2 Kings 4:1

Elisha Helps a Widow and Her Sons

4:1 Now a wife of one of the prophets ¹  appealed ²  to Elisha for help, saying, “Your servant, my husband is dead. You know that your servant was a loyal follower of the Lord. ³  Now the creditor is coming to take away my two boys to be his servants.”

2 Kings 10:6

10:6 He wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are really on my side and are willing to obey me, ⁴  then take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel at this time tomorrow.” ⁵  Now the king had seventy sons, and the prominent ⁶  men of the city were raising them.

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¹ tn Heb “a wife from among the wives of the sons of the prophets.”

² tn Or “cried out.”

³ tn Heb “your servant feared the Lord.” “Fear” refers here to obedience and allegiance, the products of healthy respect for the Lord’s authority.

⁴ tn Heb “If you are mine and you are listening to my voice.”

⁵ sn Jehu’s command is intentionally vague. Does he mean that they should bring the guardians (those who are “heads” over Ahab’s sons) for a meeting, or does he mean that they should bring the literal heads of Ahab’s sons with them? (So LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and some mss of the Targum) The city leaders interpret his words in the literal sense, but Jehu’s command is so ambiguous he is able to deny complicity in the executions (see v. 9).

⁶ tn Heb “great,” probably in wealth, position, and prestige.