2 Kings 10:1

And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria,.... These might not be all his immediate sons, but some of them his grandsons, as such are sometimes called in Scripture: and Jehu wrote letters, and sent to

And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab's children, saying, Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria.

2 KINGS CHAPTER 10 Jehu by his letters causeth seventy of Ahab’ s sons to be slain: the fact is excused by Elijah’ s prophecy, . Also forty-two of king Ahaziah’ s brethren, . By subtlety he slayeth all the priests and prophets of Ahab; breaketh down his images and temple, . He followeth the sin of Jeroboam, . Hazael oppresseth Israel: Jehoahaz suceeedeth Jehu, . Ahab had seventy sons; either, first, properly sons by several wives; or rather, secondly, grandsons are comprehended, who are oft called sons, and grandfathers fathers, in Scripture. In Samaria; either because they were bred up there, that being the chief city of the kingdom; or because upon the tidings of Joram’ s slaughter they fled thither, or were by their friends conveyed from several parts thither, as to the strongest place; in which it may seem by Jehu’ s message they intended to defend themselves and Ahab’ s children, and to set up one as king in Joram’ s stead; or rather, because they were left there by Joram when he went to Ramoth-gilead, that if the Syrians had prevailed against him, they might have safety in that very strong and great city, and he by their means succour from it. Unto the rulers of Jezreel, Heb. the princes of Jezreel, i.e. the great persons and officers of the court, which then was and had been for some time at Jezreel, who either had fled thither with Ahab’ s sons, upon the news of Jehu’ s actions and successes; or rather, had been sent by Joram with his sons to Samaria, to take care of them there. To the elders; either by age, or rather by office; the rulers or senators of Samaria. To them that brought up Ahab’ s children; that had a more particular care of the several children under the inspection of the princes or rulers here mentioned.

2 Kings 10:1 And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab’ s [children], saying,Ver. 1. And Ahab had seventy sons.] By several wives. God had threatened to root out his house, yet he promised himself the establishment of his house; and thereupon so followed the work of generation that he left seventy sons behind him. In Samaria.] The chief city, where they were for safety and for noble education.

X. JEHU THE FAMILY OF AHAB, THE KINSMEN OF AHAZIAH, AND BAAL-.(1) Ahab had seventy sons.—His posterity in general are meant. Ahab had been dead about fourteen years (2 Kings 3:1; 1 Kings 22:51), and had had two successors on the throne. The name Ahab seems to be used here as equivalent to the house of Ahab. Many of the number might be strictly sons of Ahab, as he no doubt had a considerable harem. Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria.—Jehu was crafty as well as fierce. He could not venture to the capital without first sounding the inclinations of the nobles of the city. Unto the rulers of Jezreel.—“Jezreel” is an ancient error. The LXX. has “unto the rulers of Samaria.” So Josephus. Thenius accordingly suggests that the original reading was, “and sent from Jezreel to the princes of Samaria.” The Vulg. gives “ad optimates civitatis,” which seems preferable. Before “the elders” we must restore “and unto” with some MSS., the LXX., Syriac, and Vulg. The original text would then run: “and sent to the princes of the city and unto the elders,” &c. Reuss, on the other hand, reads “Israel” for “Jezreel.” Them that brought up Ahab’s children.—Literally, them who brought up Ahab (i.e., the house of Ahab). The word occurs in Numbers 11:12; Isaiah 49:23 (“nursing father”). The nobles entrusted with this charge would be responsible for the good behaviour of their wards. Ahab may have dreaded the evils of an education in the harem, and possible disputes about the succession.

CHAPTER X Jehu sends an ironical letter to the elders of Samaria, telling them to choose one of the best of their master's sons, and put him on the throne; to which they return a submissive answer, 1-6. He writes a second letter, and orders them to send him the heads of Ahab's seventy sons; they do so, and they are laid in two heaps at the gate of Jezreel, 7, 8. Jehu shows them to the people, and excuses himself, and states that all is done according to the word of the Lord, 9, 10. He destroys all the kindred of Ahab that remained in Jezreel, 11. He also destroys forty-two men, the brethren of Ahaziah, king of Judah, 12-14. He meets with Jehonadab, and takes him with him in his chariot, 15, 16. He comes to Samaria, and destroys all that were of the kindred of Ahab there, 17. He pretends a great zeal for the worship of Baal, and gathers all his priests together, under the pretense of a grand sacrifice, and slays them all, 18-25. He burns Baal's images, and makes his temple a draught house, 26-28. But he does not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, and does not prosper, 29-31. Hazael vexes Israel, 32, 33. Jehu dies, having reigned over Israel, in Samaria, twenty-eight years, 34-36. NOTES ON CHAP. X Verse 1. Ahab had seventy sons] As he had several wives, he might have many children. The Israelites, from the earliest part of their history, were remarkably fruitful. How amazingly did they multiply in Egypt, even under the hand of the severest oppression! And as to the individuals of whose families we have an account, they are quite remarkable: Rehoboam had thirty-eight sons; Abdon had forty; Tola had thirty; Ahab, seventy; and Gideon, seventy-one. Unto the rulers of Jezreel] It certainly should be, unto the rulers of Samaria; for to them and to that city the whole context shows us the letters were sent. See 2Kg 10:6. To them that brought up Ahab's children] It appears that the royal children of Israel and Judah were intrusted to the care of the nobles, and were brought up by them, (see 2Kg 10:6;) and to these, therefore, Jehu's letters are directed. It is supposed Isaiah (Isaiah 49:23) alludes to this custom: Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and queens thy nursing mothers.

Ch. 2 Kings 10:1-11. Jehu destroys the whole family of Ahab (Not in Chronicles) 1. And [R.V. Now] Ahab had seventy sons] The conjunction is the usual copulative, but it is somewhat in the style of O.T. translation to commence a new section of the narrative with ‘Now’. in Samaria] It would seem that the name here is for the whole district, as some of those slain appear to have been in Jezreel (see verse 11). But in verse 2 we have an allusion to a fenced city as though the city of Samaria were specially intended. And Jehu wrote letters] Josephus (Ant. IX. 6. 5) says ‘two letters, one to the bringers up of the children, the other to the authorities of Samaria’. sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel] There is a difficulty here. We cannot see why the rulers of Jezreel should be in Samaria, or why the great men in Israel should have been named ‘rulers of Jezreel’. Hence some have suggested that for ‘Jezreel’ we should read ‘Israel’. The LXX. says ‘unto the rulers of Samaria’, and with this agrees Josephus. But it is very clumsy to say ‘he sent to Samaria unto the rulers of Samaria’. Thenius suggests that the original was ‘he sent from Jezreel to the rulers of Samaria’ which seems much the easiest solution. It was extremely politic of Jehu to send a letter to Samaria rather than to go there before he had gathered a force around him. He had come from Ramoth-gilead with a very small company, and the fame of what he had done at Jezreel would produce more effect than his presence in Samaria with a mere handful of men to support him. to [R.V. even] the elders] As there is no preposition here in the original, and the preposition is expressed in the next clause, it seems more correct to take ‘the elders’ as in apposition to ‘the rulers of Jezreel’. and to [R.V. unto] them that brought up Ahab’s children] [R.V. the sons of Ahab]. The change in the preposition is merely to indicate that it is the same word as that before ‘rulers’ in the previous clause. In the final words the Hebrew is somewhat irregular. ‘Them that brought up’ should properly be in construction with some noun, but as ‘children’ or ‘sons’ is not expressed, the word stands absolutely, and ‘Ahab’ is put without connection after it. No doubt the sense is expressed in the translation. Of course it was only for the ‘sons’ of the royal family that this provision of tutors was made, because out of them would come the successor to the throne.

Seventy sons - i. e., descendants; there were included among them children of Jehoram (2 Kings 10:2-3, etc.).

1. Seventy sons in Samaria — The word sons here, as often, is meant to include all Ahab’s living posterity — sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons. Some of these children of Ahab were no doubt very young.