Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 9:18
So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus saith the king, [Is it] peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he cometh not again.
18. What hast thou to do with peace? ] What concern is it of thine whether I come peaceably or not? My errand is not to thee. Josephus says the messenger’s enquiry was about affairs in the camp, for that the king’s questions were about them. Jehu bade him not to worry about these things but to follow him ( Ant. IX. 6. 3). The design of Jehu’s order was that no information should be brought to Joram.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
What hast thou to do with peace? – i. e., What does it matter to thee whether my errand is one of peace or not?
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 18. What hast thou to do with peace?] “What is it to thee whether there be peace or war? Join my company, and fall into the rear.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
What hast thou to do with peace? what right hast thou, or thy master that sent thee, to peace?
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, thus saith the king, is it peace?…. Are things well in the army, or any disturbance in the kingdom? are you come as friends or enemies?
and Jehu said, what hast thou to do with peace? or to ask such a question:
turn thee behind me; which he was obliged to do, Jehu having such a company of soldiers with him; and this he did, that he might carry no tidings to Joram, that he might not know as yet who he and his company were:
and the watchman told, saying, the messenger came to them, but he cometh not again; of this he sent word to the king what he had observed.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(18) One on horseback.Literally, the rider of the horse.
What hast thou to do with peace?A rough evasion: What business is it of yours, on what ground I am come? Conscious of his strength, Jehu can despise the royal message, and the messenger durst not disobey the fierce general, when ordered summarily to the rear. Of course Jehu wished to prevent an alarm being raised in Jezreel.
Came to them.Literally, came right up to them. (The Hebrew text should be corrected from 2Ki. 9:20.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
18. What hast thou to do with peace The supercilious language of a conqueror who is perfect master of the situation, and can dictate the course to be pursued.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2Ki 9:18 So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus saith the king, [Is it] peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he cometh not again.
Ver. 18. Is it peace? ] See 2Ki 9:17 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
What . . . ? Figure of speech Anteisagoge (App-6).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
What hast thou to do: 2Ki 9:19, 2Ki 9:22, Isa 48:22, Isa 59:8, Jer 16:5, Rom 3:17
Reciprocal: 1Ki 2:13 – Comest 2Ki 9:31 – peace
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
PEACE, OR A SWORD?
And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.
2Ki 9:18
I. The dispensation of judgment and the dispensation of love, so opposite in all points, did, in fact, proceed from one and the same Divine will.The sword of Jehu and the healing voice of Christ had, in fact, this common origin; they were both part of the Divine economy for the conquest over evil. One of them flashed forth in vengeance and retribution; the other breathed love even to the most unworthy. But both were alike in this point Divine, that they marked the enormity of sin in the sight of God, albeit the one consumed the sinner and his house, and the other lifted up the sinner and let him go free, because One Who had done no sin was ready to suffer in his stead.
II. The new law of the Gospel, so full of love, so profound, so ennobling in its observance, may begin at once to do its work in the heart as soon as its Divine prescriptions are understood.But when we look round and find a world full of resistance to that law, we understand that the very fact that it is resisted limits us in our adoption of it as a rule. When the invader, in his cruel selfishness, breaks through the silken cords of the Gospel, and seems to know no law but that of selfishness, it seems that stern language would alone be understood. What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.
III. War is a remnant of the old and harsher covenant, which must endure into the covenant of love, simply because of the evil tempers of mankind that are still unsubdued, and because the law of Christ cannot have its perfect operation except where it is leavening the whole mass. We are soldiers of Christ, and His war is ever being carried on. He will fight for us; He will ever find us service.
Archbishop Thomson.