The Meaning of 2 Kings 10:17 Explained

2 Kings 10:17

KJV: And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which he spake to Elijah.

YLT: And he cometh in to Samaria, and smiteth all those left to Ahab in Samaria, till his destroying him, according to the word of Jehovah that He spake unto Elisha.

Darby: And he came to Samaria, and smote all that remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of Jehovah which he spoke to Elijah.

ASV: And when he came to Samaria, he smote all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spake to Elijah.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And when he came  to Samaria,  he slew  all that remained  unto Ahab  in Samaria,  till he had destroyed  him, according to the saying  of the LORD,  which he spake  to Elijah. 

What does 2 Kings 10:17 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Kings 10:12-24 - Wiping Out Baal-Worship
For the well-being of the race it is sometimes necessary to cut off evil-doers, lest they spread such a contagion of evil as to involve the whole body politic. The actual brethren of Ahaziah were slain by the Arabians, 2 Chronicles 22:1. Jehu's work seems to have been complemented by an invasion of the Bedouins: the men mentioned here were probably, as the margin suggests, cousins or acquaintances. "Brethren" is a wide word, covering many degrees of blood-relationship.
Jehonadab was head of a remarkable tribe, and himself a man of unusual strength of character. The influence of his example and precepts left its mark on following generations, 1 Chronicles 2:55; Jeremiah 35:1-19. Jehu evidently respected Jehonadab's good opinion, and was careful to advertise his own zeal for Jehovah. But the really good man has no need to parade his excellencies; and certainly Jehu could not count that his manner of going to work would be acceptable to the Most High. He might have achieved the same results by less objectionable methods. We must, of course, remember that this Baal-worship was very licentious, and that every Israelite who entered that temple did so in direct defiance of repeated warnings from Elijah and others. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Kings 10

1  Jehu, by his letters, causes seventy of Ahab's sons to be beheaded
8  He excuses the fact by the prophecy of Elijah
12  At the shearing house he slays forty-two of Ahaziah's brothers
15  He takes Jehonadab into his company
18  By subtilty he destroys all the worshippers of Baal
29  Jehu follows Jeroboam's sins
32  Hazael oppresses Israel
34  Jehoahaz succeeds Jehu

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 10:17 mean?

And when he came to Samaria and he killed - all who remained to Ahab in Samaria till he had destroyed them according to the word of Yahweh which He spoke to Elijah -
וַיָּבֹא֙ שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹן וַ֠יַּךְ אֶת־ כָּל־ הַנִּשְׁאָרִ֧ים לְאַחְאָ֛ב בְּשֹׁמְר֖וֹן עַד־ הִשְׁמִיד֑וֹ כִּדְבַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבֶּ֖ר אֶל־ אֵלִיָּֽהוּ פ

וַיָּבֹא֙  And  when  he  came 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹן  to  Samaria 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שֹׁמְרֹון  
Sense: the region of northern Palestine associated with the northern kingdom of the 0 tribes of Israel which split from the kingdom after the death of Solomon during the reign of his son Rehoboam and were ruled by Jeroboam.
וַ֠יַּךְ  and  he  killed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָכָה  
Sense: to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הַנִּשְׁאָרִ֧ים  who  remained 
Parse: Article, Verb, Nifal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: שָׁאַר  
Sense: to remain, be left over, be left behind.
לְאַחְאָ֛ב  to  Ahab 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַחְאָב 
Sense: king of Israel, son of Omri, husband of Jezebel.
בְּשֹׁמְר֖וֹן  in  Samaria 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שֹׁמְרֹון  
Sense: the region of northern Palestine associated with the northern kingdom of the 0 tribes of Israel which split from the kingdom after the death of Solomon during the reign of his son Rehoboam and were ruled by Jeroboam.
עַד־  till 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
הִשְׁמִיד֑וֹ  he  had  destroyed  them 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁמַד  
Sense: to destroy, exterminate, be destroyed, be exterminated.
כִּדְבַ֣ר  according  to  the  word 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
יְהוָ֔ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
דִּבֶּ֖ר  He  spoke 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
אֵלִיָּֽהוּ  Elijah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֵלִיָּה 
Sense: the great prophet of the reign of Ahab.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation