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2 Kings 9:1

New American Standard Bible (NASB ©1995) [2]
— Now Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Gird up your loins, and take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth-gilead.
King James Version (KJV 1769) [2]
— And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramothgilead:
English Revised Version (ERV 1885)
— And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this vial of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead.
American Standard Version (ASV 1901) [2]
— And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this vial of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead.
Webster's Revision of the KJB (WEB 1833)
— And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said to him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead:
Darby's Translation (DBY 1890)
— And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, Gird up thy loins, and take this vial of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth-Gilead.
Rotherham's Emphasized Bible (EBR 1902)
— Now, Elisha the prophet, called one of the sons of the prophets,—and said to him—Gird up thy loins, and take this flask of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead;
Young's Literal Translation (YLT 1898)
— And Elisha the prophet hath called to one of the sons of the prophets, and saith to him, 'Gird up thy loins, and take this vial of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth-Gilead,
Douay-Rheims Challoner Revision (DR 1750)
— And Eliseus the prophet, called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him: Gird up thy loins, and take this little bottle of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth Galaad.
Geneva Bible (GNV 1560)
— Then Elisha the Prophet called one of ye children of the Prophets, and sayde vnto him, Gird thy loynes and take this boxe of oyle in thine hand and get thee to Ramoth Gilead.
Original King James Bible (AV 1611) [2]
— And Elisha the Prophet called one of the children of the Prophets, and said vnto him, Gird vp thy loines, and take this boxe of oile in thine hand, and goe to Ramoth Gilead.
Lamsa Bible (1957)
— THEN Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, Gird up your loins and take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramath-gilead;
Brenton Greek Septuagint (LXX, Restored Names)
— And Elisha{gr.Elisaie} the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, Gird up thy loins, and take this cruse of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth{gr.Remmoth} Gilead{gr.Galaad}.
Full Hebrew Names / Holy Name KJV (2008) [2] [3]
— And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramoth Gilad:

Strong's Numbers & Hebrew NamesHebrew Old TestamentColor-Code/Key Word Studies
And ´Élîšä` אֱלִישָׁע 477
{0477} Prime
אֱלִישָׁע
'Eliysha`
{el-ee-shaw'}
Contracted for H0474; Elisha, the famous prophet.
the prophet 5030
{5030} Prime
נָבִיא
nabiy'
{naw-bee'}
From H5012; a prophet or (generally) inspired man.
called 7121
{7121} Prime
קָרָא
qara'
{kaw-raw'}
A primitive root (rather identical with H7122 through the idea of accosting a person met); to call out to (that is, properly address by name, but used in a wide variety of applications).
z8804
<8804> Grammar
Stem - Qal (See H8851)
Mood - Perfect (See H8816)
Count - 12562
one 259
{0259} Prime
אֶחָד
'echad
{ekh-awd'}
A numeral from H0258; properly united, that is, one; or (as an ordinal) first.
of the children 1121
{1121} Prime
בֵּן
ben
{bane}
From H1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like H0001, H0251, etc.).
x4480
(4480) Complement
מִן
min
{min}
For H4482; properly a part of; hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses.
of the prophets, 5030
{5030} Prime
נָבִיא
nabiy'
{naw-bee'}
From H5012; a prophet or (generally) inspired man.
and said 559
{0559} Prime
אָמַר
'amar
{aw-mar'}
A primitive root; to say (used with great latitude).
z8799
<8799> Grammar
Stem - Qal (See H8851)
Mood - Imperfect (See H8811)
Count - 19885
unto him, Gird up 2296
{2296} Prime
חָגַר
chagar
{khaw-gar'}
A primitive root; to gird on (as a belt, armor, etc.).
z8798
<8798> Grammar
Stem - Qal (See H8851)
Mood - Imperative (See H8810)
Count - 2847
thy loins, 4975
{4975} Prime
מָתֶן
mothen
{mo'-then}
From an unused root meaning to be slender; properly the waist or small of the back; only in plural the loins.
and take 3947
{3947} Prime
לָקַח
laqach
{law-kakh'}
A primitive root; to take (in the widest variety of applications).
z8798
<8798> Grammar
Stem - Qal (See H8851)
Mood - Imperative (See H8810)
Count - 2847
this x2088
(2088) Complement
זֶה
zeh
{zeh}
A primitive word; the masculine demonstrative pronoun, this or that.
box 6378
{6378} Prime
פַּךְ
pak
{pak}
From H6379; a flask (from which a liquid may flow).
of oil 8081
{8081} Prime
שֶׁמֶן
shemen
{sheh'-men}
From H8080; grease, especially liquid (as from the olive, often perfumed); figuratively richness.
in thine hand, 3027
{3027} Prime
יָד
yad
{yawd}
A primitive word; a hand (the open one (indicating power, means, direction, etc.), in distinction from H3709, the closed one); used (as noun, adverb, etc.) in a great variety of applications, both literally and figuratively, both proximate and remote.
and go y3212
[3212] Standard
יָלַך
yalak
{yaw-lak'}
A primitive root (compare H1980); to walk (literally or figuratively); causatively to carry (in various senses).
z8798
<8798> Grammar
Stem - Qal (See H8851)
Mood - Imperative (See H8810)
Count - 2847
x1980
(1980) Complement
הָלַךְ
halak
{haw-lak'}
Akin to H3212; a primitive root; to walk (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively).
to Rämôŧ Gil`äđ רָמוֹת־גִּלעָד: 7433
{7433} Prime
רָאמוֹת
Ramowth
{raw-moth'}
From the plural of H7413 and H1568; heights of Gilad; Ramoth Gilad, a place East of the Jordan.
y1568
[1568] Standard
גִּלְעָד
Gil`ad
{ghil-awd'}
Probably from H1567; Gilad, a region East of the Jordan; also the name of three Israelites.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary

2 Kings 9:1

_ _ 2 Kings 9:1-23. Jehu is anointed.

_ _ Ramoth-gilead — a city of great importance to the Hebrew people, east of Jordan, as a fortress of defense against the Syrians. Jehoram had regained it (2 Kings 8:29). But the Israelitish army was still encamped there, under the command of Jehu.

_ _ Elisha ... called one of the children of the prophets — This errand referred to the last commission given to Elijah in Horeb (1 Kings 19:16).

_ _ box of oil — (See 1 Samuel 10:1).

Matthew Henry's Commentary

2 Kings 9:1-10

_ _ We have here the anointing of Jehu to be king, who was, at this time, a commander (probably commander-in-chief) of the forces employed at Ramoth-Gilead, 2 Kings 9:14. There he was fighting for the king his master, but received orders from a higher king to fight against him. It does not appear that Jehu aimed at the government, or that he ever thought of it, but the commission given him was a perfect surprise to him. Some think that he had been anointed before by Elijah, whom God ordered to do it, but privately, and with an intimation that he must not act till further orders, as Samuel anointed David long before he was to come to the throne: but that it not at all probable, for then we must suppose Elijah had anointed Hazael too. No, when God bade him do these things he bade him anoint Elisha to be prophet in his room, to do them when he was gone, as God should direct him. Here is,

_ _ I. The commission sent.

_ _ 1. Elisha did not go himself to anoint Jehu, because he was old and unfit for such a journey and so well known that he could not do it privately, could not go and come without observation; therefore he sends one of the sons of the prophets to do it, 2 Kings 9:1. They not only reverences him as their father (2 Kings 2:15), but observed and obeyed him as their father. This service of anointing Jehu, (1.) Had danger in it (1 Samuel 16:2), and therefore it was not fit that Elisha should expose himself, but one of the sons of the prophets, whose life was of less value, and who could do it with less danger. (2.) It required labour and was therefore fitter for a young man in his full strength. Let youth work and age direct. (3.) Yet it was an honourable piece of service, to anoint a king, and he that did it might hope to be preferred for it afterwards, and therefore, for the encouragement of the young prophets, Elisha employed one of them: he would not engross all the honours to himself, nor grudge the young prophets a share in them.

_ _ 2. When he sent him, (1.) He put the oil into his hand with which he must anoint Jehu: Take this box of oil Solomon was anointed with oil out of the tabernacle, 1 Kings 1:39. That could not now be had, but oil from a prophet's hand was equivalent to oil out of God's house. Probably it was not the constant practice to anoint kings, but upon the disturbance of the succession, as in the case of Solomon, or the interruption of it, as in the case of Joash (1 Kings 11:12), or the translation of the government to a new family, as here and in the case of David; yet it might be used generally, though the scripture does not mention it. (2.) He put the words into his mouth which he must say (2 Kings 9:3) — I have anointed thee king, and, no doubt, told him all the rest that he said, 2 Kings 9:7-10. Those whom God sends on his errands shall not go without full instructions. (3.) He also ordered him, [1.] To do it privately, to single out Jehu from the rest of the captains and anoint him in an inner chamber (2 Kings 9:2), that Jehu's confidence in his commission might be tried, when he had no witness to attest it. His being suddenly animated for the service would be proof sufficient of his being anointed to it. There needed no other proof. The thing signified was the best evidence of the sign. [2.] To do it expeditiously. When he went about it he must gird up his loins; when he had done it he must flee and not tarry for a fee, or a treat, or to see what Jehu would do. It becomes the sons of the prophets to be quick and lively at their work, to go about it and go through it as men that hate sauntering and trifling. They should be as angels that fly swiftly.

_ _ II. The commission delivered. The young prophet did his business with despatch, was at Ramoth-Gilead presently, 2 Kings 9:4. There he found the general officers sitting together, either at dinner or in a council of war, 2 Kings 9:5. With the assurance that became a messenger from God, notwithstanding the meanness of his appearance, he called Jehu out from the rest, not waiting his leisure, or begging his pardon for disturbing him, but as one having authority: I have an errand to thee, O captain. Perhaps Jehu had some intimation of his business; and therefore, that he might not seem too forward to catch at the honour, he asked, To which of all us? that it might not be said afterwards he got it by speaking first, but they might all be satisfied he was indeed the person designed. When the prophet had him alone he anointed him, 2 Kings 9:6. The anointing of the Spirit is a hidden thing, that new name which none knows but those that have it. Herewith,

_ _ 1. He invests him with the royal dignity: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, whose messenger I am, in his name I have anointed thee king over the people of the Lord. He gives him an incontestable title, but reminds him that he was made king, (1.) By the God of Israel; from him he must see his power derived (for by him kings reign), for he must use it, and to him he must be accountable. Magistrates are the ministers of God, and must therefore act in dependence upon him and with an entire devotedness to him and to his glory. (2.) Over the Israel of God. Though the people of Israel were wretchedly corrupted, and had forfeited all the honour of relationship to God, yet they are here called the people of the Lord, for he had a right to them and had not yet given them a bill of divorce. Jehu must look upon the people he was made king of as the people of the Lord, not as his vassals, but God's freemen, his sons, his first-born, not to be abused or tyrannized over, God's people, and therefore to be ruled for him, and according to his laws.

_ _ 2. He instructs him in his present service, which was to destroy all the house of Ahab (2 Kings 9:7), not that he might clear his own way to the throne, and secure to himself the possession of it, but that he might execute the judgments of God upon that guilty and obnoxious family. He calls Ahab his master, that the relation might be no objection. “He was thy master, and to lift up thy hand against his son and successor would be not only base ingratitude, but treason, rebellion, and all that is bad, if thou hadst not an immediate command from God to do it. But thou art under higher obligations to thy Master in heaven than to thy master Ahab. He has determined that the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and by thy hand; fear not: has not he commanded thee? Fear not sin; his command will justify thee and bear thee out: fear not danger; his command will secure and prosper thee.” That he might intelligently, and in a right manner, do this great execution on the house of Ahab, he tells him, (1.) What was their crime, what the ground of the controversy, and wherefore God had quarrel with them, that he might have an eye to that which God had an eye to, and that was the blood of God's servants, the prophets and others, faithful worshippers, which they had shed, and which must now be required at the hand of Jezebel. That they were idolaters was bad enough, and merited all that was brought upon them; yet that is not mentioned here, but the controversy God has with them is for their being persecutors, not so much their throwing down God's altars as their slaying his prophets with the sword. Nothing fills the measure of the iniquity of any prince or people as this does nor brings a surer or a sorer ruin. This was the sin that brought on Jerusalem its first destruction (2 Chronicles 36:16) and its final one, Matthew 23:37, Matthew 23:38. Jezebel's whoredoms and witchcrafts were not so provoking as her persecuting the prophets, killing some and driving the rest into corners and caves, 1 Kings 18:4. (2.) What was their doom. They were sentenced to utter destruction; not to be corrected, but to be cut off and rooted out. This Jehu must know, that his eye might not spare for pity, favour, or affection. All that belonged to Ahab must be slain, 2 Kings 9:8. A pattern is given him of the destruction intended, in the destruction of the families of Jeroboam and Baasha (2 Kings 9:9), and he is particularly directed to throw Jezebel to the dogs, 2 Kings 9:10. The whole stock of royal blood was little enough, and too little, to atone for the blood of the prophets, the saints and martyrs, which, in God's account, is of great price.

_ _ The prophet, having done this errand, made the best of his way home again, and left Jehu alone to consider what he had to do and beg direction from God.

John Wesley's Explanatory Notes

2 Kings 9:1

Ramoth — The kings of Israel and Judah were both absent, and Jehu, as it seems, was left in chief command.

Geneva Bible Translation Notes

2 Kings 9:1

And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, (a) Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramothgilead:

(a) Prepare yourself to go diligently about your business for in those countries they used long garments which they tucked up when they went about earnest business.

Cross-Reference Topical ResearchStrong's Concordance

1 Kings 20:35 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.

one:
The Jews say that this was Jonah, the prophet, the son of Amittai.

the children:

2 Kings 4:1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.
2 Kings 6:1-3 And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us. ... And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.

Gird up thy loins:
As the upper garments of the Orientals were long and flowing, it was indispensably necessary to tuck up the skirts with a girdle about their loins, in order to use any expedition in their work or on a journey.
2 Kings 4:29 Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.
1 Kings 18:46 And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
Jeremiah 1:17 Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.
Luke 12:35-37 Let your loins be girded about, and [your] lights burning; ... Blessed [are] those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.
1 Peter 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

box of oil:

1 Samuel 10:1 Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured [it] upon his head, and kissed him, and said, [Is it] not because the LORD hath anointed thee [to be] captain over his inheritance?
1 Samuel 16:1 And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.
1 Kings 1:39 And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon.

Ramothgilead:

2 Kings 8:28-29 And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramothgilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram. ... And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.
Deuteronomy 4:1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do [them], that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you.
Deuteronomy 4:3 Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you.
1 Kings 22:4 And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I [am] as thou [art], my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses.
1 Kings 22:20 And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
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Chain-Reference Bible SearchCross References with Concordance

Dt 4:1, 3. 1S 10:1; 16:1. 1K 1:39; 18:46; 20:35; 22:4, 20. 2K 4:1, 29; 6:1; 8:28. Jr 1:17. Lk 12:35. 1P 1:13.

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