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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 And a word of Jehovah is unto Jehu son of Hanani, against Baasha, saying, |
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| 2 'Because that I have raised thee up out of the dust, and appoint thee leader over My people Israel, and thou walkest in the way of Jeroboam, and causest My people Israel to sin to provoke Me to anger with their sins; |
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| 3 lo, I am putting away the posterity of Baasha, even the posterity of his house, and have given up thy house as the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat; |
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| 4 him who dieth of Baasha in a city do the dogs eat, and him who dieth of his in a field do fowl of the heavens eat.' |
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| 5 And the rest of the matters of Baasha, and that which he did, and his might, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel |
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| 6 And Baasha lieth with his fathers, and is buried in Tirzah, and Elah his son reigneth in his stead. |
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| 7 And also by the hand of Jehu son of Hanani the prophet a word of Jehovah hath been concerning Baasha, and concerning his house, and concerning all the evil that he did in the eyes of Jehovah to provoke Him to anger with the work of his hands, to be like the house of Jeroboam, and concerning that for which he smote him. |
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| 8 In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah reigned hath Elah son of Baasha over Israel in Tirzah, two years; |
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| 9 and conspire against him doth his servant Zimri (head of the half of the chariots) and he [is] in Tirzah drinking a drunkard in the house of Arza, who [is] over the house in Tirzah. |
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| 10 And Zimri cometh in and smiteth him, and putteth him to death, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigneth in his stead; |
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| 11 and it cometh to pass in his reigning, at his sitting on his throne, he hath smitten the whole house of Baasha; he hath not left to him any sitting on the wall, and of his redeemers, and of his friends. |
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| 12 And Zimri destroyeth the whole house of Baasha, according to the word of Jehovah, that He spake concerning Baasha, by the hand of Jehu the prophet: |
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| 13 concerning all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, that they sinned, and that they caused Israel to sin to provoke Jehovah, God of Israel, with their vanities. |
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| 14 And the rest of the matters of Elah, and all that he did, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel |
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| 15 In the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, reigned hath Zimri seven days in Tirzah; and the people are encamping against Gibbethon, which [is] to the Philistines; |
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| 16 and the people who are encamping hear, saying, 'Zimri hath conspired, and also hath smitten the king;' and all Israel cause Omri head of the host to reign over Israel on that day in the camp. |
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| 17 And Omri goeth up, and all Israel with him, from Gibbethon, and they lay siege to Tirzah. |
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| 18 And it cometh to pass, at Zimri's seeing that the city hath been captured, that he cometh in unto a high place of the house of the king, and burneth over him the house of the king with fire, and dieth, |
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| 19 for his sins that he sinned, to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, to walk in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin that he did, to cause Israel to sin; |
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| 20 and the rest of the matters of Zimri, and his conspiracy that he made, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel |
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| 21 Then are the sons of Israel parted into halves; half of the people hath been after Tibni son of Ginath to cause him to reign, and the half after Omri; |
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| 22 and stronger are the people that are after Omri than the people that are after Tibni son of Ginath, and Tibni dieth, and Omri reigneth. |
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| 23 In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah reigned hath Omri over Israel twelve years; in Tirzah he hath reigned six years, |
Omri – A great general, he succeeded Jeroboam on the throne. His dynasty was a successful one according to worldly standards but a failure from the divine standpoint. R4729:2
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| 24 and he buyeth the mount Samaria from Shemer, with two talents of silver, and buildeth [on] the mount, and calleth the name of the city that he hath built by the name of Shemer, lord of the hill Samaria. |
City which he built – Omri strengthened his hold upon the people by the building of a new capital city, Samaria. R3399:2
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| 25 And Omri doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and doth evil above all who [are] before him, |
Omri wrought evil – Outranked Jeroboam as a misleader. Worldly wisdom suggested a still further departure from God. R4729:3
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| 26 and walketh in all the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and in his sin that he caused Israel to sin, to provoke Jehovah, God of Israel, with their vanities. |
In his sin – Introducing idolatry and licentious practices. R3399:2
Vanities – Vain religious ceremonies, provocative of greater evils. R3399:2
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| 27 And the rest of the matters of Omri that he did, and his might that he got, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel |
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| 28 And Omri lieth with his fathers, and is buried in Samaria, and Ahab his son reigneth in his stead. |
Omri slept – We are not to draw the inference that, as a wicked man, he went to eternal torment and that the nature of the torment is sleep. R4729:3, R3399:2
With his fathers – The Grecian theory, that when people die they become more alive than ever, had not yet been introduced. R3399:2
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| 29 And Ahab son of Omri hath reigned over Israel in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah, and Ahab son of Omri reigneth over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years, |
And Ahab – Typical of the Roman empire. B256; R234:3
Typified the civil government, symbolically called the "dragon" in Revelation. OV268:3; R4730:4
Ahab's name signified "like his father." Surely he was. His was a reign still more successful in unrighteousness. R4729:3
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| 30 and Ahab son of Omri doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah above all who [are] before him. |
Did evil – For 22 years he devoted himself to the further undermining of true religion and to the introduction of the worst forms of licentious, heathen idolatry. R4730:4, R4729:5
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| 31 And it cometh to pass hath it been light his walking in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat then he taketh a wife, Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians, and goeth and serveth Baal, and boweth himself to it, |
To wife Jezebel – Typical of the apostate Church of Rome. R5629:1; B256
The improper marriage of Ahab and Jezebel, contrary to the Jewish Law, typified the marriage, or union, of church and state. R4730:4, R234:3
Typified a religious system. She was a desperate character, used to symbolize the great mystery of iniquity in the book of Revelation. (Rev. 2:20) R3399:4
In marrying her Ahab secured an able accomplice in evil. R3399:4
Her name signifies "chaste"; yet she used her great influence for the furtherance of unchastity in connection with the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth. R4729:5
The effect of the prosperity of Ahab and Jezebel was two-fold: degrading one class, while separating from itself another class--the true worshippers of God. So it is today. R4730:1
Ethbaal – A priest of Baal who murdered his father, the king of Tyre, and then succeeded him. R3399:4
Served Baal – Or Bel; type of the god of Babylon, the Pope. D40
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| 32 and raiseth up an altar for Baal, in the house of the Baal, that he built in Samaria; |
An altar for Baal – The ordained worship in the Temple was neglected and image worship established. Thus was the true Temple and priesthood counterfeited. Similarly, we have in nominal spiritual Israel a great counterfeit system. PD46/56; R3399:5
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| 33 and Ahab maketh the shrine, and Ahab addeth to do so as to provoke Jehovah, God of Israel, above all the kings of Israel who have been before him. |
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| 34 In his days hath Hiel the Beth-Elite built Jericho; in Abiram his first-born he laid its foundation, and in Segub his youngest he set up its doors, according to the word of Jehovah that He spake by the hand of Joshua son of Nun. |
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