And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. And Joram said, Take an horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, Is it peace?
A watchman on the tower in Jezreel, х `al (H5921) hamigdaal (H4026)]. The Migdol was distinguished by its elevation; and not only was it frequently connected with towers, but in the East with royal residences. The Hebrew palaces, besides being situated on hills, had usually towers attached to them, not only for the pleasure of a fine prospect, but as posts of useful observation. A sentinel was always stationed there, not only as a guard of honour to the king in time of peace, but to prevent his being surprised in time of war. The ancient watch-tower of Jezreel mast have commanded a view of the whole region eastward, nearly down to the Jordan. Beth-shan stands on a rising-ground about six or seven miles distant below it, in a narrow part of the plain; and when Jehu and his retinue reached that point between Gilboa and Beth-shan, they would be fully descried by the watchman on the tower, a report being made to Joram in his palace below. A messenger on horseback is quickly despatched down into the plain to meet the ambiguous host, and question the object of their approach.
Is it peace? The appearance of an officer from the camp at Ramoth naturally caused anxiety. We may safely assume that this messenger would meet Jehu at the distance of three miles or more. On the report made of his being detained, and turned into the rear of the still advancing troops, a second messenger is in like manner despatched, who would naturally meet Jehu at the distance of a mile or a mile and a half down on the plain. He also being turned into the rear, the watchman now distinctly perceived 'the driving to be like the driving of Jehu, the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously' х bªshigaa`own (H7697), in madness]. The Septuagint has: en parallagee; but Josephus ('Antiquities,' b. 9:, ch. 6:, sec. 3) says, 'He marched slowly, and in good order.' He seems to have been attended by an escort of cavalry. The alarmed monarch, now awakened to a sense of his impending danger, quickly summons his forces to meet the crisis, and accompanied by Ahaziah, king of Judah, who had come to inquire respecting his uncle Joram's wound, the two sovereigns ascend their chariots.