Massacre of Ahab’s Descendants

10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of the city,^[a] to the elders, and to the guardians of the sons of^[b] Ahab, saying,^(A)

²⁸ Omri slept with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria; his son Ahab succeeded him.

³² For the saying that he proclaimed by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria shall surely come to pass.”^(A)

³⁰ Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives.^(A)

⁹ He searched for Ahaziah, who was captured while hiding in Samaria and was brought to Jehu and put to death. They buried him, for they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart.” And the house of Ahaziah had no one able to rule the kingdom.^(A)

³ She said to her mistress, “If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his skin disease.”

⁸ So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal; she sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who lived with Naboth in his city.^{(A) 9} She wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth at the head of the assembly; ¹⁰ seat two scoundrels opposite him, and have them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”^{(B) 11} The men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. Just as it was written in the letters that she had sent to them, ¹² they proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth at the head of the assembly. ¹³ The two scoundrels came in and sat opposite him, and the scoundrels brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.^{(C) 14} Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.”

Samaria the New Capital

²⁴ He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver; he fortified the hill and called the city that he built Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.^(A)

¹⁴ He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys; he judged Israel eight years.^(A)

⁴ He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty towns, which are in the land of Gilead and are called Havvoth-jair to this day.^(A)