2 Kings 9 - Introduction

2 Kings 9:1 to 2 Kings 10:31. The Revolution and Overthrow of the Baal Worship. This spirited narrative is probably derived from the same source as 1 Kings 20, 22; and, if we strike out the short Deuteronomic portion (2 Kings 9:7), we cannot fail to notice the detachment of the writer, who neither condemns nor approves, but merely relates the tragedy. Hosea (Hosea 1:4), a little more than a century later, evidently condemns the whole transaction, and traces the fall of Jehu's house to the blood of Jezreel. This is in strong contrast with the Deuteronomic passage, 2 Kings 10:28.

Hazael was evidently able to do very little against Israel as long as the house of Omri was on the throne. Ramoth-gilead, where Ahab was slain, had been recovered (cf. 1 Kings 21:3 with 2 Kings 9:14), but Jehoram had been wounded in some battle.