Why does Jehu order Joram cast into Naboth’s field?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

He recalls the Lord’s announcement against Achab concerning the blood of Naboth and his children, with requital in that field. Jehu says he and Badacer heard it while following Achab in a chariot, and tells Badacer to cast Joram there according to the Lord’s word.

Chapter breakdown

Eliseus calls one of the sons of the prophets and tells him to gird up his loins, take a little bottle of oil in his hand and go to Ramoth Galaad. There he is to find Jehu, son of Josaphat, son of Namsi, make him rise from among his brethren and take him to an inner chamber. He must pour the oil upon Jehu’s head and declare the Lord’s word that he has anointed Jehu king over Israel. Then he must open the door and flee without staying.

The young man, the prophet’s servant, goes to Ramoth Galaad. He enters where the army captains sit and says he has a word for the prince. Jehu asks which of them he means, and he answers that he means Jehu. Jehu rises and goes into the chamber. The young man pours the oil upon his head and declares the Lord God of Israel’s word that he has anointed him king over Israel, the people of the Lord.

The messenger declares that Jehu is to cut off the house of Achab, his master, and that the Lord will avenge the blood of his servants the prophets and all his servants at Jezabel’s hand. The Lord will destroy all Achab’s house, cutting off the man described as one who urinates against the wall, the one shut up and the meanest in Israel. He will make Achab’s house like those of Jeroboam, son of Nabat, and Baasa, son of Ahias.

The messenger says dogs will eat Jezabel in the field of Jezrahel and no one will bury her. He opens the door and flees.

Jehu goes out to his lord’s servants. They ask whether all is well and why this man they call mad has come to him. Jehu says they know the man and what he said. They answer that this is false and ask Jehu to tell them. He reports the message, including the Lord’s declaration that he has anointed Jehu king over Israel.

They make haste, each taking his garment and laying it under Jehu’s feet after the manner of a judgment seat. They sound the trumpet and proclaim Jehu king.

Jehu, son of Josaphat, son of Namsi, conspires against Joram. Joram and all Israel have besieged Ramoth Galaad while fighting Hazael, king of Syria. Joram has returned to Jezrahel to recover from wounds the Syrians gave him in that fighting. Jehu says, if it pleases them, no man should go out or flee from the city lest he go and tell in Jezrahel.

Jehu rises and goes to Jezrahel, where Joram is sick and Ochozias, king of Juda, has come down to visit him. The watchman on Jezrahel’s tower sees Jehu’s troop coming and reports a troop. Joram tells him to take a chariot and send someone to meet them and ask whether all is well.

A messenger goes in a chariot to meet Jehu and gives the king’s question about whether all things are peaceable. Jehu asks what he has to do with peace and tells him to go behind and follow. The watchman reports that the messenger has reached them but is not returning.

Joram sends a second chariot of horses. Its messenger reaches them and asks the king’s question about peace. Jehu again asks what he has to do with peace and tells him to pass and follow. The watchman reports that he too has reached them and is not returning, and that the driving is like Jehu, called son of Namsi, because he drives furiously.

Joram orders his chariot made ready. Joram, king of Israel, and Ochozias, king of Juda, each go in his own chariot to meet Jehu in the field of Naboth the Jezrahelite. Joram asks Jehu whether there is peace. Jehu asks what peace there can be while the fornications of Jezabel, Joram’s mother, and her many sorceries remain in force.

Joram turns his hand and flees, telling Ochozias there is treachery. Jehu bends his bow and shoots Joram between the shoulders. The arrow goes out through his heart, and he immediately falls in his chariot.

Jehu tells his captain Badacer to take Joram and cast him into Naboth the Jezrahelite’s field. He recalls that he and Badacer followed Achab, Joram’s father, while sitting in a chariot, when the Lord laid this announcement upon Achab: he would requite him in that field for the blood of Naboth and his children, which he had seen yesterday. Jehu again tells Badacer to take Joram and cast him into the field according to the Lord’s word.

Seeing this, Ochozias, king of Juda, flees by the way of the garden house. Jehu pursues him and orders that he too be struck in his chariot. They strike him on the ascent to Gaver, by Jeblaam. He flees to Mageddo and dies there.

Ochozias’s servants lay him upon his chariot and carry him to Jerusalem. They bury him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David. The account states that Ochozias reigned over Juda in the eleventh year of Joram, son of Achab.

Jehu enters Jezrahel. Hearing of his coming, Jezabel paints her face with stibic stone, adorns her head and looks out of a window. As he comes in at the gate, she asks whether there can be peace for Zambri, who has killed his master.

Jehu lifts his face toward the window and asks who this is. Two or three eunuchs bow down to him. He tells them to throw Jezabel down headlong, and they do. The wall is sprinkled with her blood, and the horses’ hoofs tread upon her.

When Jehu has come in to eat and drink, he tells them to see after the woman he calls cursed and bury her because she is a king’s daughter. Going to bury her, they find only her skull, feet and the extremities of her hands.

They return and tell Jehu. He says this is the Lord’s word spoken by his servant Elias the Thesbite: dogs will eat Jezabel’s flesh in Jezrahel’s field. Her flesh will be like dung upon the face of the earth in that field, so that passersby will ask whether this is that same Jezabel.

The story inside

Eliseus gives his messenger instructions for anointing Jehu and leaving. At Ramoth Galaad the messenger takes Jehu into a chamber, pours oil upon him and declares kingship, the destruction of Achab’s house and Jezabel’s fate. After he flees, Jehu reports the kingship announcement to the servants, who spread garments and proclaim him king. Jehu conspires against Joram, whose wounds have taken him back to Jezrahel, and asks that no one leave the city to report there. On his approach, the watchman reports the troop and then two messengers who reach Jehu but do not return; he recognizes the furious driving. The two kings ride out to Naboth’s field. Joram’s peace question receives Jehu’s answer about Jezabel; Joram flees and is shot. Jehu orders Badacer to cast him into Naboth’s field, recalling the announcement about Naboth and his children. Ochozias flees, is struck on the ascent to Gaver and dies after fleeing to Mageddo; his servants carry him to Jerusalem for burial. In Jezrahel, Jezabel prepares herself and speaks from the window as Jehu enters. Two or three eunuchs bow to him and throw her down at his command. His later burial order leads to the discovery of only the named remains. Their report prompts Jehu to recall Elias’s word, including the dogs, the dung comparison and the passersby’s question.

Lessons worth keeping

1
The anointing message contains more than a kingship announcement. It names Achab as Jehu’s master, the blood of the Lord’s prophets and servants at Jezabel’s hand, the groups to be cut off and the comparisons with Jeroboam’s and Baasa’s houses. It also predicts Jezabel’s lack of burial. Retaining these particulars shows what the messenger actually declares rather than replacing them with a general statement about the fall of a dynasty.
2
The approach to Jezrahel develops through reports and questions. The watchman sees a troop, the two messengers ask about peace and are told to follow, and the watchman reports each failure to return before identifying Jehu’s driving. The kings then go out themselves. Jehu’s earlier request that no one leave the city supplies a stated reason against news reaching Jezrahel, but the text does not say the gates were sealed or that the messengers were forcibly detained.
3
Jehu connects two actions and discoveries with recalled words. His order concerning Joram names Naboth, Naboth’s children, Achab and Badacer’s shared memory. The report about Jezabel’s remains leads him to recall Elias’s word about dogs and her flesh in Jezrahel’s field. The full ending includes what passersby will ask. Keeping the recalled words and the narrated events distinct preserves their stated connections without claiming that every announced act is already completed in this chapter.

Test your recall

How do the anointing message and the servants’ proclamation lead into Jehu’s approach to Jezrahel, and what reported events prompt his recollections about Naboth’s field and Jezabel’s fate?

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 38994–39012
4 Kings Chapter 9 Jehu is anointed king of Israel, to destroy the house of Achab and Jezebel. He killeth Joram king of Israel, and Ochozias king of Juda. Jezebel is eaten by dogs. 9:1. And Eliseus the prophet, called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him: Gird up thy loins, and take this little bottle of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth Galaad. 9:2. And when thou art come thither, thou shalt see Jehu the son of Josaphat the son of Namsi: and going in, thou shalt make him rise up from amongst his brethren, and carry him into an inner chamber. 9:3. Then taking the little bottle of oil, thou shalt pour it on his head, and shalt say: Thus saith the Lord: I have anointed thee king over Israel. And thou shalt open the door and flee, and shalt not stay there.
Lines 39013–39023
9:4. So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went away to Ramoth Galaad, 9:5. And went in thither: and behold, the captains of the army were sitting, and he said: I have a word to thee, O prince. And Jehu said: Unto whom of us all? And he said: To thee, O prince. 9:6. And he arose, and went into the chamber: and he poured the oil upon his head, and said: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: I have anointed thee king over Israel, the people of the Lord.
Lines 39024–39034
9:7. And thou shalt cut off the house of Achab, thy master, and I will revenge the blood of my servants, the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezabel. 9:8. And I will destroy all the house of Achab, and I will cut off from Achab, him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up, and the meanest in Israel. 9:9. And I will make the house of Achab, like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, and like the house of Baasa, the son of Ahias.
Lines 39035–39037
9:10. And the dogs shall eat Jezabel, in the field of Jezrahel, and there shall be no one to bury her. And he opened the door and fled.
Lines 39038–39045
9:11. Then Jehu went forth to the servants of his lord: and they said to him: Are all things well? why came this madman to thee? And he said to them: You know the man, and what he said. 9:12. But they answered: It is false; but rather do thou tell us. And he said to them: Thus and thus did he speak to me: and he said: Thus saith the Lord: I have anointed thee king over Israel.
Lines 39046–39049
9:13. Then they made haste, and taking every man his garment, laid it under his feet, after the manner of a judgment seat, and they sounded the trumpet, and said: Jehu is king.
Lines 39050–39058
9:14. So Jehu, the son of Josaphat, the son of Namsi, conspired against Joram. Now Joram had besieged Ramoth Galaad, he, and all Israel, fighting with Hazael, king of Syria: 9:15. And was returned to be healed in Jezrahel of his wounds; for the Syrians had wounded him, when he fought with Hazael, king of Syria. And Jehu said: If it please you, let no man go forth or flee out of the city, lest he go, and tell in Jezrahel.
Lines 39059–39066
9:16. And he got up, and went into Jezrahel for Joram was sick there, and Ochozias king of Juda, was come down to visit Joram. 9:17. The watchman therefore, that stood upon the tower of Jezrahel, saw the troop of Jehu coming, and said: I see a troop. And Joram said: Take a chariot, and send to meet them, and let him that goeth say: Is all well?
Lines 39067–39071
9:18. So there went one in a chariot to meet him, and said: Thus saith the king: Are all things peaceable? And Jehu said: What hast thou to do with peace? go behind and follow me. And the watchman told, saying: The messenger came to them, but he returneth not.
Lines 39072–39079
9:19. And he sent a second chariot of horses: and he came to them, and said: Thus saith the king: Is there peace? And Jehu said: What hast thou to do with peace? pass, and follow me. 9:20. And the watchman told, saying: He came even to them, but returneth not: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu, the son of Namsi; for he drives furiously.
Lines 39080–39088
9:21. And Joram said: Make ready the chariot. And they made ready his chariot: and Joram, king of Israel, and Ochozias, king of Juda, went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu, and met him in the field of Naboth, the Jezrahelite. 9:22. And when Joram saw Jehu, he said: Is there peace, Jehu? And he answered: What peace? so long as the fornications of Jezabel, thy mother, and her many sorceries, are in their vigour.
Lines 39089–39095
9:23. And Joram turned his hand, and fleeing, said to Ochozias: There is treachery, Ochozias. 9:24. But Jehu bent his bow with his hand, and shot Joram between the shoulders: and the arrow went out through his heart, and immediately he fell in his chariot.
Lines 39096–39105
9:25. And Jehu said to Badacer, his captain: Take him, and cast him into the field of Naboth, the Jezrahelite: for I remember, when I and thou, sitting in a chariot, followed Achab, this man’s father, that the Lord laid this burden upon him, saying: 9:26. If I do not requite thee in this field, saith the Lord, for the blood of Naboth, and for the blood of his children, which I saw yesterday, saith the Lord. So now take him, and cast him into the field, according to the word of the Lord.
Lines 39106–39110
9:27. But Ochozias, king of Juda, seeing this, fled by the way of the garden house: and Jehu pursued him, and said: Strike him also in his chariot. And they struck him in the going up to Gaver, which is by Jeblaam: and he fled into Mageddo, and died there.
Lines 39111–39117
9:28. And his servants laid him upon his chariot, and carried him to Jerusalem: and they buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers, in the city of David. 9:29. In the eleventh year of Joram, the son of Achab, Ochozias reigned over Juda;
Lines 39118–39124
9:30. And Jehu came into Jezrahel. But Jezabel, hearing of his coming in, painted her face with stibic stone, and adorned her head, and looked out of a window. 9:31. At Jehu coming in at the gate, and said: Can there be peace for Zambri, that hath killed his master?
Lines 39125–39131
9:32. And Jehu lifted up his face to the window, and said: Who is this? And two or three eunuchs bowed down to him. 9:33. And he said to them: Throw her down headlong; And they threw her down, and the wall was sprinkled with her blood, and the hoofs of the horses trod upon her.
Lines 39132–39138
9:34. And when he was come in to eat, and to drink, he said: Go, and see after that cursed woman, and bury her; because she is a king’s daughter. 9:35. And when they went to bury her, they found nothing but the skull, and the feet, and the extremities of her hands.
Lines 39139–39147
9:36. And coming back they told him. And Jehu said: It is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Elias, the Thesbite, saying: In the field of Jezrahel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezabel. 9:37. And the flesh of Jezabel shall be as dung upon the face of the earth in the field of Jezrahel; so that they who pass by shall say: Is this that same Jezabel?