2 Kings 10

Chapter 10 of 2 Kings continues from 2 Kings 9. In chapter 9, Jehu is anointed and kills Joram, Ahaziah, and Jezebel. Chapter 10 records how that revolt extends to the complete eradication of both the house of Ahab and the worship of Baal, and it closes with the end of Jehu's reign.

Outline

• Verses 1–11 Jehu sends letters to the leaders of Samaria. They kill Ahab's seventy sons and send their heads to Jezreel. Jehu declares that the word spoken through Elijah has been fulfilled, and he kills all who remain of the house of Ahab in Jezreel.
• Verses 12–14 On the way to Samaria, at the shepherds' shearing house, he kills forty-two brothers of King Ahaziah of Judah.
• Verses 15–17 He takes Jehonadab the son of Rechab up into his chariot, arrives in Samaria, and destroys all who belonged to Ahab.
• Verses 18–28 Jehu deceptively announces a great sacrifice to Baal and gathers the servants of Baal into the house of Baal. When the burnt offering is finished, he orders his guards to kill them; the images are burned, and the house is torn down and made into a latrine.
• Verses 29–31 Jehu does not depart from the sin of the golden calves that Jeroboam set up at Bethel and Dan. The LORD declares that his descendants will occupy the throne for four generations.
• Verses 32–33 Hazael king of Aram strikes Gilead and Bashan, east of the Jordan.
• Verses 34–36 Jehu dies and is buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoahaz becomes king. Jehu reigned twenty-eight years.

Key Verses

• 2 Kings 10:10 "There shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spake concerning the house of Ahab" — This verse reflects the chapter's perspective, which interprets the events as the fulfillment of prophecy.
• 2 Kings 10:16 "See my zeal for the LORD" — These words are central to any assessment of Jehu's character.
• 2 Kings 10:30–31 Jehu is commended for executing judgment on the house of Ahab, but this is immediately followed by the assessment that he did not keep the law with all his heart.

People and Places

• Jehu — King of the northern kingdom of Israel, who overthrew the dynasty of Ahab.
• Ahab — His house falls under judgment in this chapter.
• Elijah — The prophet who foretold judgment on the house of Ahab.
• Jehonadab — The son of Rechab, who sided with Jehu.
• Baal — The Canaanite god worshiped in the northern kingdom of Israel in Ahab's time.
• Jeroboam — The son of Nebat and the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel, who set up the golden calves.
• Hazael — King of Aram.
• Jehoahaz — Jehu's son, who succeeded him as king.
• Samaria — The capital of the northern kingdom of Israel.
• Jezreel — The town where the royal house of Ahab had a secondary palace.
• Bethel and Dan — The two sanctuaries of the northern kingdom of Israel where the golden calves stood.

Points for Reflection

• The chapter both commends and criticizes Jehu (10:30–31). Hosea 1:4 says, "I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu," citing his bloodshed as a reason for judgment. Interpretations of this differ. Some hold that the issue was excessive violence, while others hold that it was his motives, such as political ambition. Some read Jehu's "zeal" as an example to imitate, while others read it as a cautionary example.
• The ethics of Jehu's using deception to gather the worshipers of Baal and then kill them have also long been debated.
• The account of Elijah being commanded to anoint Hazael and Jehu appears in 1 Kings 19. The faithfulness of Jehonadab's descendants in keeping his command appears in Jeremiah 35. The fulfillment of the four-generation promise is recorded in 2 Kings 15:12.
• Among extrabiblical sources is the Black Obelisk of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III, which is known to contain a record of Jehu paying tribute.
• The New Testament does not directly quote this chapter.