2 Kings 9:2
in 2 Kings 9When you arrive, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go in, get him away from his companions, and take him to an inner room.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber.
KJV
And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber;
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This verse in 2 Kings 9
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Tuck your cloak under your belt
on 2 Kings 9:1-3
Elisha sends one of the sons of the prophets to Ramoth-gilead with a flask of oil. The anointing is to be done and over before the army around Jehu can ask a question. Jewish tradition names the messenger Jonah the son of Amittai, a reading Gill records without pressing it.
This site's exposition
look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat
Jehu is named by his father and his grandfather, Jehoshaphat and Nimshi, so the messenger cannot mistake the man. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown place him in command of the army of Israel still camped at Ramoth-gilead. The anointing is to be done in private.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Then the prophet Elisha called a member of the company of prophets and said to him, 'Gird up your loins; take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead.' " Here the Scripture reports the just sentence that befalls the house of …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And when thou comest thither,....
His being suddenly animated for the service would be proof sufficient of his being anointed to it. There needed no other proof. The thing signified was the best evidence of the sign. [2.] To do it expeditiously.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Elisha the prophet called, etc. At the same time that Yehorom was ill in Yizre’el.
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. 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבָ֖אתָ | uvata | and you will go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| שָׁ֑מָּה | shamah | there towards | H8033 → | 834 times |
| וּרְאֵֽה־ | ureehosha- | and look for | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| שָׁ֠ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| יֵה֨וּא | yehu' | Jehu | H3058 → | 58 times |
| בֶן־ | ven- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יְהוֹשָׁפָ֜ט | yehoshafat | Jehoshaphat | H3092 → | 84 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| נִמְשִׁ֗י | nimshi | Nimshi | H5250 → | 5 times |
| וּבָ֙אתָ֙ | uvata | and you will go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וַהֲקֵֽמֹתוֹ֙ | vahakemoto | and you will make rise him | H6965 → | 628 times |
| מִתּ֣וֹך | mitokh | from among | H8432 → | 418 times |
| אֶחָ֔יו | ʾechav | brothers his | H251 → | 630 times |
| וְהֵבֵיאתָ֥ | veheveita | and you will bring | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֹת֖וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֶ֥דֶר | cheder | a room | H2315 → | 38 times |
| בְּחָֽדֶר׃ | bechader | in a room | H2315 → | 38 times |
וּבָ֖אתָand you will go
uvataH935 →2568 times
שָׁ֑מָּהthere towards
shamahH8033 →834 times
וּרְאֵֽה־and look for
ureehosha-H7200 →1300 times
שָׁ֠םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
יֵה֨וּאJehu
yehu'H3058 →58 times
בֶן־[the] son of
ven-H1121 →4930 times
יְהוֹשָׁפָ֜טJehoshaphat
yehoshafatH3092 →84 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
נִמְשִׁ֗יNimshi
nimshiH5250 →5 times
וּבָ֙אתָ֙and you will go
uvataH935 →2568 times
וַהֲקֵֽמֹתוֹ֙and you will make rise him
vahakemotoH6965 →628 times
מִתּ֣וֹךfrom among
mitokhH8432 →418 times
אֶחָ֔יוbrothers his
ʾechavH251 →630 times
וְהֵבֵיאתָ֥and you will bring
veheveitaH935 →2568 times
אֹת֖וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
חֶ֥דֶרa room
chederH2315 →38 times
בְּחָֽדֶר׃in a room
bechaderH2315 →38 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 9:14Thus Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. (Now Joram and all Israel had been defending Ramoth-gilead against Hazael king of Aram,
it leads to
- 2 Kings 8:28
Then Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to fight against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead, and the Arameans wounded Joram.
- 1 Kings 22:3
who said to his servants, “Do you not know that Ramoth-gilead is ours, but we have failed to take it from the hand of the king of Aram?”
- 2 Kings 8:28
Through
2 Kings 9:11When Jehu went out to the servants of his master, they asked, “Is everything all right? Why did this madman come to you?” “You know his kind and their babble,” he replied.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:26
‘The LORD has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada, to be the chief officer in the house of the LORD, responsible for any madman who acts like a prophet—you must put him in…
- Hosea 9:7
The days of punishment have come; the days of retribution have arrived—let Israel know it. The prophet is called a fool, and the inspired man insane, because of the greatness of your iniquity and…
- Acts 26:24
At this stage of Paul’s defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You are insane, Paul! Your great learning is driving you to madness!”
- John 10:20
Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and insane. Why would you listen to Him?”
- 2 Kings 9:17
Now the watchman standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu’s troops approaching, and he called out, “I see a company of troops!” “Choose a rider,” Joram commanded. “Send him out to meet them…
- Jeremiah 29:26
Through
2 Kings 9:20Again the watchman reported, “He reached them, but he is not coming back. And the charioteer is driving like Jehu son of Nimshi—he is driving like a madman!”
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 18:27
The watchman said, “The first man appears to me to be running like Ahimaaz son of Zadok.” “This is a good man,” said the king. “He comes with good news.”
- 2 Samuel 18:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
What the record shows
2 entries- Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser IIIundisputed
Nimrud (Kalhu), central palace · British Museum (BM 118885)
Counterpoint: The kneeling tribute-bearer is labeled 'Iaua son of Omri,' and not everyone reads that as Jehu. P. Kyle McCarter argued the Assyrians meant Jehoram, the actual Omride whom Jehu killed, while Tammi Schneider suggested Jehu really was of Omri's line. The standard view — that 'son of Omri' was simply the Assyrian label for any Israelite king — remains the majority position.
- Jehu — attested in contemporary inscriptionundisputed
Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III (tribute scene, 841 BC); other Shalmaneser III inscriptions
Biblical figure (King of Israel, 842/841-815/814 BC) identified in extra-biblical epigraphy.
Counterpoint: The obelisk calls the tribute-bearer 'Yaw, son of Omri,' and Jehu was not Omri's son. P. Kyle McCarter (BASOR 216, 1974) argued the man pictured is therefore Jehoram, Omri's actual descendant. Most scholars answer that 'son of Omri' was simply Assyria's name for the kingdom, and still read the figure as Jehu.
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 9:1-24; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.