Jehu

Yehu redirects here, for the instrument, see Yehu (instrument).

Jehu (Hebrew: יְהוּא, Modern Yehu Tiberian Yəhû ; "Yahweh is He") was king of Israel, the son of Jehoshaphat ^[1], and grandson of Nimshi. William F. Albright has dated his reign to 842-815 BC, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 841-814 BC.^[2] The principal source for the events of his reign comes from 2 Kings 9-10.

Possibly Jehu son of Omri, or Jehu's ambassador, kneeling at the feet of Shalmaneser III on the Black Obelisk.

Proclamation as king

The reign of Jehu's predecessor, Jehoram, was marked by the Battle of Ramoth-Gilead against the army of the Arameans; there Jehoram was wounded and afterwards returned to Jezreel to recover; there Ahaziah, the king of Judah and his nephew had also gone to attend on Jehoram (2 Kings 8:28f). The author of Kings describes that, while the captains (commanders) of the Israelite army were assembled away from the king's eyes, the prophet Elisha sent one of his students to this meeting. This student led Jehu away from his peers and anointed him king in an inner chamber, then immediately departed (2 Kings 9:5,6). 2 Kings is silent about the exact identity of this student. Jehu's companions, inquiring after the object of this mysterious visit, were told; they immediately and enthusiastically blew their trumpets and proclaimed him king (2 Kings 9:11-14).

Jezreel and the deaths of Jehoram and Jezebel

Shalmaneser III's (859-824 BC) Kurkh Monolith names King Ahab.

With a chosen band, Jehu set forth with all speed to Jezreel, where he slew Jehoram with his own hand, shooting him through the heart with an arrow (9:24).^[3] The king of Judah, when trying to escape, was fatally wounded by one of Jehu's soldiers at Beth-gan. The author of Kings describes how Jehu entered the city without any resistance, and saw Jezebel, the mother of king Jehoram, presenting herself from a window in the palace and receiving him with insolence; Jehu commanded the eunuchs of the royal palace to cast her down into the street; the fall was fatal, and her mangled body was devoured by the dogs (9:35-7).

Now master of Jezreel, Jehu wrote to the chief men in the capital Samaria, and commanded them to send to him by the morning the heads of all the royal princes of the kingdom. Accordingly, seventy heads were brought to him, which he had piled up in two heaps at his gate. Shortly afterwards, Jehu encountered the "brethren of Ahaziah" at "the shearing-house" (10:12-14), and slaughtered another forty-two people connected with the Omrides (10:14).

Jehu's quest was rooted in more than his quest for power and the favor of the God of Israel. This account frequently invokes the slogan of "avenging the blood of Naboth" (9:21,25,26), whose vineyard Jehoram's father Ahab had taken by force (1 Kings 21:4); this fact suggests that perhaps the burden of making the northern kingdom a regional power had grown too heavy for its citizens, and Jehoram's defeat at Ramoth-Gilead gave them an opportunity to throw this burden off.

Following Jehu's slaughter of the Omrides, he met Jehonadab the Rechabite, whom he took into his chariot, and they entered the capital together. This adds support to the inference that, at least at the beginning of his reign, Jehu was supported by the pro-Yahweh faction.^{[citation needed]} Once in control of Samaria, he summoned all of the worshippers of Baal to the capital, slew them (2 Kings 10:19-25), and destroyed the temple of that deity (10:27).

Beyond his bloody coup d'etat, and his tolerance for the golden calves at Dan and Bethel (which drew the disdain of the author of Kings), little is known of the events of Jehu's reign. He was hard pressed by the predations of Hazael, king of the Arameans, who is said to have defeated his army "throughout all of the territories of Israel" beyond the Jordan river, in the lands of Gilead, Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh (10:32f).

This could explain why Jehu is offering tribute to Shalmaneser III on his Black Obelisk (where his name appears as ^mIa-ú-a mar ^mHu-um-ri-i or "Jehu son of Omri (Bit-Khumri"); Jehu was encouraging the enemy of the Arameans to be his friend. Strong international alliance would also have helped validate his military coup that year over the Omride king, Joram. It should be noted that Bit-Khumri was used by Tiglath-pileser 3 for non-Omride kings Pekah (733) & Hoshea (732),^[4] hence House/Land/Kingdom of Omri could apply to later Israelite kings not descended from Omri.

The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III

Jehu bows before Shalmaneser III.

Aside from the Hebrew Bible, Jehu appears in Assyrian documents, notably in the Black Obelisk where he is depicted as kissing the ground in front of Shalmaneser III. In the Assyrian documents he is simply referred to as "Jehu son of Omri," that is, Jehu of the House of Omri, an Assyrian name for the Kingdom of Israel. This tribute is dated 841 BC.^[5]

Miscellany

"The speed of Jehu" was once a common idiom in America.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

References

• Great Men of The Old Testament: Jehufrom Bethel Church of God

v • d • e Israelite Kings Pre-Dynastic Abimelech United Monarchy Saul · Ish-boseth · David · Solomon · Rehoboam Northern Kingdom of Israel Jeroboam I · Nadab · Baasha · Elah · Zimri · Omri · Ahab & Jezebel · Ahaziah · Jehoram · Jehu · Jehoahaz · Jehoash · Jeroboam II · Zechariah · Shallum · Menahem · Pekahiah · Pekah · Hoshea Southern Kingdom of Judah Rehoboam · Abijam · Asa · Jehoshaphat · Jehoram · Ahaziah · Athaliah · Jehoash · Amaziah · Uzziah (or Azariah) · Jotham · Ahaz · Hezekiah · Manasseh · Amon · Josiah · Jehoahaz · Jehoiakim · Jeconiah (or Jehoiachin) · Zedekiah Hasmonean Dynasty Simon Maccabaeus · John Hyrcanus · Aristobulus I · Alexander Jannaeus · Salome Alexandra · Hyrcanus II · Aristobulus II · Hyrcanus II · Antigonus II Mattathias Herodian Dynasty Herod the Great · Herod Archelaus · Herod Antipas · Herod Philip II Italics: Disputed kingship, or kingship over only part of Israel