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 Ramothgilead: Ver. 1. _And Elisha the prophet._] Now the time was come for the utter extirpation of Ahab's house by Jehu, God's executioner. Whe... [ Continue Reading ]
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; Ver. 2. _Make him arise up._] Stay not till he ariseth from the council board, but let him know that thou hast a m... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 3. _Then open the door and flee, and tarry not._] No, not so long as to hear what Jehu himself will say to thee, saith Vatablus... [ Continue Reading ]
So the young man, [even] the young man the prophet, went to Ramothgilead. Ver. 4. _So the young man, even the young man went,_] _q.d., _ Young though he were, yet he did his business exactly and boldly, disposing of a kingdom according to that, "I have set thee over kingdoms and nations, to plant a... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 5. _To thee, O captain._] Jehu was captain general of all Jehoram's forces, and so had the fairer opportuni... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 6. _And he arose._] This, saith one, _a_ showeth some piety toward God to have been in him,... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 7. _And thou shalt smite._] See on 2 Kings 9:1 .... [ Continue Reading ]
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: Ver. 8. _And him that is shut up and left in Israel,_] _i.e., _ Not only him who is laid hold on by thee, but him also that shall escape thee, or be... [ Continue Reading ]
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: Ver. 9. _Like the house of Jeroboam._] Hereby was hinted to Jehu what himself was to expect if found faulty.... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 10. _In the portion of Jezreel._] In some place about the city.... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 11. _Wherefore came this mad fellow to thee?_] So God's prophets were ever counted and called by th... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 12. _And they said, It is false._] It is no ordinary errand that he cometh on to thee; and this they might gather by the prophet's calling J... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 13. _Then they hasted._] See on 2 Kings 9:11 . _ And took every man his garment, and put it under him._] That is, under Jehu, in token of subjection... [ Continue Reading ]
So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram had kept Ramothgilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria. Ver. 14. _Now Joram had kept Ramothgilead._] Which he had newly won from the Syrians in this expedition, but had somewhat to do to hold it.... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 15. _Of the wounds which the Sy... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 16. _And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down._] But to an ill bargain, as we say; to be "taken in an evil net," as Solomon hath it. As he had joined with Joram in sin, so... [ Continue Reading ]
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 an horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, [Is it] peace? Ver. 17. _Is it peace?_] This was ever the great question; 2 Kings 9:11, Is all well?... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 18. _Is it peace?_] See 2 Kings 9:17 .... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 19. _What hast thou to do with peace?_] Heb., What is it to thee and peace? Trouble not thyself and me with such in... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 20. _For he driveth furiously._] Heb., In madness: “ _Sic Caesar in omnia praeceps,_ Nil actum credens, dum quid superesset... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 21. _And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah._] These never dreamed of... [ Continue Reading ]
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? Ver. 22. _So long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel._] That notorious idolatress and adulteress, who might... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, [There is] treachery, O Ahaziah._ Ver. 23. _And fled._] But divine vengeance, which the Greeks call Aδραστεια, because there is no fleeing from it, had him in chase, and there was no escaping.... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 24. _And the arrow went out at his heart._] Jehu was an excellent marksman; but it was God that guided his hand, strengthened his arm, Eze 30:24... [ Continue Reading ]
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; Ver. 25. _Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain._] Heb., _Triarium suu... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 26. _Surely I have seen yesterday._] It was but yes... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 27. _Smite him also in the chario... [ Continue Reading ]
And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David. Ver. 28. _And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem._] This Jehu permitted them to do for good Jehoshaphat's sake. 2Ch 22:9... [ Continue Reading ]
And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah. Ver. 29. _And in the eleventh year._] See 2 Kings 8:25 .... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 30. _And she painted her face._] Heb., She put her eyes in painting, _a_ פיד, φυκος, _fucus._ This she did _ad conciliandum regiam maiestatem,_ to show herself to... [ Continue Reading ]
_And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, [Had] Zimri peace, who slew his master?_ Ver. 31. _She said, Had Zimri peace?_] Or, O Zimri - so she calleth Jehu, his master's murderer, - shall it be peace? thinkest thou to carry it away clear thus? She thought, haply, that being a woman she might s... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 32. _There looked out to him two or three eunuchs._] Those rats of the court, as a certain emperor called them: these were active in their lady's death, all hope of... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 33. _And some of her blood._] Her brains, that devised mischief against the servants of God, are strewed upon the walls: and she that insulted... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 34. _And bury her._] He had forgot, belike, at present, the prophecy of Elijah, that dogs should eat her flesh, which yet soon after he remembereth. 2Ki 9:36... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 35. _Than the skull, and the feet._] All her flesh was devoured by dogs. And the like befell those Donatists that cast the sacramental bread to dogs, as is before noted. Let all... [ Continue Reading ]
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: Ver. 36. _This is the word of the Lord._] See 2 Kings 9:34 .... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 37. _Shall be as dung._] Here seemeth to be an allusion to the etymology of her name. Jezebel is the same with E-zebel, that is, where is the dung?... [ Continue Reading ]