Bible Strands
2 Kings 9:13
Quickly, each man took his garment and put it under Jehu on the bare steps. Then they blew the ram’s horn and proclaimed, “Jehu is king!”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The officers of Joram’s army at Ramoth-gilead respond to Jehu’s report of a prophet’s commission by acting immediately. They place their garments on the bare stone steps to create a makeshift throne for Jehu and announce his coronation.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַֽיְמַהֲרוּ (va/y.ma.ha.Ru) translates literally as “and they hurried,” emphasizing the troops’ rapid response. The noun גֶּרֶם (Ge.rem) means “bone” or “bare stone,” describing the unyielding surface where the garments were laid.
The thread — Blowing the ram’s horn to proclaim a new king parallels the coronation of Solomon in 1 Kings 1:34 and 1 Kings 1:39. The gesture of placing cloaks on a seat of authority also echoes the crowd’s action in Mark 11:7.
Why it lands — The text records how military obedience can instantly shift political power when aligned with a divine commission. It requires readers to assess plainly how sudden, public acts of allegiance validate or overturn established authority.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 1:34 There Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet are to anoint him king over Israel. You are to blow the ram’s horn and declare, ‘Long live King Solomon!’
- 1 Kings 1:39 Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the ram’s horn, and all the people proclaimed, “Long live King Solomon!”
- Mark 11:7 Then they led the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, and He sat on it.
- 2 Samuel 15:10 Then Absalom sent spies throughout the tribes of Israel with this message: “When you hear the sound of the horn, you are to say, ‘Absalom reigns in Hebron!’”
- Psalms 47:5 God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the LORD with the sound of the horn.
- Psalms 98:6 With trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn shout for joy before the LORD, the King.
- Matthew 21:7 They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.