Kings or Chronicles. Although he might well be charged with [illegible: 1+ letters]aking away the lives of his Sons, because he took away the necessary supports of their lives.

Of which see the Notes on 1 King. 21. 19.

Where he shall lie unburied, and be a prey to the Dogs or Fowls, according to the prediction, 1 King. 21. 24.

Marginal references: Heb. bloods.; Or, portion.

27 ¶ But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden-house : and Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot: and they did so at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam: and he fled to Megiddo, and died there .

By some secret way, hoping to escape, whilst they were busie about Ioram.

As you have done Ioram, for he also is of the House of Ahab, chap. 8. 18.

They smote or wounded him, but not mortally; either, supposing that the wound was mortal; or, being more remiss in executing Iehu's Sentence against him, because they were not so much concerned in his, as in Ioram's Death; or, because they had some kindness for him, either for his own, or for Iehoshaphat's, sake.

Quest. How doth this agree with 2 Chron. 22. 9. He sought Ahaziah: and they caught him, for he was hid in Samaria, and brought him to Iehu: and when they had slain him, &c? Ans. Either, First, Samaria is there to be understood, not of the City, but of the Kingdom, or Territory so called, 1 Kin. 13. 32. and elsewhere, in which Megiddo was: and so that may be noted to shew that he could not flee into his own Kingdom where he might have been safe; but was forced to take up in another part of the Kingdom of Israel, in the Territory of Samaria, and there to hide himself. Or, Secondly, If Samaria be the City, then the History is briefly and imperfectly described here, and the defects supplied there, (the Book of Chronicles being in great part written for that end, to supply things omitted in the Book of Kings) and out of both, the History may be thus compleated: He fled first to Megiddo, and thence to Samaria, where he was caught, and thence brought to Iehu, and by his Sentence was put to death at Megiddo, either because Iehu was there at that time upon some occasion; or, for some other reason, which at this distance of time we cannot understand.

28 And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers, in the city of David .

Which they did by Iehu's permission for Iehoshaphat's sake, 2 Chron. 22. 9.

29 And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, began Ahaziah to reign over Judah.

Of this see the Note on chap. 8. 25.

30 ¶ And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her face, and tired her head , and looked out at a window.

Either, hoping that by her Majestick dress and carriage she might strike Iehu or his followers with such an awe, that they should not offer any injury to her person: or rather, because, perceiving her case to be desperate, and that she could not live, was resolved to die with honour and gallantry.

Marginal references: Heb. put [illegible: 1 word] eyes in p[illegible: 1+ letters] ing.

31 And as Jehu entred in at the gate , she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master ?

Of the Kings Palace.

Remember that thy brother Traitor Zimri had but a very short enjoyment of the benefit of his Treason, and was speedily and severely punished for it by my Grand-Father Omri, 1 King. 16. 9, 16. and do thou expect the same from some of my posterity.

32 And he lift up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side, who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs .

For such used to attend upon Queens in their Chambers.

Marginal references: Or, ch[illegible: 1+ letters] ▪ lains.

33 And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down , and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: And he trode her under foot.

Being mercenary Creatures, they quickly comply with Iehu's command, Sacrificing her life to save their own.

34 And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go see now this cursed woman, and bury her : for she is a kings daughter .

This he suddenly commanded, either, because he had forgot the charge given him above, ver. 10. or, because having done his own business, he was careless about Gods Work, and the fulfilling of his threatning.

See 1 King. 16. 31. He doth not say, because she was a kings wife, left he should seem to shew any respect to that wicked and cursed House of Ahab, which God had devoted to ignominy and utter destruction.

36 Wherefore they came again, and told him: and he said, This is the word of the LORD , which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall the dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel:

This strange Providence brings that to his mind which he had forgotten, or did not regard.

Marginal references: Heb. by the hand of; 1 Kin. 21. 23.

37 And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field, in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel .

These words are not extant in the place where this Prophecy is first mentioned, 1 King. 21. 23. but are here added, either by Iehu, by way of explication and amplification: or rather, because Elijah spoke them, though they be not there Recorded, as being for the substance of them contained in the former words; it being usual to insert some passages in following Writings, which had been omitted in the former.

2Ki 9:1-3 2Ki 9:1-3 contain the instructions which Elisha gave to the pupil of the prophets. השׁמן פּך as in 1Sa 10:1. יהוּא שׁם ראה, look round there for Jehu. וגו הקמתו, let him (bid him) rise up from the midst of his brethren, i.e., of his comrades in arms. בּחדר חדר: the true meaning is, “into the innermost chamber” (see at 1Ki 20:30). 2Ki 9:3 contains only the leading points of the commission to Jehu, the full particulars are communicated in the account of the fulfilment in 2Ki 9:6. “And flee, and thou shalt not wait.” Elisha gave him this command, not to protect him from danger on the part of the secret adherents of Ahab (Theodoret, Cler.), but to prevent all further discussions, or “that he might not mix himself up with other affairs” (Seb. Schmidt).

2Ki 9:4 “And the young man, the servant of the prophet, went.” The second נער has the article in the construct state, contrary to the rule (vid., Ges. §110, 2, b.).

2Ki 9:5-7

After the communication of the fact that he had a word to Jehu, the latter rose up and went with him into the house, i.e., into the interior of the house, in the court of which the captains were sitting together. There the pupil of the prophets poured oil upon Jehu’s head, and announced to him that Jehovah had anointed him king for Israel, and that he was to smite, i.e., exterminate, the house of Ahab, to avenge upon it the blood of the prophets (vid., 1Ki 18:4; 1Ki 19:10).

2Ki 9:8-10 2Ki 9:8-10 are simply a repetition of the threat in 1Ki 21:21-23. For יז בּחלק, see at 1Ki 21:23.

2Ki 9:11

Jehu’s Conspiracy against Joram. - 2Ki 9:11. When Jehu came out again to his comrades in arms, after the departure of the pupil of the prophets, they inquired השׁלום, i.e., “is it all well? why did this madman come to thee?” not because they were afraid that he might have done him some injury (Ewald), or that he might have brought some evil tidings (Thenius), but simply because they conjectured that he had brought some important news. They called the prophet משׁגּע, a madman, in derision, with reference to the ecstatic utterances of the prophets when in a state of holy inspiration. Jehu answered evasively, “Ye know the man and his muttering,” i.e., ye know that he is mad and says nothing rational. שׂיה includes both meditating and speaking.

2Ki 9:12

They were not contented with this answer, however, but said שׁקר, i.e., thou dost not speak truth. Jehu thereupon informed them that he had anointed him king over Israel in the name of Jehovah.

2Ki 9:13

After hearing this, they took quickly every man his garment, laid it under hi upon the steps, blew the trumpet, and proclaimed him king. The clothes, which consisted simply of a large piece of cloth for wrapping round the body (see at 1Ki 11:29), they spread out in the place of carpets upon the steps, which served as a throne, to do homage to Jehu. For these signs of homage compare Mat 21:7 and Wetstein, N. Test. ad h. l. The difficult words המּעלות אל־גּרם, as to the meaning of which the early translators have done nothing but guess, can hardly be rendered in any other way than that proposed by Kimchi (lib. rad.), super ipsosmet gradus, upon the steps themselves = upon the bare steps; גּרם being taken according to Chaldee usage like the Hebrew עצם in the sense of substantia rei, whereas the rendering given by Lud. de Dieu, after the Arabic jarm , sectio - super aliquem e gradibus, is without analogy in Hebrew usage (vid., L. de Dieu ad h. l., and Ges. Thes. p. 303).The objection raised by Thenius, that it is only in combination with personal pronouns that the Chaldaic גרם signifies self either in the Chaldee or Samaritan versions, is proved to be unfounded by לגרם in Job 1:3 (Targ.). Still less can the actual circumstances be adduced as an objection, since there is no evidence to support the assertion that there was no staircase in front of the house. The perfectly un-Hebraic conjecture המּעלות אל־גּרם, “as a figure (or representation) of the necessary ascent” (Thenius), has not the smallest support in the Vulgate rendering, ad similitudinem tribunalis.

The meaning is, that without looking for a suitable place on which to erect a throne, they laid their clothes upon the bare steps, or the staircase of the house in which they were assembled, and set him thereon to proclaim him king.

2Ki 9:14-15

Thus Jehu conspired against Joram, who (as is related again in the circumstantial clause which follows from היה ויורם to ארם מלך; cf. 2Ki 8:28-29) had been keeping guard at Ramoth in Gilead, i.e., had defended this city against the attacks of Hazael, and had returned to Jezreel to be healed of the wounds which he had received; and said, “If it is your wish (נפשׁכם), let no fugitive go from the city, to announce it in Jezreel (viz., what had taken place, the conspiracy or the proclamation of Jehu as king).” It is evident from this, that the Israelites were in possession of the city of Ramoth, and were defending it against the attacks of the Syrians, so that שׁמר in 2Ki 9:14 cannot be understood as relating to the siege of Ramoth. The Chethîb לגּיד for להגּיד is not to be altered according to the Keri, as there are many examples to be found of syncope in cases of this kind (vid., Olshausen, Lehrb. d. Hebr. Spr. p. 140).

2Ki 9:16

Slaying of the Two Kings, Joram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah. - 2Ki 9:16. Jehu drove without delay to Jezreel, where Joram was lying sick, and Ahaziah had come upon a visit to him.

2Ki 9:17-21

As the horsemen, who were sent to meet him on the announcement of the watchman upon the tower at Jezreel that a troop was approaching, joined the followers of Jehu, and eventually the watchman, looking down from the tower, thought that he could discover the driving of Jehu in the approaching troop, Joram and Ahaziah mounted their chariots to drive and meet him, and came upon him by the portion of the ground of Naboth the Jezreelite. The second שׁפעת in 2Ki 9:17 is a rarer form of the absolute state (see Ges. §80, 2, Anm. 2, and Ewald, §173, d.). - וּלשׁלום מה־לּך: “what hast thou to do with peace?” i.e., to trouble thyself about it. אל־אחרי סב: “turn behind me,” sc. to follow me. כם המּנהג: “the driving is like the driving of Jehu; for he drives like a madman.” בּשׁגּעון, in insania, i.e., in actual fact in praecipitatione (Vatabl.). “The portion of Naboth” is the vineyard of Naboth mentioned in 1 Kings 21, which formed only one portion of the gardens of the king’s palace.

2Ki 9:22

To Joram’s inquiry, “Is it peace, Jehu?” the latter replied, “What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her many witchcrafts continue?” The notion of continuance is implied in עד (see Ewald, §217, e.); זנוּנים is spiritual whoredom, i.e., idolatry. כּשׁפים, incantationes magicae, then witchcrafts generally, which were usually associated with idolatry (cf. Deu 18:10.).

2Ki 9:23

Joram detecting the conspiracy from this reply, turned round (ידיו יהפך as in 1Ki 22:34) and fled, calling out to Ahaziah מרמה, “deceit,” i.e., we are deceived, in actual fact betrayed.

2Ki 9:24

But Jehu seized the bow (בּקּשׁת ידו מלּא, lit., filled his hand with the bow), and shot Joram “between his arms,” i.e., in his back between the shoulders in an oblique direction, so that the arrow came out at his heart, and Joram sank down in his chariot.

2Ki 9:25-26

Jehu then commanded his aide-de-camp (שׁלישׁ, see at 2Sa 23:8) Bidkar to cast the slain man into the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, and said, “For remember how we, I and thou, both rode (or drove) behind his father Ahab, and Jehovah pronounced this threat upon him.” ואתּה אני are accusatives, written with a looser connection for ואותך אתי, as the apposition רכבים shows: literally, think of me and thee, the riders. The olden translators were misled by אני, and therefore transposed זכר into the first person, and Thenius naturally follows them. צמדים רכבים, riding in pairs. This is the rendering adopted by most of the commentators, although it might be taken, as it is by Kimchi and Bochart, as signifying the two persons who are carried in the same chariot. משּׂא, a burden, then a prophetic utterance of a threatening nature (see the Comm. on Nah 1:1). For the connection of the clauses וגו ויהוה, see Ewald, §338, a. In 2Ki 9:26 Jehu quotes the word of God concerning Ahab in 1Ki 21:19 so far as the substance is concerned, to show that he is merely the agent employed in executing it. “Truly (אם־לא, a particle used in an oath) the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons have I seen yesterday, saith the Lord, and upon this field will I requite him.” The slaying of the sons of Naboth is not expressly mentioned in 1Ki 21:13, “because it was so usual a thing, that the historian might leave it out as a matter of course” (J. D. Mich., Ewald). It necessarily followed, however, from the fact that Naboth’s field was confiscated (see at 1Ki 21:14).

2Ki 9:27-29

When Ahaziah saw this, he fled by the way to the garden-house, but was smitten, i.e., mortally wounded, by Jehu at the height of Gur near Jibleam, so that as he was flying still farther to Megiddo he died, and was carried as a corpse by his servants to Jerusalem, and buried there. After הכּהוּ, “and him also, smite him,” we must supply ויּכּהוּ, “and they smote him,” which has probably only dropped out through a copyist’s error. The way by which Ahaziah fled, and the place where he was mortally wounded, cannot be exactly determined, as the situation of the localities named has not yet been ascertained. The “garden-house” (הגּן בּית הגּ) cannot have formed a portion of the royal gardens, but must have stood at some distance from the city of Jezreel, as Ahaziah went away by the road thither, and was not wounded till he reached the height of Gur near Jibleam. מעלה־גוּר, the ascent or eminence of Gur, is defined by Jibleam. Now, as Ahaziah fled from Jezreel to Megiddo past Jibleam, Thenius thinks that Jibleam must have been situated between Jezreel and Megiddo. But between Jezreel and Megiddo there is only the plain of Jezreel or Esdrelom, in which we cannot suppose that there was any such eminence as that of Gur. Moreover Jibleam or Bileam (1Ch 6:55, see at Jos 17:11) was probably to the south of Jenin, where the old name בּלעם has been preserved in the well of Arab. bl'mh, Belameh, near Beled Sheik Manssûr, which is half an hour’s journey off. And it is quite possible to bring this situation of Jibleam into harmony with the account before us. For instance, it is a priori probable that Ahaziah would take the road to Samaria when he fled from Jezreel, not only because his father’s brothers were there (2Ki 10:13), but also because it was the most direct road to Jerusalem; and he might easily be pursued by Jehu and his company to the height of Gur near Jibleam before they overtook him, since the distance from Jezreel (Zerîn) to Jenin is only two hours and a half (Rob. Pal. iii. p. 828), and the height of Gur might very well be an eminence which he would pass on the road to Jibleam. But the wounded king may afterwards have altered the direction of his flight for the purpose of escaping to Megiddo, probably because he thought that he should be in greater safety there than he would be in Samaria.In 2Ch 22:8-9, the account of the slaying of Ahaziah and his brethren (2Ki 10:12.) is condensed into one brief statement, and then afterwards it is stated with regard to Ahaziah, that “Jehu sought him, and they seized him when he was hiding in Samaria, and brought him to Jehu and slew him, “from which it appears that Ahaziah escaped to Samaria. From the brevity of these accounts it is impossible to reconcile the discrepancy with perfect certainty. On the one hand, our account, which is only limited to the main fact, does not preclude the possibility that Ahaziah really escaped to Samaria, and was there overtaken by Jehu’s followers, and then brought back to Jehu, and wounded upon the height of Gur near Jibleam, whence he fled to Megiddo, where he breathed out his life. On the other hand, in the perfectly summary account in the Chronicles, בשׁמרון מתחבּא והוּא may be understood as referring to the attempt to escape to Samaria and hide himself there, and may be reconciled with the assumption that he was seized upon the way to Samaria, and when overtaken by Jehu was mortally wounded.  - In 2Ki 9:29 we are told once more in which year of Joram’s reign Ahaziah became king. The discrepancy between “the eleventh year” here and “the twelfth year” in 2Ki 8:25 may be most simply explained, on the supposition that there was a difference in the way of reckoning the commencement of the years of Joram’s reign.

2Ki 9:30-31

Death of Jezebel. - 2Ki 9:30. When Jehu came to Jezreel and Jezebel heard of it, “she put her eyes into lead polish (i.e., painted them with it), and beautified her head and placed herself at the window.” פּוּך is a very favourite eye-paint with Oriental women even to the present day. It is prepared from antimony ore (Arab. khl, Cohol or Stibium of the Arabs), which when pounded yields a black powder with a metallic brilliancy, which was laid upon the eyebrows and eyelashes either in a dry state as a black powder, or moistened generally with oil and made into an ointment, which is applied with a fine smooth eye-pencil of the thickness of an ordinary goose-quill, made either of wood, metal, or ivory. The way to use it was to hold the central portion of the pencil horizontally between the eyelids, and then draw it out between them, twisting it round all the while, so that the edges of the eyelids were blackened all round; and the object was to heighten the splendour of the dark southern eye, and give it, so to speak, a more deeply glowing fire, and to impart a youthful appearance to the whole of the eyelashes even in extreme old age. Rosellini found jars with eye-paint of this kind in the early Egyptian graves (vid., Hille, über den Gebrauch u. die Zusammensetzung der oriental. Augenschminke: Deutsch. morg. Ztsch. v. p. 236ff.). - Jezebel did this that she might present an imposing appearance to Jehu and die as a queen; not to allure him by her charms (Ewald, after Ephr. Syr.). For (2Ki 9:31) when Jehu entered the palace gate, she cried out to him, “Is it peace, thou Zimri, murderer of his lord?” She addressed Jehu as Zimri the murderer of the king, to point to the fate which Jehu would bring upon himself by the murder of the king, as Zimri had already done (vid., 1Ki 16:10-18).

2Ki 9:32-33

But Jehu did not deign to answer the worthless woman; he simply looked up to the window and inquired: “Who is (holds) with me? who?” Then two, three chamberlains looked out (of the side windows), and by Jehu’s command threw the proud queen out of the window, so that some of her blood spirted upon the wall and the horses (of Jehu), and Jehu trampled her down, driving over her with his horses and chariot.

2Ki 9:34

Jehu thereupon entered the palace, ate and drank, and then said to his men: “Look for this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.” הארוּרה, the woman smitten by the curse of God.

2Ki 9:35-37

But when they went to bury her, they found nothing but her skull, the two feet, and the two hollow hands. The rest had been eaten by the dogs and dragged away. When this was reported to Jehu, he said: “This is the word of the Lord, which He spake by His servant Elijah,” etc. (1Ki 21:23), i.e., this has been done in fulfilment of the word of the Lord. 2Ki 9:37 is also to be regarded as a continuation of the prophecy of Elijah quoted by Jehu (and not as a closing remark of the historian, as Luther supposes), although what Jehu says here does not occur verbatim in 1Ki 21:23, but Jehu has simply expanded rather freely the meaning of that prophecy. והית (Chethîb) is the older form of the 3rd pers. fem. Kal, which is only retained here and there (vid., Ewald, §194, a.). אשׁר is a conjunction (see Ewald, §337, a.): “that men may not be able to say, This is Jezebel,” i.e., that they may no more be able to recognise Jezebel.

Jehu Anointed King. (b. c. 884.)

1 And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead: 2 And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber; 3 Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith the Lord , I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not. 4 So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. 5 And when he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting; and he said, I have an errand to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, Unto which of all us? And he said, To thee, O captain. 6 And he arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of the Lord , even over Israel. 7 And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord , at the hand of Jezebel. 8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel: 9 And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah: 10 And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled.

We have here the anointing of Jehu to be king, who was, at this time, a commander (probably commander-in-chief) of the forces employed at Ramoth-Gilead, v. 14. There he was fighting for the king his master, but received orders from a higher king to fight against him. It does not appear that Jehu aimed at the government, or that he ever thought of it, but the commission given him was a perfect surprise to him. Some think that he had been anointed before by Elijah, whom God ordered to do it, but privately, and with an intimation that he must not act till further orders, as Samuel anointed David long before he was to come to the throne: but that it not at all probable, for then we must suppose Elijah had anointed Hazael too. No, when God bade him do these things he bade him anoint Elisha to be prophet in his room, to do them when he was gone, as God should direct him. Here is,

I. The commission sent.

1. Elisha did not go himself to anoint Jehu, because he was old and unfit for such a journey and so well known that he could not do it privately, could not go and come without observation; therefore he sends one of the sons of the prophets to do it, v. 1. They not only reverences him as their father (ch. ii. 15), but observed and obeyed him as their father. This service of anointing Jehu, (1.) Had danger in it (1 Sam. xvi. 2), and therefore it was not fit that Elisha should expose himself, but one of the sons of the prophets, whose life was of less value, and who could do it with less danger. (2.) It required labour and was therefore fitter for a young man in his full strength. Let youth work and age direct. (3.) Yet it was an honourable piece of service, to anoint a king, and he that did it might hope to be preferred for it afterwards, and therefore, for the encouragement of the young prophets, Elisha employed one of them: he would not engross all the honours to himself, nor grudge the young prophets a share in them.

2. When he sent him, (1.) He put the oil into his hand with which he must anoint Jehu: Take this box of oil Solomon was anointed with oil out of the tabernacle, 1 Kings i. 39. That could not now be had, but oil from a prophet's hand was equivalent to oil out of God's house. Probably it was not the constant practice to anoint kings, but upon the disturbance of the succession, as in the case of Solomon, or the interruption of it, as in the case of Joash (ch. xi. 12), or the translation of the government to a new family, as here and in the case of David; yet it might be used generally, though the scripture does not mention it. (2.) He put the words into his mouth which he must say (v. 3)—I have anointed thee king, and, no doubt, told him all the rest that he said, v. 7-10. Those whom God sends on his errands shall not go without full instructions. (3.) He also ordered him, [1.] To do it privately, to single out Jehu from the rest of the captains and anoint him in an inner chamber (v. 2), that Jehu's confidence in his commission might be tried, when he had no witness to attest it. His being suddenly animated for the service would be proof sufficient of his being anointed to it. There needed no other proof. The thing signified was the best evidence of the sign. [2.] To do it expeditiously. When he went about it he must gird up his loins; when he had done it he must flee and not tarry for a fee, or a treat, or to see what Jehu would do. It becomes the sons of the prophets to be quick and lively at their work, to go about it and go through it as men that hate sauntering and trifling. They should be as angels that fly swiftly.

II. The commission delivered. The young prophet did his business with despatch, was at Ramoth-Gilead presently, v. 4. There he found the general officers sitting together, either at dinner or in a council of war, v. 5. With the assurance that became a messenger from God, notwithstanding the meanness of his appearance, he called Jehu out from the rest, not waiting his leisure, or begging his pardon for disturbing him, but as one having authority: I have an errand to thee, O captain. Perhaps Jehu had some intimation of his business; and therefore, that he might not seem too forward to catch at the honour, he asked, To which of all us? that it might not be said afterwards he got it by speaking first, but they might all be satisfied he was indeed the person designed. When the prophet had him alone he anointed him, v. 6. The anointing of the Spirit is a hidden thing, that new name which none knows but those that have it. Herewith,

1. He invests him with the royal dignity: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, whose messenger I am, in his name I have anointed thee king over the people of the Lord. He gives him an incontestable title, but reminds him that he was made king, (1.) By the God of Israel; from him he must see his power derived (for by him kings reign), for he must use it, and to him he must be accountable. Magistrates are the ministers of God, and must therefore act in dependence upon him and with an entire devotedness to him and to his glory. (2.) Over the Israel of God. Though the people of Israel were wretchedly corrupted, and had forfeited all the honour of relationship to God, yet they are here called the people of the Lord, for he had a right to them and had not yet given them a bill of divorce. Jehu must look upon the people he was made king of as the people of the Lord, not as his vassals, but God's freemen, his sons, his first-born, not to be abused or tyrannized over, God's people, and therefore to be ruled for him, and according to his laws.

2. He instructs him in his present service, which was to destroy all the house of Ahab (v. 7), not that he might clear his own way to the throne, and secure to himself the possession of it, but that he might execute the judgments of God upon that guilty and obnoxious family. He calls Ahab his master, that the relation might be no objection. "He was thy master, and to lift up thy hand against his son and successor would be not only base ingratitude, but treason, rebellion, and all that is bad, if thou hadst not an immediate command from God to do it. But thou art under higher obligations to thy Master in heaven than to thy master Ahab. He has determined that the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and by thy hand; fear not: has not he commanded thee? Fear not sin; his command will justify thee and bear thee out: fear not danger; his command will secure and prosper thee." That he might intelligently, and in a right manner, do this great execution on the house of Ahab, he tells him, (1.) What was their crime, what the ground of the controversy, and wherefore God had quarrel with them, that he might have an eye to that which God had an eye to, and that was the blood of God's servants, the prophets and others, faithful worshippers, which they had shed, and which must now be required at the hand of Jezebel. That they were idolaters was bad enough, and merited all that was brought upon them; yet that is not mentioned here, but the controversy God has with them is for their being persecutors, not so much their throwing down God's altars as their slaying his prophets with the sword. Nothing fills the measure of the iniquity of any prince or people as this does nor brings a surer or a sorer ruin. This was the sin that brought on Jerusalem its first destruction (2 Chron. xxxvi. 16) and its final one, Matt. xxiii. 37, 38. Jezebel's whoredoms and witchcrafts were not so provoking as her persecuting the prophets, killing some and driving the rest into corners and caves, 1 Kings xviii. 4. (2.) What was their doom. They were sentenced to utter destruction; not to be corrected, but to be cut off and rooted out. This Jehu must know, that his eye might not spare for pity, favour, or affection. All that belonged to Ahab must be slain, v. 8. A pattern is given him of the destruction intended, in the destruction of the families of Jeroboam and Baasha (v. 9), and he is particularly directed to throw Jezebel to the dogs, v. 10. The whole stock of royal blood was little enough, and too little, to atone for the blood of the prophets, the saints and martyrs, which, in God's account, is of great price.

The prophet, having done this errand, made the best of his way home again, and left Jehu alone to consider what he had to do and beg direction from God.

11 Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, Ye know the man, and his communication. 12 And they said, It is false; tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus spake he to me, saying, Thus saith the Lord , I have anointed thee king over Israel. 13 Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king. 14 So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram had kept Ramoth-gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria. 15 But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your minds, then let none go forth nor escape out of the city to go to tell it in Jezreel.

Jehu, after some pause, returned to his place at the board, taking no notice of what had passed, but, as it should seem, designing, for the present, to keep it to himself, if they had not urged him to disclose it. Let us therefore see what passed between him and the captains.

I. With what contempt the captains speak of the young prophet (v. 11): "Wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? What business had he with thee? And why wouldst thou humour him so far as to retire for conversation with him? Are prophets company for captains?" They are called him a mad fellow, because he was one of those that would not run with them to an excess of riot (1 Pet. iv. 4), but lived a life of self-denial, mortification, and contempt of the world, and spent their time in devotion; for these things they thought the prophets were fools and the spiritual men were mad, Hos. ix. 7. Note, Those that have no religion commonly speak with disdain of those that are religious, and look upon them as mad. They said of our Saviour, He is beside himself, of John Baptist, He has a devil (is a poor melancholy man), of St. Paul, Much learning has made him mad. The highest wisdom is thus represented as folly, and those that best understand themselves are looked upon as beside themselves. Perhaps Jehu intended it for a rebuke to his friends when he said, "You know the man to be a prophet, why then do you call him a mad fellow? You know the way of his communication to be not from madness, but inspiration." Or, "Being a prophet, you may guess what his business is, to tell me of my faults, and to teach me my duty; I need not inform you concerning it." Thus he thought to put them off, but they urged him to tell them. "It is false," say they, "we cannot conjecture what was his errand, and therefore tell us." Being thus pressed to it, he told them that the prophet had anointed him king, and it is probable showed them the oil upon his head, v. 12. He knew not but some of them either out of loyalty to Joram or envy of him, might oppose him, and go near to crush his interest in its infancy; but he relied on the divine appointment, and was not afraid to own it, knowing whom he had trusted: he that raised him would stand by him.

II. With what respect they compliment the new king upon the first notice of his advancement, v. 13. How meanly soever they thought of the prophet that anointed him, and of his office, they expressed a great veneration for the royal dignity of him that was anointed, and were very forward to proclaim him and sound of trumpet. In token of their subjection and allegiance to him, their affection to his person and government, and their desire to see him high and easy in it, they put their garments under him, that he might stand or sit upon them on the top of the stairs, in sight of the soldiers, who, upon the first intimation, came together to grace the solemnity. God put it into their hearts thus readily to own him, for he turns the hearts of people as well as kings, like the rivers of water, into what channel he pleases. Perhaps they were disquieted at Joram's government or had a particular affection for Jehu; or, however this might be, things it seems were ripe for the revolution, and they all came into Jehu's interest and conspired against Joram, v. 14.

III. With what caution Jehu proceeded. He had advantages against Joram, and he knew how to improve them. He had the army with him. Joram had left it, and had gone home badly wounded. Jehu's good conduct appears in two things:—1. That he complimented the captains, and would do nothing without their advice and consent ("If it be your minds, we will do so and so, else not"), thereby intimating the deference he paid to their judgment and the confidence he had in their fidelity, both which tended to please and fix them. It is the wisdom of those that would rise fast, and stand firm, to take their friends along with them. 2. That he contrived to surprise Joram; and, in order thereto, to come upon him with speed, and to prevent his having notice of what was now done: "Let none go forth to tell it in Jezreel, that, as a snare, the ruin may come on him and his house." The suddenness of an attack sometimes turns to as good an account as the force of it.

Jehu's Approach to Jezreel. (b. c. 884.)

16 So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram. 17 And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. And Joram said, Take a horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, Is it peace? 18 So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he cometh not again. 19 Then he sent out a second on horseback, which came to them, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu answered, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. 20 And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not again: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously. 21 And Joram said, Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out against Jehu, and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. 22 And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many? 23 And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah. 24 And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. 25 Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for remember how that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, the Lord laid this burden upon him; 26 Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the Lord ; and I will requite thee in this plat, saith the Lord . Now therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground, according to the word of the Lord . 27 But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there. 28 And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David. 29 And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah.

From Ramoth-Gilead to Jezreel was more than one day's march; about the mid-way between them the river Jordan must be crossed. We may suppose Jehu to have marched with all possible expedition, and to have taken the utmost precaution to prevent the tidings from getting to Jezreel before him; and, at length, we have him within sight first, and then within reach, of the devoted king.

I. Joram's watchman discovers him first at a distance, him and his retinue, and gives notice to the king of the approach of a company, whether of friends or foes he cannot tell. But the king (impatient to know what is the matter, and perhaps jealous that the Syrians, who had wounded him, had traced him by the blood to his own palace, and were coming to seize him) sent first one messenger, and then another, to bring him intelligence, v. 17-19. He had scarcely recovered from the fright he was put into in the battle, and his guilty conscience put him into a continual terror. Each messenger asked the same question: "Is it peace? are you for us or for our adversaries? Do you bring good tidings or bad?" Each had the same answer: What hast thou to do with peace? Turn thee behind me, v. 18, 19. As if he had said, "It is not to thee, but to him that sent thee, that I will give answer; for thy part, if thou consult thy own safety, turn thee behind me, and enlist thyself among my followers." The watchman gave notice that the messengers were taken prisoners, and at length observed that the leader of this troop drove like Jehu, who it seems was noted for driving furiously, thereby discovering himself to be a man of a hot eager spirit, intent upon his business, and pushing forward with all his might. A man of such a violent temper was fittest for the service to which Jehu was designated. The wisdom of God is seen in the choice of proper instruments to be employed in his work. But it is not much for any man's reputation to be known by his fury. He that has rule over his own spirit is better than the mighty. The Chaldee paraphrase gives this a contrary sense: The leading is like that of Jehu, for he leads quietly. And, it should seem, he did not come up very fast, for then there would not have been time for all this that passed. And some think he chose to march slowly, that he might give Joram time to come out to him, and so dispatch him before he entered the city.

II. Joram himself goes out to meet him, and takes Ahaziah king of Judah along with him, neither of them equipped for war, as not expecting an enemy, but in haste to have their curiosity satisfied. How strangely has Providence sometimes ordered it, that men have been in haste to meet their ruin when their day has come to fall.

1. The place where Joram met Jehu was ominous: In the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite, v. 21. The very sight of that ground was enough to make Joram tremble and Jehu triumph; for Joram had the guilt of Naboth's blood fighting against him and Jehu had the force of Elijah's curse fighting for him. The circumstances of events are sometimes so ordered by divine Providence as to make the punishment answer to the sin as face answers to face in a glass.

2. Joram's demand was still the same: "Is it peace, Jehu? Is all well? Dost thou come home thus flying from the Syrians or more than a conqueror over them?" It seems, he looked for peace, and could not entertain any other thought. Note, It is very common for great sinners, even when they are upon the brink of ruin, to flatter themselves with an opinion that all is well with them, and to cry peace to themselves.

3. Jehu's reply was very startling. He answered him with a question: What peace canst thou expect, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel (who, though queen dowager, was in effect queen regent) and her witchcrafts are so many? See how plainly Jehu deals with him. Formerly he durst not do so, but now he had another spirit. Note, Sinners will not always be flattered; one time or other, they will have their own given them, Ps. xxxvi. 2. Observe, (1.) He charges upon him his mother's wickedness, because he had at first learned it and then with his kingly power protected it. She stands impeached for whoredom, corporal and spiritual (serving idols and serving them with the very acts of lewdness), for witchcraft likewise, enchantments and divinations, used in honour of her idols; and these multiplied, the whoredoms and the witchcrafts many; for those that abandon themselves to wicked courses know not where they will stop. One sin begets another. (2.) Upon that account he throws him off from all pretensions to peace: "What peace can come to that house in which there is so much wickedness unrepented of?" Note, The way of sin can never be the way of peace, Isa. lvii. 21. What peace can sinners have with God, what peace with their own consciences, what good, what comfort, can they expect in life, in death, or after death, who go on still in their trespasses? No peace so long as sin is persisted in; but, as soon as it is repented of and forsaken, there is peace.

4. The execution was done immediately. When Joram heard of his mother's crimes his heart failed him; he presently concluded the long-threatened day of reckoning had now come, and cried out, "There is treachery, O Ahaziah! Jehu is our enemy, and it is time for us to shift for our safety." Both fled, and, (1.) Joram king of Israel was slain presently, v. 24. Jehu dispatched him with his own hands. The bow was not drawn at a venture, as that which sent the fatal arrow through the joints of his father's harness, but Jehu directed the arrow between his shoulders as he fled (it was one of God's arrows which he has ordained against the persecutor, Ps. vii. 13), and it reached to his heart, so that he died upon the spot. He was now the top branch of Ahab's house, and therefore was first cut off. He died a criminal, under the sentence of the law, which Jehu, the executioner, pursues in the disposal of the dead body. Naboth's vineyard was hard by, which put him in mind of that circumstance of the doom Elijah passed upon Ahab, "I will requite thee in this plat, said the Lord (v. 25, 26), for the blood of Naboth himself, and for the blood of his sons," who were either put to death with him as partners in his crime, or secretly murdered afterwards, lest they should bring an appeal, or find some way to avenge their father's death, or break their hearts for the loss of him, or (his whole estate being confiscated, as well as his vineyard) lose their livelihoods, which was in effect to lose their lives. For this the house of Ahab must be reckoned with; and that very piece of ground which he, with so much pride and pleasure, had made himself master of at the expense of the guilt of innocent blood, now became the theatre on which his son's dead body lay exposed a spectacle to the world. Thus the Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth. Higgaion. Selah. (2.) Ahaziah king of Judah was pursued, and slain in a little time, and not far off, v. 27, 28. [1.] Though he was now in Joram's company, he would not have been slain but that he was joined with the house of Ahab both in affinity and in iniquity. He was one of them (so he had made himself by his sins) and therefore he must fare as they fared. Jehu justly construed his commission as extending to them. Yet, [2.] Perhaps he would not at this time have fallen with them if he had not been found in company with them. It is a dangerous thing to associate with evil-doers; we may be entangled both in guilt and misery by it.

Joram and Ahaziah Slain. (b. c. 884.)

30 And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window. 31 And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master? 32 And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs. 33 And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under foot. 34 And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king's daughter. 35 And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. 36 Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the Lord , which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel: 37 And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.

The greatest delinquent in the house of Ahab was Jezebel: it was she that introduced Baal, slew the Lord's prophets, contrived the murder of Naboth, stirred up her husband first, and then her sons, to do wickedly; a cursed woman she is here called (v. 34), a curse to the country, and whom all that wished well to their country had a curse for. Three reigns her reign had lasted, but now, at length, her day had come to fall. We read of a false prophetess in the church of Thyatira that is compared to Jezebel, and called by her name (Rev. ii. 20), her wickedness the same, seducing God's servants to idolatry, a long space given her to repent (v. 21) as to Jezebel, and a fearful ruin brought upon her at last (v. 22, 23), as here upon Jezebel. So that Jezebel's destruction may be looked upon as typical of the destruction of idolaters and persecutors, especially that great whore, that mother of harlots, that hath made herself drunk with the blood of saints and the nations drunk with the wine of her fornications, when God shall put it into the heart of the kings of the earth to hate her, Rev. xvii. 5, 6, 16. Now here we have,

I. Jezebel daring the judgment. She heard that Jehu had slain her son, and slain him for her whoredoms and witchcrafts, and thrown his dead body into the portion of Naboth, according to the word of the Lord, and that he was now coming to Jezreel, where she could not but expect herself to fall next a sacrifice to his revenging sword. Now see how she meets her fate; she posted herself in a window at the entering of the gate, to affront Jehu and set him at defiance. 1. Instead of hiding herself, as one afraid of divine vengeance, she exposed herself to it and scorned to flee, mocked at fear and was not affrighted. See how a heart hardened against God will brave it out to the last, run upon him, even upon his neck, Job xv. 26. But never did any thus harden their hearts against him and prosper. 2. Instead of humbling herself, and putting herself into close mourning for her son, she painted her face, and tired her head, that she might appear like herself, that is (as she thought), great and majestic, hoping thereby to daunt Jehu, to put him out of countenance, and to stop his career. The Lord God called to baldness and girding with sackcloth, but behold painting and dressing, walking contrary to God, Isa. xxii. 12, 13. There is not a surer presage of ruin than an unhumbled heart under humbling providences. Let painted faces look in Jezebel's glass, and see how they like themselves. 3. Instead of trembling before Jehu, the instrument of God's vengeance, she thought to make him tremble with that threatening question, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master? Observe, (1.) She took no notice of the hand of God gone out against her family, but flew in the face of him that was only the sword in his hand. We are very apt, when we are in trouble, to break out into a passion against the instruments of our trouble, when we ought to be submissive to God and angry at ourselves only. (2.) She pleased herself with the thought that what Jehu was now doing would certainly end in his own ruin, and that he would not have peace in it. He had cut her off from all pretensions to peace (v. 22), and now she thought to cut him off likewise. Note, It is no new thing for those that are doing God's work to be looked upon as out of the way of peace. Active reformers, faithful reprovers, are threatened with trouble; but let them be in nothing terrified, Phil. i. 28. (3.) She quoted a precedent, to deter him from the prosecution of this enterprise: "Had Zimri peace? No, he had not; he came to the throne by blood and treachery, and within seven days was constrained to burn the palace over his head and himself in it: and canst thou expect to fare any better?" Had the case been parallel, it would have been proper enough to give him this memorandum; for the judgments of God upon those that have gone before us in any sinful way should be warnings to us to take heed of treading in their steps. But the instance of Zimri was misapplied to Jehu. Zimri had no warrant for what he did, but was incited to it merely by his own ambition and cruelty; whereas Jehu was anointed by one of the sons of the prophets, and did this by order from heaven, which would bear him out. In comparing persons and things we must carefully distinguish between the precious and the vile, and take heed lest from the fate of sinful men we read the doom of useful men.

II. Jehu demanding aid against her. He looked up to the window, not daunted at the menaces of her impudent but impotent rage, and cried, Who is on my side? Who? v. 32. He was called out to do God's work, in reforming the land and punishing those that had debauched it; and here he calls out for assistance in the doing of it, looked as if there were any to help, any to uphold, Isa. lxiii. 5. He lifts up a standard, and makes proclamation, as Moses (Exod. xxxii. 26), Who is on the Lord's side? And the Psalmist (Ps. xciv. 16), Who will rise up for me against the evil-doers? Note, When reformation-work is set on foot, it is time to ask, "Who sides with it?"

III. Her own attendants delivering her up to his just revenge. Two or three chamberlains looked out to Jehu with such a countenance as encouraged him to believe they were on his side, and to them he called not to seize or secure her till further orders, but immediately to throw her down, which was one way of stoning malefactors, casting them headlong from some steep place. Thus was vengeance taken on her for the stoning of Naboth. They threw her down, v. 33. If God's command would justify Jehu, his command would justify them. Perhaps they had a secret dislike of Jezebel's wickedness, and hated her, though they served her; or, it may be, she was barbarous and injurious to those about her, and they were pleased with this opportunity of being avenged on her; or, observing Jehu's success, they hoped thus to ingratiate themselves with him, and keep their places in his court. However it was, thus she was most shamefully put to death, dashed against the wall and the pavement, and then trodden on by the horses, which were all besmeared with her blood and brains. See the end of pride and cruelty, and say, The Lord is righteous.

IV. The very dogs completing her shame and ruin, according to the prophecy. When Jehu had taken some refreshment in the palace, he bethought himself of showing so much respect to Jezebel's sex and quality as to bury her. As bad as she was, she was a daughter, a king's daughter, a king's wife, a king's mother: Go and bury her, v. 34. But, though he had forgotten what the prophet said (v. 10, Dogs shall eat Jezebel), God had not forgotten it. While he was eating and drinking, the dogs had devoured her dead body, the dogs that went about the city (Ps. lix. 6) and fed upon the carrion, so that there was nothing left but her bare skull (the painted face gone) and her feet and hands. The hungry dogs had no respect to the dignity of her extraction; a king's daughter was no more to them than a common person. When we pamper our bodies, and use them deliciously, let us think how vile they are, and that shortly they will be either a feast for worms under ground or beasts above ground. When notice was brought of this to Jehu, he remembered the threatening (1 Kings xxi. 23), The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Nothing should remain of her but the monuments of her infamy. She had been used to appear on public days in great state, and the cry was, "This is Jezebel. What a majestic port and figure! How great she looks!" But now it shall be said no more. We have often seen the wicked buried (Eccl. viii. 10), yet sometimes, as here, they have no burial, Eccl. vi. 3. Jezebel's name nowhere remained, but as stigmatized in sacred writ: they could not so much as say, "This is Jezebel's dust, This is Jezebel's grave," or "This is Jezebel's seed." Thus the name of the wicked shall rot—rot above ground.