1 Kings 19:16

Son of Nimshi. Jehu was really the grandson of Nimshi, being the son of Jehoshaphat, who was the son of Nimshi (2 Kings 9:2, 14). But he is commonly known as the son of Nimshi (2 Kings 9:20; 2 Chron. 22:7). The Hebrew word for “son” may be used to designate grandsons or even more distant descendants.

Elisha the son of Shaphat. There is no record that prophets were ever anointed in the literal sense of the term, though such may have been the case here. Certain priests (Ex. 40:15; Num. 3:3) and kings (1 Sam. 9:16; 10:1; 16:3, 13; 2 Kings 9:3, 6; Ps. 89:20) were anointed when first set apart for their specific missions. Inanimate objects were also at times anointed, such as articles associated with the sanctuary (Ex. 29:36; 30:26; 40:9; Lev. 8:10, 11; Num. 7:1), and even stones (Gen. 28:18). Some suggest that the word “anoint” should here be understood in a wider significance, meaning simply to set apart some individual or thing for the accomplishment of some service for God without involving an actual outward and formal anointing (see Judges 9:8). All three, Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha, were to serve for the execution of God’s will and purpose, yet each in a different way. By Hazael, the king of Syria, Israel was continually hard pressed from without (2 Kings 8:12, 29; 10:32; 13:3, 7), this heathen king being employed by the Lord as His instrument for the meting out of punishment (PK 254, 255; cf. Isa. 10:5). By Jehu the kingdom of Israel was shaken within. He was the tool in the hands of the Lord for putting an end to the house of Ahab and the worship of Baal (2 Kings 9:24, 33; 10:1-28).