2 Kings 9:30

“And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, etc.] And of what he had done to Joram: and she painted her face; or put “stibium” on her eyes; a sort of paint, to make them look beautiful perhaps the same with powder of lead ore, the Moors now use to tinge their eyebrows with, and make them look black, which they reckon graceful, (see Gill on “<262340>Ezekiel 23:40”), this custom now obtains among the white Indians, who, to heighten the lustre of their complexion, and render their eyes more languishing, put a little black about them f112: and tired her head; dressed her head in the most elegant manner; not with a view to tempt Jehu, which she could not expect, being an aged woman;…”

“Jezebel painted her face--literally, "her eyes," according to a custom universal in the East among women, of staining the eyelids with a black powder made of pulverized antimony, or lead ore mixed with oil, and applied with a small brush on the border, so that by this dark ligament on the edge, the largeness as well as the luster of the eye itself was thought to be increased. Her object was, by her royal attire, not to captivate, but to overawe Jehu.”

“Painted her face - literally, “put her eyes in antimony “ - i. e., dyed the upper and under eyelids, a common practice in the East, even at the present day. The effect is at once to increase the apparent size of the eye, and to give it unnatural brilliancy. Representations of eyes thus embellished occur on the Assyrian sculptures, and the practice existed among the Jews (marginal reference; and Jeremiah 4:30). Tired her head - Dressed (attired) her head, and no doubt put on her royal robes, that she might die as became a queen, in true royal array. A window - Rather, “the window.” The gate-tower had probably, as many of those in the Assyrian sculptures, one window only. return to 'Top of…”

“9:30 The narrator returns to events at Jezreel. Defiant Jezebel prepared for Jehu’s arrival and her impending death by adorning herself, remaining haughty to the end.”

“Jezebel: Kg1 19:1, Kg1 19:2 painted her face: Heb. put her eyes in painting, Jer 4:30; Eze 23:40 tired: Isa 3:18-24; Eze 24:17; Ti1 2:9, Ti1 2:10; Pe1 3:3 4 Kings (2 Kings) 9:31”

“Death of Jezebel. - Kg2 9:30. When Jehu came to Jezreel and Jezebel heard of it, "she put her eyes into lead polish (i.e., painted them with it), and beautified her head and placed herself at the window." פּוּך is a very favourite eye-paint with Oriental women even to the present day. It is prepared from antimony ore (Arab. khl, Cohol or Stibium of the Arabs), which when pounded yields a black powder with a metallic brilliancy, which was laid upon the eyebrows and eyelashes either in a dry state as a black powder, or moistened generally with oil and made into an ointment, which is applied with a fine smooth eye-pencil of the thickness of an ordinary goose-quill, made either of wood, metal,…”