2 Kings 9:30
in 2 Kings 9Now when Jehu arrived in Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. So she painted her eyes, adorned her head, and looked down from a window.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and attired her head, and looked out at the window.
KJV
And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.
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This verse in 2 Kings 9
Commentary
7 notes on this verseShe painted her face, and tired her head - She endeavored to improve the appearance of her complexion by paint, and the general effect of her countenance by a tiara or turban head-dress. Jonathan, the Chaldee Targumist, so often quoted, translates this וכחלת בצדידא עינהא vechachalath bitsdida eynaha: “She stained her eyes with stibium or antimony.” This is a custom in Astatic countries to the present day. From a late traveler in Persia, I borrow the following account: - “The Persians differ as much from us in their notions of beauty as they do in those of taste.
This site's exposition
she painted her face
on 2 Kings 9:30-31
Jezebel meets her death exactly as report reaches her, taking time to paint her eyes and dress her hair before she looks out the window, a queen staging her last appearance on her own terms. Her taunt reaches for the one precedent that fits, had Zimri peace, who slew his master, naming the captain who took Elah's throne by murder and burned in it seven days later. Gill reads the question as daring Jehu to remember how briefly a usurper's crown lasts.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
They thought that she would have wept over her dead son, but in the very hour in which she heard that the king had come, she painted her eyes, a raving old woman, adorned her head with a miter and looked from her window so …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
7 And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the L ORD , at the hand of Jezebel.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:95%@v7
And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Jezebel painted her face--literally, "her eyes," according to a custom universal in the East among women, of staining the eyelids with a black powder made of pulverized antimony, or lead ore mixed with oil, and applied with a small brush on the border, so that by this dark ligament on the edge, the largeness as well as the luster of the eye itself was thought to be increased.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Painted her face - literally, “put her eyes in antimony “ - i. e., dyed the upper and under eyelids, a common practice in the East, even at the present day. The effect is at once to increase the apparent size of the eye, and to give it unnatural brilliancy. Representations of eyes thus embellished occur on the Assyrian sculptures, and the practice existed among the Jews (marginal reference; and Jer 4:30). Tired her head - Dressed (attired) her head, and no doubt put on her royal robes, that she might die as became a queen, in true royal array. A window - Rather, “the window.” The gate-tower had probably, as many of those in the Assyrian sculptures, one window only.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּב֥וֹא | vaiyavo' | and he went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| יֵה֖וּא | yehu' | Jehu | H3058 → | 58 times |
| יִזְרְעֶ֑אלָה | yizreelah | Jezreel towards | H3157 → | 36 times |
| וְאִיזֶ֣בֶל | veizevel | and Jezebel | H348 → | 22 times |
| שָׁמְעָ֗ה | shameah | she heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| וַתָּ֨שֶׂם | vatasem | and she set | H7760 → | 584 times |
| בַּפּ֤וּךְ | bapukh | with <the> eye-paint | H6320 → | |
| עֵינֶ֙יהָ֙ | ʾeineiha | eyes her | H5869 → | 887 times |
| וַתֵּ֣יטֶב | vateitev | and she made good | H3190 → | 117 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| רֹאשָׁ֔הּ | roshah | head her | H7218 → | 599 times |
| וַתַּשְׁקֵ֖ף | vatashkef | and she looked down | H8259 → | |
| בְּעַ֥ד | bead | through | H1157 → | 105 times |
| הַחַלּֽוֹן׃ | hachalon | the window | H2474 → | 31 times |
וַיָּב֥וֹאand he went
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
יֵה֖וּאJehu
yehu'H3058 →58 times
יִזְרְעֶ֑אלָהJezreel towards
yizreelahH3157 →36 times
וְאִיזֶ֣בֶלand Jezebel
veizevelH348 →22 times
שָׁמְעָ֗הshe heard
shameahH8085 →1159 times
וַתָּ֨שֶׂםand she set
vatasemH7760 →584 times
בַּפּ֤וּךְwith <the> eye-paint
bapukhH6320 →
עֵינֶ֙יהָ֙eyes her
ʾeineihaH5869 →887 times
וַתֵּ֣יטֶבand she made good
vateitevH3190 →117 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
רֹאשָׁ֔הּhead her
roshahH7218 →599 times
וַתַּשְׁקֵ֖ףand she looked down
vatashkefH8259 →
בְּעַ֥דthrough
beadH1157 →105 times
הַחַלּֽוֹן׃the window
hachalonH2474 →31 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 4:30And you, O devastated one, what will you do, though you dress yourself in scarlet, though you adorn yourself with gold jewelry, though you enlarge your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain;…
it leads to
- Lamentations 1:19
I called out to my lovers, but they have betrayed me. My priests and elders perished in the city while they searched for food to keep themselves alive.
- Lamentations 1:2
She weeps aloud in the night, with tears upon her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is no one to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.
- Ezekiel 23:9–10
Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians for whom she lusted.
- Ezekiel 16:36–41
This is what the Lord GOD says: Because you poured out your wealth and exposed your nakedness in your promiscuity with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because of the blood…
- Isaiah 10:3
What will you do on the day of reckoning when devastation comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth?
- Lamentations 1:19
Through
Ezekiel 23:40Furthermore, you sisters sent messengers for men who came from afar; and behold, when they arrived, you bathed for them, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:30
And you, O devastated one, what will you do, though you dress yourself in scarlet, though you adorn yourself with gold jewelry, though you enlarge your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain;…
- Ezekiel 16:13–16
So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was made of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You became very beautiful and rose to…
- Jeremiah 4:30
Through
Ezekiel 24:17Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners.”
it leads to
- Hosea 9:4
They will not pour out wine offerings to the LORD, and their sacrifices will not please Him, but will be to them like the bread of mourners; all who eat will be defiled. For…
- Hosea 9:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings

Who and where
3 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…
- PersonDivided kingdomJehuThe furious-driving commander anointed at Elisha's order who purged the house of Ahab and Baal from Israel — zealous for the LORD,…
- 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; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 9:30; 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.
