Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Leonard Jayawardena <leonardj AT live.com>]

In my last post I showed that "the blood of Jezreel" refers to the death or 
destruction of Israel resulting from her idolatray--rather than Jehu's 
massacre at Jezeeel--for which the royal house is held responsible because of 
the part they played in the idolatry of the nation.
 
The fact that the juxtaposition of the predictions of punishment of the royal 
house and of the nation for idolatry in Hosea 1:4-5 follows a pattern also 
found in 1 Kings 14:14-16 and Amos 7:8-9, 11 favors an interpretation that 
sees idolatry as the reason for both punishments in Hosea 1:4-5 and as well 
as the particular construction I have placed on the phrase “the blood of 
Jezreel.” 
 
Note the following:
 
1. The fact that idolatry is indisputably the reason for the two punishments 
in 1 Kings 14:14-16 and Amos 7:8-9, 11, and the punishment of the nation in 
Hosea 1:4 gives rise to the strong presumption that the royal house is to be 
punished for the same basic reason in Hosea 1:4, in which the punishment of 
the royal family is coupled with the punishment of the nation as in the other 
two passages. This presumption is strengthened by the preceding context of 
Hosea 1:4, which is the idolatry of the nation.
 
2. Is idolatry the only connecting thread between the punishment of the royal 
house and of the nation in these three passages or is there more to the 
juxtaposition of these two punishments (or judgments)? Note that in all three 
passages the eventual end of the northern kingdom is in view. In 1 Kings we 
are plainly told that Jeroboam I is responsible for Israel’s apostasy and its 
final consequence: exile, and, presumably, that is the ground for the future 
punishment of the royal house itself. In Hosea we are told that “the blood of 
Jezreel” is the ground for the punishment of the royal house. We have seen 
that “the blood of Jezreel” can be interpreted to mean the “death of 
Jezreel,” i.e., the destruction of the northern kingdom. Interpreted thus, we 
have an exact parallel to 1 Kings 14:14-16 in Hosea 1:4, with the latter 
passage being explicit as to the reason for the judgment of the royal house. 
 
To those who are still not convinced that "the blood of Jezreel" does not 
refer to Jehu's massacre at Jezreel, I offer the following very simple and 
basic objection (and there are others).  A list of all those of the house of 
Ahab killed by Jehu according to 2 Kings 9-10 is given below: 
 
1. King Joram, son of Ahab, who was killed near the property of Naboth in 
Jezreel (2 Kings 9:21-26). 
 
2. King Ahaziah of Judah, who was shot at the ascent of Gur and died in 
Megiddo (2 Kings 9:27). Ahaziah was a nephew of king Joram (2 Kings 8:24-26). 
 
3. Jezebel, wife of Ahab and mother of king Joram, who was killed in Jezreel 
(2 Kings 9:30-37). 
 
4. The seventy sons of Ahab, who were killed in Samaria and whose heads were 
brought to Jehu in Jezreel (2 Kings 10:1-8). 
 
5. All that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel," who were slain by Jehu 
following d. above (2 Kings 10:11). 
 
6. Forty-two relatives of king Ahaziah of Judah, who came down to visit the 
royal family of Israel and were slaughtered in Beth-eked (2 Kings 10:12-14). 
 
7. "All that remained to Ahab in Samaria," who were wiped out by Jehu 
"according to the word of the Lord which he spoke to Elijah" (2 Kings 10:17). 
 
If Hosea is pronouncing judgment upon the house of Jehu for any killings 
carried out by him during his reign, then it is for destroying the house of 
Ahab, to which 1.-7. above relate. The reader will note, however, that out of 
the seven, only 1., 3., and 5. involve blood-spilling in Jezreel. The number 
of Jehu's victims of the house of Ahab outside of Jezreel at least equals--in 
fact probably exceeds--that in Jezreel. Therefore, it would be very 
inaccurate to refer to the massacre of the house of Ahab by Jehu as "the 
blood of Jezreel," wouldn't it?  Why single out the blood spilt in Jezreel? 
If Hosea was condemning the house of Jehu for the destruction of the house of 
Ahab by Jehu, he could have simply had God say "I will punish the house of 
Jehu for his destruction of the house of Ahab," which would have been far 
more accurate. Indeed, "the house of X" is the usual expression used in the 
Bible when referring to the destruction of the family and relatives of the 
Hebrew kings (see, for example, 1 Kings 13:34; 15:29; 16:12; 2 Chronicles 
21:7; 22:10). Alternatively, Hosea could have had God say "I will punish the 
house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, the ascent of Gur, Samaria, and 
Beth-eked"! 
 
 
Leonard Jayawardena
Sri Lanka
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