2 Kings 9:27

AHAZIAH IS SLAIN. (Kg2 9:27-35)

Ahaziah--was grandnephew to King Joram, and great-grandson to King Ahab.

Ibleam--near Megiddo, in the tribe of Issachar (Jos 17:11; Jdg 1:27); and Gur was an adjoining hill.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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 Jehu’s sentence against him, either because they were not so much concerned in his, as in Joram’s death; or because they had some regard for him for Jehoshaphat’s 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 Jehu’s permission, out of respect to Jehoshaphat’s memory, 2Ch 22:9.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9:27-28 The road to Beth-haggan led southward along the eastern edge of the Jezreel Valley, past Ibleam and on to Samaria. • Megiddo . . . he died there: King Ahaziah escaped to Samaria, where he was captured and brought to Jehu (2 Chr 22:8-9). The accounts in Chronicles and Kings might be combined to show that although Ahaziah was wounded at Gur, he managed to go on to Samaria. Later, Jehu’s men seized him and brought him to Jehu, where he was put to death. Since the Chronicler associates Ahaziah’s capture with Jehu’s slaying of Ahab’s descendants and some of Ahaziah’s relatives (see 2 Kgs 10:1-17), it appears that Ahaziah avoided his pursuers for a time. The account here is greatly compressed, with the writer recording Ahaziah’s death and burial before relating further events.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

After that he was wounded in Samaria, he fled to Megiddo, which was a city of Judah.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

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.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(27) But when . . . saw this.—Now Ahaziah . . . had seen it; and he fled, &c.

By the way of the garden house—i.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 Naboth’s 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 Ahaziah’s 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 Magidû or Magadû.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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 Βαιθγάν. 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 (ἰατρευόμενον). 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.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And as Jehu entered in at the gate,.... Either of the city of Jezreel, or of the king's palace:

she said, had Zimri peace, who slew his master? Elah the son of Baasha king of Israel; no, he had not; he reigned but seven days, and, being besieged, burnt the king's house over him, and died, Kg1 16:10, suggesting that the like would be his fate, who had slain his master Joram; or the words may be rendered, "O Zimri, the slayer of his master"; calling Jehu so, because of his likeness to Zimri.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

House. Septuagint retain "Baithgan," the original term, as if it were the name of that road. (Menochius) --- Ochozias wanted to reach the palace by the garden, which was the source of the miseries of Achab’s family. --- There. Being brought back from Samaria, 2 Paralipomenon xxii. 9., (Calmet) or lurking in that kingdom, (Menochius) and slain by Jehu as being the grandson of Jezabel. Great troubles took place in Juda, in consequence of his death. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

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 Jehu’s sentence against him, because they were not so much concerned in his as in Joram’s design; or because they had some kindness for him, either for his own or for Jehoshaphat’s 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.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vers. 27-29. Murder of Ahaziah.

But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. As soon as Ahaziah saw Jehu shoot his arrow, he too took to flight; not, however, in the same direction as Joram, but southwards, towards his own land. If "garden house" is the right translation of Gh tybe, we can say no more than that it was probably one of the lodges of the royal demesne, which lay south-east and south of Jezreel, whereof nothing more is known. But it is quite possible that we ought to translate, with the LXX, "by the way of Beth-Gan efugen oJdon. In this case "Beth-Gan" would be a village or town, probably identical with En-gannim, which lay at the foot of the hills bounding the Plain of Esdraelon, nearly due south of Jezreel (Zerin), and which is now known as Jenin (see the Map of Western Palestine, by Mr. Trelawney Saunders, compiled from the surveys of the Palestine Exploration Fund, where Ahaziah"s flight is well traced. And Jehu followed after him; and said, Smite him also in the chariot; rather, in his chariot, not in that of Jehoram, since the two kings rode respectively in their own chariots (ver. 21). It was a bold step in a pretender not yet settled upon the throne to provoke the hostility of a neighboring country by murdering its monarch; but Jehu probably thought he had more to fear from Ahaziah himself, who had been on such close terms of friendship with Jehoram, than from any probable successors. He, therefore, finding him in his power, pursued after him and slew him. From a religious point of view he could justify the act; since the commission given to him (ver. 7) was to smite all the house of Ahab, and Ahaziah was Ahab"s grandson. And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. The "ascent of Gur," rWgAhle) was probably the rising ground between the southern edge of the Plain of Esdraslon and the place known as" Ibleam," or "Bileam", (1Ch_6:70) which is reasonably identified with the modern Bir-el-Belameh, two miles south of Jenin. Here the steep ascent necessarily delayed the chariot, and Ahaziah"s pursuers gained upon him, approached him, and wounded him. And he fled to Megiddo. Wounded at the ascent of Gur, and despairing of making his way through the rough mountainous country which lay between him and Jerusalem, Ahaziah suddenly changed his route, perhaps thereby baffling his pursuers, and, skirting the hills, had himself conveyed to Megiddo (Ledjun), where he died, either of his wounds, or through some fresh violence on the part of Jehu. (see 2Ch_12:8, 2Ch_12:9) The reconciliation of 2Ch_12:8, 9 with the present passage is difficult, but not wholly impossible. Perhaps the Chronicler means by "Samaria" the kingdom, not the town.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He died - The history is briefly and imperfectly described here, and the defects supplied in (the book of Chronicles, is great part written for that end, to supply things omitted in the book of Kings) out of both it may be thus compleated: 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.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

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, some structure in or near the palace grounds. 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, some miles to the west. And he fled to Megiddo and died there, on the slope of Mount Carmel. It seems, from 2Ch 22:9, that Ahaziah had first succeeded in reaching Samaria, but, having been found by Jehu’s men, tried to escape to the northwest, where he was killed, as here related. He who sides with the enemies of God must expect to share the lot of such enemies.

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, the difference between this statement and that of 2Ki 8:25, being due to a difference in reckoning the first year of the reign of Joram.

v. 30. And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, applying a special preparation to her eyebrows and eyelids, and tired her head, by putting on the head-band and crown which held her elaborate head-dress in place, and looked out at a window, arrogant, self-willed, and defiant to the last, hoping that the majesty of her position would save her.

v. 31. And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master? 1 Kings 16; 1 Kings 9-20, literally, "Is it peace, thou Zimri, murderer of his lord?" She wanted to terrify the rebel by reminding him of the tragic end of Zimri, whose rule lasted only seven days.

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, in answer to his call, two or three eunuchs, two servants of the palace at one window and three at another, signifying their intention to do his bidding.

v. 33. And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down, dashing her from the window to the pavement below; and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses; and he trode her under foot, causing the wheels of his chariot to pass over her and to extinguish the last spark of life.

v. 34. And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, he first refreshed himself after his hard trip, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman and bury her; for she is a king’s daughter, a Phenician princess, 1Ki 16:31.

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, the rest having been eaten or dragged away by the savage dogs common in the Orient.

v. 36. Wherefore they came again and told him. And he, who had not intended to refuse her burial or deliberately to fulfill the prediction in regard to her, said, This Is the word of the Lord which He spake by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel, 1Ki 21:23;

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; there was no definite spot to keep her memory alive. Thus are the wicked punished who have seduced others to sin and worked harm to their souls.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

This is the account of what happened to Ahaziah, the king of Judah, after Jehu killed Joram.

saw this

"saw what happened to Joram"

Beth Haggan ... Gur ... Ibleam ... Megiddo

These are the names of places. (See: How to Translate Names)

at the ascent of Gur

The word "ascent" means that they were going up hill while travelling on the road to Gur. AT: "on the road leading up to Gur" (See: Active or Passive)

his fathers

"his ancestors"

translationWords

die

body

Jerusalem

bury

grave

ancestor

city of David

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

“Strike him down in the chariot, etc.” And in Divrei Hayomim it states, “And he sought Achazyohu, and they captured him when he was hiding in Shomron, and they brought him to Yeihu. ” The verses can be reconciled as follows: “And [he] fled by way of the Beis-Hagan,” from Yizre’el to Shomron, and Yeihu pursued him. There is, however, a discrepancy in the matter, because Yeihu did not reign in Shomron until the following day, as it is explained in this account, “Yeihu wrote letters and sent them to Shomron, etc.” Our Rabbis explained in the Aggadah [entitled] “Cheilek,” “When he was hiding in Shomron,” that he would cut out the Divine Names and write [names of] pagan deities in their place. According to their opinion, one can say that his hiding was not because of Yeihu, rather the following is its explanation: “And he sought Achazyohu, and they captured him when he was escaping by way of the garden.” He had been acting wickedly from the beginning, for he would come to Shomron and hide from the officers of Yehudah, to commit this abomination, because the inhabitants of Shomron were idolaters. “And they brought him to Yeihu,” [i.e.,] Yeihu’s men, who had pursued him, [after which it states,] “And he said, ‘Strike him in the chariot.’”

On the way up to Gur. For they brought him [Achazyoh] there to him [Yeihu].

And he fled to Meggido. He was struck as a result of a conspiracy [=בְנִכְלִיּוּת].

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.