Discovery Box2 Kings 9:13-22 
Context9:13 Each of them quickly took off his cloak and they spread them out at Jehu’s 1 feet on the steps. 2 The trumpet was blown 3 and they shouted, “Jehu is 4 king!” 9:14 Then Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi conspired against Joram.
Now Joram had been in Ramoth Gilead with the whole Israelite army, 5 guarding against an invasion by King Hazael of Syria. 9:15 But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received from the Syrians 6 when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. 7 Jehu told his supporters, 8 “If you really want me to be king, 9 then don’t let anyone escape from the city to go and warn Jezreel.” 9:16 Jehu drove his chariot 10 to Jezreel, for Joram was recuperating 11 there. (Now King Ahaziah of Judah had come down to visit 12 Joram.)
9:17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and saw Jehu’s troops approaching. 13 He said, “I see troops!” 14 Jehoram ordered, 15 “Send a rider out to meet them and have him ask, ‘Is everything all right?’” 16 9:18 So the horseman 17 went to meet him and said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” 18 Jehu replied, “None of your business! 19 Follow me.” The watchman reported, “The messenger reached them, but hasn’t started back.” 9:19 So he sent a second horseman out to them 20 and he said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” 21 Jehu replied, “None of your business! Follow me.” 9:20 The watchman reported, “He reached them, but hasn’t started back. The one who drives the lead chariot drives like Jehu son of Nimshi; 22 he drives recklessly.” 9:21 Jehoram ordered, “Hitch up my chariot.” 23 When his chariot had been hitched up, 24 King Jehoram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went out in their respective chariots 25 to meet Jehu. They met up with him 26 in the plot of land that had once belonged to Naboth of Jezreel.
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?” 27
1 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Heb “and they hurried and took, each one his garment, and they placed [them] beneath him on the bone [?] of the steps.” The precise nuance of גֶרֶם (gerem), “bone,” is unclear. Some suggest the nuance “bare” here; it may be a technical architectural term in this context.
3 tn Heb “they blew the trumpet.” This has been translated as a passive to avoid the implication that the same ones who shouted had all blown trumpets.
4 tn Or “has become.”
5 tn Heb “he and all Israel.”
6 tn Heb “which the Syrians inflicted [on] him.”
7 sn See 2 Kgs 8:28-29a.
8 tn The words “his supporters” are added for clarification.
9 tn Heb “If this is your desire.” נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) refers here to the seat of the emotions and will. For other examples of this use of the word, see BDB 660-61 s.v.
10 tn Heb “rode [or, ‘mounted’] and went.”
11 tn Heb “lying down.”
12 tn Heb “to see.”
13 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).
14 tn The term שִׁפְעַת (shifat) appears to be a construct form of the noun, but no genitive follows.
15 tn Heb “said.”
16 tn Heb “Get a rider and send [him] to meet him and let him ask, ‘Is there peace?’”
17 tn Heb “the rider of the horse.”
18 tn Heb “Is there peace?”
19 tn Heb “What concerning you and concerning peace?” That is, “What concern is that to you?”
20 tn Heb “and he came to them.”
21 tc The MT has simply “peace,” omitting the prefixed interrogative particle. It is likely that the particle has been accidentally omitted; several ancient witnesses include it or assume its presence.
22 tn Heb “and the driving is like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi.”
23 tn The words “my chariot” are added for clarification.
24 tn Heb “and he hitched up his chariot.”
25 tn Heb “each in his chariot and they went out.”
26 tn Heb “they found him.”
27 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.
