Jonadab (II)

II. JONADAB, the son of Rechab, head of the Rechabites. See Rechabites, and our Dissertation upon the Rechabites prefixed to Jeremiah. Jonadab the son of Rechab, lived in the time of Jehu King of Israel. He is thought to have added to the antient austerity of the Rechabites, that of abstinence from wine, to have introduced the neglect of cultivating their lands, and the custom of being satisfied with what their flocks and fields produced for their subsistence. We do not know where was Jonadab’s usual habitation; but we read in the second book of Kings, that Jehu being 2 Kings x 15, 16.raised up by God with a design of punishing the sins of Ahab’s house, and coming to Samaria, to destroy all the false Prophets and Priests of Baal, he met Jonadab the son of Rechab, and having saluted him, said, is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? Jonadab answered, it is. Then Jehu gave him his hand, took him up into his chariot, and said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord. He carried him to Samaria, and executed before him all that remained of Ahab’s family, and all the Ministers of Baal’s Temple . This is all that we know of Jonadab’s life. We shall speak of his Disciples in the article Rechabites.

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