The Meaning of 2 Kings 10:14 Explained

2 Kings 10:14

KJV: And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them.

YLT: And he saith, 'Catch them alive;' and they catch them alive, and slaughter them at the pit of the shearing-house, forty and two men, and he hath not left a man of them.

Darby: And he said, Take them alive! And they took them alive, and slew them at the well of the meeting-place, forty-two men; and he left not one of them remaining.

ASV: And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing-house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he said,  Take  them alive.  And they took  them alive,  and slew  them at the pit  of the shearing house,  [even] two  and forty  men;  neither left  he any  of them. 

What does 2 Kings 10:14 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 10:14 mean?

And he said take them alive So they took them alive and killed them at the well of Beth Eked forty and two men and he left none of them -
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ תִּפְשׂ֣וּם חַיִּ֔ים וַֽיִּתְפְּשׂ֖וּם חַיִּ֑ים וַֽיִּשְׁחָט֞וּם אֶל־ בּ֣וֹר בֵּֽית־ עֵ֗קֶד אַרְבָּעִ֤ים וּשְׁנַ֙יִם֙ אִ֔ישׁ וְלֹֽא־ הִשְׁאִ֥יר אִ֖ישׁ מֵהֶֽם ס

וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙  And  he  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
תִּפְשׂ֣וּם  take  them 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural, third person masculine plural
Root: תָּפַשׂ  
Sense: to catch, handle, lay hold, take hold of, seize, wield.
חַיִּ֔ים  alive 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
וַֽיִּתְפְּשׂ֖וּם  So  they  took  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural, third person masculine plural
Root: תָּפַשׂ  
Sense: to catch, handle, lay hold, take hold of, seize, wield.
חַיִּ֑ים  alive 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
וַֽיִּשְׁחָט֞וּם  and  killed  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural, third person masculine plural
Root: שָׁחַט 
Sense: to kill, slaughter, beat.
אֶל־  at 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
בּ֣וֹר  the  well 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֹּור 
Sense: pit, well, cistern.
עֵ֗קֶד  Beth  Eked 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בֵּית־עֵקֶד 
Sense: a place in the northern kingdom.
אַרְבָּעִ֤ים  forty 
Parse: Number, common plural
Root: אַרְבָּעִים  
Sense: forty.
וּשְׁנַ֙יִם֙  and  two 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, md
Root: שְׁנַיִם  
Sense: two.
אִ֔ישׁ  men 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
הִשְׁאִ֥יר  he  left 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁאַר  
Sense: to remain, be left over, be left behind.
אִ֖ישׁ  none 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
מֵהֶֽם  of  them 
Parse: Preposition-m, Pronoun, third person masculine plural
Root: הֵם 
Sense: they, these, the same, who.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation