Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 9:27
But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw [this], he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. [And they did so] at the going up to Gur, which [is] by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.
27 29. Death of Ahaziah king of Judah (2Ch 22:7-9)
27. by the way of the garden house ] The events took place close to the royal grounds, for Naboth’s vineyard lay in the neighbourhood. The garden house may have been some building at the extremity of the domain by which flight from the scene of destruction appeared easy to Ahaziah. The LXX. however treats it as a proper name, writing . This has been supposed to be the same as En-gannim = ‘the well of the gardens’ which is identified with the modern Jenin. This place lies south from Jezreel on the road to Samaria, and would be on the shortest route by which Ahaziah could make his way to Jerusalem.
And Jehu followed after him ] i.e. In the person of his partizans and followers, to whom he gave the order ‘Smite him also’. Jehu wished to get into Jezreel as soon as possible, and left the fate of the king of Judah to others.
Smite him also in the chariot ] In the original the command continues ‘at the going up to Gur’ (R.V. at the ascent of Gur), as though Jehu knowing the country specified to his men the place where they would be most likely to overtake Ahaziah, where the ground began to rise, and so would retard his flight. This seeming somewhat unnatural, the A.V. inserted ‘And they did so’, the R.V. ‘and they smote him’. Neither Gur nor Ibleam have been identified, and there is some difference between the statements here and the narrative in Chronicles. There we read (2Ch 22:9) that Jehu ‘sought Ahaziah, and they caught him (for he was hid in Samaria) and brought him to Jehu, and when they had slain him they buried him’. The LXX. in this passage has a rendering which suggests how the two accounts may be reconciled. There it is said that Ahaziah had gone to Samaria to be cured ( ). Suppose that in the pursuit Jehu’s command to smite him had been carried out, and the wounded king escaped to Samaria in which direction he was hurrying. If he remained there to have his wound attended to, the emissaries of Jehu might discover him, when the new king came to his capital to take possession, and Ahaziah might then be taken to Megiddo and slain. The Chronicler speaks more at length on the particulars of Ahaziah’s death, as the evil issue of an alliance between a king of Judah and the house of Ahab was the sort of lesson on which it suited his purpose to dwell.
And he fled to Megiddo ] Megiddo was on the southern extremity of the plain of Esdraelon, and by its position was a place of much strategical importance. It had a king when the Israelites entered Canaan, and it was the scene of the battle against the Canaanites in the days of Deborah. It was a place of importance in the days of Solomon (1Ki 4:12) for he made it one of his commissariat stations. At a later period it was the scene of Josiah’s death (2Ki 23:29) when he had taken part with Assyria against Pharaoh-necho, king of Egypt. If we consider ‘Samaria’ in 2Ch 22:9 to mean ‘the land of Samaria’ and not the city, Megiddo was a part thereof, and in that way another method of reconciling the narratives in Kings and Chronicles would be found.
and died there ] It was part of Jehu’s commission to have Ahaziah slain, for he was Ahab’s grandson.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
By the way of the garden-house – Or by the way of Beth-Gan, which has been conjectured to be another name for En-Gannim, the spring of the gardens. Both are considered identical with Ginaea, the modern Jenin, which lies due south of Jezreeh The road from Jezreel (Zerin) to Jenin passes at first along the plain of Esdraelon, but after a while begins to rise over the Samaritan hills. Here probably was the ascent of Gur, by Ibleam, which may have occupied the site of the modern Jelama. Whether the soldiers attacked him there or not is uncertain. The words, And they did so, are not in the original.
Megiddo – On its situation, see Jos 12:21 note; and on the possible reconcilement of this passage with 2Ch 22:9, see the note there.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 27. Fled by the way of the garden] The account of the death of Ahaziah, as given in 2Ch 22:8-9, is very different from that given here: When Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab-he sought Ahaziah; and they caught him, (for he was hid in Samaria,) and brought him to Jehu; and when they had slain him, they buried him. “The current of the story at large is this,” says Dr. Lightfoot: “Jehu slayeth Joram in the field of Jezreel, as Ahaziah and Joram were together; Ahaziah, seeing this, flees, and gets into Samaria, and hides himself there. Jehu marcheth to Jezreel, and makes Jezebel dogs’ meat: from thence he sends to Samaria for the heads of Ahab’s children and posterity: which are brought him by night, and showed to the people in the morning. Then he marcheth to Samaria, and by the way slayeth forty-two of Ahab’s kinsmen; and findeth Jehonadab, the father of the Rechabites. Coming into Samaria, he maketh search for Ahaziah: they find him hid, bring him to Jehu, and he commands to carry him up towards Gur, by Ibleam, and there to slay him. It may be, his father Joram had slain his brethren there, as Ahab had done Naboth, in Jezreel. They do so; smite him there in his chariot; and his charioteer driveth away to Megiddo before he dies. The story in the book of Kings is short: but the book of Chronicles shows the order.” Lightfoot’s Works, vol. i., p. 88.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
By the way of the garden-house; by some secret way, hoping to escape whilst they were busy about Joram.
Smite him also, as you have done Joram; for he also is of the house of Ahab, 2Ki 8:18.
They did so; they smote or wounded him, but not mortally; either supposing that the wound was mortal; or being more remiss in executing Jehus sentence against him, because they were not so much concerned in his as in Jorams design; or because they had some kindness for him, either for his own or for Jehoshaphats sake.
He fled to Megiddo, and died there.
Quest. How doth this agree with 2Ch 22:9, He sought Ahaziah: and they caught him, for he was hid in Samaria, and brought him to Jehu: and when they had slain him, &c.
Answ. Either, first, Samaria is there to be understood, not of the city, but of the kingdom or territory so called, 1Ki 13:32, and elsewhere, in which Megiddo was; and so that may be noted to show that he could not flee into his own kingdom, where he might have been safe; but was forced to take up in another part of the kingdom of Israel, in the territory of Samaria, and there to hide himself. Or, secondly, If Samaria be the city, then the history is briefly and imperfectly described here, and the defects supplied there; (the Book of Chronicles being in great part written for that end, to supply things omitted in the Book of Kings;) and out of both the history may be thus completed: He fled first to Megiddo, and thence to Samaria, where he was caught, and thence brought to Jehu, and by his sentence was put to death at Megiddo, either because Jehu was there at that time upon some occasion, or for some other reason, which at this distance of time we cannot understand.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
27. Ahaziahwas grandnephew toKing Joram, and great-grandson to King Ahab.
Ibleamnear Megiddo, inthe tribe of Issachar (Jos 17:11;Jdg 1:27); and Gur was anadjoining hill.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this,…. That Joram was slain:
he fled by the way of the garden house, which perhaps stood upon the spot where Naboth’s vineyard was, turned into a garden by Ahab:
and Jehu followed after him; as far as Samaria, where he was hid, 2Ch 22:9,
and said, smite him also in the chariot; this order he gave to his soldiers, to do to him as he had done to Joram: and they did so,
at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam; a city in the tribe of Manasseh, Jos 17:11,
and he fled to Megiddo; after he was wounded; another city in the same tribe, Jos 17:11,
and died there; at Megiddo; though some think that from thence he was had by his servants to Samaria, and there hid, and, being found, was brought from thence to Jezreel, where he was slain, and died. Jehu was ordered to destroy the whole house of Ahab, and Ahaziah was of that house by his mother’s side, and walked in the way of it, and was in conjunction with it, and perished therewith; this, though here recorded, was after the death of Jezebel, and of the seventy sons of Ahab, and of the brethren of Ahaziah.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
C. THE DEATH OF AHAZIAH OF JUDAH 9:2729
TRANSLATION
(27) When Ahaziah king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of Beth-Gan. But Jehu pursued after him, and said, Also smite him in the chariot. And they did so at the ascent of Gur which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there. (28) And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and they buried him in the sepulcher with his fathers in the city of David. (29) Now in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah had begun to reign over Judah.
COMMENTS
When Ahaziah saw what had happened to Joram, he fled southward toward the land of Judah by the way of Beth-Gan,[558] a village due south of Jezreel. Jehu ordered that Ahaziah also be slain. Ahaziah was the grandson of Ahab, and hence was part of the house of Ahab which Jehu was to slay. As Ahaziahs chariot slowed down at the steep ascent of Gur at the southern edge of the plain of Esdraelon, Jehus archers were able to overtake him and inflict a wound upon him. Ahaziah then changed directions and headed west toward Megiddo, partly because he was now in no condition to make the rugged climb back to Jerusalem, and partly because he wished to throw off his pursuers. There he died, either of the wounds he had received at the ascent of Gur, or as a result of some new violence on the part of Jehu (cf. 2Ch. 22:8-9). Ahaziahs servants then transported the body of their master to Jerusalem and buried him in his own sepulcher in the city of David (2Ki. 9:28). Like Egyptian kings, the kings of Judah seem to have made it their business to see to the construction of their tombs as soon as they mounted the throne. Even though Ahaziah had reigned but a year, he had already prepared his place of burial.[559]
[558] The Septuagint so renders. The KJV has elected to render as two common nouns, garden house the meaning of which is dubious.
[559] On the discrepancy between 2Ki. 9:29 and 2Ki. 8:25 as to the year of Ahaziahs accession, see the comments on the earlier passage.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(27) But when . . . saw this.Now Ahaziah . . . had seen it; and he fled, &c.
By the way of the garden housei.e., in the direction of the garden house, which was probably a sort of arbour or drinking pavilion near the gates of the palace gardens, of which Naboths vineyard formed a part. Ahaziah wished to escape from the royal park as fast as he could.
Smite him also in the chariot.The Hebrew is much more suited to the excitement of the occasion: Him too! shoot him in the chariot! (Here and in 2Ki. 9:13, supra, el, into, seems equivalent to al, upon.)
And they did so.Some such words as these may have fallen out of the Hebrew text. So the Syriac: Him also! slay him! and they slew him in his chariot, on the ascent of Gur, &c. But the rendering of the LXX. involves the least change, and is probably right: Him too! And he smote him in the chariot, in the going up, &c. This is more graphic. Jehu simply ejaculates, Him too! and, after a hot pursuit, shoots his second victim, at the ascent or declivity of Gur, where Ahaziahs chariot would be forced to slacken speed.
The ascent of Gur is not mentioned elsewhere. Ibleam lay between Jezreel and Megiddo. (Comp. Jdg. 1:27; Jos. 17:11.)
And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.See the Note on 2Ch. 22:9, where a different tradition respecting the end of Ahaziah is recorded. The definite assignment of localities in the present account is a mark of greater trustworthiness. The way in which Rashi, whom Keil follows, attempts to combine the two accounts, is revolting to common sense. It would be better to assume a corruption of the text in one or the other narrative.
Megiddo.Identified in the cuneiform inscriptions as Magid or Magad.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
DEATH OF AHAZIAH, 2Ki 9:27-29.
27. Fled by the way of the garden house That is, according to some, the summerhouse, built for purposes of rest or shade in the royal garden into which Naboth’s vineyard had been converted. 1Ki 21:2. But house of the garden is a literal translation of the original word Beth-haggan, and it seems better, in view of what 2Ch 22:9 relates of the flight of Ahaziah to Samaria, to understand it, with the Septuagint, as the name of a place between Jezreel and Samaria. A few miles south of Jezreel is Engannim, the modern Jenin, with which Beth-haggan is probably to be identified. It is still a place of gardens and abundant water, whence, doubtless, it received its names.
Jehu followed after him To this 2Ch 22:9, adds: “And he sought Ahaziah: and they caught him, for he was hid in Samaria, and brought him to Jehu: and when they had slain him, they buried him.” Here, it will be noticed, the author of Chronicles does not say where or how he was slain and buried, and this the book of Kings supplies. So we should understand that Ahaziah first fled by the way of Beth-haggan to Samaria, and there hid himself, but was followed by Jehu and his men, and discovered, and brought forth from his hiding-place into the presence of Jehu. It would seem that Jehu himself did not follow all the way to Samaria, but his men continued the pursuit, and when they had captured Ahaziah they brought him back to Jez-reel. Then Jehu said: Smite him also in the chariot at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. These words should thus be connected together, and not separated, as in the English version, with the addition, and they did so. Ibleam was a town allotted to the tribe of Manasseh, (Jdg 1:27,) though it seems to have been located in the territory of Issachar or Asher. Jos 17:11. Its exact position is unknown, but it lay probably not far from Megiddo, and between it and Jezreel. The going up to Gur was some well-known eminence near by it, and it was perhaps from some evil association of Ahaziah or his kindred with that spot that Jehu wished him to be slain there.
Fled to Megiddo, and died there The arrows of Jehu’s archers did not prove instantly fatal, and the wounded king seized an opportunity for escape, and fled in his chariot as far as Megiddo, where he expired. According to Josephus he left his chariot, and fled on horseback to Megiddo. Megiddo, the modern el-Lejjun, was about six miles west of Jezreel. See on Jos 12:21.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ahaziah Of Judah Is Also Slain As A Worshipper of Baal ( 2Ki 9:27-29 ).
Having seen what was happening Ahaziah naturally also fled, taking the way of the garden-house. But he found no way of escape for Jehu pursued him and called on his fellow charioteers to smite him as well, in his chariot. This they accomplished at the ascent of Gur, and once satisfied that he would not live, allowed him to be carried off to Megiddo where he died of his wounds. His servants then bore his body to Jerusalem, where he was buried with his fathers in his sepulchre in the city of David. His reign is then summed up in 2Ki 9:29 where it will be noted that the reckoning is in Israelite terms, ignoring the initial regnal part year (contrast twelve years in 2Ki 8:25 where the reckoning is on the basis used in Judah where the initial part year is counted as a full year).
Analysis.
a
b And Jehu followed after him, and said, “Smite him also in the chariot,” and they smote him at the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam (2Ki 9:27 b).
c And he fled to Megiddo, and died there (2Ki 9:27 c).
b And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David (2Ki 9:28).
a And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah began to reign over Judah (2Ki 9:29).
Note that in ‘a’ Ahaziah fled, and in the parallel his reign is described. In ‘b’ he was to be smitten in his chariot, and in the parallel was borne to Jerusalem in his chariot to be buried. Centrally in ‘c’ he fled to Megiddo and died there.
2Ki 9:27
‘But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden-house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, “Smite him also in the chariot,” and they smote him at the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.’
When Ahaziah saw what was happening he fled in his chariot. But as brother-in-law to the dead king he would be seen as of Ahab’s house and thus equally liable to blood vengeance. Indeed if allowed to live he would have been responsible to avenge the blood of his wife’s brother. Thus Jehu pursued him, accompanied by his own chariots, and bade them smite Ahaziah down. ‘The garden house’ may have been a prominent landmark in the gardens around Jezreel (it may even have once been Naboth’s garden house). Alternately it might have been on the road taken by Ahaziah in his desire to reach the safety of Judah. Many identify it with En-gannim (Jos 19:21 – modern ‘Jenin’) eleven kilometres (seven miles) south of Jezreel, which was only two kilometres (about one mile) short of Ibleam (possibly modern Tel-bel‘ameh). But his flight was in vain and they caught up with him at ‘the ascent of Gur’, near Ibleam. ‘The way up to Gur’ may refer to the road to modern Gurra near Taanach.
Once he had been smitten Ahaziah recognised that he could not hope to make Judah, and instead took the road to Megiddo, a chariot city in Israel which would hopefully still be loyal to Jehoram (they would not yet know about the rebellion). It would seem that it was so, for it took him in and he died there.
2Ki 9:28
‘And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David.’
His body was then borne by his servants in a chariot to Jerusalem where he was buried in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David. As his death had not been the result of an assassination at the hands of his people he was seen as dying ‘peaceably’.
2Ki 9:29
‘And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab Ahaziah began to reign over Judah.’
The whole passage from 2Ki 8:25 is now summed up by a repeat of the fact concerning Azariah’s succession, so that 2Ki 8:25 and 2Ki 9:29 form an inclusio. (It will be noted that it is also required for the chiasmus). The difference lies in the fact that here the Israelite method of reckoning regnal years (eleven years excluding the accession year) is used instead of that used in Judah (twelve years including the accession year). This is interesting evidence that the passage includes information extracted from both the annals of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah, with the statements being extracted from each without being altered.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Death of Ahaziah and Jezebel
v. 27. But when Ahaziah, the king of Judah, saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house, v. 28. And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulcher with his fathers in the city of David.
v. 29. And in the eleventh year of Joram, the son of Ahab, began Ahaziah to reign over Judah, v. 30. And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, v. 31. And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master? v. 32. And he lifted up his face to the window and said, Who is on my side, who? And there looked out to him, v. 33. And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down, v. 34. And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, v. 35. And they went to bury her; but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands, v. 36. Wherefore they came again and told him. And he, v. 37. and the carcass of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel;
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
2Ki 9:27 But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw [this], he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. [And they did so] at the going up to Gur, which [is] by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.
Ver. 27. Smite him also in the chariot. ] For he was of Ahab’s house, too, by marriage, and so within Jehu’s commission. So dangerous a thing it is to he imped in a wicked family.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
And they did so. Supply Figure of speech Ellipsis (App-6) thus: “and they smote him”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
The Word of the Lord by Elijah
2Ki 9:27-37
Let us read again 1Ki 21:23. How those words came back to the two men, who had heard them from the lips of Gods servant years before! Gods mills grind slowly, but to powder. In a deep sense Ahabs blood was licked by dogs, as it flowed from the gaping wounds of his son. As a man sows he reaps, and when his children follow his steps, they too reap. But Ezekiel makes it perfectly clear that a godly son may break the entail of his fathers iniquities. See Eze 18:1-32, which has a most important bearing on the modern doctrine of heredity.
Jezebels heart was proud and unbroken. She thought to make the conqueror the slave of her charms. When these failed, she taunted him with the fate of Zimri, so closely associated with the rise of Ahabs family to the throne. His reign of seven days was thrown in Jehus teeth, 1Ki 16:15, etc. But Jezebel could not avert her fate. Her very chamberlains turned against her. How often does Gods representative ask the same question, Who is on my side? Let us heed the challenge and dare to look out in answer! There is service appointed for us all, and we must not fail to render it.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Ahaziah: 2Ki 8:29, Num 16:26, 2Ch 22:7-9, Pro 13:20, 2Co 6:17
garden house: 1Ki 21:2
Ibleam: Jos 17:11, Jdg 1:27
Megiddo: “In the kingdom of Samaria.” 2Ki 23:29, 2Ki 23:30, Jdg 1:27, Jdg 5:19, 1Ki 4:12, 2Ch 22:9
Reciprocal: 1Ki 9:15 – Megiddo 2Ki 10:4 – Behold 2Ki 11:1 – the mother 2Ki 12:1 – the seventh 1Ch 7:29 – Megiddo 2Ch 35:22 – Megiddo Psa 109:14 – let not
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Ki 9:27-28. He fled by the way of the garden-house By some secret way, hoping to escape while they were busy about Joram. Jehu said, Smite him also As you have done Joram, for he also is of the house of Ahab, chap. 2Ki 8:18. And they did so They wounded him, but not mortally; being the more remiss in executing Jehus sentence against him, either because they were not so much concerned in his, as in Jorams death; or because they had some regard for him for Jehoshaphats sake. He fled to Megiddo, and died there The account of his death is briefly and imperfectly given here, and the defects are supplied in the book of Chronicles, (which was in a great part written to supply things omitted in the book of Kings,) and out of both, the history may be thus completed. He fled first to Megiddo, and thence to Samaria, where he was taken, and thence brought to Jehu, and by his sentence was put to death at Megiddo. And his servants carried him to Jerusalem, &c. Which they did, by Jehus permission, out of respect to Jehoshaphats memory, 2Ch 22:9.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
9:27 But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw [this], he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. [And they did so] at the going up to Gur, which [is] by Ibleam. And he fled to {i} Megiddo, and died there.
(i) After he was wounded in Samaria, he fled to Megiddo, a city of Judah.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Jehu’s assassination of Ahaziah 9:27-29
Jehu executed Ahaziah because he was a member of Ahab’s family. He died an ignominious death because of his wickedness, as did the kings of Israel in Omri’s dynasty. Nevertheless Ahaziah received an honorable burial (2Ki 9:28).
The period of alliance that ran contemporaneously with Omri’s dynasty, beginning with Ahab, concluded when Joram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah died (in 841 B.C.). Though Ahab and Jehoshaphat undoubtedly intended to bring strength to both kingdoms through this alliance, it had the opposite effect because of the wicked influence of Ahab’s house. The Lord had forbidden alliances with ungodly nations, so Judah suffered His discipline for entering into this one. Relying on human allies rather than Yahweh weakened both kingdoms. Jehu’s assassinations terminated not only two kings of Israel and Judah but the alliance of the two nations as well.