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The Biblical account narrates King Jehu’s actions as destroying Baal worship in Israel. It describes a mass murder conducted by Jehu in which hundreds of Baal devotees are destroyed in the Temple of Baal in Samaria. Translations universally report the victims as prophets, priests and servants, but most specify “worshipers” as well. When they do so, the Hebrew word is עָבַד – ʿāḇaḏ which Strong defines as:
a primitive root; to work (in any sense); by implication, to serve,
till, (causatively) enslave, etc.:—× be, keep in bondage, be bondmen,
bond-service, compel, do, dress, ear, execute, husbandman, keep,
labour(-ing man, bring to pass, (cause to, make to) serve(-ing, self),
(be, become) servant(-s), do (use) service, till(-er), transgress
(from margin), (set a) work, be wrought, worshipper
Here is the RSV version of the text in question from 2 Kings 10:
Then Jehu assembled all the people, and said to them, “Ahab served
Ba′al a little; but Jehu will serve him much. 19 Now therefore call to
me all the prophets of Ba′al, all his worshipers and all his priests;
let none be missing, for I have a great sacrifice to offer to Ba′al;
whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu did it with cunning in
order to destroy the worshipers of Ba′al. 20 And Jehu ordered,
“Sanctify a solemn assembly for Ba′al.” So they proclaimed it. 21 And
Jehu sent throughout all Israel; and all the worshipers of Ba′al came,
so that there was not a man left who did not come. And they entered
the house of Ba′al, and the house of Ba′al was filled from one end to
the other. 22 He said to him who was in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring
out the vestments for all the worshipers of Ba′al.” So he brought out
the vestments for them. 23 Then Jehu went into the house of Ba′al with
Jehon′adab the son of Rechab; and he said to the worshipers of Ba′al,
“Search, and see that there is no servant of the Lord here among you,
but only the worshipers of Ba′al.” 24 Then he went in to offer
sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men
outside, and said, “The man who allows any of those whom I give into
your hands to escape shall forfeit his life.” 25 So as soon as he had
made an end of offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guard and
to the officers, “Go in and slay them; let not a man escape.” So when
they put them to the sword, the guard and the officers cast them out
and went into the inner room of the house of Ba′al 26 and they
brought out the pillar that was in the house of Ba′al, and burned it.
27 And they demolished the pillar of Ba′al, and demolished the house
of Ba′al, and made it a latrine to this day. 28 Thus Jehu wiped out
Ba′al from Israel.
In support of ‘Worshipers’
‘Worshiper’ is the choice of the clear majority of translators for 10:22 and several other verses, but the word in question is the same word they translate as “servant” elsewhere. Their decision is apparently contextual: Jehu wants to make sure there are no devotees or Yahweh in the temple but only servants/worshipers of Baal. Surely there could be no actual priests or attending servants of Yahweh attending Baal. Moreover Jehu is described as having “wiped out Baal from Israel,” and this would not have been accomplished by killing only his priests, servants and prophets, since new ones could arise from among Baal’s other devotees.
In Support of ‘Servants’
Against this is the argument that the word עָבַד is normally translated as servant or slave, and the context could just as well be argued in the opposite manner: Corrupt levitical priests could very well serve Baal as well as Yahweh, and destroying the bureaucratic infrastructure of Baal worship could indeed have resulted in “wiping out Baal,” though not as effectively as also killing all who worshiped him.
Should we accept the majority view that עָבַד means
“worshiper” as well as “servant” in this passage? Or is “servant” the
best translation in each case?
Did Jehu massacre only Baal’s functionaries, or also his worshipers?
