Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master’s sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow this time. Now the king’s sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up.
Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying, 'If you are on my side and will listen to me, take the heads of your master's sons and bring them to me in Jezreel by this time tomorrow.' Now there were seventy of the king's sons who were being raised by the important leaders of the city.
Jehu is demanding that the city leaders prove their loyalty to him by killing all seventy of King Ahab's descendants and bringing their heads as proof.
📚 Historical Context
This takes place during Jehu's violent purge of Ahab's dynasty around 841 BC, as commanded by God through the prophet Elisha. Jehu had already killed King Joram (Ahab's son) and was systematically eliminating all of Ahab's family line to fulfill God's judgment against the house of Ahab for their idolatry and persecution of God's prophets. The seventy sons were likely Ahab's descendants living in Samaria under the care of the city's nobles.
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