Jehu
Jehu | |
---|---|
Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III | |
King of Northern Israel | |
Reign | c. 841–814 BCE |
Coronation | Ramoth-Gilead, Israel |
Predecessor | Jehoram |
Successor | Jehoahaz |
Born | c. 882 BCE |
Died | c. 814 BCE |
Burial | |
Issue | Jehoahaz |
Father | Jehoshaphat |
Jehu (
Biblical narrative
Proclamation as king
The reign of Jehu's predecessor,
Jezreel and the deaths of Jehoram and Jezebel
With a chosen band, Jehu planned his conspiracy against King Jehoram and secretly entered Jezreel. Jehoram tried to flee, but Jehu shot an arrow that pierced his heart. Jehu later threw his body on Naboth's vineyard, to avenge Naboth, whom Jehoram's father and mother had murdered.[7] King Ahaziah fled after seeing Jehoram's death but Jehu wounded him. Ahaziah fled to Megiddo, where he died.[5]
Jehu proceeded to enter the premises of the palace at Jezreel.
Now master of Jezreel, Jehu wrote to command the chief men in Samaria to hunt down and kill all the royal princes. They did so, and the next day they piled the 70 heads in two heaps outside the city gate, as Jehu commanded. Ahab's entire family was slain. Shortly afterward, Jehu encountered the 42 "brothers of Ahaziah" (since the brothers of Ahaziah had been taken away and probably killed by the Philistines,[8] these must have been relatives of Ahaziah in a broader sense, like nephews and cousins) at "Beth-eked of the shepherds". They told Jehu they were visiting the royal family. Jehu killed them all at "the pit of Beth-eked".
After Jehu's slaughter of the Omrides, he met Jehonadab the Rechabite and convinced him that he was pro-Yahwist. Jehonadab quickly allied with him, and they entered the capital together. In control of Samaria, he invited the worshippers of Baal to a ceremony, then trapped and killed them.[11] He then destroyed their idols and temple, and turned the temple into a latrine.[12]
Reign
Other than Jehu's bloody seizure of power and tolerance for the
This suggests that Jehu offered tribute to
The destruction of the house of Ahab is commended by the author of 2 Kings as a form of divine punishment. Yahweh rewards Jehu for being a willing executor of divine judgment by allowing four generations of kings to sit on the throne of Israel.
Archaeological evidences
Black Obelisk
Aside from the
According to the Obelisk, Jehu severed his alliances with Phoenicia and Judah, and became subject to Assyria.
Tel Dan Stele
The author of the
David Miano suggested that the author may have been Jehu in his presentation "Who Wrote the Tel Dan Inscription?" at a 2021 conference of the Save Ancient Studies Alliance.[23]
In popular culture
Jehu is portrayed by George Nader in the film Sins of Jezebel (1953).
Drive Like Jehu was an American post-hardcore band from San Diego active from 1990 to 1995. The band's name was derived from 2 Kings 9:20: "And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not again: and the driving [is] like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously".[24][25]
"Jehu's Rebellion" is the eighth chapter in Manga Messengers (2011), the penultimate installment in the six-volume Manga Bible (2006–19).
See also
Sources and notes
- ^ Jehu's father was not the roughly contemporaneous King Jehoshaphat of Judah, whose own father was King Asa of Judah. "Generally Jehu is described as the son only of Nimshi, possibly because Nimshi was more prominent or to avoid confusing him with the King of Judah (R’Wolf)". Scherman, Nosson, ed., "I–II Kings", The Prophets, 297, 2006. See (2 Kings 9:2)
- ^ Amitai Baruchi-Unna, Jehuites, Ahabites, and Omrides: Blood Kinship and Bloodshed, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 41.1 (2017) pp. 3–21
- ISBN 9780825438257
- ^ Bible 2 Kings 9–10
- ^ a b Driscoll, James F. "Jehu", Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 7 Jan. 2014
- ^ "2 Kings 9:1-13".
- ^ Bible 1 Kings 21:4
- ^ Bible 2 Chronicles 21:17
- ISBN 978-1-4982-8143-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-58465-817-7.
- ^ Bible 2 Kings 10:19–10:25
- ^ Bible 2 Kings 10:27
- ^ Bible 2 Kings 10:32
- ^ Kitchen, K A (2003) The Reliability of the Old Testament, Cambridge, Eerdmans, p. 24
- ^ "Balancing evidence about Jehu and Joash in ancient near east texts - Critical reassessment".
- ^ Bible 2 Kings 10:30
- ^ Bible Hosea 1:4–1:5
- ^ "Hosea 1:4 Commentaries: And the LORD said to him, "Name him Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will punish the house of Jehu for the bloodshed of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel". biblehub.com. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
- ^ Delitzsch, Friedrich; McCormack, Joseph; Carruth, William Herbert; Robinson, Lydia Gillingham (1906). Babel and Bible;. Chicago, The Open court publishing company. p. 78.
- ^ Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testament - Robert William Rogers
- ISBN 1145519350.
- ^ Millard, Alan (1997) Discoveries from Bible Times, Oxford, Lion, p. 121
- ^ Dr. David Miano - Who Wrote the Tel Dan Inscription?, retrieved 2023-04-26
- ^ Huey, Steve. "Drive Like Jehu biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
- ^ Reid, Brendan (2003-02-14). "Album Review: Drive Like Jehu - Yank Crime". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2010-01-18.