Why did Jehu initially refuse to tell the officers what the prophet said?

Question

I'm 2 Kings 9, Elisha dispatched a prophet to anoint Jehu king. He asked Jehu to follow him into an inner room and anointed him king. Following this encounter, he returned to his fellow officers:

11 When Jehu went out to his fellow officers, one of them asked him, “Is everything all right? Why did this maniac come to you?”

“You know the man and the sort of things he says,” Jehu replied.

12 “That’s not true!” they said. “Tell us.”

Jehu said, “Here is what he told me: ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’”

They immediately reacted by declaring him king.

Does his comment that "you know the man..." imply that that particular prophet was already know to the officers? Also, why did he initially refuse to tell them what the prophet said, and why did their reply convince him to tell them?

Answer 1

Jehu was a cold and calculating person.

11 When Jehu went out to his fellow officers, one of them asked him, “Is everything all right? Why did this maniac come to you?”

The officers probably recognized the young prophet as a disciple of the famous Elisha and were suspecting something unusual was going on.

“You know the man and the sort of things he says,” Jehu replied.

Jehu was calculating about how much to disclose but immediately replied with a neutral statement first to buy more time.

12 “That’s not true!” they said. “Tell us.”

The officers insisted.

Jehu said, “Here is what he told me: ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’”

Jehu had finished his calculation and decided it was to his advantage to execute his conspiracy immediately.