The Second Book of Kings
Chapter Ten
2-Kings. Chapter 10. Jehu Rules Over Israel.
2-Kings ch. 10. Jehu Rules Over Israel.
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Jehu Rules.
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2 Kings 10
[2 Kings 10:1] Now Ahab had seventy sons
in Samaria. And Jehu
wrote and sent letters to Samaria, to the rulers of
Jezreel,
to the elders, and to those who reared Ahab's sons, saying:
Ahab was the father of Joram whom Jehu had killed. Joram also had children as
mentioned below (2 Kings 10:12). The seventy sons of Ahab included his sons
(brothers of Joram) and grandsons. In Biblical terms all descendants may be
referred to as "banim" translated as "sons". In those days a man could have
several wives and though most Israelites may in practice have been monogamous
this was not the case with royalty.
[2 Kings 10:2] Now as soon as this
letter comes to you, since your master's sons are with you, and you have
chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and weapons,
[2 Kings 10:3] choose the best qualified
of your master's sons, set him on his father's throne, and fight for your
master's house.
This appears to be the personal style of Jehu i.e. of challenging a would-be
opponent to take an extreme position and do their worse.
[2 Kings 10:4] But they were exceedingly
afraid, and said, 'Look, two kings could not stand up to him; how then can we
stand?'
[2 Kings 10:5] And he who was in charge of the house, and he who was in charge
of the city, the elders also, and those who reared the sons, sent to
Jehu,
saying, 'We are your servants, we will do all you tell us; but we will not make
anyone king. Do what is good in your sight.'
[2 Kings 10:6] Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying:
If you are for me and will obey my voice, take the heads of the men, your
master's sons, and come to me at
Jezreel by this time tomorrow.
Now the king's sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who
were rearing them.
Samaria was the main city of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, of the Ten Tribes.
It was well fortified as we saw that it later withstood for several years a
siege by the Assyrians. It was important to Jehu not only the Samaria should
submit to him but also that its leading citizens be complicit with his rebellion
and regicide.
[2 Kings 10:7] So it was, when the
letter came to them, that they took the king's sons and slaughtered seventy
persons, put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at
Jezreel.
[2 Kings 10:8] Then a messenger came
and told him, saying, 'They have brought the heads of the king's sons.'
And he said, 'Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.'
[2 Kings 10:9] So it was, in the morning, that he went out and stood, and said
to all the people, 'You are righteous. Indeed I conspired against my master and
killed him; but who killed all these?'
[2 Kings 10:10] Know now that nothing
shall fall to the earth of the word of the LORD which the LORD spoke concerning
the house of Ahab; for the LORD has done what He spoke by His servant Elijah.'
According to the Laws of Israel and accepted behavior, the offspring of Ahab
should not have been put to death unless they had otherwise deserved it. Jehu is
explained to say:
Both I and you could be considered offenders against the Law since I rebelled
against the King, my master and you put his children to death. If anything, your
offence is greater than mine. We must accept the fact that this was the decree
of God Almighty. We were fulfilling the will of God. Our only justification is
to go all the way. I am now your new king appointed over you by the Almighty.
[2 Kings 10:11] So
Jehu
killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in
Jezreel,
and all his great men and his close acquaintances and his priests, until he left
him none remaining.
Not only the 70 descendants of Ahab were killed but also all they who had been
associated with his rule and that of his son Joram.
[2-Kings 10:12] And he
arose and departed and went to Samaria. On the way, at Beth Eked of the
Shepherds,
Jehu had received in Jezreel the severed heads of the House of Ahab that the
Rulers of Samaria (Shomron) had sent him. He had also exterminated all the
supporters of Ahab that he could lay hold of in the Jezreeel area. Now he set
off to assert his domain in Samaria the capital. On the way he, by chance,
encountered members of the family of Ahaziah of Judah. It will be remembered
that Ahaziah through his mother was closely related to Ahab.
[2-Kings 10:13]
Jehu
met with the brothers of Ahaziah
king of Judah, and said, Who are you?
So they answered, We are the brothers of
Ahaziah;
we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen
mother.
The sons of the King meaning the family of Joram and the sons of Jezebel the
Queen Mother meaning the mother of Joram. This indicates that Jezebel had
retained an independent position of importance throughout the reign of Joram.
They were unaware that Joram and all his family along with Jezebel had been done
to death by Jehu.
[2-Kings 10:14] And he said, Take them
alive! So they took them alive, and killed them at the well of Beth Eked,
forty-two men; and he left none of them.
Yehudah kiel ("Daat Mikra") points out that the number 42 is the same number of
youths that were killed by the bears for mocking Elijah (2-Kings 2:24). Perhaps
there exists a deliberate parallelism here? The youths were killed for
rebellious behavior and treating the Prophet of God with contempt. This attitude
may also have prevailed amongst the kin of King Ahaziah and so they too were
punished.
[2-Kings 10:15] Now when he departed
from there, he met Jehonadab
the son of Rechab,
coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, Is your heart right, as
my heart is toward your heart?
And Jehonadab
answered, It is.
Jehu
said, If it is, give me your hand. So he gave him his hand, and he took him up
to him into the chariot.
Jehonadab was coming to meet him. It could be that both Jehonadab and Jehu had
been part of an underground association that due to dissatisfaction had for some
time been considering rebellion. The message to Jehu from the Prophet had
triggered off the revolt but some degree of preparation may have been taking
place before then.
Jehonadab the son of Rechab was an ardent adherent of Biblical Truth. He was
descended from Jethro and amongst his clan were numbered families of scribes
(2-Chronciles 2:55). We learn that Jehonadab was to command his family to always
dwell in tents and never drink wine (Jeremiah 35:6-7). These were the Rechabites.
They were to be found both in the north, in the Kingdom of Israel, and also in
the south, in the Kingdom of Judah.
The Rechabites (or a portion of them) were destined to be exiled with the Ten
Tribes. According to later Jewish Tradition they were to be found in "the
Blessed Isles" and
" in the Midst of the Ocean, the Great Sea". This means the island of Ireland
and the British Isles as we have shown elsewhere and spoken of at length in our
book, "Ephraim. The Gentiles Children of Israel".
See:
Brit-Am Now no. 1411
#7. Rechabites:
A New and Unexpected Source?
Jewish Traditions Placed the Lost Ten Tribes in the British Isles!!
http://britam.org/now2/1411Now.html#Rechabites
In Jewish Tradition the Rechabites, like the sons of Moses, are often
associated with the Ten Tribes in their places of exile. One group is assumed to
be beside the other. We find legends that locate the Rechabites and Sons of
Moses besides the Khazars and also in Gaul (France) and the British Isles.
Additional evidence shows portions of the Ten Tribes to have been in both
areas.
It is interesting to note that the treacherous, racist Identity vermin
(advocates of the evil Serpent doctrine, in the USA) depict the Rechabites as
sinister, almost supernatural, entities. This is in direct contradiction to
Biblical evidence.
[2-Kings 10:16] Then he said, Come with
me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they had him ride in his chariot.
[2-Kings 10:17] And when he came to Samaria, he killed all who remained to Ahab
in Samaria, till he had destroyed them, according to the word of the LORD which
He spoke to Elijah.
[2-Kings 10:18] Then Jehu
gathered all the people together, and said to them, Ahab served Baal a little,
Jehu
will serve him much.
[2-Kings 10:19] Now therefore, call to
me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. Let no one
be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is missing shall not
live. But Jehu
acted deceptively, with the intent of destroying the worshipers of Baal.
Jehu lied. He used deceit in order to trap the worshippers of Baal. The Sages
used this instance to warn us to be careful with what we say. Words sometimes
have a power of their own. We later find that Jehu himself was to stray from the
straight path and to follow the idolatrous precedent sent by Jeroboam the first
king of the northern Ten Tribes (2-Kings 10:31). In those days things were
different than they are now. Idolatrous practices had a great attraction. They
made sense and had an appearance of efficacy. If today a person does give into
their animalistic nature they should at least try not to sell their soul. If
somewhere in your mind one retains a degree of Biblical Consciousness, the Bible
will show you the way back.
[2-Kings 10:20] And
Jehu
said, 'Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.' So they proclaimed it.
He had it announced that a Holy Convocation dedicated to Baal was to take place.
Jehu had just taken over.
He was giving the appearance of being an adherent of Baal worship and wishing to
inaugurate his reign by a communal sanctification to the god.
[2-Kings 10:21] Then
Jehu
sent throughout all Israel; and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there
was not a man left who did not come. So they came into the temple of Baal, and
the temple of Baal was full from one end to the other.
[2-Kings 10:22] And he said to the one
in charge of the wardrobe, 'Bring out vestments for all the worshipers of Baal.'
So he brought out vestments for them.
He had them dress up in holy sacramental garments. Me'am Loaz suggests that this
was in order to distinguish the priests from the men of Jehu.
[2-Kings 10:23] Then
Jehu
and Jehonadab
the son of Rechab
went into the temple of Baal, and said to the worshipers of Baal, 'Search and
see that no servants of the LORD are here with you, but only the worshipers of
Baal.'
[2-Kings 10:24] So they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now
Jehu
had appointed for himself eighty men on the outside, and had said, 'If any of
the men whom I have brought into your hands escapes, whoever lets him escape, it
shall be his life for the life of the other.'
Jehu had to make this threat. Many of the Israelites had participated in the
pagan ceremonies. Even though they had now decided to side with Jehu
they still must have retained some sympathy for the officiates who services they
had partaken of.
[2-Kings 10:25] Now it happened, as soon
as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that
Jehu
said to the guard and to the captains, 'Go in and kill them; let no one come
out!' And they killed them with the edge of the sword; then the guards and the
officers threw them out, and went into the inner room of the temple of Baal.
The Priest of the Baal (apparently named Matan see 2-Kings 11:18) completed the
sacrifice in which all the adherents of the Baal participated (Daat Mikra).
They were therefore all liable to be killed. And Jehu killed them.
[2-Kings 10:26] And they brought the
sacred pillars out of the temple of Baal and burned them.
"Sacred Pillars" in Hebrew "matsavot" which can mean pillars but it also
connotes any monument especially one of stone.
Daat Mikra says that the "matsavot" had a wooden veneer and was covered with
inflammable decoration. It was this which was burnt and after that the stone
itself was smashed to pieces. me'am Loaz says that the stone matsavah had a kind
of wooden frame over it and this is what was burnt.
The May Pole which until recently was a central feature of many an English
Village is a vestige of Baal worship.
[2-Kings 10:27] Then they broke down the
sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the temple of Baal and made it a refuse
dump to this day.
#a refuse dump#. This was one of those places in the Hebrew Bible where one word
is written but traditionally another is read in its place.
For example see:
"Brit-Am Now"- 402
#3. The NORTHERN BORDERS of Biblical Israel
http://britam.org/now/now402.html
# In the Hebrew Bible (Masoretic
Text) it will be noticed (2 Kings 5;12) that the word
ABANA
(Abana
River) has none of the
usual vowel points and besides it in the margin is the word "AMANA". There are a
few similar cases of this phenomenon in the Hebrew Bible. The reasons
are not always clear but the practical traditionally accepted implication is
that the word in the text must always be pronounced as it is in the margin even
though it is written differently! In other words, the Jewish Hebrew
traditionalists always pronounced the word transliterated as "Abana"
in 2 Kings 5;12 as "AMANA"! #
So too, here also both the written word and its traditional substitute have
significance. Both words (translated as "a refuse dump") mean toilet area i.e. a
place set aside for people to relieve themselves in. Jehu destroyed the Baal
Temple and converted what remained to a public toilet.
[2-Kings 10:28] Thus
Jehu
destroyed Baal from Israel.
[2-Kings 10:29] However Jehu
did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of
Nebat,
who had made Israel sin, that is, from the golden calves that were at Bethel and
Dan.
These golden calves had been set up by Jeroboam when he separated the Northern
Ten Tribes from the Kingdom of Judah.
Some modern scholars say that the Egyptians had a kind of idol
depicted by a bull calf and this was the prototype for the golden calf.
Others point out that the Canaanite baal was also sometimes depicted as a bull.
[So too was the Greek Zeus who combines aspects of Canaanite and Israelite
worship. Zeus in the form of a bull abducted Europa the daughter of Agenor
(Canaan) and took her to Crete. Europa gave her name to Europe. ]
Rashi says that Jehu maintained the calves for the same reason that Jeroboam had
set them up in the first place (2-Kings 12:26-29): The calves served as a
substitute for the worship of the Almighty in the Temple at Jerusalem. Jehu
like Jeroboam did not want the people going up to Jerusalem lest they be led to
seek a reunification with Judah.
Reunification would imply the whole of Israel being ruled over by the House of
David leaving Jehu and his connected dynasty superfluous.
[ Maybe the attempts of certain "Ephraimite" groups to deliberately distance
themselves from mainstream Yehudah emanate from a similar motivation' ]
Jehu may at first have related to the calves as a legitimate means of enhancing
and regulating worship of the Almighty.
The Calves were not necessary idolatrous at first.
In popular worship the Almighty may have been considered as represented by a
bull.
This is idolatry but it may have been derived from a mistake in terminology.
See Brit-Am Commentary to Psalms 132:5
http://britam.org/psalms/psalms132.html
Cf. The blessing of Jacob to Joseph:
[Genesis 49:24] BUT HIS BOW ABODE IN
STRENGTH, AND THE ARMS OF HIS HANDS WERE MADE STRONG BY THE HANDS OF THE MIGHTY
GOD OF JACOB; (FROM THENCE IS THE SHEPHERD, THE STONE OF
ISRAEL:)
# THE MIGHTY GOD OF JACOB# In Hebrew "Abir Yaacov". "Abir" can mean both
"mighty one" and "great bull".
The expression could possibly (it is not so certain) have been understood to
mean "the Bull of Jacob" and to have been applied to God Himself!!
Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi (1075-1141 CE) in his work "The Kuzari" says that the
golden bull calves were intended to represent a means to reach the God of
Israel. Because they had been made without Divine Sanction it was considered as
if they were idols and later they did indeed take on idolatrous significance.
Commentators have suggested in both cases (the golden calf in the wilderness and
the golden calves of Jeroboam) that the initial intention was not necessarily
outright idolatry. It was rather an alternate means of serving the Almighty that
was not authorized by the Prophecy and that degenerated quickly. The golden calf
in the wilderness was not made to replace God but rather (at least at first) to
replace Moses. It was meant to be an intermediary (like Moses) between God and
people.
Exodus 32:
1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the
people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, 'Come, make us gods [Hebrew:
"elohim"]
that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of
the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'
2 And Aaron said to them, 'Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears
of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.' 3 So all
the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought
them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it
with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf.
Then they said, 'This is your god [Hebrew: "eloheca"
i.e. your gods] , O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!'
Note the words "elohim" translatable as either "god" or "gods"; and "eloheca"
i.e. your gods in the plural but also applicable in the singular.
These words can also mean "mighty ones" and may be applied to "angels" i.e.
divine intermediaries.
Notes in Exodus 32:1 above that the "gods" were meant to go before them in stead
of Moses who was presumed to have disappeared.
[2-Kings 10:30] And the LORD said to
Jehu,
'Because you have done well in doing what is right in My sight, and have done to
the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, your sons shall sit on the throne of
Israel to the fourth generation.'
God spoke to Jehu through a Prophet. In a sense, some of the Rabbis say, God
speaks to us in some way or other every day. We have to learn to sensitize
ourselves and be attuned to the Divine Message.
[2-Kings 10:31] But
Jehu
took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart;
for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin.
Going in the pathway of the Almighty and obeying the Law is not something that
can be done half-heartedly. It can require an all-out effort.
[2-Kings 10:32] In those days the LORD
began to cut off parts of Israel; and
Hazael
conquered them in all the territory of Israel.
Hazael was the King of Aram translated as Syria but including areas to the north
and part of present-day Iraq.
[2-Kings 10:33] from the Jordan
eastward: all the land of
Gilead'Gad, Reuben, and
Manasseh'from
Aroer,
which is by the River Arnon,
including Gilead and Bashan.
Hazael conquered and ravaged these areas. They comprised a good portion of the
northern Kingdom of Israel.
Did he take captive a portion of the population'
Did some of them flee into Exile even before the Assyrian Conquest, due to the
depravations of Hazael'
The major areas spoken of here are those parts of Israel east of the Jordan.
This was the area initially given to the Tribes of Reuben, Gad, and
Half-Manasseh. The Malbim however suggests that with the increase of Israelite
population and ongoing conquests new lands that had been acquired were
re-apportioned. As a result contingents from other Tribes also settled in these
areas. This scenario finds support in Biblical verses, archaeological findings,
and place-names.
In our work "The Tribes" we have touched on this matter and adduced examples.
Much more could be added to it.
[2-Kings 10:34] Now the rest of the acts
of Jehu,
all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Israel?
# the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel # in our opinion is not the
work we know as the Book of Chronicles (apparently written by Ezra and the sages
who succeeded him) but rather a more comprehensive record from which our own
Book of Chronicles has been condensed.
[2-Kings 10:35] So
Jehu
rested with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. Then
Jehoahaz
his son reigned in his place.
Jehu was buried in Samaria. In Hebrew the word for Samaria is Shomron. The form
"Samaria" however is also ancient and may have been used by the Phoenicians.
Roughly speaking Samaria is the region on the "West Bank" to the north of
Beth-el. "Yehudah" is the area south of Beth-el. This is the Heartland of the
Holy land. This is the region that Obama and his minions and all the pagans of
Europe and Russia and the Gentile Nations are so hysterically determined that
Jews be not allowed to dwell in.
Anyone who supports such evil machinations is courting disaster.
[2-Kings 10:36 And the period that
Jehu
reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.
