Jehu’s violent coup and the justification of violence
Loading...
Date
Authors
Mokoena, Lerato Likopo Dinah
Meyer, Esias E.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AOSIS Open Journals
Abstract
The putsch carried out by Jehu is one of the most violent stories in the Hebrew Bible. The text
justifies the violence by portraying the rebellion as a case of retributive justice for the death of
Naboth and as an attempt to purify Yahwism. This article presents a critical reading of the text
as well as an overview of how the interpretation of the text changed after the discovery of the
Tel Dan inscription. The article also presents recent views on the history of Yahwism and
finally presents the story as a (failed) attempt to justify a coup that was probably only about
acquiring power.
Description
Lerato Mokoena is
participating in the research
project, ‘The justification of
violence in Hebrew narratives
from the Former Prophets’,
directed by Prof. Dr Sias
Meyer, Department of Old
Testament Studies, Faculty of
Theology and Religion,
University of Pretoria.
Keywords
Violence, Jehu, Tel Dan, Yahwism, Naboth, Justification of violence, Ethics of violence, Hebrew bible
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
Mokoena, L.L.D. & Meyer, E.E.,
2019, ‘Jehu’s violent coup
and the justification of
violence’, HTS Teologiese
Studies/Theological Studies
75(3), a5326. https://DOI.org/10.4102/hts.v75i3.5326.