Verse Lens · Context pointer
2 Kings 15:8 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 8. 8In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
This verse opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech: “In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Zechariah's murder ends Jehu's fourth generation.”
Read It With
- 2 Kings 15:8–12
Read 2 Kings 15:8 with 15:8–12. The selected wording supplies one opening in the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Zechariah continues Jeroboam's pattern and is publicly assassinated by Shallum, fulfilling the stated four-generation limit on Jehu's dynasty.
Why It Needs Context
2 Kings 15:8 depends on 15:8–12; isolating “In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign…” would detach a supporting action, quotation, name, number, object, or transition from “Zechariah's murder ends Jehu's fourth generation.”
Read 2 Kings 15:8–12 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Kings 15:8–12 forms one scene or regnal notice: Zechariah continues Jeroboam's pattern and is publicly assassinated by Shallum, fulfilling the stated four-generation limit on Jehu's dynasty.
Verse 8. 8 In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months.
Verse 9. 9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
Verse 10. 10 And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead.
Verse 11. 11 And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
Verse 12. 12 This was the word of the LORD which he spake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth generation. And so it came to pass.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 2 Kings 15:8–12 — Zechariah's murder ends Jehu's fourth generationSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 2 Kings 15:8–12, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, royal formulas, clause relationships, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 15:8–12
Open source ↗