(34) And when . . . drink.--Rather, And he went in (into the palace), and ate and drank. Jehu takes possession of the palace, having slain its former occupants. Savage warrior as he was, he forgot all about the victim of his violence until he had appeased the demands of his appetite. Then he could remember that even Jezebel was of royal rank, and perhaps a touch of remorse may be discerned in the mandate for her burial.
Go, see now.--Rather, Look, I pray, after.
This cursed woman.--Jehu was thinking of the curse pronounced on Jezebel by the prophet Elijah. (See next verse.)
Verse 34. - And when he was come in - i.e. when Jehu had established himself in the royal palace - he did eat and drink, and said. His first care was to refresh himself - to order a banquet to be served, and to satisfy his appetite with food and drink. Not till afterwards did he bethink himself of the bloody corpse of his late queen and mistress, lying on the cold ground uncared for and untended, exposed to scorn and ignominy. When the thought occurred to him, it brought about a certain amount of relenting. Go, see now this cursed woman. He calls Jezebel, "a cursed woman," not inappropriately. She had brought a curse on her husband, on her sons, and on her grandsons; she had been the evil genius of two countries, Israel and Judah; she had been the prime mover in a bloody persecution of the worshippers of Jehovah; and was the true original source of the present revolution, which was to result in the deaths of so many others. And bury her: for she is a king's daughter. As queen-mother, Jehu, it seems, would not have regarded Jezebel as entitled to burial; but as daughter of Eth-Baal, King of the Zidonians (1 Kings 16:31), and so a princess born, he allowed her claim. Perhaps he feared lest further insult to the corpse might provoke the resentment of the Phoenician monarch, and draw down upon him that prince's hostility.
9:30-37 Instead of hiding herself, as one afraid of Divine vengeance, Jezebel mocked at fear. See how a heart, hardened against God, will brave it out to the last. There is not a surer presage of ruin, than an unhumbled heart under humbling providences. Let those look at Jezebel's conduct and fate, who use arts to seduce others to commit wickedness, and to draw them aside from the ways of truth and righteousness. Jehu called for aid against Jezebel. When reformation-work is on foot, it is time to ask, Who sides with it? Her attendants delivered her up. Thus she was put to death. See the end of pride and cruelty, and say, The Lord is righteous. When we pamper our bodies, let us think how vile they are; shortly they will be a feast for worms under ground, or beasts above ground. May we all flee from that wrath which is revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.
he did eat and drink; to refresh himself after so long a march, and doing such execution:
and said, go see now this cursed woman; who had been the means of bringing a curse on Israel through her idolatry, and upon Ahab and his family, and upon herself, body and soul, being cursed of God and of men:
and bury her; forgetting the prophecy concerning her, though afterwards he remembered it:
for she is a king's daughter: the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, 1 Kings 16:31 and therefore, in honour to royal dignity, though a cursed woman, he ordered the interment of her; or "though" she is the daughter of one of the kings of the nations of the world, as Kimchi, yet honour must be given to whom it is due.
Go, see now.--Rather, Look, I pray, after.
This cursed woman.--Jehu was thinking of the curse pronounced on Jezebel by the prophet Elijah. (See next verse.)
She is a king's daughter.--Compare 1 Kings 16:31.
he did eat and drink; to refresh himself after so long a march, and doing such execution:
and said, go see now this cursed woman; who had been the means of bringing a curse on Israel through her idolatry, and upon Ahab and his family, and upon herself, body and soul, being cursed of God and of men:
and bury her; forgetting the prophecy concerning her, though afterwards he remembered it:
for she is a king's daughter: the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, 1 Kings 16:31 and therefore, in honour to royal dignity, though a cursed woman, he ordered the interment of her; or "though" she is the daughter of one of the kings of the nations of the world, as Kimchi, yet honour must be given to whom it is due.