Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary

Adam Clarke Commentary

Joram - and Ahaziah - went out - They had no suspicion of what was done at Ramoth-gilead; else they would not have ventured their persons as they now did.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Make ready - literally, (as in margin) “Blind,” i. e., “Harness the horses to the chariot.” The king had no suspicion of Jehu‘s treason. Probably he imagined that he was bringing him important news from the seat of war. Ahaziah‘s accompanying him is significant of the close friendship which united the uncle and the nephew. They went out not “against” Jehu, but rather “to meet him.”

In the portion of Naboth - This is no longer called a “vineyard” 1 Kings 21:1-18; probably because it had been thrown into the palace garden, and applied to the purpose for which Ahab originally wanted it. The approach to the city on this side must have lain either through it, or close by it.

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible

JEHU KILLED JEHORAM; KING OF ISRAEL; WITH AN ARROW IN HIS BACK

"And Joram said, Make ready. And they made ready his chariot. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu, and found him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace? So long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many? And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah. And Jehu drew his bow with his full strength and smote Joram between his arms; and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot."

"They found him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite" (2 Kings 9:21). Again we have evidence of how finely and with what precision the Lord times His actions. Only a few minutes variation in the exact time when Joram left Jezreel would have placed his meeting with Jehu at some other place. But, no! God had decreed that the blood of Naboth should be avenged ON THAT VERY SPOT, and so it occurred.

That meeting of Joram and Jehu, "Humanly speaking was accidental. The portion of Naboth lay outside the southeastern gate of Jezreel, and at no great distance from the walls. If the king had started a little sooner, or if Jehu had driven a little slower, the meeting would have taken place somewhere else. But Divine providence so ordered matters that vengeance for the sin of Ahab was exacted upon the very scene of his guilt."[14]

"What peace? so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many" (2 Kings 9:22). The designation of idolatry under such a term as whoredoms (or adulteries) was based upon two things. (1) Under the metaphor that God was the husband of Israel, when the chosen people turned from God and gave the worship which they owed to him to some pagan deity, it was simply that of a wife committing adultery. (2) Also, the worship of the Canaanite fertility gods was invariably accompanied by the most shameful licentiousness revolving around the thousands of religious prostitutes who were at once the principal attraction of paganism and its most effective advocates.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And Joram said, make ready,.... The chariot, put to the horses; bind them, as the word signifies, to the chariot:

and his chariot was made ready; by his servants immediately:

and Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot; not both in the same chariot, but each in his own, for the sake of greater magnificence:

and they went out against Jehu; not in an hostile manner, for they had no notion of him as an enemy; though it is much they had no suspicion of him by his detaining the messengers; but Joram perhaps thought he was desirous of delivering his message himself; and in honour to him, and also being eager to know what it was, went out to meet him:

and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite; which had been his, and where, or near it, he was stoned, and his blood shed; a very inauspicious place to meet him in.

Wesley's Explanatory Notes

And Joram said, Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out against Jehu, and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.

Portion of Naboth — The very sight of that ground was enough to make Jehu triumph and Joram tremble. The circumstances of events are sometimes so ordered by Divine providence, as to make the punishment answer the sin, as face answers face in a glass.

John Trapp Complete Commentary

2 Kings 9:21 And Joram said, Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out against Jehu, and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.

Ver. 21. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah.] These never dreamed of an enemy, though the messengers were detained, but thought, likely, that Jehu came with good news from the army, whereof himself would be the first messenger. Sic Deus quem destruit dementat, God infatuateth those whom he meaneth to destroy.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

Against Jehu, or, to meet Jehu, to know his intentions, and by his presence to repress any seditious inclinations which might be in Jehu or his followers.

In the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite; in that field which formerly belonged to Naboth, part whereof was enclosed by Ahab, and made a garden.

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

21.Met him in the portion of Naboth — Fatal spot for the son of Ahab, for long before there had gone forth the oracle, that in that spot the dogs should lick his blood. 1 Kings 21:19; 1 Kings 21:29.

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments

2 Kings 9:21. They went out against him — Or rather, to meet him, that they might know his intention, and, by their presence, repress any seditious inclinations which might be in Jehu or his followers. And met him in the portion of Naboth — The very sight of that ground was enough to make Jehu triumph, and Joram tremble. The circumstances of events are sometimes so ordered by Divine Providence as to make the punishment answer the sin, as face answers face in a glass.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged

And Joram said, Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out against Jehu, and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.

And they went out against Jehu [ liqra't (Hebrew #7125), to meet Jehu; Septuagint, eis apanteen] - to ascertain the cause of his journey, whether it was occasioned by any military disaster, or if he harboured any unlawful design, to take immediate measures for repressing sedition. Since the two monarchs were driving out, Jehu, who continued advancing with impetuous onset, quickly ascended from the plain up the steep northern sides of the site on which Jezreel stood, and met [ wayimtsaa'uhuw (Hebrew #4672), found] him (the king) in 'the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.'

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(21) Make ready.—Literally, bind—i.e., the horses to the chariot.

And his chariot was made ready.—Literally, And one bound his chariot.

Against Jehu.—Rather, to meet Jehu. Joram was curious to know why his messengers had not returned, as well as why the commander-in-chief had left the seat of war. Had he suspected treachery, he would hardly have left the shelter of the walls of Jezreel, and ventured forth without a guard.

In the portion of Naboth.—Naboth’s vineyard, which now formed part of the pleasure-grounds of the palace. (See 1 Kings 21:16.)

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Make ready

Heb. bind.

1 Kings 20:14; *marg:; Micah 1:13

Joram

2 Chronicles 22:7

met

Heb. found.

Numbers 20:14; *marg:

the portion of Naboth

25; 1 Kings 21:1-7,15,18,19