2 Kings 10 29

2 Kings 10:29 kjv

Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.

2 Kings 10:29 nkjv

However Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin, that is, from the golden calves that were at Bethel and Dan.

2 Kings 10:29 niv

However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit?the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.

2 Kings 10:29 esv

But Jehu did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin ? that is, the golden calves that were in Bethel and in Dan.

2 Kings 10:29 nlt

He did not, however, destroy the gold calves at Bethel and Dan, with which Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to sin.

2 Kings 10 verses

2 Kings 10 29 Meaning

Despite his zealous and divinely mandated purge of Baal worship and the house of Ahab, Jehu chose not to abandon the state-sponsored idolatry initiated by Jeroboam I. This sin involved the veneration of golden calves positioned in Bethel and Dan, which had historically caused Israel to stray from the true worship of Yahweh. Jehu's obedience was therefore partial, serving his political aims rather than demonstrating complete faithfulness to God.

2 Kings 10 29 Context

This verse appears directly after Jehu's successful and bloody purge of Ahab's family and the prophets and worshippers of Baal in Israel (2 Kgs 10:1-28). It serves as a critical qualifier to his otherwise extraordinary acts of zeal for Yahweh. Immediately following this verse, in 2 Kings 10:30, the Lord commends Jehu and promises his dynasty will endure for four generations on the throne of Israel because he faithfully executed God's will concerning the house of Ahab. However, 2 Kings 10:29 immediately inserts a crucial "However," demonstrating that Jehu's religious reformation was incomplete and driven by political pragmatism rather than absolute devotion to God's law.

Historically, Jeroboam I established the golden calf cult in Bethel and Dan at the very beginning of the divided kingdom to prevent his subjects from returning to Jerusalem to worship, thus securing their allegiance to his northern kingdom. This religious innovation became the chronic "sin of Jeroboam," defining apostasy in Northern Israel throughout its history. By preserving this state-sanctioned idolatry, Jehu showed his allegiance was ultimately to his own power base and not entirely to Yahweh's covenant demands for exclusive worship.

2 Kings 10 29 Word analysis

• However (Hebrew: רַק, raq): This word functions as a strong adversative particle, setting a contrast. It highlights a critical limitation or exception to the preceding account of Jehu's decisive actions against Baal worship. It signifies a significant pivot from praise to critique.
• Jehu (יֵהוּא, Yehûʾ): The newly anointed king of Israel, appointed by God specifically to execute judgment on the house of Ahab and eliminate Baal worship.
• did not turn away (לֹא סָר, lo sar): This phrase indicates a deliberate decision or failure to act. Jehu made a conscious choice to retain the practices of Jeroboam. "To turn away" implies a cessation from evil, a repentance not fully undertaken.
• from the sins (מֵחַטֹּאות, mechatta’ot): The plural "sins" suggests the entire system and pattern of religious transgression associated with Jeroboam.
• of Jeroboam (יָרָבְעָם, Yarob’am): The first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel after the split, whose name became synonymous with state idolatry. His actions set a precedent of apostasy for succeeding monarchs.
• the son of Nebat (בֶּן־נְבָט, ben-Nəvaṭ): This is the consistent biblical identifier for Jeroboam, underscoring his personal responsibility and the direct origin of the "sin."
• with which he made Israel sin (אֲשֶׁר הֶחֱטִיא אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל, ’asher hekheti’ et-Yisra’el): Emphasizes Jeroboam's active role as a corrupting leader who led the entire nation into transgression, incurring national guilt. The verb "made sin" is causative, pointing to the detrimental influence of leadership.
• the golden calves (עֶגְלֵי הַזָּהָב, ‘egele hazzahav): These specific objects are central to Jeroboam's idolatry, a direct re-enactment of the wilderness apostasy (Exod 32). They were ostensibly meant to represent Yahweh but were forbidden images that diluted and corrupted true worship.
• that were in Bethel (אֲשֶׁר בְּבֵית־אֵל, ’asher beveit-’El): Bethel, meaning "House of God," was consecrated by Jacob but tragically became a primary site of idol worship. It was strategically located near Judah's border to draw Israelites away from Jerusalem.
• and Dan (וּבְדָן, uv’Dan): The northernmost idolatrous center established by Jeroboam, also strategically located to cater to the northern tribes and prevent pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Its establishment here further decentralized and corrupted Yahwistic worship.

Words-group analysis:

• "However, Jehu did not turn away from...": This phrase immediately reveals the qualified nature of Jehu's reform. His zeal was potent against Baal, a visible rival threat, but it did not extend to removing the entrenched, more "traditional" (for the Northern Kingdom) form of state-sanctioned idolatry. This points to a heart not fully devoted to God's commands.
• "the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel sin": This repeated phrase throughout Kings highlights a deeply rooted spiritual malady that plagued the Northern Kingdom. It emphasizes the foundational act of apostasy and the enduring negative consequences of political expediency overriding divine law, affecting generation after generation of Israelites.
• "the golden calves that were in Bethel and Dan": This specific detailing of the idolatry underscores its origin in political calculation rather than genuine faith. These were not foreign gods like Baal but illicit representations of Yahweh designed to divert worship from Jerusalem, showcasing a distorted, human-invented worship rather than true reverence for God's directives.

2 Kings 10 29 Bonus section

The contrasting picture of Jehu—rewarded for his partial obedience (2 Kgs 10:30) yet later implicitly condemned for the deeper motivations of his actions (Hos 1:4)—serves as a complex theological point. God can use imperfect vessels to accomplish specific parts of His will, but the vessel's heart and complete fidelity still face judgment. Jehu's "zeal for the Lord" was real but finite; it ended where his political interests began. This reveals that actions, while important, are always weighed against the underlying intentions and completeness of obedience to God's full counsel. The persistent use of "the sins of Jeroboam" as a chronic ailment affecting all subsequent Northern kings shows the cumulative effect and national culpability derived from deeply entrenched systemic sin originating from top-down leadership.

2 Kings 10 29 Commentary

2 Kings 10:29 presents the critical qualification of Jehu's otherwise extraordinary zeal for Yahweh. While he thoroughly purged the highly offensive worship of Baal and executed the dynastic judgment upon the house of Ahab as commanded, his reformation was strategically limited. Jehu maintained the calf worship established by Jeroboam I at Bethel and Dan because it served his political stability by preventing his subjects from returning to the unified worship in Jerusalem. This verse reveals that Jehu's actions, though divinely utilized for one specific purpose (judgment on Baal), were not rooted in a pure, covenantal faithfulness to God alone. His loyalty was divided; he was willing to enforce Yahweh's judgment against one form of idolatry but clung to another that bolstered his reign. This failure underscores the superficiality of a reform not motivated by genuine repentance and total commitment to God's word, showcasing that outward obedience for certain aspects does not equate to complete spiritual fidelity. It also highlights the insidious nature of sins that become normalized and entrenched through political and cultural convenience.