2 Kings 8:18
in 2 Kings 8And Jehoram walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done. For he married a daughter of Ahab and did evil in the sight of the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife; and he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah.
KJV
And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.
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This verse in 2 Kings 8
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe daughter of Ahab was his wife - This was the infamous Athaliah; and through this marriage Jehoshaphat and Ahab were confederates; and this friendship was continued after Ahab’s death.
This site's exposition
In the fifth year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab over Israel
on 2 Kings 8:16-18
Jehoram of Judah begins his eight-year reign, and one clause gives the reason for what follows: “he married a daughter of Ahab”. He “walked in the ways of the kings of Israel”, departing from his father Jehoshaphat. She is the Athaliah who will seize David's throne in chapter 11.
This site's exposition
he married a daughter of Ahab
Adam Clarke names the wife as Athaliah and notes that the marriage bound Jehoshaphat and Ahab as allies, a friendship that lasted past Ahab's death. John Wesley thought Jehoshaphat may have meant the match to unite the two kingdoms. Scripture, Wesley adds, marks it as the root of what followed.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
This unequal marriage, though Jehoshaphat possibly designed it as a means of uniting the two kingdoms under one head, is here and elsewhere noted, as the cause both of the great wickedness of his posterity, and of those sore calamities which befel them. No good could be reasonably expected from such an union. Those that are ill matched are already half-ruined.
And he walked in the way of the king's of Israel, as did the house of Ahab,....
His character is taken from the bad example he followed, for men are according to the company they converse with and the copies they write after. No mistake is more fatal to young people than a mistake in the choice of those whom they would recommend themselves to and take their measures from, and whose good opinion they value themselves by.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
daughter of Ahab--Athaliah, through whose influence Jehoram introduced the worship of Baal and many other evils into the kingdom of Judah (see 2Ch 21:2-20). This apostasy would have led to the total extinction of the royal family in that kingdom, had it not been for the divine promise to David (2Sa 7:16).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּ֜לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and he walked | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בְּדֶ֣רֶךְ׀ | bederekh | in [the] way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| מַלְכֵ֣י | malkhei | [the] kings of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשׂוּ֙ | ʾasu | they did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| אַחְאָ֔ב | ʾachav | Ahab | H256 → | 92 times |
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בַּת־ | bat- | [the] daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| אַחְאָ֔ב | ʾachav | Ahab | H256 → | 92 times |
| הָֽיְתָה־ | hayetah- | she became | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לּ֖וֹ | lo | of him | ||
| לְאִשָּׁ֑ה | leishah | <into> a wife | H802 → | 781 times |
| וַיַּ֥עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הָרַ֖ע | hara' | the evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| בְּעֵינֵ֥י | beeinei | in [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַיֵּ֜לֶךְand he walked
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
בְּדֶ֣רֶךְ׀in [the] way of
bederekhH1870 →707 times
מַלְכֵ֣י[the] kings of
malkheiH4428 →2525 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֤רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
עָשׂוּ֙they did
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
בֵּ֣ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
אַחְאָ֔בAhab
ʾachavH256 →92 times
כִּ֚יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
בַּת־[the] daughter of
bat-H1323 →588 times
אַחְאָ֔בAhab
ʾachavH256 →92 times
הָֽיְתָה־she became
hayetah-H1961 →3559 times
לּ֖וֹof him
lo
לְאִשָּׁ֑ה<into> a wife
leishahH802 →781 times
וַיַּ֥עַשׂand he did
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
הָרַ֖עthe evil
hara'H7451 →662 times
בְּעֵינֵ֥יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
2 Kings 21:13I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab, and I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes out a bowl—wiping…
it leads to
- Amos 7:7–8
This is what He showed me: Behold, the Lord was standing by a wall true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand.
- Lamentations 2:8
The LORD determined to destroy the wall of the Daughter of Zion. He stretched out a measuring line and did not withdraw His hand from destroying. He made the ramparts and walls lament; together…
- Isaiah 34:11
The desert owl and screech owl will possess it, and the great owl and raven will dwell in it. The LORD will stretch out over Edom a measuring line of chaos and a plumb…
- Isaiah 28:17
I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the level. Hail will sweep away your refuge of lies, and water will flood your hiding place.
- Ezekiel 23:31–34
Because you have followed the path of your sister, I will put her cup into your hand.’
- Amos 7:7–8
Through
2 Kings 8:26Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri king of Israel.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 22:2
Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri.
- 2 Kings 11:1
When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs.
- 2 Kings 9:21–27
“Harness!” Joram shouted, and they harnessed his chariot. Then Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah set out, each in his own chariot, and met Jehu on the property of Naboth the…
- 2 Chronicles 22:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.