34. Bakery
842 BC
The Corner Bakery, Fort Jezreel, Jezreel Valley, Israel
Obadiah closed his eyes against the afternoon sun and snuggled deeper into his couch. He pulled down his headscarf, bright blue like Ahab once wore, and twitched a smile at Yedidah’s soft snore.
He had ordered their couches placed on the northeast corner of the headquarters roof. His bodyguards lounged along the west side, and elders of various tribes chatted in two’s and three’s at the center of the roof.
Familiar sounds rose from the plaza below. Shoppers and farmers haggled over the price of melons or mutton. Pedestrians greeted headquarters guards. If a chariot rolled through, the wheels crunched against the pavers of the threshing floor.
Although the odor of horse manure persisted from the stables on the left, the pungent aromas of wood smoke and fresh bread floated across from the bakery on the far right. The ovens nestled under the northeast tower.
In Obadiah’s dream, he and the prince lazied along on Lavan and Shochar, poking fun at each other as if their mighty stallions were tired old donkeys. Obadiah always laughed and smiled through this scene and then woke in tears.
“Chariots headed our way.”
He brushed at the words as if a fly buzzed him. Chariots could wait while the prince and the king’s right-hand man toed their steeds to the line under the pine tree. The race back to the fort was about to begin.
No, that wasn’t right. Had he been dreaming? Ahab had bled to death on the plain outside Ramoth, and they’d been trying to go on without him. Obadiah’s last full-on spell of sobbing had been years ago.
Obadiah squeezed his eyes tighter. The sunshine was his friend. And the light breeze. Who’s bothering me?
Yedidah’s sweet smell filled his nose. As her fingers gripped his shoulder, she spoke full voice into his ear. “Chariots.”
Thank you, Lord, for this woman.
After Ahab died, the first few times he took Yedidah to Keslote, he’d asked if she wanted to move back to the village. Their fathers were dead. And Ahab’s grandfather. But their mothers were alive. Their sons and sons-in-law managed the pear trees and the pottery.
Yet, the fort was home. After one or two sentences, their talk of return lost momentum. Grandchildren in the shadow of Mt. Tabor waited at the end of an easy chariot ride. His couch on the roof—
The strong, clean smell of his chief bodyguard pushed away the lovely aromas of Yedidah.
Zak knelt by the couch and waited. His hand on Obadiah’s arm felt tense.
Obadiah forced his eyes open. He watched Zak’s lips.
“Chariots, sir. Coming on fast.”
With a grunt and a heave, Obadiah rolled to his knees.
Zak latched onto his wrists and pulled him to his feet beside Yedidah.
They leaned their arms on the parapet and scanned the plaza below.
A row of elders on their left stared with them, and bodyguards looked over Obadiah’s shoulders.
In the open gate of the fort. King Jorami stood spraddle-legged, watching the road toward Beitshan.
[A boy for a king.ii]
Obadiah shook his head. How unfair. The boy king might fear evil was headed his way, yet he was probably unsure of himself and of what to do.
“Isn’t the king recovering from a wound?”
“Maybe he should be in resting.”
“Our king is young and strong. He heals fast.”
Obadiah turned to the elders who had commented. Their eyes focused straight ahead. Lips rigid. Was the boy so unskilled in the kingly arts that he stirred their contempt?
King Joram called toward the stables on Obadiah’s left. “Send a rider. Ask if they come in peace.”
Obadiah snorted, then turned his face from the elders. But, please. Ask a contingent of fast approaching warriors, are you here to hurt me?
“King” was how Obadiah spoke of Ahab’s second son. Yet, he could not escape thinking of him as “boy.” Lord, help the poor kid.
Instead of training the second in line of succession, Ahab had spent most of his time with the older brother. If only his investment had paid off.
That eldest son had fallen from Ahab’s ivory palace, and while he lay dying sent one hundred and two soldier boys to fiery deaths, so he could ask if he would recover.
Obadiah had loved both boys, and been uncle to them both. Yet, in private he thanked the Lord their father couldn’t see their deeds.
A soldier rode out of the stable. His horse clip-clopped across the threshing floor and rattled the planks over the moat. As the horse trotted down the grade and disappeared behind the hump of the hill, the line of watchers at the parapet rose on tiptoe. When horse and rider reappeared, galloping along the road toward Beitshan, “Ah!” came from several elders beside Obadiah.
The rider met the lead chariot this side of Village 5. Yet, instead of returning with a message, he fell in behind the lead chariot.
“Send another,” King Joram called to the stables.
A second soldier rode off to meet the speeding chariots. At Village 6, this rider also turned and fell in beside the chariots.
The lookout called, “The chariot in the lead drives like General Jehu—furiously.”
The elders at the wall commented.
“The general loves to drive.”
“And drive like a mad man. Get out of the way, eh?”
“Yeah, but Ramoth’s an all-day trip. Why hurry off without his driver?”
King Ahaziah of Judah stepped out the side door of headquarters and joined King Joram at the gate. He had come to Jezreel to visit the recuperating King Joram. [POV?iii] The two kings glanced at the approaching chariots, nodded, then strode to the stables and entered.
The baker asked, “Is our king up to a chariot ride?”
Yedidah whispered, “I think he’s feeling better.”
When the two kings came out, the head of the stables followed, leading King Joram’s horses and chariot. His helper brought those of King Ahaziah.
The kings stepped into their two chariots, drove out the gate, and rattled the planks of the bridge.
The head of stables and his helper jogged after them as far as the open gate, where they stood with hands on hips, staring down the road toward Beitshan.iv
[Can Obadiah see what’s happening?v]
[I doubt he has fully grasped the situation yet or he would have gone out with body guards. I think both these kings think they’re riding out to a parlay. ]
Obadiah watched them go.
swung his gaze back to the valley.
The chariots racing toward him passed village 1, village 2, and village 3.
At the vineyard Ahab had stolen from Naboth, the two kings met the general. Joram wore the bright blue of Ahab, and Ahaziah the deep purple of Jehoshaphat. Jehu met them in the drab browns and grays of his mail.
Above, a hawk and a kestrel screamed at each other. Sky?
Zak’s lips found Obadiah’s ear. “I don’t like this.”
The three chariots had barely halted when King Joram wheeled his chariot around and raced away.
From his chariot basket, General Jehu raised a recurved bow. A man would need the strength of an ox to bend such a bow, yet Jehu notched an arrow to the string, aimed at the fleeing king, and drew the feather to his shoulder.
He released.
The arrow sank between the king’s shoulders, and he slumped over the chariot rail.
“Dear Lord” fell from Obadiah’s lips. vi
The row of elders gasped.
Zak gripped Obadiah by the elbows. “I’m getting you outta here.” The words came through clenched teeth.
While King Joram’s horses slowed to a halt, King Ahaziah raced away.
The general signaled toward fleeing king.
A hail of arrows fell on the purple robe as the king disappeared around a hill.
Beside Obadiah, the elders groaned.
A chariot stopped at King Joram’s stalled team, and the driver jumped out. He dragged Joram’s corpse from the chariot and dumped him onto the field of Naboth in a pile of royal blue.
Obadiah twisted out of Zak’s grip and eased back onto his couch.vii “This must look bad to you, but the general’s a true servant of the Lord. I helped him get that new stable built up in Dan. Made sure he got the troops he needed when the Philistines surprised him. Jehu’s a good man. Let’s wait a while and watch how—”
Zak knelt by the couch. “I understand, sir. The two of you’ve been through a lot together. Plus, we all see how the general turns a blind eye to those bubblers you feed in the caves. If you’d asked, he might’ve helped feed them. viii
“But that was before he killed King Joram. There’s no turning back for General Jehu. In for a penny, in for a pound. He will either be king, or his head will sway on a very tall stake, and he knew that when he left Ramoth this morning. He’s become like Zimri, the chariot captain. After he slit King Elah’s throat, he killed every single—”
“General Jehu would find it very difficult to take out his old friend, but before he swung up in his chariot this morning he made that choice.” [Redundantix]
Yedidah shook Obadiah by the shoulders. “We’ve got to get out of here.” x
Zak lifted Obadiah to his feet and gripped his elbows. [Biah’s thoughts? xi]
With a scowl plastered across his face, Obadiah allowed Zak to guide him down the stairs to the plaza and across to the bakery.xii
The baker was an old friend who still spoke with tender respect of the king ten-years-dead. He opened the door behind his counter and waved Yedidah, Obadiah, and Zak inside.
They stood with him behind the window, watching through the slits in the shutters.
The loose planks over the moat announced General Jehu’s chariot, plus a dozen in his train. While they hitched their teams to rails in front of the nearest shops, the general drove to the headquarters wall.
In a second-floor window, Queen Jezebelxiii appeared. She wore a dress of royal blue. Fresh curls formed a matching blue corona around her face, and she smirked through layers of powder and rouge.
Yedidah whispered into the shutters, “That horrid woman is determined to go out like a queen.”
Zak replied, “She’s the past and she knows it.”
Jezebel called, “Greetings, General. Remember Zimri the chariot commander? He murdered his master but found no peace.”xiv
Obadiah jerked his head back against Zak’s ribs. Who was this who spoke of peace? The queen could never get enough slaves to serve in her brothels. So she purchased little girls and boys who had been stolen from distant back yards and sicced her thugs on anyone who complained.
Another dozen chariots rolled through the gate. Three stopped by the bakery, and words drifted through the shutter. “…not live through the night.”
The general backed his team until they stood facing the pavement beneath Jezebel.xv He yelled. “Is anybody up there on my side?”
In windows right and left, three eunuchs appeared out of nowhere. Strong men. xvi
Jehu laughed. “Throw her down!”
Although she held her chin high, she screeched, “Don’t touch me! Animals!”
[edit] “Look at her.” Yedidah BEATxvii. “Defiant to the end, haughty, royalty that she is, Jezebel refuses to surrender her royalty or her rights clear to the end.” xviii
When the eunuchs converged on her and seized her arms, she screamed and tore at their tunics. They tried to push her through the window, but she splayed her legs against the jamb and bit at their wrists. One embraced her flailing arms and torso while another wrapped his arms around her legs.xix
Blue curls appeared in the window, then Jezebel shot out headfirst onto the pavement.
Jehu whipped his horses forward and pranced them in place over her, squashing her chest and stomping her arms and legs. The snap of bones carried across the plaza and into the bake shop.xx
Yedidah covered her face. “Oh!”
Three dozen chariot captains and drivers gathered around the queen’s broken pieces. Blood splattered the wall and trailed down the legs of the horses. The General wheeled his team around as if for another pass but parked at the side door and went into the headquarters with his men.
Pointing to where the sun had disappeared over the wall of the fort, Zak explained, “He’s been all day in that chariot. He won’t leave until he’s eaten his fill. I’m taking you out of here.”
The baker raised a hand. “After the city’s asleep. I’ll hide them here.”
“Our daughter.” Obadiah clutched Yedidah’s wrist. Although their four youngest children lived in Keslote, their oldest had married a chariot captain, and her little girl was a frequent rider on her Uncle Zak’s shoulders.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Like Moses said, ‘We’re not leaving a hoof behind.’ Or a daughter.”
Three of General Jehu’s captains came out the headquarters side door and yelled. “Git!” They kicked. The usual pack of dogs who roamed the plaza yelped and scattered.
Obadiah smothered a cry. “Oh! I was there when that goatskin boy told about this. You hear so many things. I forgot it until now.” He gripped Zak and Yedidah by the arms. “Elijah. From Tishbe. That boy looked Ahab in the eye and declared dogs would devour the flesh of that woman by this very wall.” xxi
Obadiah’s chariot driver sauntered up to the baker’s counter. The only customer. He knit his brows and slid his eyes left and right.
“Everybody knows we shut the ovens down at noon.” The baker went out and stood next to the driver. They put their heads together, nodding and talking. After the driver faded into the crowd, the baker scanned the plaza then came back inside.
“He’s friends with a headquarters cook. In between bitesxxii, Jehu’s been dictating letters to Samaria City. He’s telling the elders who care for Ahab’s children to put one on the throne and send him out to fight.”
Obadiah’s eyebrows shot to the sky. “I haven’t see my driver all day. How’d he know to find us here?”
The baker shook his head. “I never thought to ask.”
Zak growled. “Your driver’s not the only one with eyes in his head. And that little act of his out by the counter got everyone looking. You better start listening to me, Biah.”
He flipped his gaze from Obadiah to Yedidah and back. “Jehu knows exactly what those town fathers up in Samaria are going to do with Ahab’s seventy children. He won’t feel safe until he’s killed everyone with any connection to Ahab. Your old friend Jehu’s got a list of new enemies, and you’re at the top.”
Yedidah clutched Zak’s sleeve. “But where can we hide?”
Background
Kings Joram and Ahaziah fighting for Ramothxxiii – 2 Kings 9:14-15
Sent soldier boys to fiery deaths – 2 Kings 1:14
Zimri, King Elah’s chariot captain – 1 Kings 16:8-20
Put a child on the throne and send him out to fight – 2 Kings 10:1-3
Not a hoof left behind – Exodus 10:26
iKing Joram was 29 years old. Born: 870 BC – Died: 841 BC, Tel Jezreel King Ahaziah was 23
ii [A boy for a king.]
iiiHe had come to Jezreel to visit the recuperating King Joram. [POV?]
iv {time of day please?}
v[Can Obadiah see what’s happening?
viDoes O realize in this moment that his life is now at risk? As shrewd as he is, he might, but from what follows this, it’s certainly clear to his body guard and his companions. With the flight of an arrow, his whole role, his whole mission, his whole life’s work has abruptly come into question.
viiFor Zak: Depending on what else you’re going to do with him, I think there’s more to come on Jehu. And poor Obidiah has come to the end of the road. I’m fascinated to see what you do with him from here.
I would think Jehu will have some real conflict in dispatching O if they’ve worked together in the past and if he knows, as he surely must, that O, like him, is a YHWHist. Did O help him get that new stable built up in Dan? See that he got the troops he needed when the Philistines surprised them? Did he help O hide all those prophets in the caves back in the day? And help O feed them? Did he (surely!) know what O was up to? I think Jehu is on the horns of a dilemma here. It may not be easy for him to take O out even if he feels he has to.
viiiI think Jehu is on the horns of a dilemma here. It may not be easy for him to take O out even if he feels he has to
That’s foolish talk, sir, and you know it. What you and General Jehu had
ix [Redundant]
xHOOK
xiJohn – I’d find it helpful to get a flash of Ob’s inner thoughts about the events taking place.
xiiObadiah moves to bakery.
xiiiBakers wife steps in
“It’s almost as if she was born to be a queen and knows it.”
Show how visible is Jezebel’s window from the baker’s window?
Blue bodice coming into view.
Biah tells Yedidah he can’t believe she’s talking this way.
“I can’t either. But look at her.”
xivI don’t know how much you intend to develop Jehu and his story, but this whole scene is important in revealing who he is. This scene is a climax. In a way this is the culmination of the contest of forces you’ve been writing about for two books now. Jehu is YHWHist thru and thru. [Obadiah Line] He’s tolerated Ahab b/c Ahab was a good commander and an effective king. Jehu respected him even if he didn’t like everything Ahab did, certainly didn’t like everything he stood for, but he did enough right to overlook what he came in light on.
Even though we have a good rendering in Kings of what transpires between Jezebel and Jehu in this incredibly dramatic scene, there is even more that can be brought into the interplay between the two of them. Zak – Jezebel is the past and she knows it. Yedidah- She has nothing left but her pride and her scorn for this upstart usurper who is about to bring everything she and Ahab have worked for coming to ruin. I hope you can bring this to your readers and make them feel what a giant turning point this is, both politically in these two characters’ worlds and theologically in Jehu’s triumph over Jezebel and what she stands for.
xv [Omni POV Can I move this to Obadiah’s POV?I think you can make more of this if you want to. Yes, we have a bare-bones account of the event in Kings, but it probably played with more rhetorical flourish than in that account. For example:
Jehu rides up under the window and glares at Jezebel. She glares right back. Behind her are a lot of frightened officials and house servants, afraid of her, afraid of Jehu, not sure what’s going down. Jezebel taunts Jehu with the one insult that she knows will bite b/c it’s actually true. He is usurping the throne held by the man they both respected. There is pain and recognition and understanding in what’s going on between the two of them in this moment. They have always been equals of a sort and they are now too here. The amount of drama in this confrontation is really quite Shakespearean.
xvi[Omni POV Can I move this to Obadiah’s POV?Yes, strong. But quaking in their boots. In an instant they have to decide where their loyalties lie. And they have always till this moment lain with this beautiful, powerful, decisive woman who has controlled the palace and their place in it. And they have chosen. They are about to betray her. There is a lot of feeling here worthy of exposition.
xviiYedidah BEAT
xviiiI hope you’ll bring this out more. Defiant to the end, haughty, royalty that she is, Jezebel refuses to surrender her royalty or her rights clear to the end,etc.
xixIf she is resigned to her fate, I don’t see her fighting them in her final moments. But maybe I don’t have a clear picture of her. To me she’s surrendered to the powers that have overwhelmed her, but not given in to fear or panic. In this whole scene I see reluctant eunuchs bowing to the new reality that has suddenly come upon them and a stoic queen meeting her inevitable fate with all the dignity she can muster.
xxFor Zak: Depending on what else you’re going to do with him, I think there’s more to come on Jehu. And poor Obidiah has come to the end of the road. I’m fascinated to see what you do with him from here.
I would think Jehu will have some real conflict in dispatching O if they’ve worked together in the past and if he knows, as he surely must, that O, like him, is a YHWHist. Did O help him get that new stable built up in Dan? See that he got the troops he needed when the Philistines surprised them? Did he help O hide all those prophets in the caves back in the day? And help O feed them? Did he (surely!) know what O was up to? I think Jehu is on the horns of a dilemma here. It may not be easy for him to take O out even if he feels he has to.
xxiJohn does it like this: Obadiah gripped Zak and Yedidah by the arms. “Elijah. From Tishbe. That goatskin boy foretold this. He looked Ahab in the eye and declared dogs would devour the flesh of that woman by this very wall.’”
xxii This feels like a line that would be appropriate for description, if the thing were actually taking place as a part of the story. However, it doesn’t feel like something a person would report in direct speech.
xxiii I’m not sure how to do this, but I wonder if it’s possible to show this or to express it with dialogue. So as not to break PoV in this section – John
