Worthy.Bible » YLT » 2 Kings » Chapter 9 » Verse 1

2 Kings 9:1 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 And Elisha the prophet hath called to one of the sons of the prophets, and saith to him, `Gird up thy loins, and take this vial of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth-Gilead,

Cross Reference

1 Samuel 10:1 YLT

And Samuel taketh the vial of the oil, and poureth on his head, and kisseth him, and saith, `Is it not because Jehovah hath appointed thee over His inheritance for leader?

2 Kings 4:29 YLT

And he saith to Gehazi, `Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go; when thou dost meet a man, thou dost not salute him; and when a man doth salute thee, thou dost not answer him; and thou hast laid my staff on the face of the youth.'

2 Kings 8:28-29 YLT

And he goeth with Joram son of Ahab to battle with Hazael king of Aram in Ramoth-Gilead, and the Aramaeans smite Joram, and Joram the king turneth back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds with which the Arameans smite him in Ramah, in his fighting with Hazael king of Aram, and Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah hath gone down to see Joram son of Ahab in Jezreel, for he is sick.

1 Kings 18:46 YLT

and the hand of Jehovah hath been on Elijah, and he girdeth up his loins, and runneth before Ahab, till thine entering Jezreel.

1 Kings 1:39 YLT

and Zadok the priest taketh the horn of oil out of the tent, and anointeth Solomon, and they blow with a trumpet, and all the people say, `Let king Solomon live.'

1 Samuel 16:1 YLT

And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, `Till when art thou mourning for Saul, and I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go, I send thee unto Jesse the Beth-Lehemite, for I have seen among his sons for Myself a king.

Jeremiah 1:17 YLT

`And thou, thou dost gird up thy loins, and hast arisen, and spoken unto them all that I command thee: be not affrighted because of them, lest I affright thee before them.

1 Peter 1:13 YLT

Wherefore having girded up the loins of your mind, being sober, hope perfectly upon the grace that is being brought to you in the revelation of Jesus Christ,

Luke 12:35-37 YLT

`Let your loins be girded, and the lamps burning, and ye like to men waiting for their lord, when he shall return out of the wedding feasts, that he having come and knocked, immediately they may open to him. `Happy those servants, whom the lord, having come, shall find watching; verily I say to you, that he will gird himself, and will cause them to recline (at meat), and having come near, will minister to them;

Deuteronomy 4:1 YLT

`And now, Israel, hearken unto the statutes, and unto the judgments which I am teaching you to do, so that ye live, and have gone in, and possessed the land which Jehovah God of your fathers is giving to you.

2 Kings 6:1-3 YLT

And sons of the prophet say unto Elisha, `Lo, we pray thee, the place where we are dwelling before thee is too strait for us; let us go, we pray thee, unto the Jordan, and we take thence each one beam, and we make for ourselves there a place to dwell there;' and he saith, `Go.' And the one saith, `Be pleased, I pray thee, and go with thy servants;' and he saith, `I -- I go.'

2 Kings 4:1 YLT

And a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets hath cried unto Elisha, saying, `Thy servant, my husband, is dead, and thou hast known that thy servant was fearing Jehovah, and the lender hath come to take my two children to him for servants.'

2 Kings 2:3 YLT

And sons of the prophets who `are' in Beth-El come out unto Elisha, and say unto him, `Hast thou known that to-day Jehovah is taking thy lord from thy head?' and he saith, `I also have known -- keep silent.'

1 Kings 22:20 YLT

and Jehovah saith, Who doth entice Ahab, and he doth go up and fall in Ramoth-Gilead? and this one saith thus, and that one is saying thus.

1 Kings 22:4 YLT

And he saith unto Jehoshaphat, `Dost thou go with me to battle `to' Ramoth-Gilead?' and Jehoshaphat saith unto the king of Israel, `As I am, so thou; as my people, so thy people; as my horses, so thy horses.'

1 Kings 20:35 YLT

And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour by the word of Jehovah, `Smite me, I pray thee;' and the man refuseth to smite him,

Deuteronomy 4:3 YLT

`Your eyes are seeing that which Jehovah hath done in Baal-Peor, for every man who hath gone after Baal-Peor, Jehovah thy God hath destroyed him from thy midst;

Commentary on 2 Kings 9 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


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 Jer 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.