translation_id: net-engnet

label: NET translator note

text: Heb “lay down with his fathers.”


text: Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 10, 12, 19 ).


text: The parallel account in 2 Kgs 8:16-24 has the variant spelling “Jehoram.”


text: Heb “and Jehoram arose over the kingdom of his father and strengthened himself.”


text: Heb “and he killed all his brothers with the sword.”


text: For location see Map5-B1 ; Map6-F3 ; Map7-E2 ; Map8-F2 ; Map10-B3 ; JP1-F4 ; JP2-F4 ; JP3-F4 ; JP4-F4 .


text: Heb “he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab did, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife.”


text: Heb “in the eyes of.”


text: Heb “house.”


text: Or “covenant.”


text: Heb “which he made to David, just as he had promised to give him and his sons a lamp all the days.” Here “lamp” is metaphorical, symbolizing the Davidic dynasty.


text: Heb “his”; the referent (Jehoram) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.


text: Heb “in his days Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah and enthroned a king over them.”


label: NET textual note

text: Heb “and he arose at night and defeated Edom, who had surrounded him, and the chariot officers.” The Hebrew text as it stands gives the impression that Jehoram was surrounded and launched a victorious nighttime counterattack. Yet v. 10 goes on to state that the Edomite revolt was successful. The translation above assumes an emendation of the Hebrew text. Adding a third masculine singular pronominal suffix to the accusative sign before Edom (reading אֹתוֹ [’ oto , “him”] instead of just אֶת [’ et ]) and taking Edom as the subject of verbs allows one to translate the verse in a way that is more consistent with the context, which depicts an Israelite defeat, not victory. See also 2 Kgs 8:21 .


text: Heb “and Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah until this day.”


text: Or “from Jehoram’s control”; Heb “from under his hand.” The pronominal suffix may refer to Judah in general or, more specifically, to Jehoram.


text: Heb “he.” This pronoun could refer to Judah, but the context focuses on Jehoram’s misdeeds. See especially v. 11 .


text: Heb “and he caused the residents of Jerusalem to commit adultery.” In this context spiritual unfaithfulness to the Lord is in view rather than physical adultery.


text: Heb “and drove Judah away.”


text: Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoram) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.


text: Heb “Because you…” In the Hebrew text this lengthy sentence is completed in vv. 14-15 . Because of its length and complexity (and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences), the translation has divided it up into several English sentences.


text: Heb “walked in the ways.”


text: Heb “in the ways of.”


text: Heb “and you walked in the way of the kings of Israel and caused Judah and the residents of Jerusalem to commit adultery, like the house of Ahab causes to commit adultery.”


text: Heb “the house of your father.”


text: Heb “to strike with a great striking.”


text: Heb “and you [will have] a serious illness, an illness of the intestines until your intestines come out because of the illness days upon days.”


text: Heb “the spirit of the Philistines.”


text: Heb “broke it up.”


text: Heb “all the property which was found in the house of the king.”


text: Heb “in his intestines with an illness [for which] there was no healer.”


text: Heb “and it was to days from days, and about the time of the going out of the end for the days, two, his intestines came out with his illness and he died in severe illness.”


text: Heb “and his people did not make for him a fire, like the fire of his fathers.”


text: Heb “and he went without desire.”