Exposition of the Whole Bible

Samaria, where the market was kept; the fame fort of meafure and of money is here ufed as before; and we learn from hence that a meafure of ~ wheat was equal to two of barley.

y. 2. Then a lord on whofe hand the king leaned, &c.] Not figuratively, in whom the king confided, but literally, on whofe hand he refted, and by whom he was fupported, being a form and matter of ftate, whilft he and Eijba were talking together, or on whom he leaned as he came to him 3 this was a principal lord, the third to the king, as his title feems to denote; the word by which the Septuagint renders it is by Suidas “ interpreted of fuch that held three fpears in the hand together; and this was-an honourable poft, for a king to lean on him; fuch ftate was ufed by the king of Syria; ch. v. 18. and by the kings and queens of Perfia; fo Gorionides ” fays of Efther, that on the third day fhe put on her beautiful garments and glorious or« naments, and took two of her maidens with her; and put her right hand on one of them, and leaned ~ upon her in a royal manner, or as was the manner ot kings: the fame anfwered the man of Ged; the prophet of the Lord, as the Targum: and faid, Bebold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven might this thing be? it is impoffible it fhould be, if he was to open the windows of heaven as at the flood, and let down fhowers of wheat and barley, in like manner as he rained manna in the wilderne(s: and he faid; the prophet in reply to him:

Bebold, thou foalt fee it with thine eyes, but fhalt not eat thereof; wheat and barley fold at the above price, but fhould not tafte of it, as a punifhment of his unbelief.

y¥. 3. And there were four leprous men at the en- _tring in of the gate, &c.] Of the city of Samaria; lepers, according to the law, being obliged to be without the. city and camp, Lev. xiii. 46. thefe might have a dwelling affigned them near the gate; or they might get as near to it as they could, partly to obtain relief from the city, and partly for fear of the Syrians; thefe, the ‘ews fay *,,were Gehazi and his three fons, fee ch. v. 27. and they faid cne to another, Why fit we here until we die? being ready to perifh with hunger.

y. 4. If we fay we will enter into the city, &c.) Contrary to the law which forbid them: shen the famine is in the city, and we foal die there; not being able to obtain food to prelerve life: and if we Sit here, we die alfo, having nothing to eat to fupport nature: now therefore let us come, and fall unto the boft of the Syrians; put ourfelves into their hands, and lie at their mercy: if they fave us alive, we foall live, if they don’t put us to death, but give us bread to eat, our lives will be preferved: and if they kill us, we Jfoall but die, which we muft inevitably do, whether we ftay here, or go into the city. ¥. 5. And they rofe up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians, &c.] The dufk of the evening, or the evening-twilight, as appears from ¥. 9.12. and when they were come to the uttermofi part of the camp of Syria; not the further part of it, but the edge or border of it neareft to them, debold, there was zo man there; no centinel or guard, which they expected, and to whom they would have furrendered themfelves.

y. 6. For the Lord had made the hoft of the Syrians to hear a noife of chariots, and a noife of borfes, even the noife of a great boft, &c.) Or of many armies, as the Jargum, either in the air by the miniftry of angels; or the Lord fo wrought upon their imagination, that they fancied they heard fuch noifes; or he caufed fuch noifes in their ears: and they faid one toanother, Lo, the king of Ifrael bath hii ed againft us the kings of the Hittites; one of the nations of the Canaanites, and may be here put for the whole of thofe that remained, and who lived upon the borders of the land of J/rae/; though Fofephus* has it, the kings of the ifles; that is, of Chittim, fee Fer. ii, 10. and the kings of, the Egyptians, to come upon us; Egypt being now divided into petty Kingdoms; or elfe the governors of the feveral nomes or diftricts of it are here meant: for the king of J/rael to hire thefe kings was very unlikely in his prefent circumftances; but chofe unreafonable things, in their panic, their imaginations fuggefted to them,

_¥. 7. Wherefore they arofe and fled in the twifight, &c.] Or in the dark, as the Targum, when the twilight was going off; fo that the lepers came very quickly after they were gone, y¥. 5. and left their tents, and their borfes, and their affes;'

fuch was their fright, that they could: not ite loofe their cattle, with which they might hav made greater fpeed, but ran away -onfeots and they lett even the camp as it was; took nothing: away with them, either money or provifions: and ed for their life, which they imagined; to best great danger. | | eee st: y¥. 8. And when thefe lepers came to the uth firft they came to: and did eat and drink, whichy was the firft thing they did, being hungry, ands — almoft ftarved: and carried thence fiver, andsgold,.

and raiment, and went and hid it; in a place without the camp, where they thought it would be fafes) - and where they could come at it again: and came. again and entered into another tent, and carried: thence alfo, and went and bid it, this, Fefepbus fays*, \ they did four times. | 5 4 eR ¥.9. Then they faid one to another, we do not. well, &c.] This is not right, to take this booty toy ourfelves; it is not doing juitice to eur) brethren, and it may not prove well to ourfelves im the iffue this day is a day of good tidings, to be delivered» from the enemy, and have fuch plenty of provifions thrown into. their hands; it would be joyful tid-» ings to the inhabitants of the city did they know) it: and we bold our peace; and don’t publith this) good tidings, that others may thare the benefit of it: if we tarry till the morning-light 5 when it will in courfe be difcovered: fome mifchief will come! upon us; either from the Syrians, who they;mightr fear would return by that‘time, or fome of them: lurking about would fall upon’ them sand deftroy them; or the king of J/rael, when: he came. tox know it, would be fo incenfed as to inflict fome» punifhment on them; or they might expeét fome» evil from the immediate hand of God: sowthere-

fore come, that we may go and tell the king’s houfheld 5

acquaint fome of his fervants with what had happened.;: ¥. 10. So they came and called to the porter of the city, &c.]. The chief of thofe that had the care of the gate of it; for there were more than one, as follows: and they told them; the porter, and the watchmen, with him: we came tothe ca of the Syrians, and bebold, there was nowman there, neither voice of man; not one to be feen or heard ¢ but horfes tied, and affes tied; to. their’ mangers 5) the latter, as well as the former, were ufed for war, not only to carry burdens, but to fight upon, as Ailianus * relates of fome people; and efpecially when there was.a want of horfes, as Strabo”, and both obferve that this creature was facrificed to: Mars: and the tents as they were; none of them ftruck, nor any thing taken out of them. 9 y. 11. And he called the porters, &c.| The porter of the city called to the ‘porters of the king’s. palace: and,they told it to the king’s boufe within; to fome of his domeftic fervants within the palace, _ and they reported it to the king.. Sie ahaale yr. 12. And the king arofe in them ier Upon the report made to him: and be faid unto bis fervants, I will now foew you what the Syrians have done to us; taking it to be a’ ftratagem theirs to decoy them: they know that webe gry; and would be glad to comeout of th. to get fome food: therefore are they goi er of the camp to bide themfelves in the field, to mak Sus ac lieve that they have broke up the fiege, and have — deferted the camp, and are gone, %

lie in ambufcade: faying, when they come out of the city; which they fuppofed they would do thro’ hunger: we /eall catch them alive, take them captive at once: and get into the city; being open to let them out, and receive them on their return.

¥. 13. And one of bis fervants anfwered and faid, let fome take, I pray thee, five of the borfes that remain, which are left in the city, 8c.] Not having died through the famine as the reft; behold, they are as all the multitude of Ifrael that are left in it 5 bebold, \fay, they are even as the. multitude of Ijrael that are confumed; fignifying, there was a like confumption among the horfes as among the people, and they that remained were ftarving as they were’; fo that fhould thofe horfes, and the men, fall into the hands of the Syrians, and perith, it would be no great matter; the lofs would not be much, fince they muit, perifh if they continue in the city: according to the Vulgate Latin verfion, thefe five horfes were all that were left: and Jet us fend and fee; whether the, report. of the lepers is true or not.

¥. 14. They took therefore two chariot-horfes, &c.

Not five, but two only, and thofe the beft, that drew in the king’s chariot. perhaps, and fo were better fed, and fitter for this expedition: and the king fent after the hoft. of the Syrians, faying, go and jee; whether they are -fled or no.

¥. 15. And they went after them unto Fordan, &c.] Not finding them in the camp, and knowing the rout they would take to their own land, they went as far as Yordan, over which they mutt pafs: and lo, all the way was full of garments and veffels which the Syrians had caft away in their hafte; in their fright and flight, fuch of their clothes as hindered them in running; and. their armour, as Fofephus * feems rightly to underftand the word ued, thefe they threw away for quicker difpatch:

| 743 and the meffengers returned and told the king’ that it was as the lepers faid, and what they themfelves had feen.

y.16. And the people went out and fpoiled the tents of the Syrians, &c.] Of their riches, and of their provifions; of which there was fuch a plenty, not only for prefent ufe, but for fale, fo that a measure of jine flour was fold for a foekel, &c. according to the word of the Lerd, by Elifba, ¥.1.

¥.17. And the king appointed the lord, on whofé hand be leaned, to have the charge of the gate, &c,

Not to keep out the enemy, of which there was no danger; but to prevent diforders and tumults among the people, and that they might go out in an orderly and regular manner: and the people trod upon him in the gate; being eager to get out for food; and he endeavouring to keep order among them, they prefféd upon him, and threw him down, and trampled him under foot; or he was placed here to regulate the market, that every one might be fupplied in courfe, but through the peoples preffing to get provifions, he was over-borne, and trod upon: and died, as the man of God had faid, who fpake when the king came déwn to him; {o that he faw the plenty, but partook not of it, as he faid, fee y. 2.

¥. 18. And it came to pafs, as the man of God had fpoken to the. king, faying, &c.| As in y. 1. and what he faid to the king there, and to the lord, in y. 2. are repeated in this and the next verfe, that it might be obferved how exaClly the prophecies were fulfilled. >..

¥.19. And that lord anfwered the man of God, and faid, &c.] Asin y. 2. and be faid; that is, Elifoa,. as in the fame place.;

¥. 20. Aud fo it fell out unto him, &c.] As the prophet predicted: for the people trod upon him in the gate, and he died, fee the note on ¥. 17.

HIS chapter gives an account of fome ad-

y.2. And the woman arofe, and did after the

vice Eliba had formerly given to the Shu-| aying of the man of God, &c.] Whole word fhe mamite woman, and of the fucceis of it, y. 1—6. and of the ficknefs of the king of Syria, who fent to Elifoa, then being at Dama/fcus, by Hazael, to know whether he fhould recover; by whom a meffage was returned, and Hazael was told by the prophet, he fhould be king of Syria, and exercife great cruelty in //rae/, y.7—15. and of the bad reign of Feboram, fon of Febofbaphat, over. Fudah, y. 16—24. and of the reign of his fon Abaziah, ¥. 25—29.- y. 1. Then fpake Elifoa unto the woman, (whofe fon be had reftored to life) &c.]. His hoftefs at Shunem, ch. iv. 8. ce, the following he faid to her, not after the famine in Samaria, but before it, as fome circumftances fhew: faying, Arife, and go thou and thine houfbold, and fojourn wherefoever thou canft fojourn,; with the greateft fafety. to her perion and property, and with the leaft danger to her moral and religious character: for the Lord hath called for a famine, and it foail alfo come upon had reafon to believe; fhe having a fon given to her according to his word, and this reftored to life when dead through his interceffion: and fhe went with ber houfhold, and fojourned in the land of the Philiftines, which was not far from her native place,’ and where there was plenty of food, and fhe could have as free an exercife of her religion as in the idolatrous kingdom of J/rael.

_¥. 3. And it came to pafs at the feven years ends that the woman returned out of the land of the Philiftines, &c.] Either hearing that the famine was over, or believing that it was, the time being expired the prophet fixed for it: and fhe went forth to cry unto the king for ber.houfe, and for her land; which her neareft relations in her abfence had feized upon, as heirs to them; or thofe in whole hands fhe had entrufted them refufed, upon her return, to deliver them to her; or the king’s officers had feized upon them for him, as forfeited to the crown.by her going out of the land without leave; and now fhe needed a friend to fpeak for her to the _ the land feven years; which Farchi fays.was the famine that was in the days of vel;

doubtedly, on: account of the idolatry of Irael, and was double the time of that in the days of of king, which, in time paft, fhe had no occafion it was, un- for, and thought fhe never fhould, fee ch. iv. 13. yt. 4. And the king talked with Gebaxi the fervant the man of God, &c.J Elifha’s fervant, juft at

Elijah. the fame time the woman made her ree to | DLN 5 him; fo that this was before he was difimiffed from the fervice of the prophet, and confequently before the affair of Naaman’s cure, and fo before the fiege of Samaria: faying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elifoa hath done, the miracles he wrought, as the dividing of the waters of Jordan, and healing thofe near Jericho; the affair of procuring water for the armies of the three kings in Edom he needed not to relate, fince feboram was.an eyewitnefs thereof; the next was-the multiplying the widow’s crufe of oil, when he in courfe came to thofe that were done for the Shunamite woman.

¥. 5. And it came to pafs, as be was telling the Jaying, foall I recover of this difeafe? he calls him:

king bow he had reftored a dead body to life, &c.} which was the Shunamite’s fon: that bebold, the woman whofe fon he had reftored to life, cried to the king for her boufe, and for ber land, came and prefented her petition to the king at that very inftant: and Gebazi faid, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her fon, whom Elifba reftored. to life; the very perfon I am {peaking of.

¥. 6. And when the king afked the woman, fhe told bim, &c.\ The whole affair; how that fhe had a fon according to the word of Eii/ba, when fhe had been barren, and her hufband old; that this child was ftruck with ficknefs, and died; and that the prophet, through his prayers, reftored it to life: fo the king appointed unto her a certain officer; the word fignifies an eunuch; him he ordered to attend upon her, and affift her, and fee to it that fhe was put into the poffeffion of her houfe fruitful place, and had abundance of gare nd orchards in it, which yielded excellent fruit, and of fuch it is probable the prefent’ con and which was large: even 40 camels burden; which — as they are ftrong creatures, will bear a great Abarbinel thinks, bread, flefh and wine, an were in the*prefent, but not gold, filver ar ment, which the prophet had refufed to take of Naaman; the Hews have a fable, that there was a precious ftone in it, worth all the good thingsof Da~ mafcus: and came and flood before him, and far on Benhadad, king of Syria, bath fent me to his fon, in veneration of the prophet as a father, as fuch men were called. 2 CROCS, yw 10. And Elifoa faid unto him, go, fay unto him, thou mayeft certainly recover, &e) Phat is, of the difeafe; and there was not only ap obabi i that he might recover of it, it not being’a morta one, but a certainty that he fhould not of as he did not, but’ die a violent deathy which the. prophet predicts in the next claufe; though fome’ take thefe words not as a command," what he fhould © fay, but as a prediction of what he" would fay; that he would go and tell him he fhould certainly recover, becaufe he would not difeourage him, though the prophet affures him in the next claufe; that he fhould die: there is a various’ reading of thefe words, we follow the marginal reading, but the textual reading is, fay, thou foalt not certainly recover, or in living live, which agrees with what and land: faying, Reftore all that was bers, and all follows: bowbeit, or for the Lord hath foewed me, the fruits of the field, jince the day that fhe left the land, even til/now; not only her houfe and land, but all the rent, profits, and dues arifing from thence during the time of her abfence: the Fews except the rent of her houfe.

y¥.7. And Elifha came to Damafcus, &c.] On what account, and when, is not certain, whether to convert Gebazi, as fay the Jews“; _or to confirm Naaman in the true religion he profeffed, for which he might be difmified from his effice, fince-another man was made general of the Syrian army; or on account of the famine; or rather it may be to anoint, or however to declare that Hazae/ would be king of Syria; fee 1 Kings xix. 15. and Benbadad the king of Syria was fick; at the time he came thither, where his palace was, and now a Mabometan temple; a very extraordinary building, according to Benjamin the Few *: and it was told him, faying, the man of God is come hither; the famous prophet in Irael, Elifoa, through whom Naamaz his general had been cured of his leprofy, of whom he had heard fo much.

¥. 8. And the king faid to Hazael, &c.] The captain-general of his army: take a prefent in thine hand, and go and meet the man of God; who perhaps was not as yet come into the city, only into the region of Damafcus: or rather with thee; fo young men wilt thou flay with the fword; in b the Vulgate Latin and Arabic verfions; and which Noldius* approves of, fince a burden of 40 camels, ¥.g. could not be carried in the hand: and enquire of the Lord by him, faying, fall I recover of g. and rip up their women with child, wi this difeafe; he did not defire him to pray the Lord, that he might recover, only was curious to know whether he fhould or not, fee ch. i. 2.

¥.9. So Hazael went to meet him, and’ took a prefent with bim, &c.] As was ufual when a prophet or feer was confulted, fee 1 Sam. ix. 7. even of every good thing of Damafcus; which was a very a@ dog, that be fhould do this x at that he fhall furely die; though not of that ficknefs, nor a natural death, but a violent one,’ and’ that by the hand of this his fervant, though he does not exprefs it. 1 aT y.11. And he Settled his countenance ftedfaftly,. &c.}, Refrained himfelf as much as poffible, that’ he might not weep, as fome Yewi/b writers interpret it;.or as others, he turned his face on one fide, and covered it with his hands, that Hazae/ might not fee him weep; or rather he fet his face

|on Hazael, and looked at him fo withly watil be was afbamed, thatis, Hazael; the prophet looked him out of countenance: and the man of God wept; at the thought of what calamities’ the man before him he looked on, would be the caufe of in I/rgel, as the following words fhew, ial y. 12. And Hazael faid, Why weepeth my Tord, &c.] Imagining it was for the death of Benbadad he had prediéted, for which he could feé no reafon 3 of the title, my lord, fee 1 Kings xviii. 7. and be - anfwered, Becaufe I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Ifrael,; which he forefaw by a fpirit of prophecy; and J/rae/ being his own people, he fympathifed in their calamities before they came: their ftrong bolds wilt thou fet on fire s whi fhould be taken by him, fee ch. x. 32. and th and wilt dof their children, againft rock: ftones, or ftone-walls, or upon the ‘Br ind, fi ee P or pavement, as was ufual in war®, the height of -barbarity and cruely. » Be, and Ben Melech interpret this of b the walls of fortified cities, built ftror and mountains; but this is fuppofed | claule. "achive. Wii 6 y. 13. And Hazael faid, But what, is ‘ti

What doft thou take me to be, a vile, impudent, fierce, and cruel creature, as a dog, to be guilty of fo great inhumanity and barbarity as this? or what is thy fervant? a dog, a mean abject creature, of no power and authority, uncapable of doing fuch great things fpoken of; to which fenfe not only what is predicted of him, faid to be great, inclines, but what follows: and Elifha anfwered, The Lord bath foewed me that thou thalt be king over Syria and that thou fhalc have power enough to do this; this declaration, according to Ben Gerfom, was the anointing of him, predicted 1 Kings xix. 15.

a 14. So he departed from Elifba, and came to bis mafter, &c.] Benhadad king of Syria: who faid to him, What faid Elifoa to thee? concerning his recovery, which was the thing uppermoft in his mind, and he was eagerly defirous to know how it would he: and he anfwered, He told me that thou foouldft furely recover; which was falfe; for he only faid that he might, and not that he fhould; and he concealed what he alfo declared, that tho? he might recover of his difeafe, yet that he fhould furely die in another way.

¥. 15. And it came to pafs on the morrow, &c. ] In fuch hafte was Hazael to be king, as the prophet faid he would be: that be took a thick cloth, and dipt it in water, and fpread it on bis face, fo that he died; not that Benbadad took or ordered uch a cloth to be dipped and laid on his own face, to allay the violent heatin him; but Aazael did this, and perhaps under fuch a pretence; but his real defign was to ftrike in the heat, or fuffocate him; _ for fuch a thick cloth, one of the bed-cloths, made of goat’s hair as is fuppofed, being dipped in water, would fuck in a great deal; and bein Jaid on his face, would prefs hard, and he not able to throw it off, it would let in much water into his mouth and noftrils, and fuffocate him, without Jeaving any marks of violence, which might render his death fufpicious: and Hazael reigned in bis fiead; having an intereft in the army, of which he was general, and perhaps had done fome exploits which had recommended him to the regard of the people.

¥.16. And in the fifth year of Foram the fon of\

Abad king of Ifrael, 8c.) Who began his reign in the 18th year of Febofbapbat, ch. iii. 1. Febofbaphat being then king of Fudabs as he continued to be two years more; for ‘this muft be in the 23d year of his reign, and he reigned 25 years, 1 Kings xxii. 42. Fehoram the fon of Febofoapbat king of

Fudab began to reign; according to Dr. Lightfoot *, there were three beginnings of his reign; jirf, when his father went with Abab to Ramoth-Gilead, when he was left viceroy, and afterwards his father reaffumed the kingdom; the fecond time was, when Febohapbat went with the kings of J/rael and Edom again{t Moab; and this is the time here re- {pected, which was in the fifth of Yoram king of LJ/rael and the ¢hird time was at the death of his father; but now his father was living.

¥. 17. Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, &c.] The fecond time, in the lifetime of his father: and be reigned eight years in Ferufalem; which ended in the twelfth year of Foram king of J/racl, ¥. 25.

¥.18. And be walked in the way of the kings of

Yrael, as did the houfe of Abab, &c.] Imitated them in idolatry: for the daughter of Abab was bis wife; whofe name was Athaliah, y. 26. and b her he was drawn into idolatrous practices; of fuch bad confequence are marriages with idolaters; it is very much that fo good a king as Feho/naphat his father was, fhould contract fuch an affinity; he fuffered for it in more inftances than one: and be did evil in the fight of the Lord, was guilty of idolatry, than which nothing was more difpleafing to the Lord; for he made high places, and compelled his {ubjeéts to commit idolatry, 2 Chron. xxi 11.

¥.19. Yet the Lord would not deftroy Fudab for David bis fervant’s fake, &c.] Not for his merits, but for the mercy he affured him of: as be promifed bim to give to him always a light, and to bis children; or a kingdom, as the J; argum; therefore he would not utterly deftroy the tribe, nor fuffer the fceptre or government to depart from it till the Meffiah came, fee P/- cxxxii. 11. 17.

¥. 20. In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Fudab, &c.] Who had been tributary to Judah ever fince the times of David, for the {pace of 150 years: and made a king over themfelves; for though they are faid to have kings, thofe were only deputy-kings, asin 1 Kings xxii. 47. and now the prediction of J/aac began to be accomplithed, Gen. XXVii. 40.

W. 21. So Foram went over to Zair, &e. A city in Edom, the fame with the Zaara of Prolemy'; fome take it to be the fame with Seir, the mountain or country of that name: and all the chariots with him; all the chariots of war he had; and he rofé by night, and {mote the Edomites which compajjed him about; who came out of their cities in great gj numbers, and furrounded him, he having entered into their country in an hoftile way, to fubdue them: and the captains of the chariots; which belonged to the Edomites; thoie he {mote, 2 Chron. xxi. 9. and the people fied into their tents; the army being routed.

¥. 22. Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Yudak unto this day, &c.). Joram not purfuing the enemy, and taking the advantage of the victory, but returning to his own land, the reafon of which follows: then Libnab revolted at the Jame time; a confiderable city in his own kingdom, a levitical one; this revolt was occafioned, perhaps, by his idolatrous practices, and which he compelled his fubjects to; of this city fee Fab. x. 29. and xxi. 13.

¥. 23. And the reft of the acts of foram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Fudab?} Not in the canonical book of chronicles, though fome of his acts are recorded there, fee 2 Chron. xxi. but in the annals of the kings of fudab, written by perfons appointed for that purpofe. "i

¥. 24. And Foram flept with bis fathers, &c.} Died as they did: and was buried with bis fathers in the city of David; but not in the fepulchres of the kings, and without any funeral pomp, and without any mourning and lamentation for him, he being not beloved, and his life not at all defirable, 2 Chron. xxi. 19, 20, and Abaziah bis fon reigned in bis flead, of whom more is {aid in the following verfes,

¥. 25. In the twelfth year of Foram the fon of Abab king of Ifrael, did Akaziah the fon of 7 oe ‘ king king of Fudah begin to reign.] He is called Fehoa- &c.] His mother’s brother, and fo his uncle: to baz, and 2 Chron. xxi. 17. y¥. 26. Two an when be began to reign, &c. he is faid to be forty-two years of age; the folution of that difficulty is referved for the note on that place: and he reigned one year in Ferufalem, d twenty years old was. Ahaziah faid to be the youngeft fon of Feboram,|the war againft Hazael king of Syria in Ramoth- gilead which he went to recover out of the hands of the king of Syria, as his father 4bab h j

In 2 Chron. xxii. 2.|tempted in his time; in which he was’ affifted

Fehofbaphat, as now foram was by a grandfon of his: aud the Syrians wounded foram, as they’ did name was Athaliah the daughter of Omrt king of

Joel; that is, his grandaughter; for fhe was the daughter of Abab the fon of Omri, yr. 18. it was Remoth, having taken it, and left his army there > to, be healed in Jearecl, of the wounds which the Sy— ufual for grandchildren to be called children, fons ‘and daughters, and perhaps fhe might be educated in the family of Omrt. é y¥.27. And he walked in the way of the boufe of Abab, and did evil in the fight of the Lord, as did the houfe of Abab, &c.| Worthipping the calves, and Baal alfo: for he was the fon-in law of the houfe of Abab: he was the fon of Feboram, who was fon-in-law to Abad, having married his daughter, which accounts for his being guilty of the fame idolatrous practices. - y. 28. And he went with Foram the fon of Abab,

N this chapter we are told, that one of the rians had given him at Ramah; the fame with Ramoth-gilead: whenihe fought again Hazael. king of Syria, for Benbadad being dead, he was.now king in hisroom, ¥. 15. end Abaziah the fon of Feboram. king of Judah, went down to fee Joram: the fon of Abab in Fezreel, becaufe be was fick, of the wounds which he had received, which might oceafion a feverith diforder; and fo it was brought about in providence, that Abaziab, fhould here meet with the deftruction appointed for him, of which in the ‘ jaud fay, thus faith the Lord, I have anointed thee fons of the prophets was fent by Z/i/ba to anoint Febu king of Ifrael, and to order him to fmite deftroy the whole houfe of dab, ¥. 1—10. being done unto him, and the order received.by Febu, he acquainted his captains with it, ¥. 11-15. fet out with him immediately to Fezrecl, ¥..16-—21. where he flew Foram king of I/rael, ¥.22—26. and Abaziab king of Fudab, ¥. 27, 28, 29. Fezebel, the widow of Abas, and mother of;Foram, king: over Ifrael; which was done{ not’ with the and) anointing oil in the temple, which’ could’ not be which) come at; and -with which, as Kimchi! from their Rabbins, fays, only the kings of the houfe of Dawho) vd were anointed, and theysonly when) there was a divifion, or the crown. was tranflated ‘to ‘another family, as was the ‘cafenow; but with common andjoil, or the oil of balfam, fuch as the prophet had in his houfe: then open the door and flee; and tarry

Y. 30—37.: ' not; left he fhould be:examined. by the captains, and.come into danger;. though: before ‘he went out he was to'fay whatris recorded in y. 7,8. 9, 10, om ah y.1. And Elifha the prophet called. one. of the children of the prophets, &c.] Who the Jews generally fay* was ‘¥onab the fon of Amittai: and) ».y.4., Sa'the young man, even the young’ mam the ‘faid, gird up thy loins; his loofe and long garments! prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead.| It is repeated,. about his loins, for quicker difpatch in travelling: that» it ‘might be\obferved, that it was a young and take this box. of oil in thine hand, for an ule, after directed to: and go to Ramoth-gilead; where Foram had left his army with his captains, to keep the city from the Syrians.

¥. 2. And when thou. comeft man. that went, who was more fit for’ this fervice than Elifha, partly:bccaufe of his agessand partly becaufe he would be lefs known; yas alfo this age is remarked, this being:a-bold and’ daring a@tion in a young man to anoint a new. king,’ as well as

Ramoth gilead, but from whence he went is uncertain, doubtlefs where there was’a fchool of the-prophets, perhaps that which was erected near ‘Yordan, on the other fide of which lay Ramoth-gilead, ch. vi. 1, 2. look out there Febu the fon of the fon of Nimfbi, the fame that Elijah was. ordered to anoint, but it was deferred till now, a, reprieve being granted to 4hab upon his humiliation, 1 Kings xix. 16, and xxi. 29. and go in, and make him arife up from among his brethren, the captains of the army: and carry him into an inner chamber; a-chamber within a chamber, as in the original; this he was to do for fecrecy, that it might not feen what he did to Febw; and left he fhould be prevented doing it by the captains, or “be expofed to danger for doing it; fince that might be deemed treafon to do what he was to do, and did, as folprophet himfelf; though! young, andiftillva more fit perfon for fuch»a fervice; though the Largum Fehofbaphat,|is, a young,man, a difciple:of ‘the prophets. ©.. Yi»; And when he came, bebold, théevcaptains of #e, holt were /itting,|8¢,], Hither atwa table, being.at dinner, or at acouncil of war: and he faid I. have an errand unto-thee; O captains loo and directing his fpeech to. Febu 5 or J havea word to thee', fomething tofay to thee, intimating that he defired\to.fpeak, to. him»yalone and Febu Said, bel uato which of all us.2-nowperhaps at firft thorot ly underftanding \whoyhe meant; or however wa: willing to have,\it, repeated,.and» explained, ‘that it might be manifeft to the whole company that he was intended: and befaid} to thee, Ovcaptain,.

lows.’* *. ~~" Ito him only. tie ide dees ~ ¥. 3. Then take the box of cil, and pour it on bis head, &c.| When in the chamber together alone:

y.6. And be arofe, and went into the boufe, 8c.) Into the inner,chambersin it: and he poured the oil on bis bead, and faid unto him, thus faith the Lord ing this he faid,. to

God of Ifrael, I have anointed thee king over the: people of the Lord, even over Irael, for though they were fallen into idolatry, and from the pure worthip of God, yet the Lord had ftill a right unto them, and as yet he had not wrote a /o-ammi upon them; and there were many among them which had not bowed the knee to Baal.

¥.7. And thou foalt {mite the houfe of Abab thy mafter, 8c.\ For Febu was one of Abab’s captains, as he was now one of his fon’s, as appears from y. 25. but this was to be no objection with him to the:deftroying of his houfe, as being an act of high-treafon, fince he had an order for it from the King of kings, and Lord of lords; which otherwife would have feemed unlawful and criminal, and what follows will fufficiently vindicate the juftice of God in it: shat I] may avenge the. blood of my fervants the prophets, and the blood of all the fervants of the Lord, at the band of Fezebel; who killed the prophets of the Lord, and caufed to be put to death Nadoth the fervant of the Lord, and now their blood was to’ be avenged on her and her fon Yoram, and all her family. '

¥.8. For the whole boufe of Abab fhail periph, &c.}] Be cut off by death, and that in a violent put. them off enquiring any

¥. 12. And they faid, Iris fale, Tell us now, &c.] They did not believe he {poke truth, but concealed from them the real matter; which they concluded to be of fome importance, by the haftinefs of the meflenger, the privacy. between them, the countenance of Yebu, which difcovered thoughtfulnefs and concern, and the trifling anfwer he fought to put them off with; all which increafed their curiofity, and made them urgent and importunate-to know the truth of the matter: avd be faid, Thus and thus [pake he to me; fuch and fuch words as above: and particularly /aying, Thus faith the Lord, I bave anointed thee king over J/rael; and no doubt told them that he poured oil on his head, and anointed him, and he might fhew them the oil.

¥. 13. Then they hafted, and took every man bis garment, and put it under bim on the top of the ftairs, &c.] That is, under, Febu, that he might be raifed higher, and put on an eminence above them, agreeable to the high rank and dignity he was raifed unto, and which they hereby acknowledged $ and that he might be confpicuous to others; and. this was done upon the top of the ftairs, the firft and higheft of them, which led up either to an up-.

manner, not one fhould efcape: and I will cut off per room, or to.a {caffold ereéted for this purpofe;

from Abab him that piffeth againft the wall, and him that is fout up and left in Ifrael, of thefe phrafes, fee the notes on 1 Kings xiv. 10. and XXi. 21.

¥.9. And I will make the houfe of Abab, &c.] The fame is threatened in 1 Kings xxi. 22. fee the note there.

y¥. 10. And the dogs fhall eat Fexebel in the portion of Fexreel, &c.| Or in the field of Fezreel; the Yargum is, the inheritance of Yezreel; this is alfo threatened, 1 Kings xxi. 23. and there fhall be none the Targum is, on the degree of hours, a fun-dial, a {tone on which were engraven the twelve hotirs of the day; and which, by the fun’s fhadow on ir, it might be known what hour it was; and at or: upon this {tone they laid their clothes, for Febu to fit upon; not their wearing apparel, but carpets,” or pieces of tapeftry, or fuch like things: and blew with trumpets, faying, Febu is king, and they might come the more eafily into fuch an acknowledgment of him as fuch, though he was anointed ix one whom they had juft called a mad fellow;

to bury her; or nothing of her to bury, as Kimchi, all being eat np but her fkull, feet, and the palms of her hands, fee y. 35. and be opened the door, and fled; that is, the young man of the fons of the prophets, as foon as he had faid the above words, as being not. fo well affected to Abad’s family, and having a great refpect for Febe, the chief commander of the army, and efpecially being under a particular influence of the divine providence, which moved them to take fuch a ftep.

he was ordered, left. he fhould be taken up for a traitor.

v.14. So Febu the fon of Febofhaphat, the fon of He and the y. 11. Then Fehucame forth to the fervants of bis,captains with him entered into a confederacy to de- lord, &c.] The reft of the captains of the army, who ferved under Yoram. as he did: and one faid unto bim, 1s all well? one of the captains, the greateft of them, as Kimchi; he enquired. whether he brought any ill news, fince he came and went in fuch hafte: wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? {o prophane men, efpecially the worfhippers of Baal, as thofe captains might be, were wont to call the prophets of the Lord, becaufe of their habit, their manner of living, and the geftures they fometimes ufed in prophetying, and efpecially be- pole Foram, and fet him up as king: now Foram had kept Ramoth-gilead, be and all Ijrael, becaufe of | Hazael king of Syria; having taken it, he left his army in it, under the command of his captains, of which ‘febu was the chief, to keep it from the king of Syria; which gave Febu a fairer opportunity, having the army at his command, and ata diftance from Yoram, of forming a confpiracy again{t him. ¥. 15. But king Joram was returned tobe bealed in Fezreel, &c.]. Asis recorded, ch. viii. 29. and here repeated for the reafon above given: and Febu caufe of the things they prophefied of; and evenjfaid, If it be your minds; to engage one and all, prophets were fometimes called fo, becaufe, in the time of their prophefying, they. appeared as madmen ®, and in a phrenzy: and be faid unto them, Ye know the man, and bis communication; you faw by his habit of what profeffion he is, and you. may eafily guefs what -he talked of, as fuch men ufually:do,: about religion, and one whimfical thing or another, reproving men for their fins, and telling them what they ought to do; and fuch like things you:may well imagine he has been talking of to me; you rightly call him ‘a mad fellow, and you may. well fuppofe his difcourfe:was agreeable to his charaGter, and not worth relating and hear- and heartily, in this confpiracy,' and to make me king: then Jet none go forth nor efcape out of the city, to go to tell it in Fezreel; that fo Joram might be furprifed unawares, and have no opportunity either of fleeing or of preparing for his defence.

v.16. So Jebu rode ina chariot, &c.]. In great pomp and majefty as aking: and went to Fezreel; fet forward on a march thither with his captains, and part of his army at leaft, from Ramoth-gilead, - which, according to Bunting”, were 24 miles: for Joram lay there; to be cured of his wounds, as before obferved: and Abaziabh king of Fudab was come down to fee foram; fee ch. viii. 29. |

748) y. 17. nd there flood a watchman on the tower of Fezreel, &c.] Who could fee afar off when an enemy was coming, and his bufinefs was to give ‘notice of it; and efpecially he was, now on his watch-tower, becaufe the king was there, and this was neceflary for his fafety: and be fpied the company of Febu as be came, and faid, I fee a company a troop of foldiers, though he did not know who they were, and to whom they belonged, whether they were Syrians or Iraelites, which was reported to the king: and foram faid, take amborfeman, and fend to meet them, and let him fay, is it peace he might fear fome ill had befallen his army at Kamoth-gilead, and the Syrians had got the advantage of them; or they had made an irruption into his country, and were coming to attack him at 7ezreel; or there was an infurrection among his own people.

y. 18. So there went one on horfeback to meet him, and faid, thus faith the king, is it peace? &c. Are things well in the army, or any difturbance in the kingdom? are you come as friends or enemies? and Jehu faid, what haft thou to do with peace? or to. afk fuch a°queftion: turn thee behind me, which he was obliged to do, Febu having fuch a company of foldiers with him and this he did, that he might carry no tidings to Foram, that he might not know as yet who he and his company were: and the watchman told, faying, the meffenger came to them, but he cometh not again; of this he fent word to the king what he had obferved.

y.19. then he fent out a fecond on horfeback, avhich came to them, and faid, &c.] The fame as the firft meflenger did, and had the fame anfwer, and was bid to do the fame as in the preceding verfe.

y. 20. And the watchman told, faying, he came even unto them, and cometh not again, &c.] Was detained, as the other was: aud the driving is like the driving of Febu the fon of Nimfhi, for coming nearer, the watchman could difcern the manner of his driving: for be driveth furioufly; in great hafte, making much fpeed, being a man of a very warm and active fpirit; and now being eager to come up with Joram, and feize him unprepared, and afcend the throne; the Targum is the reverfe, ‘* for he driveth quietly or lowly,” being defirous of draw- _ ing Joram out of the city, and get him into his hands, and flay him, that he might not have the trouble of. befieging the place, which was able to hold out fome time againft him; and befides, he remembered the prophecy of Eli/ba, that Nadoth’s blood would be requited im the field of Fezreel, ¥. 26. and therefore was defirous of drawing him out of the city, in order to flay him there.

¥. 21. And Joram faid, make ready, &c.) The chariot, put to the horfes; bind them, as the word fignifies, to the chariot: and his chariot was made ready; by his fervants immediately: and foram king of Ifrael, and Abaziab king of Judab went out, each in bis chariot; not both in the fame chariot, but each in hi8 own, for the fake of greater magnificence: and they went out againft Febu; not in an hoftile manner, for they had no notion of him as an enemy; though it is much they had no fufpicion of him by his detaining the mefiengers; but Yoram perhaps thought he was defirous of delivering his meffage himtelf; and in honour to him, and alio being eager to know what it was, went out to meet him: and met him inthe portion of Naboth the Fezreelite; which had been his, and where, or near it, he was ftoned, and his blood thed; a very inau(lpicious place to meet himin,

¥. 22. And it came to pafs when foram faw Febu, that be faid, is it peace, Jebu? &c.| Have thing: gone well at Ramoth-gilead? art thou come in tt umph from thence? or obliged to fly from the. rians? or art thou come in a peaceable, or in an hoftile manner to me? and he anfwered, what peace; canft thou expect at home or abroad, from - me or others: fo long as the whoredoms of thy, mother Fezebel, and her witchcrafts are fo many 2. which may be underftood both literally of corporal whoredom, and diabolical arts fhe was addiéted ~ to,. and figuratively of idolatry, often called whoredom in feripture, and of the wicked arts and-methods fhe made ufe of to inveigle and entice per- — fons into it; and both thefe very often went togegether; fee Nabunriii. 4.. and of which Joram was guilty, at Jeaft in part; he connived at all in her, and did not attempt to reftrain her, and therefore had no claim to peace, protection and fafety.

¥.23. And Foram turned bis hand, and fled, &c.} Taking hold of the horfes reins with it to turn them, or by the motion of it dire¢ting the charioteer to turn them back towards Fezreel, whie thér he fled: and faid to Abaziah, there is -ireas chery, O Abaziah; a con{piracy formed, and rebellion raifed by the captains, at the head of which he fuppofed Febu was.

¥. 24. And Febu drew a bow with bis full firength, &c.] To give the arrow all the force he could s and {mote feboram between his arms; that is, between his fhoulders, his back being turned to him, and the chariot an open one: and the arrow went out at his beart; quite through him: and be funk down in his chariot; and died immediately.

¥. 25. Then faid Jehu Pa Not Foram’s, but Febu’s Captain, though he had been the former’s, and his father 4hab’s alfo: take up, and cajt him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Fezreelite; near to which they were: for re+ member, how that when I and thou rode together after bab bis father; either in the fame chariot; or on horfeback fide by fide, his guards or retinue following him two and two: the Lord laid ibis burden upon him, this heavy denunciation of yengeance by Elijah the prophet; and they being to= gether, and pretty near, heard ir, as he might res member, which follows..

y. 26. Surely I have feen yefterday the blood of Naboth, &c.] Thefe are the words of the Lord to Elijah the day after Nadoth was put to death: and the blood of his fons, faid the Lord; who were put to death with him, that there might be no heirs to the eftate: and I will requite thee in this places take vengeance here, as he now did on his fon: now therefore take and cajft bim into the plat of ground, according to the word of the Lord; wheres by it would be fulfilled, fee 1 Kings xxi. 19. more is here recited than there, which Febu membered. | ~ va ¥. 27. But when Abaziah the king of Judah faw this, Ge.} That Yoram was flain: he fled by the way of the garden-houfe; which perhaps, ftood uporthe {pot where Nadoté’s vineyard was, turned intoa garden by Ahab: and Febu followed after bims as tar as Samaria, where he was hid, 2/Cbroa. xxii. g. and faid, Smite him alfo in the chariot; this order he gave to his foldiers to do to him, as he had done to Yoram: and they did fo, at the going up to eeribe of alae

| Gur, which is by Ibleam, a city in th an nafeh, Fo. xvii. 11. and be fled to Megiddos. after he was wounded; another city in the fame tribe, Foo. xvii. 11. and died there; at Megiddos though fome think that from thence he was had by his fervants to Samaria, and there hid, and being found, was brought from thence to Fezree/, where he was flain, and died. ‘7ehu was ordered to deftroy the whole houfe of bab, and Abaziah was of that houfe by his mother’s fide, and walked in the way of it, and was in conjunction with it, and perifhed therewith; this, though here recorded, was after the death of Jezebel, and of the 70 fons of Abab, and of the brethren of Abaziab.

¥. 28. And bis fervants carried him in a chariot

WG 8. | 540 chambers; thefe, by their look’, fignified they. were ready to do any thing Febu fhould direét them, Jezebel having been, perhaps, a very cruel miftrefs to them, and fo was hated by them; and they might hope, by pleafing Febx, to be continued at court in their office. ¥. 33. And be foidy, Throw her down, &c.] Out of the window upon the ground: /o they threw her down, took her up, afd caft her headlong, as they, were bid: and {ome of ber blood was {prinkled onthe wall, of the palace where fhe was: and on_ the horfes;. whith drew the chariot of Febu; and be t¥od her under foot; with his horfes; according to Kimchi, her fentence, and fo her death, was to Ferufalem, &c.] With the leave of Febms be-|f caufe he was the grandfon of Febofbaphat, a fincere worfhipper of God, 2 Chron. xxii. 9. and buried him in bis fepulchre with his fathers in the city of David; fee 1 Kings. xxii. 50. ¥. 34.

¥. 31. And as Febu entred in at the gate, Sc.\\&c. Rither of the city of Yezreel, or of the king’s palace: fhe faid, Had Zimri peace, who flew bis mae ter? Elab the fon of Baafba king of IJ/rael; no, he had not; he reigned but feven days, and being befieged, burnt the king’s houfe over him, and died, 1 Kings xvi. 10. 18. fuggefting that the like would be his fate, who had flain his mafter Yoram; or the words may be rendered, O Zimri, the flayer of his mafter, calling Febu fo, becaufe of his liketoning, asa retaliation of Naboth; for ftoning was done two ways, both by cafting down perfons on ftones, and by cafting ftones upon them, fee the note on Ags vii. 58.

And when he was come in, &c.] To the paace: he did eat and drink; to refreth himfelf after fo longa march, and doing fuch execution: and faid, go /ac now this curfed woman; who had been the means be-jof bringing a curfe on Jj/rae/ thro” her idolatry, and uponAbaé and his family, and upon herfelf, body and foul, being curled of God and of men: and bury ber; forgetting the prophecy concerning her; tho’ afterwards he remembred it: for fhe is a king’s daughter 3 the daughter of Ezbdaal king of the Zidonians, 1 Kings xvi. 31. and therefore, in honour to royal dignity; though a curfed woman, he ordered the, interment of her; or hough fhe is the daughter of one of the kings of the nations of the world, as Kimchi, yet honour muft be given to whom itis due....., this!. ¥.35. dud they went to bury ber, &c.| The fervants of ‘febu, according to his orders and inftructions: but they found no more of her than the cull, and the feet, and the palms of ber hands, the flefh, and even all the reft of her bones, being devoured by dogs, fo that there was {carce any thing of her to be buried, as in ¥. ro. fomething fimilar to this happened to A/cletari¢n, a mathematician, pi-|as related by Suetonius °.;

¥. 29, And in the eleventh year of foram the fon\ Abab, began Abaziah to reign over Fudab.} In ch. viii. 25, it is faid to be in thé’zath year of his reign; it was at the clofe of the 11th, and the ginning of the 12th; or he began to reign with his father in the 11th as here, and in thes2th as there, when his father was dead.

y¥. 30. And when Fehu was come to Fezreel, Je -zebel beara of-it, &c.] And of what he had done’ to Joram: and foe painted. ber face; or put Stibium on her eyes; a fort of paint to make them look beautiful; perhaps the fame with powder of leadore, the Adoors now ufe to tinge their eye-brows with, and make them look black, which they reckon graceful, fee the note‘on Ezek, xxiii. 40. cuftom now obtains among the white Indians, who, to heighten the luftre of their complexion, and render their eyes momgslanguifhing; put alittle) black about them": ag@ tired ber bead; drefled her head in the moft elegant manner; not with a| view to tempt Zebu, which fhe could not expect, being an aged woman; but for grandeur and majefty, and in the pride and haughtinefs of her rit, which fhe retained to the laft, and refolved to keep up and fhew in her extremity and calamity: and looked out at a window, in a bravado, as fearlefs of Fehu, and to dafh him out of countenance if the could; or fhe might hope, by fuch a graceful and majeftic appearance fhe made, that he would be moved to fpare her life; though this does not fo well agree with what follows as the former.

y¥. 36. Wherefore they came again; and told him; 8&c.] _ How things were, and what only could bé, found of Jezebel: and be faid, This is the word of the Lord; or the fulfilment of it: which. be Jpake by bis fervant Elijah the Tifhbite,.faying; as in 1 Kings xxi, 23. TF y. 37. Aud the carcafe of Fexebel fhall be as dung upon the face of the field, in the portion of Fezreel; For upon this fpot her carcafe fell when thrown out of theywindow of the king’s palace; and here.it was left;sfor the vineyard of NabotB the ézreelite, which was in the portion of Fezreel, was hard-by the palace, 1 Kings xxi. 1., there feems to be fome allufion to her name 7ezedel, which fignifies where is dung? fo that they fhall not. /ay, This is Fezebel; there being nothing left of her to be feen or pointed to, nor any grave, nor monument over it on which was fuch an infcriptions nefs to Bini. on Here lies Jezebel; or that might lead pofterity to y. 5 ae he lift up his face to the window, &c.] hearing the above words:

Who is on my fide, who? and will affift in taking fay, This is Fezebel’s grave. Now though the and /faid,|words of this verfe are not recorded elfewhere, as the words of the Lord ord; by Elijah, yet as Febuv vengeance on this haughty, imperious, and abuprefent when they were fpoken, and within five woman: and there looked out to bim two or three eunuchs; who ufed to wait on her, as fuch did on women of quality, and attend them in their hearing of them, he now remembered them, a could repeat them, thefe circumftances bringing: bed-!them frefh to his mind. CHAP

_chapter is concluded with the reign and death of

_ times called in fcripture: and Febu wrote letters, feeing your mafter’s fons are with you, &c.| Sons

’ as Samaria ve ical walled and fortified, and able

‘throne, proclaim him king: and fight for your a thing of this kind, he would come ‘upon them

‘ie chapter gives a farther account of the _ deftruéction of the houfe of Ahab by Fehu, or his orders, even of all his fons and relations, y. f—rr. and alfo of the’brethren of Abaziah king of Fudab, ¥. 12—14. of his taking up Febonadad the fon of Rechabd into his chariot, ® be a witnefs of his zeal for the Lord, y¥. 15, 16, 17. amg of his gathering together the prophets, priefts, and worfhippers of Baal, and flaying them, ¥. 18—25. and a his extirpation of the idolatry of Baal, y. 26, 27, 28. neverthelefs he continued the worfhip of the calves, ¥. 29, 30, 31. wherefore J/rael was diftreffed by the king of Syria, ¥. 32, 33.. and the ftances than dhe two kings, as they ate truly” ep fented in y¥. 2. ren ¥. 5. And be Phat was over the heufe, 8c. The king’s palace in Samaria, who had the eufto> ~ dy, care, and government of it: and he that was over the city; the commander and governor of ‘it, ‘that had the higheft poft in it under the king: shee? ~» ders alfo; all other fubordinate officers and magi+ {trates: and the bringers up of the children; who had the education of the king’s fons committed to them: fent to Febu, faying, We are thy fervants; and will do all that thou halt bid us they were ready to do homage, and fwear allegiance to him as their king, and obey all his commands as faithful fubjects: qwe will not make any kings or fet u any on the ae no not any of the fons or gran fons of Abab: dothou_that which is good in thine eyes; we will never oppofe thee.” AE: y.6. Then he wrote a letter the fecond time to them, &c.| Having gained his point by the former; Saying, If ye be mine; acknowledge yourfelves my fubjects and fervants; and if ye wall bearken to-, my voice; obey my commands: take ye the beads of the men your mafter’s fons, that is, take off their heads: and come to me to Fezreel by to-morrow tbis time; meaning with the heads along with them: (now the king’s fons being feventy perjons, were with the great men of thevcity, which brought them up:) they were in their houfes, and under thél¥ tuition, and fo had an authority over them, and could difpofe of them at pléafure; they were not ordinary peffons to whofe care t were committed," but - the principal men of the @ity.. mcs ¥.7. And it came to pals when the letter came to them, &c.| They did not in the leaft hefitate, but. immediately complied with. the contents of it: that they took the King’s fons, and flew 70 perils which was the whole number of them: and put their beads in bafkets, and fent them to Fezreel, as a prefent to Febu, jutt as they carried the firft-fruirs, as Abarbinel obferves.: y. 8. And theregeame a meffenger, and told bim, faying, They nt ne the beads of the king’se y. 1. And Abab bad feventy fons in Samaria, &c.) Thefe might not be all his immediate fons, but fome of them, his grandfons, as fuch are fome- and fent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Fezreel; who fied thither, perhaps on Yebu’s coming to Fezreel, having flain Yoram, being the metropolis of the kingdom, to confult about-a fucceffor, or how to oppofe Febu, and to fruftrate his defigns: but the Septuagint verfion is, to the rulers of Samaria, which feems moft likely to be the true reading: fo the elders; the civil magiftrates of the city of Samaria: and to them that brought up Abab’s children: who had the care of their education; who either always dwelt at Samaria, being the royal city, or were fent with their charge thither, when Foram went to Ramoth-gilead, for fafety, fuppofing he fhould be wortted "by the Syrians; or they fled thither with them-upon the death of Soram: faying; as follows.

y¥.2. Now as foon as this letter cometh to you,

of Abab, and fome of Foram, and all either the fons or grandfons of Abab: and there are with you chariots and borfes; military ones: @ fenced city alfo, to hold out a to arm themfelves and people within their. defence.

¥. 3. Look even out the bef and meetop of x C c-

Jons, &c.] Perhaps this meffenger to Febu came from the great men of Samaria themfelves, to let him know that they had obeyed his orders: and be jfaid, Lay ye them in two heaps at the entring in of e gate, until We morning; very probably. it was - towards or at the evening they were brought; and he ordered them to be taken out of the bafkets,; and laid in’ two heaps at the entring of the gate of the city, that they might be taken notice of, and publicly viewed by the people hee and repaffed the gate; and where they meti bers, either on account of the marke

‘, ther on account of age orjiproper qualifications, as wifdom, courage, &e. fet him on his father’s | mafter’s houfe, that the crown may continue in his: family; all which he didnot defire might be, but in this ‘farcaftic and {neering manner dares them to do it. ¥. 4. But they were exceedingly afraid, &c.] They were intimidated at once; for they faw the purport of thofe letters, that fhould they attempt ith his forces: and faidBebold, two kings flood wot before hims the kings of Yrael and Fudab, Fovam and Abaxiab; but they were unarmed, and therefore how fhould they ftand before an armed body of men Yehu had with him; this fhews the pufillanimity of thefe men to make ufe of fuch an argument as this: how then Wall we fiand 2 that is, before Zebu; but they were in much better circum- at night when the gate was fhut. ot ¥. 9. And it came to pafs in the morning, t: * ‘ “* 7 m went out, and fiood, and faid to all the people, who were gathered together to this fhocking or on the'above accounts: 2 ak bin avings had no concern in taking. off the heads of thofe * P,; a.. oi 4

Chex. ¥.16—17. il. K FRAG Ss Ras abi nen: debold, I con/pired againft my mafter, and flew bim; 1 own it, and fome may blame me for it, and charge me with treafon and murder: dat who flew all thefe? not he, but the chief men of, Samaria, and therefore muft be more guilty than he, having fhed the blood of fo many perfons, who had not offended againft God and man to fo great a degree as Yoram; this he faid to leflefhis own fin, and wipe off the reproach of it, that his character might appear fairer in the eyes of the people, concealing, at the fame time, his orders for the flaying of

¥. 10. Know now, that there foall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord /pake concerning the boufe of Abab, 8c. He’ would have them obferve, that all this, and what elfe fhould follow of the fame kind, were and would be brought about by the providence of God, according to divine predictions, and as juft punifhments on Abad’s family for their fins; and therefore, neither he nor others were.to be blamed for what was done, fince they were@nly initruments made ufe of by “the Lord, who both foretold all this, and gave orders for the execution: of it: for the Lord hath done that which he fpake by his fervant Elijah; fee 1 Kings xxi. 21. 29..

y. 11. So Febu flew all that remained of thesboufe of Abab in Fezreel, &c.] Which to do, and to juttify himfelf in fo dejng, was the defign of what he faid in the preceding verfes: and bis great men; his minifters of ftate and counfellors, that advifed him to, and abetted him in, his idolatrous practices, and fo juftly fuffered for the fame; and perhaps fotihe of them at leaft were thofe very men that cut off the heads of his fons in complaifance to

Yebu: and his i more diftantly related to or of Forai and his queén; for they knew nothing of the death of Yoram and Fezebel, and the revolution made in the kingdom, and therefore with great fimplicity tell who they were, and where they were going, and’on what account.

¥.14. And he faid, Take them alive, &c.] _ Gave orders, to his guards to feize them, and make ‘Hem captives: and they took them alive, and flew them at the pit of the focaring-bouf@ where they wafhed the fheep when they fheered them; even 42 men, neither left be art of them they being, by their grandmother’s fide,*of the houfe of 4ha, and fo within thought; though his chief view might be; left they fhould make any pretenfions to the crown, being defcended from that houfe, or fhould hereafter attempt to avenge the death of their relations; but by the judgment of God they were cut off as idolaters.; Me ¥.15. And when he was departed thence, &c.] From Betbeked; or the thearing-houfe: be lighted on Febonadab the fon of Rechab coming to meet bim; a Kenite, a defcendant of Fethro, the father-inlaw of Mo/es, a wife and good man, as appears by the laws and rules he gave to his pofterity, who continuedito the times of Feremiab, and were then’ obfervant of them, Fer. xxxv. 6—10, this good man hearing of eby’s coming to the throne, and of his deftruétion of the idolatrous family of Abad, and of his zeal for the worfhip of God, and againft idolatry, came forth from his tent to/meet him, and congratulate him upon it: and be faluted bims; Fonadab faluted Febu, according to Abarbinel; or bleffed him", wifhed him all happinefs in his king dom, and fuccefs in the, ie of it; though moft underftand it of Febu’s feems beft to agree with the following: and faid to’ him, is thy heart right as my heart is with thy heart? that is, haft thou the fame’ cordial affection, and fincere refpect for me, as I have for thee? and Febonadab anfwered, it is to which fome join the next claufe, and-read, and it is; which is doubling the anfwer for the confirmation of it, as Kimchi fays; though he alfo obferves, that the latter may be interpreted as the anfwer of Febu, by way. of interrogation, is z¢? then give me thine hand and

‘him, or his acqu e and familiars, his affociates in fin and wickedinefs: and bis priefts; who officiated for him, and offered his facrifices to Baal; the priefts he kept in his palace, and eat at his table: until he left him none remaining; either of his kindred or his priefts, that is, that were at Fezree;

for there were others at Samaria, ¥.17. 19.

y. 12. And be arofe, and departed, and came to Samaria, &c.) To make a clear riddance there of all that belonged to Abad, as at Fezreel, and abo. lith idolatry there: and as begwas at the fbearingboufe in the way; or, the howe of the binding of the Jfoepherds, who, in fhearing their fheep, bind their legs together; the Targum is, ‘* the honfe of the gathering of che. fhepherds;” where they ufed to meet and converfe together; with fome it is th proper name of a place, Bethektd, a country village between Fezree/ and Samaria. ‘Ferom {peaks 3 of a village of this name, fituated in a large plain, about 15 miles from a place called Legion, which village he takes to be this here.

y. 13. Febu met with the brethren of Abaziah king of Judah, &c.] At the above place; thefe were the fons of his brethren, ‘called his brethren, as L as called Abrabam’s brother, being his brother’s fon; for as for his brethren, they had ( i been flain by the Arabians before he was’ made king, 2 Chrous. xxii. 1. 8. and faid, Who are ye? though perhaps he knew who they were: and they; anfwered, We are the brethren of Abaziab; the fons of his brethren: and we go down to falute the children of the king, and the children of the queen, meaning either the children of Abad and Jezebel, much of vain-glory, hypocrify, and a pharifaical {pirit: fo they made bim ride in bis chariot; the fer vants of Yebu by his order opened the chariotand aflifted Fonadad in getting into it.

y. 17. when be came to Samaria, be flew all that remat. m Sam were in any Connexion with him, as related to his gave him his band, Fonadab gave Jehu his hand as. a token of fincere friendfhip*, and.cordial refpeét, and for the confirmation of the covenant between em,,as Ben Melech,; who alfo obferves, that Feb ight bid him give him his hand to help him up into the chariot, fincesit follows, and he took him. up to bim into the chariot; to ride with him to Samaria the company of fuch a man, fo famous for wifdom and goodnefs, he knew would give him much countenance among the people; and fanction to what he did. om » ¥.16. And he faid, come with me, and fee my zeal for the Lord of hots, &c.] In deftroying idolaters and idolatry, with an intent to do which he was going to Samaria; this feems to favour very.

to the fame purpofe is our verfion,zf if be, and be the’commiffion of ¥ebu to flay them, at leaft as he _

0 Abab in Samaria, &c.) All that © family, of as minifters of his in civil or religious things: sill be had deftroyed im, his whole houte, us he was ordered: according to the word of the Lord, which he foake to Elijah; which is obferved, to fhew the exact fulfilment of prophecy, fee y.18. And Febu gathered all the people together, &c.] ‘The people of Samaria, at leaft the principal of them: and faid unto them, Abab ferved Baal a little, but febu fhall ferve him much, which fome underftand as fpoken ironically; but the words fee to be fpoken with a defign to deceive the idolatrous inhabitants of Samaria, making them to believe that he was hearty in the worfhip of Baal, and fhould fhew a greater refpeét to it, and more conf{tantly attend it than 444d had done; and this he faid with a view to draw them to the temple of Baal, and there deftroy them, as the fequel fhews; and in which he is not to be juftified, however good his intention was; for evil is not to be done, that good may come.

y.19. Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his fervants, and all bis priefts, let none be wanting, &c.) All that were employed in the feveral parts of religious worfhip given him, and in performing any rite and ceremony belonging to it; in invocation of him, and finging praifes to him, as the prophets; in offering facrifices to him as the priefts; or in affifting them in their fervice, who may be meant by his fervants or minifters:

tor I have a great facrifice to do to Baal, by which, though he might mean a facrifice of his prophets, priefts, fervants and worfhippers, he would have it otherwife underftood, and his defign was to deceive, which cannot be juftified: who/oever shall be wanting, he foall net lives but be put to death; this he faid, pretending his great zeal for Baa/, when his view was by this threatening to get all his worfhippers together to deftroy them, that none might efcape, as follows: bilt Febu did it in fubtlety, to the intent that be might deftroy the worfhippers of Baal; the Targum renders it, with wifdom; but Farchi and Ben Gerfom much better, in deceit; the word fignifies fupplantation, fuch as E/au charged ‘facob with.

y.20. And Febu faid, proclaim a folemn affembly for Baal, &¢.| Such as with the Jews was an holy convocation, when they were forbidden and reftrained from doing any work on that day; and fuch a day Febu would have appointed and proclaimed for Baal, that the people might. be at leifure to attend: and they proclaimed it, acéordi to his order, in Samaria.

¥. 21. And Febu sent through all Ifrael, 8c.] Perfons to proclaim this folemn affembly: and all the worfbippers of Baal came, fo that there was not a nan left that. came not; fome no doubt came cheerfully, having no fufpicion of him, and the rather, as he might have been a worfhipper of Baal in the times of dhab, and as for what he had done to Baal’s priefts, they might confider that only as they were in connexion with 4had’s family, whom to deftroy was his political intereft; and they were glad at heart their new king was fo affected to Baal, and fond to fee fuch a grand folemnity as they expected this to be; and others that might be fufpici- ‘ous of him, yet as they mutt die ifsthey did not appear, and there was a poffibility might live, chofe therefore to come: and th me into the honfe of Baal; the temple which Abad had built for him in Samaria, 1 Kings xvi. 32, and the houfe

\of Baal was full from one end to ‘the otber;

hatte, as Kimchi, and rufhed out of the temple, oe not only the body of the temple, but all the outward court, every mouth, or corner, as in the original text: and this fingle houfe might be fufficient for all in the land; fince thé number of them might be greatly lefiened by the miniftry of Eijeb and Elifha, as well as by the deftruction the former made of the prophets of Baa/; and by the fchoolg of the prophets fet up in divers places; from whence prophets were fent out to inftruéct the people; and by Yorem’s putting away the image of Baal, which no doubt leffened the number of his _ worfhippers. ie y¥.22. And he faid unto him that was over the — vefiry, &c.] ‘That had the care of the garments, in which the priefts of Baal miniftred: bring forth veftments for all the worfoippers of Baal; notfor ~ the priefts only, but for all that worfhipped; and this he ordered for the greater folemnity of this fervice, as he would have it thought; butin truth, that the worfhippers of Baal might be feparated, and deer ae the worfhippers of the Lord, — that not one of them might be among them: ead he brought them forth vefiments; out of the chamber or wardrobe in which they were, and they put them on.;

ye. 23. And Febu went, and Febonadab the fon of Rechab, into the boufe of Baal, &c.] Who no doubt was led into the fecret, and knew the defion of Febu, or he would not have gone into fuck an idolatrous place: and {aid unto the worfhippers — of Baal, fearch and look, that there be here with you none of the fervants of the Lord, but the worjrippers of Baal only, pretending a i regard — to the purity of their worfhip and facrifices, that they might not be profaned‘ by the company of fuch who were not wor s of Baal, but of Jehovah; whereas his view Was to prevent any of the worfhippers af God perifhing with them, who might out of curiofity go in among them, to behold the manneryof their fervice. '

¥. 24. And when they went in to offer facrifices and burnt-offerings, &cc.] To Baal, all things be~ ing ready for them: Febu appointed 80 men witbout; without the temple of Baal, at the feveral doors and avenues of it: and faid, if any of the” men whom I have brought into your hands efcape; he that letteth him goj¥Ais life thall be for the life of. him; fhould be put to death for it in his room; the life of a watchman fet to guard, fhould go for — the life of one that efcaped. °

25. And it came to pafs, as foon as he had made an end ofygffering the burning-offering, 8ec.

The chief of thé priefts of Baal, whofe office it was to do this fervice: that Febu faid to the guard, and to the captains, go in and flay them, let none come forth; this he faid to the 80 men fet to guard the temple, and the officers over them; and perhaps they might alfo have. a reinforcement, fince ~ fuch a number feems fcarcely fufficient to deftroy. fo many as were here; tho’ indeed it muft be confidered they were armed men: and they fmote them with the edge of the fword; put them all to death: and the guard and the captains catt them outs thofe that se: were flain, as the Targum, their dead bodies; but it can hardly be thought they would be at the - trouble of cafting them out,’ when the houfe was to be pulled down, and made a jakes of, see eye: lows; rather therefore it fhould be Mey er 2 coff or flung themfélves* with great force, and in being eager to do as follows: and went to the city of the boufe of Baal; to pull it down; to fome city. near Samaria, where wasatemple of Baal; or rather this may defign the buildings about the temple of Baal, in which the priefts and their families lived, and were fo large, that they might be called a city of themfelves.

¥.26. And they brought forth the images out of the beufe of Baal, and burnt them.] Lefer images, the images of other deities, or what was placed as decorations of the temple.

y.27. And they broke down the temple of Baal, &c.] Which fome take to be Belus, others Saturn, others. the fun, which feems moft probable: and was iu mine heart; that he had decreed within himfelf-fhould be done, and had foretold by his prophets would be done, the doing of which was acceptable and well-pleafing to him: shy children of the fourth generation fhall fit on the throne of Irael; as they did, namely, Feboabaz, Foafo, Feroboam, and Zachariah, though the laft reigned but fix months, juft enough to fulfil this promife.

¥.31. But Febu took no -beed to walk in the law of the Eord God of Ifrael with all bis heart, &c.\ As to his moral converfation, he.was not careful that it was according to the law of God, and what he did agreeable to it, it was not fincerely, and from the right principle: for be departed not broke down the bouje of Baal, his temple, demolithed it: and made it a draught-boufe until this day; from the fins of Feroboam, which made Ifrael to fin; which he would,.if he had had a cordial re- a common fewer, a jakes; a fit place for dunghilgods to be thrown into, and an idol-temple to be turned into.

¥.28. Thus Febu deftroyed Baal out of Ifrael.) His images and temples being ferved thus in all places throughout the land of J/rae/, where there were any.

¥. 29. Howbeit, from the fins of Feroboam the Jon of Nebat, who made Ifrael to fin, &c.| Which is the common character given of that king, a blot never to be wiped off: Febu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan; he did not abftain from the worthip of them, partly becaufe he might not think it idolatry, becaufe God was worfhipped in them. he calls the worfhippers of the calves the fervants of the Lord, y. 23. and partly that he might not difpleafe the princes of the people of J/rael, who pena gave in to the worfhip of them; but chiefly left the kingdom of J/rae/ fhould return to the houfe of David, the worfhip Of the calves being a piece of ftate-policy, to keep them ftom going to Ferufalem to worlhip, left thereby they fhould be drawn off from their allegiance to the king of Trael.

¥. 30. And the Lord faid unto Febu, &c.) By a prophet, he not being one himfelf; and this is enerally fuppofed, by the Fews”, to be Fonab the Ba of Amittai: becaufe thou haft done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes in rooting out the idolatry of Bag/, which was right in the fight of God, and was materially.a good work, though it might not be done from a good principle, nor every ftep taken in doing it juftifiable: and baft done unto the boufe of Abab according to all that

HIS chapter relates, how that Yoa/b the fon T of Abaziah, king. of Fudab, being hid and preferved, when. his grand-mother murdered. all the feed royal, after fix years was produced, y. 1, ipect to all the commandments of the law.

M. 32.01n thofe days the Lord began to. cut Ifrael fort, &c.| To bring their dominions into a narrower compafs; this was done in the days of Fehu, though he was fo active and courageous, wherefore the hand of God was the more feen in it: aad Hazael finote them in all the coafts of Irael;’ which bordered onghis country, when he did what Elba foretold he would, ch. viii. 12.

¥. 33. From Fordan eaftward, &c.| This was principally the coaft on which Hazael {mote-them, to the eaft of the land of Canaan: all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Méabites; the country on the other fide Fordan, given to thefe tribes by Mo/es, at their requelt, which were before the kingdoms. of, Sidon and of Og: from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bafban; countries ‘which the J/raelites firft conquered, and were the firft they loft.

¥. 34. Now the reft of the atts of Fehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Lrael 2

Of the preceding kings from the times of Fero~ boam, in which their feveral aéts were recorded, and his _alfo.

¥. 35. Ana Febu flept with bis fathers, &c.] Died as they did: and they buried him in Samaria; where Omri. and Abab his predeceffors were buried, 1 Kings xvi. 28, and xxii. 37. and feboabaz bis fon reigned in his fread; who reigned feventeen years, chap, xiil. I. / y¥. 36. And the time that Febu reigned was 28 years.| Which was longer than any king of J/rael had reigned..:

the fatisfaction of the people, and the quiet thereof, ¥. 17—21.

y¥. 1. And when Athaliah the mother of Abaziah

2, 3- when Feboiada the prieft fet a fufficient guard about him, and the king’s houfe, and anointed him king, ¥.4—12. and Athaliab his grand-mother, who had reigned fix years, was put to death by the order of the prieft, ¥. 13-16. covenant was made between the Lord, and the king, and the people, and between the king and ‘the people; and he was placed on the throne to /aw that her fon was dead, &c.| Who was the daughter of 4/ad, and grand-daughter of Omri, ch. viii, 18, 26. fhe arofe, and deftroyed all the feed raya/, that were left, for many had been. flain and then alalready; the fo: Febofhaphat, the brothers of ‘Joram were fl him, 2 Chron. xxi. 4. and all Yoram’s fons, excepting dbaztab, were flain. by the drabians, 2 Chron, xxii, 1, and_ the fens at the brethren of Ahaziah were Main by Febu, ¥. 8. thefe therefore feem to be the children of Abaziah, the grand-children of this brutifh woman, whom fhe maflacred out of her ambition of rule and government, which perhaps fhe was intrufted with whilft her fon went to vifit Yoram king of J/rael; other reafons are by fome affigned, but this feems to be the chief. For the fame reafon Laodice, who had fix fons by Ariarathes king of the Cappadocians, poifoned five of them, the youngeft efcaping her hands, was murdered by the people *, as this woman alfo was.

y.2. But Fehofreba the daughter of king Foram, &c.] Not by Athaliab, but another woman; for an high-prieft, as her hufband was, would not have married the daughter of fuch an idolatrous woman, nor would fhe have married her to him: /fer of Abaziah, took Foafh the fon of Abaziah, and flole him from among the kings fons which were flain; among whom he lay; either being caft there by the murderer, or her affociates, fuppofed to be dead, or by his nurfe, that he might be thought to be fo, who acquainting his aunt with it, went and privately took him away: and they bid him, even him and his nurfe in the bed-chamber from Athaliah, fo that be was not flain; that is, Febofheba, and her hufband hid him and his nurfe in a bedchamber; or chamber of beds”, in which there