Chapter 9 of Sefer Melachim B is a chapter of upheaval: Elisha the prophet sends one of the disciples of the prophets to anoint Yehu son of Yehoshafat son of Nimshi as king over Israel, thereby setting into motion the campaign of retribution against the house of Achav. In this chapter we witness the deaths of Yoram son of Achav and of Achazyah king of Yehudah, and the horrifying end of Izevel, all in precise fulfillment of prophecies spoken years earlier. Let us go through the verses in order with the commentary of the Malbim and the words of Chazal.
וֶאֱלִישָׁע הַנָּבִיא קָרָא לְאַחַד מִבְּנֵי הַנְּבִיאִים וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ חֲגֹר מׇתְנֶיךָ וְקַח פַּךְ הַשֶּׁמֶן הַזֶּה בְּיָדֶךָ וְלֵךְ רָמֹת גִּלְעָד - And Elisha the prophet called one of the disciples of the prophets and said to him: Gird your loins and take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramot Gilad
At the time when Yoram son of Achav was ill, Elisha calls one of the disciples of the prophets and sends him with a flask of oil to Ramot Gilad in order to anoint a man there as king. Chazal say that this "one of the disciples of the prophets" was Yonah son of Amitai, and that he himself was already a prophet.
"Gird your loins" - girding the loins was meant for running. When a person runs, his limbs move and their motion hinders him, so they would tie the chest and belly tightly in order to run swiftly. We will soon see why speed was required specifically here and why he was not permitted to delay.
At first glance this is puzzling: we do not anoint kings in Israel, and anointing is reserved for the kings of the house of David alone. Therefore Chazal say that the oil here was not the anointing oil but rather persimmon oil, a very prestigious oil that was in use in those days. With this oil they would anoint in certain situations: when the king's reign was under dispute. The anointing serves as a declarative act: this is the king, he has been anointed, he is the one we appointed.
And here the dispute arose because of Yoram son of Achav, who had not yet died, and Elisha wants to anoint another king in his place. In order to establish the anointing and to fix it as a complete and absolute anointing, that he is the coming king, it was necessary to anoint with persimmon oil. And it is not written that Yoram had sons who could continue his reign.
An additional question: we saw that Yoram had a war with Chazael king of Aram at Ramot Gilad and the Arameans struck Yoram, which implies that Ramot Gilad is no longer in our possession. How then does Elisha send him to Ramot Gilad? One possibility: the intention is to that place where the battle took place, not Ramot Gilad itself which had already been captured, but the place where the armies were encamped. A second possibility: the king of Israel, Yehoachaz or Yehoram, took it from the hand of the king of Aram, and Chazael came afterward to fight over it, and the king of Israel went there with his camp.
The Malbim recalls Hashem's command to Eliyahu: to anoint Chazael as king over Aram, Yehu as king over Israel, and Elisha son of Shafat as prophet in his place. Three tasks. Eliyahu reversed the order and first anointed Elisha, so that Elisha would then carry out the remaining tasks. The first we have already seen, the anointing of Chazael as king of Aram in place of Ben Hadad. And the second we see here: the anointing of the king who would come in place of Yoram son of Achav.
And this is the explanation of Elisha's request "Let there please be a double portion of your spirit upon me": according to one interpretation the intention is to the two tasks that Eliyahu received and that would pass to him, the anointing of Chazael and the anointing of Yehu as king over Israel.
וּבָאתָ שָּׁמָּה וּרְאֵה שָׁם יֵהוּא בֶן־יְהוֹשָׁפָט בֶּן־נִמְשִׁי וּבָאתָ וַהֲקֵמֹתוֹ מִתּוֹךְ אֶחָיו וְהֵבֵיאתָ אֹתוֹ חֶדֶר בְּחָדֶר - And you shall come there and see there Yehu son of Yehoshafat son of Nimshi, and you shall go in and raise him up from among his brothers, and bring him into an inner chamber.
Elisha tells him: if you run, you will still manage to find Yehu son of Nimshi sitting there with the rest of the officers. And since you do not know him, you will see him sitting among his brothers, so ask which one is Yehu son of Nimshi, and ask to take him "chamber within a chamber" - to bring him into an inner room and perform the anointing there, so that the matter will not become known to the king. Only after the anointing will the publicity come.
One may suggest by way of hint: why oil of afarsemon (balsam)? It is like "efarsemo" (I will publicize him) - this oil is what publicizes him. This is all the more so since Chazal say that the oil of afarsemon had a fragrance that carried far, a very special scent, and because of it everyone would ask what was happening here, and they would answer: a man is being anointed as king. Through this it became publicized to all that Yoram is no longer king, and the one who now reigns is Yehu son of Yehoshafat son of Nimshi.
וְלָקַחְתָּ פַךְ־הַשֶּׁמֶן וְיָצַקְתָּ עַל־רֹאשׁוֹ וְאָמַרְתָּ כֹּה אָמַר יְהֹוָה מְשַׁחְתִּיךָ לְמֶלֶךְ אֶל־יִשְׂרָאֵל וּפָתַחְתָּ הַדֶּלֶת וְנַסְתָּה וְלֹא תְחַכֶּה - And you shall take the flask of oil and pour it on his head, and say: So says Hashem, I have anointed you as king over Israel; then open the door and flee, and do not wait.
Since this is a place of danger - flee immediately, so that Yoram will not send someone to kill you for carrying out here an act of rebellion against the king. Say "So says Hashem, I have anointed you as king over Israel" and immediately flee and do not wait.
וַיֵּלֶךְ הַנַּעַר הַנַּעַר הַנָּבִיא רָמֹת גִּלְעָד - And the lad, the young prophet, went to Ramot Gilad.
There is a repetition here. The Radak explains that first it says "and the lad went," and then it clarifies which lad - the young prophet. But the Malbim, in his way, sees an additional depth here: Elisha told him to say only "I have anointed you as king over Israel," yet in practice we will soon see that he added many words. From where did he have the authority for this? Rather, that lad was Yonah son of Amitai, who was himself a prophet and also one of Eliyahu's disciples, and he knew Eliyahu's prophecies, and the rest of the words of prophecy that he would say later he attained through his own independent prophecy. Therefore the verse emphasizes "the young prophet": do not regard him merely as an attendant of Elisha, but as a prophet in his own right, and therefore do not be surprised that he adds things Elisha did not tell him.
וַיָּבֹא וְהִנֵּה שָׂרֵי הַחַיִל יֹשְׁבִים וַיֹּאמֶר דָּבָר לִי אֵלֶיךָ הַשָּׂר וַיֹּאמֶר יֵהוּא אֶל־מִי מִכֻּלָּנוּ וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלֶיךָ הַשָּׂר - And he came, and behold, the officers of the army were sitting, and he said: I have a word for you, O officer. And Yehu said: To which one of us all? And he said: To you, O officer.
Yehu at first thought the prophet wished to say something before them all and not to him in particular, but the prophet replies: no, to you the officer - I have a special message for you, and for you alone.
וַיָּקׇם וַיָּבֹא הַבַּיְתָה וַיִּצֹק הַשֶּׁמֶן אֶל־רֹאשׁוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ כֹּה אָמַר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מְשַׁחְתִּיךָ לְמֶלֶךְ אֶל־עַם יְהֹוָה אֶל־יִשְׂרָאֵל - And he rose and came into the house, and he poured the oil on his head and said to him: So says Hashem, God of Israel, I have anointed you as king over the people of Hashem, over Israel.
Notice the additions in what Elisha did not say: "the God of Israel," and likewise "over the people of Hashem." The addition comes to tell Yehu: know that the God of Israel anoints you, and over the people of Hashem. In other words, I want this anointing to bring you to make the people into a people of Hashem, and not to follow the path of Yoram, who turned them into a people of Baal, a people of idolatry. He is called "the God of Israel" when Israel are righteous and keep His mitzvot. In essence he is telling him: from now on you set the God of Israel as king over Israel, and turn the people into a people of Hashem.
וְהִכִּיתָה אֶת־בֵּית אַחְאָב אֲדֹנֶיךָ וְנִקַּמְתִּי דְּמֵי עֲבָדַי הַנְּבִיאִים וּדְמֵי כׇּל־עַבְדֵי יְהֹוָה מִיַּד אִיזָבֶל - And you shall strike the house of Achav your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets and the blood of all the servants of Hashem at the hand of Izevel.
This too was not conveyed to him by Elisha, but rather Yonah ben Amitai said it in his own prophecy: kill the house of Achav, his offspring and all the members of his household. And I will take vengeance from Izevel, for Izevel pursued all the prophets, and were it not that Eliyahu and Ovadyah hid fifty men each in a cave, no prophets would have remained in Israel. All the rest Izevel struck down, as Eliyahu said: "I alone am left a prophet to Hashem" - there were no other prophets besides me.
וְאָבַד כׇּל־בֵּית אַחְאָב וְהִכְרַתִּי לְאַחְאָב מַשְׁתִּין בְּקִיר וְעָצוּר וְעָזוּב בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל - And the entire house of Achav shall perish, and I will cut off from Achav every male, both bond and free in Israel.
Corresponding to "and you shall strike the house of Achav," the verse says not merely the house of Achav but "the entire house of Achav," and this cutting off will be total annihilation. "Every male" (מַשְׁתִּין בְּקִיר) - there are several explanations for this: the simple one is that it refers to males, for the male urinates against the wall. Another explanation: it refers to a dog, that is, not even a dog will remain, nothing will remain. "עָצוּר" - the treasure stored within the houses, from the word for what is stored. "וְעָזוּב" - the livestock left in the field. "בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל" - that this will be done publicly and openly, so that all take a lesson and see that this is what is done to one who strays from the straight path.
וְנָתַתִּי אֶת־בֵּית אַחְאָב כְּבֵית יָרׇבְעָם בֶּן־נְבָט וּכְבֵית בַּעְשָׁא בֶן־אֲחִיָּה - And I will make the house of Achav like the house of Yaravam ben Nevat and like the house of Basha ben Achiyah.
No heir will rise up from him. Just as the house of Yaravam and the house of Basha were destroyed, so too will the house of Achav be.
וְאֶת־אִיזֶבֶל יֹאכְלוּ הַכְּלָבִים בְּחֵלֶק יִזְרְעֶאל וְאֵין קֹבֵר וַיִּפְתַּח הַדֶּלֶת וַיָּנֹס - And the dogs shall eat Izevel in the portion of Yizreel, and none shall bury her. And he opened the door and fled.
And this is the finale. "And none shall bury her" - Chazal say that when they went to bury her, they found nothing of her but the skull and the palms of her hands, and these they buried, but the bones they did not bury. And why specifically did these remain? Chazal say that Izevel's practice was that when a bride would pass by her house, she would go out and clap her hands and dance before her and sing. And the Holy One, blessed be He, does not withhold the reward of any creature, and therefore the skull and the palms of the hands are what remained of that wicked woman.
וְיֵהוּא יָצָא אֶל־עַבְדֵי אֲדֹנָיו וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ הֲשָׁלוֹם מַדּוּעַ בָּא הַמְשֻׁגָּע הַזֶּה אֵלֶיךָ וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם אַתֶּם יְדַעְתֶּם אֶת־הָאִישׁ וְאֶת־שִׂיחוֹ - And Yehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him: Is all well? Why did this madman come to you? And he said to them: You know the man and his talk.
After receiving all his operating instructions privately, Yehu comes out to the officers and they ask: Is everything alright? What is the message? We see there was some personal matter to inform you of. Is it a matter of peace or something related to war?
"This madman" - they meant the prophet. In those times a prophet was often perceived as a madman, because when he received his prophecy he would divest himself of his physical faculties. He was capable of lying on the floor with his whole body trembling, like a person suffering a seizure, Heaven forbid. But whereas an epileptic, Heaven protect us, loses control and relieves himself out of that illness, the prophet was in holiness and purity, only that the immense power of prophecy resting upon him is like someone connected to an enormous voltage, and his whole body begins to tremble. Most prophecies came during sleep, since in sleep a person is disconnected from physicality and it is easier for him to receive prophecy, but there were also states not during sleep, as in "Is Shaul too among the prophets," when he arrived at the place where the disciples of the prophets were and began to prophesy like them, until even his cloak was too heavy for him and he had to remove it. Whoever saw the prophet suddenly lying in some convulsion, he seemed to him a madman.
And further: the prophet would seclude himself a great deal, since the path to receiving prophecy is through solitude with the Creator. And since they saw him secluding himself, they thought he was an eccentric. Therefore they asked: What did this madman want? And he answered them, "You know the man and his talk" - you yourselves already said he is a madman, there is neither peace nor war here, just trivial matters, he has no special message.
וַיֹּאמְרוּ שֶׁקֶר הַגֶּד־נָא לָנוּ וַיֹּאמֶר כָּזֹאת וְכָזֹאת אָמַר אֵלַי לֵאמֹר כֹּה אָמַר יְהֹוָה מְשַׁחְתִּיךָ לְמֶלֶךְ אֶל־יִשְׂרָאֵל - "They said, 'That is false, tell us now.' And he said, 'Thus and thus he spoke to me, saying: So says Hashem, I have anointed you king over Israel.'"
You are speaking falsely, it cannot be, surely he told you something meaningful. And he tells them exactly: that he commanded him to strike the house of Achav, and that he anointed him king over Israel.
וַיְמַהֲרוּ וַיִּקְחוּ אִישׁ בִּגְדוֹ וַיָּשִׂימוּ תַחְתָּיו אֶל־גֶּרֶם הַמַּעֲלוֹת וַיִּתְקְעוּ בַּשּׁוֹפָר וַיֹּאמְרוּ מָלַךְ יֵהוּא - "They hurried and each took his garment and placed it under him upon the top of the steps, and they blew the shofar and said, 'Yehu has become king.'"
This is a symbolic act to display kingship: each one places his garment beneath him, they raise him up and exalt him. And the garment comes to express the person himself - as if to say, you are above us, you sit upon all our garments, and we accept you as king.
"Upon the top of the steps" - "maalot" in the language of Chazal means steps, as in Shir HaMaalot which the Levites would sing when they stood on the steps in the Beit HaMikdash. And in the word "gerem" there are two meanings: the Metzudat Tzion explains it as a term for the essence, like "the tenth beit din judged the essence" and like "the town wall broke the essence," and according to this "gerem hamaalot" means the essence of the steps - not from the sense of the bone of an animal but like "the essence of the matter." And Rashi explains "gerem" as a term for a flaw, like the law of hagramah in the laws of shechitah, which is a term for a scratch with the knife, scratching and descending, and according to this "gerem hamaalot" means that the steps have protrusions.
וַיִּתְקַשֵּׁר יֵהוּא בֶּן־יְהוֹשָׁפָט בֶּן־נִמְשִׁי אֶל־יוֹרָם וְיוֹרָם הָיָה שֹׁמֵר בְּרָמֹת גִּלְעָד הוּא וְכׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵל מִפְּנֵי חֲזָאֵל מֶלֶךְ־אֲרָם - "Yehu son of Yehoshafat son of Nimshi conspired against Yoram, and Yoram had been guarding Ramot Gilad, he and all Israel, against Chazael king of Aram."
The rebellion is called a "conspiracy," and Yehu now needs to strengthen the rebellion. And here is a wondrous thing: at first they called the prophet a "madman," and the moment he told them what he said, they took his words with complete seriousness. The Malbim says this was by the providence of Hashem, and it cannot be explained by the way of nature: if you relate to him as a madman, why do you pay attention to his words and take them seriously?
In my humble opinion this is not much of a difficulty, and anyone familiar with the reality of our own day will see it. People can speak in the harshest terms about the leading Torah sages, but when those sages say something, suddenly you see the media people become tense. Consider how alarmed they were by the pulsa denura: you mock these things, you are an intellectual and a rationalist, it is all nonsense and folly, so why do you get frightened? The truth is that outwardly he has to broadcast that it is all folly, while deep inside he knows that what they say is true, and that if a righteous man said something, his words come to pass. So too here: when they were asked in everyday conversation what Yehu wanted, they answered "just a madman," but deep inside they knew this madman spoke to the point, and that one who speaks of the future is one of the prophets of Hashem. Therefore, at the moment of truth, they expressed their inner conviction: if he said you will be king, it is clear to us, this is a prophet.
"Vayitkasher" means he formed a conspiracy, he strengthened the rebellion. And a rebellion can grow strong only when you have a good bond, that is, a firm connection with people. For if there are weak links, the rebellion cannot gain momentum, since there will always be some who hesitate. But if there are people who go with you and at the right moment will rise up and rebel, then the rebellion is strong.
וַיָּשׇׁב יְהוֹרָם הַמֶּלֶךְ לְהִתְרַפֵּא בְיִזְרְעֶאל מִן־הַמַּכִּים אֲשֶׁר יַכֻּהוּ אֲרַמִּים בְּהִלָּחֲמוֹ אֶת־חֲזָאֵל מֶלֶךְ אֲרָם וַיֹּאמֶר יֵהוּא אִם־יֵשׁ נַפְשְׁכֶם אַל־יֵצֵא פָלִיט מִן־הָעִיר לָלֶכֶת לְהַגִּיד בְּיִזְרְעֶאל - And King Yehoram had returned to be healed in Yizreel from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him when he fought against Chazael king of Aram. And Yehu said: If this is your wish, let no one escape from the city to go and tell it in Yizreel.
See how Yehu made use of the momentum. At that very time there was an attack by Chazael king of Aram on Ramot Gilead, and Yoram was there in the war, and not only that, he was wounded there and returned to be healed. Yehu tells them: now is the right time to overcome Yoram, for he was both in the battle and returned wounded from the battlefield. Therefore none of us may go and report anything in Yehoram's area, for otherwise he will quickly organize an army and crush the rebellion while it is still in its infancy. If this is your wish and you truly want to make me king, let us exploit the element of surprise and seize the kingdom.
וַיִּרְכַּב יֵהוּא וַיֵּלֶךְ יִזְרְעֶאלָה כִּי יוֹרָם שֹׁכֵב שָׁמָּה וַאֲחַזְיָה מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה יָרַד לִרְאוֹת אֶת־יוֹרָם - And Yehu rode and went to Yizreel, for Yoram was lying there, and Achazyah king of Yehudah had come down to see Yoram.
Yehu goes to Yizreel in order to carry out the prophet's command to destroy the house of Achav and the house of Izevel. And there not only is Yoram lying, but as we saw at the end of the previous chapter, Achazyah king of Yehudah had also come to visit him. Thus he has two birds with one stone.
וְהַצֹּפֶה עֹמֵד עַל־הַמִּגְדָּל בְּיִזְרְעֶאל וַיַּרְא אֶת־שִׁפְעַת יֵהוּא בְּבֹאוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר שִׁפְעַת אֲנִי רֹאֶה וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוֹרָם קַח רַכָּב וּשְׁלַח לִקְרָאתָם וְיֹאמַר הֲשָׁלוֹם - And the watchman stood on the tower in Yizreel, and he saw the company of Yehu as he came, and he said: I see a company. And Yehoram said: Take a horseman and send him toward them, and let him say: Is it peace?
The watchman stands on the tower in Yizreel, in the place where Yoram is recovering, and sees from afar a group of riders. "Shifat" means an abundance of people coming. Yehoram says to him: take a horseman, that is, a man riding on a horse, and send him toward them to find out their purpose, whether they have come for war or for peace.
וַיֵּלֶךְ רֹכֵב הַסּוּס לִקְרָאתוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר כֹּה אָמַר הַמֶּלֶךְ הֲשָׁלוֹם וַיֹּאמֶר יֵהוּא מַה־לְּךָ וּלְשָׁלוֹם סֹב אֶל־אַחֲרָי וַיַּגֵּד הַצֹּפֶה לֵאמֹר בָּא־הַמַּלְאָךְ עַד־הֵם וְלֹא־שָׁב - And the horseman went to meet him and said: Thus says the king: Is it peace? And Yehu said: What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me. And the watchman reported, saying: The messenger reached them but has not returned.
"What have you to do with peace" means what concern is this of yours, what does it matter to you whether there is peace or not. Yehu tried to buy time and said to him: join me, turn behind me. And the watchman on the tower sees the horseman arrive and remain there. "Hamalach" means the messenger.
וַיִּשְׁלַח רֹכֵב סוּס שֵׁנִי וַיָּבֹא אֲלֵהֶם וַיֹּאמֶר כֹּה אָמַר הַמֶּלֶךְ שָׁלוֹם וַיֹּאמֶר יֵהוּא מַה־לְּךָ וּלְשָׁלוֹם סֹב אֶל־אַחֲרָי - And he sent a second horseman, who came to them and said: Thus says the king: Is it peace? And Yehu said: What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me.
He too asks in the name of the king, and Yehu answers him as he did the first: join me, fall in behind me with the troop. The Malbim points out a change of wording here: regarding the first it says "the messenger came up to them," and regarding the second "and he came to them." "Up to them" means near but not quite, whereas "to them" means right up to them. The first was still not sure whether they came in peace or for war, so he kept his distance in order to ask, and only when he saw that all was well did he join. The second already knew from the first, from the fact that they had not harmed him, that there was no danger, so he came right up to them without fear.
וַיַּגֵּד הַצֹּפֶה לֵאמֹר בָּא עַד־אֲלֵיהֶם וְלֹא־שָׁב וְהַמִּנְהָג כְּמִנְהַג יֵהוּא בֶן־נִמְשִׁי כִּי בְשִׁגָּעוֹן יִנְהָג - The watchman reported, saying: He came up to them but has not returned, and the driving is like the driving of Yehu son of Nimshi, for he drives with madness.
The second rider stayed as well. The watchman says: I am already beginning to recognize from afar that the manner, that is, the way of driving and riding, is like that of Yehu son of Nimshi. "He drives with madness" - without order, not in a settled fashion, but as though the whole troop is riding in a wild, unruly way.
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוֹרָם אֱסֹר וַיֶּאְסֹר רִכְבּוֹ וַיֵּצֵא יְהוֹרָם מֶלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל וַאֲחַזְיָהוּ מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה אִישׁ בְּרִכְבּוֹ וַיֵּצְאוּ לִקְרַאת יֵהוּא וַיִּמְצָאֻהוּ בְּחֶלְקַת נָבוֹת הַיִּזְרְעֵאלִי - Yehoram said: Harness! and he harnessed his chariot, and Yehoram king of Israel and Achazyahu king of Yehudah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Yehu, and they found him in the field of Navot the Yizreelite.
"Harness" - harness the chariot, that is, tie up the horses. Seemingly, why go out toward him, since he is approaching anyway and will come to you? The point is that they suspected there was a conspiracy here, and in such a situation it is better not to be in the city, for in the city one is closed in and trapped and can be seized at once. Therefore they preferred to go out into open ground: if we see there is a conspiracy, we have swift horses and can immediately flee.
וַיְהִי כִּרְאוֹת יְהוֹרָם אֶת־יֵהוּא וַיֹּאמֶר הֲשָׁלוֹם יֵהוּא וַיֹּאמֶר מָה הַשָּׁלוֹם עַד־זְנוּנֵי אִיזֶבֶל אִמְּךָ וּכְשָׁפֶיהָ הָרַבִּים - When Yehoram saw Yehu, he said: Is it peace, Yehu? And he said: What peace, as long as there are the harlotries of your mother Izevel and her many sorceries?
What matter of peace do I have while there are the harlotries of your mother Izevel? "The harlotries of Izevel" refers to her idolatry, for idolatry is called harlotry, as in the expression "and you strayed after the Baalim." And her many sorceries - is this fit to be called peace?
וַיַּהֲפֹךְ יְהוֹרָם יָדָיו וַיָּנֹס וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל־אֲחַזְיָהוּ מִרְמָה אֲחַזְיָה - Yehoram turned his hands and fled, and he said to Achazyahu: Treachery, Achazyah!
Yehoram grasped the matter at once, turned his horse around, and shouted to Achazyah, who was still on the way: there is a conspiracy here, there is a revolt here. They are coming ostensibly for the sake of peace, but in fact to strike us down - treachery, and so he fled.
וְיֵהוּא מִלֵּא יָדוֹ בַקֶּשֶׁת וַיַּךְ אֶת־יְהוֹרָם בֵּין זְרֹעָיו וַיֵּצֵא הַחֵצִי מִלִּבּוֹ וַיִּכְרַע בְּרִכְבּוֹ - And Yehu filled his hand with the bow and struck Yehoram between his arms, and the arrow came out from his heart, and he sank down in his chariot.
"He filled his hand with the bow" - when you draw a bow, the wider you open it the farther the arrow flies. "He filled his hand" means his full hands, that he opened both hands completely and drew with all his strength. "Between his arms" - in his back, but between the arms. Seemingly, if it says "and the arrow went out from his heart," why add "between his arms"? Rather, our Sages say: why was Yehoram punished between his arms? Because when Ovadiah hid the prophets, he took a loan from Achav, and afterward Yehoram was the one who came to take his sons as slaves. Those very arms that had exacted murderous interest from Ovadiah, who kept the prophets alive, in them was his punishment. "He sank down in his chariot" - he collapsed onto his knees in his chariot from the force of the blow.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל־בִּדְקַר שָׁלִשֹׁה שָׂא הַשְׁלִכֵהוּ בְּחֶלְקַת שְׂדֵה נָבוֹת הַיִּזְרְעֵאלִי כִּי־זְכֹר אֲנִי וָאַתָּה אֵת רֹכְבִים צְמָדִים אַחֲרֵי אַחְאָב אָבִיו וַיהֹוָה נָשָׂא עָלָיו אֶת־הַמַּשָּׂא הַזֶּה - And he said to Bidkar his officer: Take him up and throw him into the portion of the field of Navot the Yizreelite; for remember how you and I rode together behind Achav his father, and Hashem laid this burden upon him.
"His officer" - his commander. Throw him into the portion of the field of Navot the Yizreelite, the very place where his father Achav had robbed the vineyard from Navot. "Riding as a pair" - either that the two of us were in the same carriage, or each on his own horse but close together. You remember that we went together behind Achav his father, and then Eliyahu the prophet arrived there and said to him "Have you murdered and also inherited?" and Hashem laid this burden upon him.
אִם־לֹא אֶת־דְּמֵי נָבוֹת וְאֶת־דְּמֵי בָנָיו רָאִיתִי אֶמֶשׁ נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה וְשִׁלַּמְתִּי לְךָ בַּחֶלְקָה הַזֹּאת נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה וְעַתָּה שָׂא הַשְׁלִכֵהוּ בַּחֶלְקָה כִּדְבַר יְהֹוָה - Surely I saw yesterday the blood of Navot and the blood of his sons, says Hashem, and I will repay you in this portion, says Hashem. And now take him up and throw him into the portion, according to the word of Hashem.
"Surely" is an expression of oath: thus Hashem swore to repay him in this portion. In the place where the wickedness was done, there is the judgment, and in the very place where the deed was done, there the Holy One, blessed be He, exacts payment from the one who did the deed. And since that is so, if Hashem said "and I will repay you in this portion," his corpse too must be in that same place.
וַאֲחַזְיָה מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה רָאָה וַיָּנׇס דֶּרֶךְ בֵּית הַגָּן וַיִּרְדֹּף אַחֲרָיו יֵהוּא וַיֹּאמֶר גַּם־אֹתוֹ הַכֻּהוּ אֶל־הַמֶּרְכָּבָה בְּמַעֲלֵה־גוּר אֲשֶׁר אֶת־יִבְלְעָם וַיָּנׇס מְגִדּוֹ וַיָּמׇת שָׁם - And Achazyah king of Yehudah saw this and fled by the way of the garden house. And Yehu pursued after him and said: Strike him too, in the chariot, at the ascent of Gur which is by Yivleam. And he fled to Megiddo and died there.
Achazyah, who had come to visit Yehoram, sees what became of him and decides to flee. The Malbim, and the commentators before him, discuss the contradiction: in Divrei HaYamim it is written that they captured him while he was hiding in Shomron, and here it is written that they struck him in the chariot and he fled to Megiddo. The Malbim explains that he died after the brothers of Achazyah had died, and this was when Yehu came to Shomron. He was hiding in Shomron, and when Yehu came to Shomron he understood that the hat on his head was on fire and that he was the one being sought, and he fled to Megiddo. There they captured him and brought him to Shomron, and there they killed him. Thus both verses are correct. And in fact Ezra the Scribe, who wrote the book of Divrei HaYamim, elaborated on the point where he was brief in the book of Melachim. There are further explanations of this, and the explanation of the Malbim suffices for us.
And what did he do in Shomron? Our Sages say that he was hiding there, scraping out the mentions of God's Name and writing idolatry in their place. See how wicked he was: where it is written "In the beginning God created," he would erase the Name of God and write the name of Baal in its place. And why did he need to flee to Shomron? Because Achazyah, son of Yehoshafat, was king of Yehudah, and in Yehudah he could not permit himself such deeds. Shomron was the place of the calves, the place of idolatry, and there he had legitimacy to take a Torah scroll and scrape out the mentions of the Name.
וַיַּרְכִּבוּ אֹתוֹ עֲבָדָיו יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ְמָה וַיִּקְבְּרוּ אֹתוֹ בִקְבֻרָתוֹ עִם־אֲבֹתָיו בְּעִיר דָּוִד - And his servants carried him in a chariot to Yerushalayim, and buried him in his grave with his fathers in the City of David.
וּבִשְׁנַת אַחַת עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה לְיוֹרָם בֶּן־אַחְאָב מָלַךְ אֲחַזְיָה עַל־יְהוּדָה - And in the eleventh year of Yoram son of Achav, Achazyah began to reign over Yehudah.
And above we saw that it was in the twelfth year. They explain that Yoram was ill for one year, and Achazyah was crowned in his father's lifetime, this was the eleventh year of Yehoram, and after his father's death he was crowned a second time, in the twelfth year of Yehoram. And here the verse comes to inform us that his coronation was not agreed upon by the entire public, as it is written in Divrei HaYamim "and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim made Achazyah king" - for the rest of the people of Yehudah were not pleased with him. But since his father Yehoshafat had crowned him and this was his father's will, they did not have the strength and boldness to fight against the father's decision, and therefore they accepted the coronation of Achazyah over Yehudah, even though most of them, who were apparently righteous, were not comfortable with such a wicked king.
וַיָּבוֹא יֵהוּא יִזְרְעֶאלָה וְאִיזֶבֶל שָׁמְעָה וַתָּשֶׂם בַּפּוּךְ עֵינֶיהָ וַתֵּיטֶב אֶת־רֹאשָׁהּ וַתַּשְׁקֵף בְּעַד הַחַלּוֹן - And Yehu came to Yizrael, and Izevel heard of it, and she painted her eyes with kohl and adorned her head and looked out the window.
Yehu arrives in Yizrael on a campaign of settling scores, and there Izevel is found. She hears and understands that she is next in line, and immediately adorns and beautifies herself. And for what purpose? Rashi says: so that she would find favor in Yehu's eyes and he would marry her. But what interest would he have in this garbage? Rather, this is what she thought: if Yehu wants to reign, it was the accepted custom in those days that one who rebels against a king takes his wife, and by this he gains the power and authority of a kingdom - I am not just any man, I am married to the king's wife, meaning I am his continuation. And since this was so, she thought that if she found favor in his eyes he would have an interest in preserving her as the king's wife, in order to establish his reign through her.
The Radak explains differently: she adorned herself so that she would find favor in his eyes and he would not kill her, not necessarily that he would marry her but that he would spare her and have mercy on her - "Woe over such beauty that will rot in the ground." And the Malbim explains that she wanted to find favor in the eyes of the army officers, so that one of them would desire her and go and fight against Yehu, and that man would do what she could not do: rebel against Yehu and restore her to her kingdom.
וְיֵהוּא בָּא בַשָּׁעַר וַתֹּאמֶר הֲשָׁלוֹם זִמְרִי הֹרֵג אֲדֹנָיו - And Yehu came into the gate, and she said: Is it peace, you Zimri, murderer of his master?
Was his name Zimri? Rather, according to the Metzudot she came to flatter him and lighten his guilt: "Is it peace" - are you willing to be at peace with me? And it is no wonder that you killed your master, there is nothing novel in this, for Zimri too killed Elah son of Basha, who was his master, and rose to reign. It has happened before, we have heard of such things already. And there is another possibility, that she came to needle him: you are like Zimri, murderer of his master, a servant who rose up against his master.
וַיִּשָּׂא פָנָיו אֶל־הַחַלּוֹן וַיֹּאמֶר מִי אִתִּי מִי וַיַּשְׁקִיפוּ אֵלָיו שְׁנַיִם שְׁלֹשָׁה סָרִיסִים - And he lifted up his face to the window, and said: Who is with me, who? And two or three officers looked out to him.
He looks up at the window and asks: is there anyone here who can help me? "Sarisim" - the king's aides or important men.
וַיֹּאמֶר שִׁמְטוּהָ וַיִּשְׁמְטוּהָ וַיִּז מִדָּמָהּ אֶל־הַקִּיר וְאֶל־הַסּוּסִים וַיִּרְמְסֶנָּה - And he said: Cast her down. And they cast her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and he trampled her.
He is below and she is above, and two or three officers look out to him. He said to them: you are in the right place, throw her down from above. "And some of her blood spattered on the wall" - as a disgrace, that her mark, as it were, remained on the wall, and everyone who later passed by saw the stains and said: this is the blood of Izevel.
And with what punishment was she punished? This is stoning. And who was stoned because of her? Navot the Yizraelite, upon whom she pinned the false accusation that he had blasphemed God, and they stoned him, and she said to Achav "Navot has been stoned, arise and take possession" - he is no longer alive, arise and take possession of the vineyard. And therefore, measure for measure, she too receives stoning. And stoning is done in one of two ways: either stones are thrown on the person, or he is cast down from a height, as the Gemara says.
"And trample her" - why did she need to be trampled? Because the prophecy was "and the carcass of Izevel shall be as dung upon the face of the field," and dung means manure - Izevel (איזבל) and manure (זבל), a gezeirah shavah. Therefore she had to be treated the way one treats dung upon the field, and so he trampled her with his horse after they had thrown her down from above, in order to fulfill in her the words of the prophecy.
וַיָּבֹא וַיֹּאכַל וַיֵּשְׁתְּ וַיֹּאמֶר פִּקְדוּ־נָא אֶת־הָאֲרוּרָה הַזֹּאת וְקִבְרוּהָ כִּי בַת־מֶלֶךְ הִיא - And he came in, and ate and drank, and said: See now to this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king's daughter.
"See now to her" - she should be treated with honor and buried. And why "a king's daughter" and not "a king's wife"? Two reasons. The first: halachically she was not Achav's wife, for she was a gentile, and there is no marriage between a Jew and a gentile, just as there is no marriage between a person and an animal, and the concept of marriage does not apply here at all. The second, says the Radak: she caused his death and the loss of his kingdom, and he had nothing but troubles from her, so how could we honor her on account of being a king's wife when to this king she did only evil? Therefore the honor is on account of her being a king's daughter. And so we see in the Torah that one must show honor to royalty, and even when the kingdom is a wicked kingdom - even regarding the wicked Pharaoh, the Holy One, blessed be He, warned Moshe and Aharon to show honor and to speak with courtesy.
וַיֵּלְכוּ לְקׇבְרָהּ וְלֹא־מָצְאוּ בָהּ כִּי אִם־הַגֻּלְגֹּלֶת וְהָרַגְלַיִם וְכַפּוֹת הַיָּדָיִם - And they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.
וַיָּשֻׁבוּ וַיַּגִּידוּ לוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר דְּבַר־יְהֹוָה הוּא אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר בְּיַד־עַבְדּוֹ אֵלִיָּהוּ הַתִּשְׁבִּי לֵאמֹר בְּחֵלֶק יִזְרְעֶאל יֹאכְלוּ הַכְּלָבִים אֶת־בְּשַׂר אִיזָבֶל - And they came back and told him, and he said: This is the word of Hashem, which He spoke by the hand of His servant Eliyahu the Tishbi, saying: In the portion of Yizre'el shall the dogs eat the flesh of Izevel.
וְהָיְתָה נִבְלַת אִיזֶבֶל כְּדֹמֶן עַל־פְּנֵי הַשָּׂדֶה בְּחֵלֶק יִזְרְעֶאל אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יֹאמְרוּ זֹאת אִיזָבֶל - And the carcass of Izevel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Yizre'el, so that they shall not say: This is Izevel.
"So that they shall not say: This is Izevel" - once the dogs began to tear apart her body, it was no longer recognizable who she was: her head was severed and her skull was eaten, and it was not at all recognizable that this was Izevel. If so, the question arises: why then did the skull, the feet, and the palms of her hands remain? Rather, as the Midrash brings: Izevel had a merit, that when a bride would pass by her house she would dance before her - and for this her feet remained. And she would clap, that is, she would strike her palms together - and for this her hands remained. And she would nod her head, moving her head, and perhaps also making a joyous sound - and for this her head remained.
And there is a dispute: whether what remained was buried, and what is said "and none to bury" refers to what the dogs ate, or whether they wanted to bury her but when they saw that almost nothing remained they did not bury her at all. Some say they did not bury her, and some say that what remained they buried.
And why was only the skull found? For the prophecy was that the dogs would eat her "in the portion of Yizre'el," which is the field where Navot the Yizre'eli was killed, whereas she was killed in a place far from that portion. The Malbim says that for this purpose the dogs were enlisted: they took her body and carried it to the portion of Navot the Yizre'eli, and there they ate her. It emerges that the prophecy was fulfilled down to the finest details, and apart from the skull and the palms of her hands and the feet, nothing remained of her. So may all Your enemies perish, Hashem.
Chapter 9 is a chapter of the fulfillment of prophecies. Elisha completes Eliyahu's mission and sends Yonah ben Amitai to anoint Yehu with balsam oil, and that young prophet adds from his own prophecy the command to strike the house of Achav and the sentence decreed upon Izevel. Yehu seizes the momentum, strikes Yehoram between his arms and casts him specifically into the portion of Navot, in the very place where the sin was committed, for in the place of the wickedness there is the judgment. Achazyahu king of Yehudah flees and in the end dies, and Izevel is stoned and trampled like dung upon the face of the field, measure for measure for the stoning of Navot and for "and the carcass of Izevel shall be as dung." Yet even amid all this retribution the Holy One, blessed be He, does not withhold the reward of any creature: her palms, her feet and her skull remained in the merit of her having danced and clapped before brides. This is a tremendous lesson in the power of prophecy, in the precision of Divine providence, and in the fact that every deed, for good or for ill, is ultimately repaid and requited with exactness.