Melakhim II Chapters 9–10 | The Rise of Yehu

In God’s prophecy to Eliyahu at Chorev, we learn of a great calamity destined to befall Israel, carried out by three appointments Eliyahu was tasked with: appointing Chazael as king over Aram, Yehu as king over Israel, and Elisha as prophet. In practice, Eliyahu only appointed Elisha, who completes the other two appointments. In the previous chapter, he appointed Chazael, and in this chapter, he appoints Yehu as king over Israel.

In both appointments, Elisha’s personal reservations are evident. When appointing Chazael, Elisha weeps over what Chazael will do to Israel. When appointing Yehu, Elisha does not go himself but sends a messenger, instructing him to flee immediately after anointing Yehu as king over Israel.

Once anointed, Yehu ascends to power over Israel in a storm of decisive actions — both political and religious. Without hesitation, Yehu, an officer in the army of the reigning king, Yehoram, returns to Yizre’el in midbattle, where the king lies wounded. In response to the king’s greetings, Yehu leaves the king stunned: "Yehoram steered back around and fled. ‘Treason, Achazya!’, he called out to Achazyahu” (9:23). Yehu kills Yehoram, the king of Israel, and pursues his ally, Achazya, king of Yehuda, even though Achazya had already fled the area. Throughout these chapters, there are extensive descriptions of Yehu’s vengeance against the house of Achav — carried out with remarkable thoroughness and great cruelty.

Yehu’s decisive actions somewhat resemble those of a prophet. He is described as acting with “madness” (9:20), a term previously applied to the prophet’s messenger (9:11). As Yehu charges toward Yizre’el, Yehoram sends messengers, whom Yehu repeatedly recruits to his own ranks, reminiscent of the messengers sent by Achazya to Eliyahu who did not return. The most striking point is Yehu’s explicit statement that he sees himself as God’s emissary to fulfill the prophecy against the house of Achav: “‘I swear, having seen the blood of Navot and the blood of his children last night’, declares the Lord, ‘I will pay you back in this very plot’, declares the Lord, so now pick him up and throw him in the plot, fulfilling the word of the Lord” (9:26). Yehu also achieves unprecedented success in removing Baal worship from Israel, though his methods are rather dubious.

On the one hand, Yehu achieves great success — fulfilling God’s prophecy against the house of Achav and eradicating Baal worship from Israel. On the other hand, he does not turn away from the sins of Yerovam, continuing to worship the calves in Beit El and Dan: “Yehu did not follow the teaching of the Lord, God of Israel, with care, with all his heart; he did not turn away from the sins of Yerovam, who led Israel to sin” (10:31). This verse testifies that he did not follow God’s Torah. Prof. Yisrael Rosenson, in the attached essay, highlights that a second reading of the text reveals subtle criticism of Yehu’s character from the outset. According to him, the verses deliberately extend the descriptions of Yehu’s atrocities to teach that perhaps they were excessive. The text portrays Yehu as someone who killed cruelly (and sometimes deceitfully) even those who came to him seeking peace. In some instances, he killed where it was unnecessary or redundant, even targeting the kingdom of Yehuda, despite not being commanded to do so. On the one hand, in Chapter 10, God promises Yehu that his descendants will reign until the fourth generation. On the other hand, Hoshea prophesies punishment for Yehu’s bloodshed: “For soon I will punish the house of Yehu for the blood of Yizre’el, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the House of Israel” (Hoshea 1:4).