2 Kings 9:10
in 2 Kings 9And on the plot of ground at Jezreel the dogs will devour Jezebel, and there will be no one to bury her.’” Then the young prophet opened the door and ran.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled.
KJV
And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled.
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This verse in 2 Kings 9
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe whole stock of royal blood was little enough, and too little, to atone for the blood of the prophets, the saints and martyrs, which, in God's account, is of great price.
This site's exposition
shalt smite the house of Ahab
on 2 Kings 9:7-10
The commission names the charge precisely: not the calf worship first raised against Jeroboam, but the blood of the Lord's prophets and servants, shed at Jezebel's hand. The sentence on Ahab's house borrows the exact extermination formula already used against Jeroboam's house and Baasha's, him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left, so a reader of Kings recognizes a third dynasty condemned by the same words. The last line names what this book has been waiting to happen, the dogs eating Jezebel in Jezreel, and the young prophet is gone before the door shuts behind him.
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 Awakening3 voices
Those whom God sends on his errands shall not go without full instructions. (3.) He also ordered him, [1.] To do it privately, to single out Jehu from the rest of the captains and anoint him in an inner chamber (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Nothing should remain of her but the monuments of her infamy. She had been used to appear on public days in great state, and the cry was, "This is Jezebel. What a majestic port and figure!
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The dogs shall eat Jezebel - How most minutely was this prophecy fulfilled! See 2Ki 9:33, etc.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
“You know the man.” You recognize the man, that he is insane. 5 Occasionally, prophets under the influence of prophecy lost control of themselves and acted strangely.—Metzudas Dovid. See I Shmuel:24. Also, followers of the Baal were making these derogatory remarks about the prophet.—Radak
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
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אִיזֶ֜בֶל | ʾizevel | Jezebel | H348 → | 22 times |
| יֹאכְל֧וּ | yokhelu | they will devour | H398 → | 810 times |
| הַכְּלָבִ֛ים | hakelavim | the dogs | H3611 → | 32 times |
| בְּחֵ֥לֶק | bechelek | in [the] territory of | H2506 → | 67 times |
| יִזְרְעֶ֖אל | yizreel | Jezreel | H3157 → | 36 times |
| וְאֵ֣ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| קֹבֵ֑ר | kover | [will be one who] buries [her] | H6912 → | 133 times |
| וַיִּפְתַּ֥ח | vaiyiftach | and he opened | H6605 → | 144 times |
| הַדֶּ֖לֶת | hadelet | the door | H1817 → | 88 times |
| וַיָּנֹֽס׃ | vaiyanos | and he fled | H5127 → | 159 times |
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
אִיזֶ֜בֶלJezebel
ʾizevelH348 →22 times
יֹאכְל֧וּthey will devour
yokheluH398 →810 times
הַכְּלָבִ֛יםthe dogs
hakelavimH3611 →32 times
בְּחֵ֥לֶקin [the] territory of
bechelekH2506 →67 times
יִזְרְעֶ֖אלJezreel
yizreelH3157 →36 times
וְאֵ֣יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
קֹבֵ֑ר[will be one who] buries [her]
koverH6912 →133 times
וַיִּפְתַּ֥חand he opened
vaiyiftachH6605 →144 times
הַדֶּ֖לֶתthe door
hadeletH1817 →88 times
וַיָּנֹֽס׃and he fled
vaiyanosH5127 →159 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
Jeremiah 22:19He will be buried like a donkey, dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 36:30
Therefore this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David’s throne, and his body will be thrown out and exposed to heat by…
- 1 Kings 21:23–24
And the LORD also speaks concerning Jezebel: ‘The dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’
- Jeremiah 36:30
Through
2 Kings 9:3Then take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and declare, ‘This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run. Do not delay!”
it leads to
- 1 Kings 19:16
You are also to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah to succeed you as prophet.
- Daniel 2:1
In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.
- Matthew 2:13
When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I…
- 1 Samuel 15:1
Then Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people Israel. Now therefore, listen to the words of the LORD.
- Exodus 29:7
Then take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head.
- 1 Kings 19:16
Through
1 Kings 21:23And the LORD also speaks concerning Jezebel: ‘The dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’
it leads to
- 2 Kings 9:30–37
Now when Jehu arrived in Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. So she painted her eyes, adorned her head, and looked down from a window.
- 2 Kings 9:30–37
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonDivided kingdomJezebelSidonian princess and Ahab's queen who institutionalized Baal worship in Israel, ordered Elijah's death after Carmel, and engineer…
- PlaceNorthern IsraelJezreelAhab's summer capital beside Naboth's vineyard; the city of the dogs' prophecy, where Jezebel fell and Jehu's wheels rolled.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 9:1-24; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.