2 Kings 15:12
in 2 Kings 15So the word of the LORD spoken to Jehu was fulfilled: “Four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
This was the word of Jehovah which he spake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons to the fourth generation shall sit upon the throne of Israel. And so it came to pass.
KJV
This was the word of the Lord which he spake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth generation. And so it came to pass.
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This verse in 2 Kings 15
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis was the word of the Lord which he spake unto Jehu,.... Which was now fulfilled in the short reign of Zachariah: saying, thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth generation; see 2Ki 10:30, and so it came to pass; as every word of the Lord does, not one fails; for after Jehu reigned Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam the second, and Zachariah, all descendants of Jehu.
This site's exposition
conspired against Zechariah, struck him down
on 2 Kings 15:10-12
The house of Jehu ended where the LORD had said: “Four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel.” The LORD spoke it at 2 Kings 10:30, after Jehu destroyed Ahab's house, and Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam the second and Zechariah are the four generations.
This site's exposition
Four generations of your sons
Hosea 1:4 names the other side of the word spoken to Jehu: the LORD would punish his house for the blood shed at Jezreel. Henry and Clarke read the end of Jehu's sons on the throne of Israel as that punishment. Both words of the LORD came true.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Thus God rewarded Jehu for his zeal in destroying the worship of Baal and the house of Ahab; and yet, when the measure of the sins of the house of Jehu was full, God avenged upon it the blood then shed, called the blood of Jezreel, Hos. i. All these kings did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, for they walked in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
This was the word of the Lord - unto Jehu - God had promised to Jehu that his sons should sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation; and so it came to pass, for Jehoahaz, Joash, Jeroboam, and Zachariah, succeeded Jehu, to whom this promise was made. But because he executed the Divine purpose with an uncommanded cruelty, therefore God cut his family short, according to his word by Hosea, I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu; and I will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel, Hos 1:4.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And it was so. Not that his kingdom deserved to last that long, but to fulfill the word of the King, 9 I.e., the word of God stated in:30 above. as it is stated, ”So shall be My word, which will go forth from My mouth etc.” 10 Yeshayohu:11.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ה֣וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| דְבַר־ | devar- | [was] [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבֶּ֤ר | diber | he had spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יֵהוּא֙ | yehu' | Jehu | H3058 → | 58 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| רְבִיעִ֔ים | reviim | a fourth [generation] | H7243 → | 56 times |
| יֵשְׁב֥וּ | yeshevu | they will sit | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| לְךָ֖ | lekha | of you | ||
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כִּסֵּ֣א | kise' | [the] throne of | H3678 → | 135 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וַֽיְהִי־ | vayhi- | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כֵֽן׃ פ | khen | thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
ה֣וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
דְבַר־[was] [the] word of
devar-H1697 →1440 times
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
דִּבֶּ֤רhe had spoken
diberH1696 →1141 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יֵהוּא֙Jehu
yehu'H3058 →58 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
בְּנֵ֣יdescendants of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
רְבִיעִ֔יםa fourth [generation]
reviimH7243 →56 times
יֵשְׁב֥וּthey will sit
yeshevuH3427 →1079 times
לְךָ֖of you
lekha
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כִּסֵּ֣א[the] throne of
kise'H3678 →135 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וַֽיְהִי־and it was
vayhi-H1961 →3559 times
כֵֽן׃ פthus
khenH3651 →771 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 10:35If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken—
it leads to
- Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 13:1
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.
- Matthew 24:35
Through
Zechariah 1:6But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? They repented and said, ‘Just as the LORD of Hosts purposed to do to us according…
it leads to
- Lamentations 2:17
The LORD has done what He planned; He has accomplished His decree, which He ordained in days of old; He has overthrown you without pity. He has let the enemy gloat over you and…
- Ezekiel 12:25–28
because I, the LORD, will speak whatever word I speak, and it will be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak a message and bring it to pass,…
- Deuteronomy 28:15
If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
- Jeremiah 23:20
The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has fully accomplished the purposes of His heart. In the days to come you will understand this clearly.
- Lamentations 2:17
Through
2 Kings 10:30Nevertheless, the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in My sight and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart,…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 10:35
And Jehu rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoahaz reigned in his place.
- 2 Kings 13:1
In the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash son of Ahaziah over Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria seventeen years.
- 2 Kings 10:35
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; F. W. Farrar, The Second Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.