2 Kings 10 - NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible
10:5 palace administrator. The Hebrew is “who was over the house”—an important position at the royal court, which is also mentioned in 15:5; 18:18, 37; 19:2. The power of the palace administrator, at least in Judah, is indicated in Isa 22:22; next to the king, he had complete power over Judah, somewhat akin to the power of vizier in Egypt. Both the title and sometimes the names of its holders are found in extra-Biblical inscriptions.
One of these is the inscription over a tomb from the monarchic period found on the slopes of the village of Siloam to the east of Jerusalem, which reads: “This is [the tomb of x]yahu, palace administrator. There is neither silver nor gold here, only [his bones] and the bones of his maidservant with him. Cursed be the man who would open this [tomb]!”
10:7 took the princes and slaughtered all seventy of them. This kind of drastic action against a royal household was not uncommon in the ancient world, as present incumbents of thrones tried to ensure their own future. The Aramaic Panammuwa Inscription, found at Zinjirli on a statue erected by Panammuwa of Sam’al’s son Bar-Rakib around 733–727 BC, records that Panammuwa himself was the survivor of a palace coup in which a brother killed his father Barsur, along with 70 brothers of his father. This text, along with Jdg 9:5, where Abimelech kills 70 of his brothers prior to being crowned king, may suggest that the number 70 in such contexts is a matter of literary convention rather than strict accounting.
10:8 two piles at the entrance of the city gate. The piling of the severed heads of victims at the city gate evokes both the Baal Cycle myth from Ugarit (see note on 9:30), in which Anat in victory kicks her enemies’ heads around like soccer balls, and also the literal case of the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II, who records in an inscription decorating the walls and floor of the Ninurta temple in Calah a campaign that included the siege of the city of Damdammusa. Ashurnasirpal claims that he cut off the heads of 600 enemy troops and “took the live soldiers and the heads to the city of Amedu, his royal city, and built a pile of heads before his gate. I hung the live soldiers on stakes around about his city.” Visual evidence for the practice of collecting the heads of the enemy slain is available from the much later time of Sennacherib in the form of a wall relief portraying plunder taken from a town in southern Babylonia.
10:11 close friends. This designation does not refer to personal acquaintances, but rather to those who enjoyed the patronage of the court. They are royal wards, and probably not Israelites. Ahab’s family, administration and priesthood are also killed.
10:12 relatives of Ahaziah. Ahaziah is Joram’s nephew, so his relatives are at least distantly related to Ahab, which is enough to warrant their deaths.
10:19 great sacrifice. It was common rhetoric for a new king to proclaim himself a more pious devotee of the national cult. This would usually include promises to repair or expand the sanctuary and was intended to gain the support of the priesthood and the populace, and also hopefully bring the favor of the deity on his reign. The celebration is probably an enthronement ceremony, in which Jehu will be crowned a vassal in the service of Baal. Absence from such an event could easily be considered treason.
10:20 Call an assembly in honor of. The Hebrew word translated “assembly” is comparatively rare; the entire phrase is unparalleled in Hebrew. However, a Ugaritic text about gaining protection for the royal ancestors of King Ammurapi of Ugarit suggests that the phrase represents genuine Canaanite religious terminology, referring to the convening of a solemn meeting.
10:22 robes. These are cultic robes used in the worship of Baal. It is possible that the use of these robes is partly to prevent weapons from being worn, making the job easier.
10:27 latrine. Temples were usually built on the site of earlier temples, because the ground had already been considered holy. By turning the site into a latrine (or possibly garbage dump), Jehu ensures that it will never be used as a temple again, making the revival of the cult in Samaria difficult.
10:29 golden calves at Bethel and Dan. Jeroboam installed these images of a young bull made from gold in the northernmost and southernmost ends of his new kingdom after leading Israel in revolt against the house of David (1Ki 12:25–30). The religion that ensued is not regarded by the authors of Kings as explicitly Baal worship (note the contrast between this verse and v. 28; cf. 1Ki 16:31–33), although it is regarded as idolatrous.
About this Study Bible
