2 Kings Chapter 10

At a Glance

  • 2 Kings 10 expands Jehu’s ruthless campaign into a full-scale destruction of Ahab’s lineage and the consolidation of his kingship.
  • The chapter marks a critical transition from Zeal for Yahweh to a new political reality in Israel.
  • Historical & Literary Context.
  • Placed in the late 9th century BCE, this chapter sits within the broader Jehu narrative arc that details the purge of Ahab’s dynasty and the reorientation of Israel’s religious life.
  • - Fulfillment of prophetic judgment: Jehu’s actions enact what Elijah and Elisha had pronounced against Ahab’s line.

2 KINGS CHAPTER 10

Chapter Overview

2 Kings 10 expands Jehu’s ruthless campaign into a full-scale destruction of Ahab’s lineage and the consolidation of his kingship. Jehu’s men receive royal commission and authority to annihilate the remnants of the house of Ahab, including the king’s seventy sons. The narrative unfolds with calculated brutality: letters commanding the strangling of the king’s offspring, the crushing of opposition, and the revelation that Elijah’s prophetic word against the house of Ahab has been fulfilled. Jehu’s ascent is sealed when he enters Jezreel, where a public display of severing the old regime signals a new order.

The chapter marks a critical transition from Zeal for Yahweh to a new political reality in Israel. Jehu’s actions fulfill divine pronouncements, but the text also invites scrutiny of the moral calculus of political power. It records the consequences of idolatry, the accessibility of power through violence, and the fragility of reform when moral integrity is not sustained. The narrative also foregrounds the interplay between royal power and the prophetic word, illustrating how God’s purpose continues to move through uneasy, often violent, historical processes.

Historical & Literary Context

Placed in the late 9th century BCE, this chapter sits within the broader Jehu narrative arc that details the purge of Ahab’s dynasty and the reorientation of Israel’s religious life. The genre remains historical narrative infused with prophetic sanction. The text emphasizes that even political revolutions must be weighed against fidelity to the covenant and the expectations of Yahweh.

Key Themes

- Fulfillment of prophetic judgment: Jehu’s actions enact what Elijah and Elisha had pronounced against Ahab’s line.

- The ambiguity of reform through violence: The removal of enemies is presented as divine judgment but raises questions about means and ends.

- Covenant fidelity and idolatry: The book continues to probe whether national renewal can address the many layers of idolatry and corruption.

- Leadership and legitimacy: Jehu’s military success translates into political legitimacy, yet the deeper moral question remains about the righteousness of the means.

Modern Application

Modern readers can wrestle with the ethics of reform in the face of entrenched evil. The chapter raises tough questions about whether drastic action is ever justified for the sake of justice and repentance, and what conditions accompany true reform. It invites reflection on the leadership challenges of calling people away from complicity with systems of injustice while seeking mercy and reconciliation where possible.

- 2 Kings 9 (Jehu’s anointing and early acts)

- 1 Kings 21 (Ahab’s legacy and prophetic judgment)

- 2 Kings 8 (restoration theme and divine sovereignty)

- Deuteronomy 13 (testing prophetic legitimacy and fidelity)

- Jehu (to explore reform through decisive action)

- Elijah/Elisha (as prophetic voices behind the political turn)

- Jezebel (to understand the idolatry Jehu targets)

Chapter Text

1

And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab’s children, saying,

2

Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master’s sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and armour;

3

Look even out the best and meetest of your master’s sons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.

4

But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand?

5

And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, the elders also, and the bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any king: do thou that which is good in thine eyes.

6

Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master’s sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow this time. Now the king’s sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up.

7

And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king’s sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel.

8

And there came a messenger, and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king’s sons. And he said, Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning.

9

And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye be righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these?

10

Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spake concerning the house of Ahab: for the LORD hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah.

11

So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.

12

And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing house in the way,

13

Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen.

14

And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them.

15

And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot.

16

And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot.

17

And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which he spake to Elijah.

18

And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much.

19

Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal.

20

And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it.

21

And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to another.

22

And he said unto him that was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments.

23

And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only.

24

And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore men without, and said, If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go, his life shall be for the life of him.

25

And it came to pass, 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 slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal.

26

And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and burned them.

27

And they brake down the image of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day.

28

Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.

29

Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.

30

And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.

31

But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.

32

In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel;

33

From Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan.

34

Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

35

And Jehu slept with his fathers: and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead.

36

And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty and eight years.

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