Now Joram had been in Ramoth Gilead with the whole Israelite army, 1 guarding against an invasion by King Hazael of Syria.
9:17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and saw Jehu’s troops approaching. 2 He said, “I see troops!” 3 Jehoram ordered, 4 “Send a rider out to meet them and have him ask, ‘Is everything all right?’” 5
9:22 When Jehoram saw Jehu, he asked, “Is everything all right, Jehu?” He replied, “How can everything be all right as long as your mother Jezebel promotes idolatry and pagan practices?” 10 9:23 Jehoram turned his chariot around and took off. 11 He said to Ahaziah, “It’s a trap, 12 Ahaziah!”
1 tn Heb “he and all Israel.”
2 tn Heb “the quantity [of the men] of Jehu, when he approached.” Elsewhere שִׁפְעַה (shif’ah), “quantity,” is used of a quantity of camels (Isa 60:6) or horses (Ezek 26:10) and of an abundance of water (Job 22:11; 38:34).
3 tn The term שִׁפְעַת (shifat) appears to be a construct form of the noun, but no genitive follows.
4 tn Heb “said.”
5 tn Heb “Get a rider and send [him] to meet him and let him ask, ‘Is there peace?’”
6 tn The words “my chariot” are added for clarification.
7 tn Heb “and he hitched up his chariot.”
8 tn Heb “each in his chariot and they went out.”
9 tn Heb “they found him.”
10 tn Heb “How [can there be] peace as long as the adulterous acts of Jezebel your mother and her many acts of sorcery [continue]?” In this instance “adulterous acts” is employed metaphorically for idolatry. As elsewhere in the OT, worshiping other gods is viewed as spiritual adultery and unfaithfulness to the one true God. The phrase “many acts of sorcery” could be taken literally, for Jezebel undoubtedly utilized pagan divination practices, but the phrase may be metaphorical, pointing to her devotion to pagan customs in general.
11 tn Heb “and Jehoram turned his hands and fled.” The phrase “turned his hands” refers to how he would have pulled on the reins in order to make his horses turn around.
12 tn Heb “Deceit, Ahaziah.”