Text -- 2 Kings 15:19-38 (NET)

15:19 Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem paid him a thousand talents of silver to gain his support and to solidify his control of the kingdom. 15:20 Menahem got this silver by taxing all the wealthy men in Israel; he took fifty shekels of silver from each one of them and paid it to the king of Assyria. Then the king of Assyria left; he did not stay there in the land. 15:21 The rest of the events of Menahem’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 15:22 Menahem passed away and his son Pekahiah replaced him as king.

Pekahiah’s Reign over Israel

15:23 In the fiftieth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Menahem’s son Pekahiah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for two years. 15:24 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 15:25 His officer Pekah son of Remaliah conspired against him. He and fifty Gileadites assassinated Pekahiah, as well as Argob and Arieh, in Samaria in the fortress of the royal palace. Pekah then took his place as king. 15:26 The rest of the events of Pekahiah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

Pekah’s Reign over Israel

15:27 In the fifty-second year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for twenty years. 15:28 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 15:29 During Pekah’s reign over Israel, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the territory of Naphtali. He deported the people to Assyria. 15:30 Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah. He assassinated him and took his place as king, in the twentieth year of the reign of Jotham son of Uzziah. 15:31 The rest of the events of Pekah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.

Jotham’s Reign over Judah

15:32 In the second year of the reign of Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah, Uzziah’s son Jotham became king over Judah. 15:33 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. 15:34 He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Uzziah had done. 15:35 But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. He built the Upper Gate to the Lord’s temple. 15:36 The rest of the events of Jotham’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 15:37 In those days the Lord prompted King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah to attack Judah. 15:38 Jotham passed away and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David. His son Ahaz replaced him as king.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: 2Ki 15:30

The meaning is, that he began his reign in the twentieth year after the beginning of Jotham's reign; or, which is the same thing, in the fourth year of Ahaz, son of Jotham.

Wesley: 2Ki 15:33

Alone: for he had reigned before this, as his father's deputy.

Wesley: 2Ki 15:35

Not of the temple, but of one of the courts of the temple, probably that which led to the king's palace.

JFB: 2Ki 15:19

This is the first Assyrian king after Nimrod who is mentioned in biblical history. His name has been recently identified with that of Phalluka on the monuments of Nineveh, and that of Menahem discovered also.

JFB: 2Ki 15:19

Elsewhere it is said "Ephraim [Israel] went to the Assyrian" [Hos 5:13]. The two statements may be reconciled thus: "Pul, of his own motion, induced, perhaps, by the expedition of Menahem against Thapsacus, advanced against the kingdom of Israel; then Menahem sent him a thousand talents in order not only to divert him from his plans of conquest, but at the same time to purchase his friendship and aid for the establishment of his own precarious sovereignty. So Menahem did not properly invite the Assyrian into the land, but only changed the enemy when marching against the country, by this tribute, into a confederate for the security of his usurped dominion. This the prophet Hosea, less concerned about the historical fact than the disposition betrayed therein, might very well censure as a going of Ephraim to the Assyrians (Hos 5:13; Hos 7:1; Hos 8:9), and a covenant-making with Asshur" (2Ki 12:1) [KEIL].

JFB: 2Ki 15:19

Equal to £262,200. This tribute, which Menahem raised by a tax on the grandees of Israel, bribed Pul to return to his own country (see on 1Ch 5:26).

JFB: 2Ki 15:23

On comparing the date given with Azariah's reign, it seems that several months had intervened between the death of Menahem and the accession of Pekahiah, probably owing to a contest about the throne.

JFB: 2Ki 15:25

Many commentators view these as the captain's accomplices. But it is more probable that they were influential friends of the king, who were murdered along with him.

JFB: 2Ki 15:29

This monarch, who succeeded Pul on the throne of Assyria, is the only one of all the kings who does not give his genealogy, and is therefore supposed to have been an usurper. His annals have been discovered in the Nimroud mound, describing this expedition into Syria. The places taken are here mentioned as they occurred and were conquered in the progress of an invasion.

JFB: 2Ki 15:30

He did not, however, obtain possession of the kingdom till about nine or ten years after the perpetration of this crime [HALES].

JFB: 2Ki 15:30

Jotham's reign lasted only sixteen years, but the meaning is that the reign of Hoshea began in the twentieth after the beginning of Jotham's reign. The sacred historian, having not yet introduced the name of Ahaz, reckoned the date by Jotham, whom he had already mentioned (see 2Ch 27:8).

JFB: 2Ki 15:33

That is, alone--for he had ruled as his father's viceroy [2Ki 15:5].

JFB: 2Ki 15:35

Not the temple itself, but one of its courts; probably that which led into the palace (2Ch 23:20).

JFB: 2Ki 15:37

This is the first intimation of the hostile feelings of the kings of Israel and Syria, to Judah, which led them to form an alliance and make joint preparations for war. [See on 2Ch 27:5.] However, war was not actually waged till the reign of Ahaz.

Clarke: 2Ki 15:19

Pul, the king of Assyria - This is the first time we hear of Assyria since the days of Nimrod, its founder, Gen 10:11

Dean Prideaux supposes that this Pul was father of the famous Sardanapalus, the son himself being called Sardan; to which, as was frequent in those times, the father’ s name, Pul, was added, making Sardanpul of which the Greeks and Latins made Sardanapalus; and this Pul is supposed to be the same that reigned in Nineveh when Jonah preached the terrors of the Lord to that city

Clarke: 2Ki 15:19

That his hand - That is, his power and influence, might be with him: in this sense is the word hand frequently used in Scripture.

Clarke: 2Ki 15:20

Each man fifty shekels of silver - Upwards of five pounds sterling a man.

Clarke: 2Ki 15:21

Are they not written in - the chronicles - There are no chronicles extant, in which there is any thing farther relative to this king.

Clarke: 2Ki 15:25

Smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the king’ s house, with Argob and Arieh - Who Argob and Arieh were we know not; some make them men, some make them statues. Pekah had fifty Gileadites in the conspiracy with him.

Clarke: 2Ki 15:29

Came Tiglath-pileser - He is supposed to have been the successor of Sardanapalus: Dean Prideaux makes him the same with Arbaces, called by Aelian Thilgamus, and by Usher Ninus junior; who, together with Belesis, headed the conspiracy against Sardanapalus, and fixed his seat at Nineveh, the ancient residence of the Assyrian kings; as did Belesis, who is called, in Isa 39:1, Baladan, fix his at Babylon

Clarke: 2Ki 15:29

Took Ijon - These places belonged to Israel; and were taken by Ben-hadad, king of Syria, when he was in league with Asa, king of Judah. See 1Ki 15:20. They were regained by Jeroboam the second; and now they are taken from Israel once more by Tiglath-pileser. From 1Ch 5:26, we learn that Pul and Tiglath-pileser, kings of Assyria, carried away into captivity the two tribes of Reuben, and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh; all that belonged to Israel, on the other side of Jordan. These were never restored to Israel.

Clarke: 2Ki 15:30

Hoshea the son of Elah - in the twentieth year of Jotham - There are many difficulties in the chronology of this place. To reconcile the whole, Calmet says: "Hoshea conspired against Pekah, the twentieth year of the reign of this prince, which was the eighteenth after the beginning of the reign of Jotham, king of Judah. Two years after this, that is, the fourth year of Ahaz, and the twentieth of Jotham, Hoshea made himself master of a part of the kingdom, according to 2Ki 15:30. Finally, the twelfth year of Ahaz, Hoshea had peaceable possession of the whole kingdom, according to 2Ki 17:1."

Clarke: 2Ki 15:36

Now the rest of the acts of Jotham - These acts are distinctly stated in 2Ch 27:1-9. He built the high gate of the house of the Lord, and he built much on the wall of Ophel. He built cities in the mountains of Judah; and in the forests he built castles and towers. He overthrew the Ammonites; and obliged them to give him one hundred talents of silver, ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley, for three consecutive years. He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years. These are the particulars which we learn from the place in Chronicles quoted above; few of which are mentioned in this place. As to the higher gate of the house of the Lord, commentators are not well agreed: some think it was a gate which he then made, and which did not exist before, and is the same that is called the new gate, Jer 26:10, which is very likely.

Clarke: 2Ki 15:37

In those days the Lord began to send - It was about this time that the Assyrian wars, so ruinous to the Jews, began; but it was in the following reigns that they arrived at their highest pitch of disaster to those unfaithful and unfortunate people. However much we may blame the Jews for their disobedience and obstinacy, yet we cannot help feeling for them under their severe afflictions. Grievously they have sinned, and grievously have they suffered for it. And if they be still objects of God’ s judgments, there is revelation to believe that they will yet be objects of God’ s goodness. Many think the signs of the times are favorable to this ingathering; but there is no evidence among the people themselves that the day of their redemption is at hand. They do not humble themselves; they do not seek the Lord.

Defender: 2Ki 15:19

Except for Jonah's mission to Nineveh, this is the first mention of contact between Israel and the great Assyrian empire."

Defender: 2Ki 15:22

Menahem is mentioned in an Assyrian inscription in which Pul, the king (same as Tiglath-Pileser III), boasts of receiving tribute from him (2Ki 15:19). Pul's various inscriptions also mention Kings. Uzziah and Ahaz of Judah and Kings. Pekah and Hoshea of Israel."

TSK: 2Ki 15:19

am 3233, bc 771

Pul : Prideaux supposes that this Pul was the father of the famous Sardanapalus, who was called Sardan with his father’ s name Pul annexed, as was frequent in those times, making Sardanpul: thus Merodach, king of Babylon, was Merodach-Baladan, because he was the son Baladan. This Pul began to reign according to Usher, am 3237, the fifth year of Menahem; and he is supposed to be the same that reigned in Nineveh, when Jonah preached in that city. 1Ch 5:25, 1Ch 5:26; Isa 9:1

Menahem : 2Ki 12:18, 2Ki 16:8, 2Ki 17:3, 2Ki 17:4, 2Ki 18:16; Hos 5:13, Hos 8:9, Hos 8:10, Hos 10:6

to confirm : 2Ki 14:5; Jer 17:5

TSK: 2Ki 15:20

Menahem : 2Ki 23:35

exacted : Heb. caused to come forth

the mighty : Rth 2:1; 2Sa 19:32; Job 1:3

of each man : etc. Or, rather, as Bishop Patrick renders, ""to give to the king of Assyria fifty shekels of silver for each man,""i.e., in his army. It may be supposed, that Menahem compelled ""the mighty men of wealth""to give much more a-piece than this sum (somewhat about 5£. sterling each) and each of them in some proportion to his affluence.

stayed not : 2Ki 15:29, 2Ki 17:3, 2Ki 17:4, 2Ki 18:14-17

TSK: 2Ki 15:21

am 3232-3243, bc 772-761, 2Ki 15:15

TSK: 2Ki 15:23

am 3243, bc 761

and reigned two years : 2Ki 21:19; 1Ki 15:25, 1Ki 16:8, 1Ki 22:51; Job 20:5

TSK: 2Ki 15:24

am 3243-3245, bc 761-759, 2Ki 15:9, 2Ki 15:18

TSK: 2Ki 15:25

am 3245, bc 759

Pekah : 2Ki 15:27; 2Ch 28:6

a captain : 2Ki 9:5; 1Ki 16:9

conspired : 2Ki 15:10, 2Ki 9:14

with Argob : From the contstruction of the Hebrew Text, it would appear that Argob and Arieh were slain with the king, and that the fifty Gileadites were conspirators with Pekah.

TSK: 2Ki 15:26

2Ki 15:15

TSK: 2Ki 15:27

am 3245-3265, bc 759-739

the two : 2Ki 15:2, 2Ki 15:8, 2Ki 15:13, 2Ki 15:23

Pekah : 2Ki 15:25, 2Ki 15:37; Isa 7:1, Isa 7:4, Isa 7:9

TSK: 2Ki 15:28

evil : 2Ki 15:9, 2Ki 15:18, 2Ki 13:2, 2Ki 13:6, 2Ki 21:2

TSK: 2Ki 15:29

Tiglathpileser : Some suppose Tiglath-pileser to be the son of Sardanapalus, but the learned Prideaux makes him the same as Arbaces the Mede, called by Alian, Thelgamus, and by Castor, Ninus Junior, who, with Belesis, headed the conspiracy against Sardanapalus, and fixed his royal seat at Nineveh, as Belesis, called in Scripture Baladan (Isa 39:1), did his at Babylon. He reigned nineteen years, from am 3257 to am 3276. 2Ki 16:7; 1Ch 5:6, 1Ch 5:26; 2Ch 28:20, 2Ch 28:21, Tiglath-pilneser, Isa 9:1

Ijon : 1Ki 15:20; 2Ch 16:4, Abel-beth-maachah, 2Sa 20:14, 2Sa 20:15

Janoah : Jos 16:6, Janohah

Kedesh : Jos 19:37, Jos 20:7

Hazor : Jos 11:1, Jos 11:10, Jos 11:13, Jos 12:19; Jdg 4:2

Gilead : Num 32:1, Num 32:40; Deu 3:15; Amo 1:3, Amo 1:13

Galilee : Jos 20:7; 1Ki 9:11; Isa 9:1, Isa 9:2; Mat 4:15, Mat 4:16

carried them : 2Ki 17:6, 2Ki 17:23; Lev 26:32, Lev 26:38, Lev 26:39; Deu 4:26, Deu 4:27, Deu 28:25, Deu 28:64, Deu 28:65; Isa 1:7, Isa 7:20

TSK: 2Ki 15:30

am 3265, bc 739

made : 2Ki 15:10, 2Ki 15:25

and smote : Hos 10:3, Hos 10:7, Hos 10:15

reigned : ""After an anarchy for some years."

in the twentieth : ""In the fourth year of Ahaz, in the twentieth year after Jotham had begun to reign.""- Usher. 2Ki 15:32, 2Ki 15:33, 2Ki 16:1, 2Ki 17:1; 2Ch 28:4-6, 2Ch 28:16; Isa 7:1-9, Isa 8:6

TSK: 2Ki 15:32

am 3246, bc 758

Jotham : 2Ki 15:7; 1Ch 3:12; 2Ch 27:1-9; Mat 1:9

Jotham : Uzziah, 2Ki 15:1, 2Ki 15:7, 2Ki 15:13, 2Ki 15:17, 2Ki 15:23, 2Ki 15:27, 2Ki 14:21; 1Ch 3:12, Azariah

TSK: 2Ki 15:33

am 3246-3262, bc 758-742

Jerusha : 2Ch 27:1, Jerushah

TSK: 2Ki 15:34

according : 2Ki 15:3, 2Ki 15:4; 2Ch 26:4, 2Ch 26:5, 2Ch 27:2

TSK: 2Ki 15:35

Howbeit : 2Ki 15:4, 2Ki 18:4; 2Ch 32:12

the higher gate : 2Ch 27:3-9

TSK: 2Ki 15:36

the rest : 2Ki 15:6, 2Ki 15:7; 2Ch 27:4-9

TSK: 2Ki 15:37

am 3262, bc 742

In those days : ""At the end of Jotham’ s reign.""This Jotham died at forty-one. He was too great a blessing to be continued long to such an unworthy people. His death was a judgment, especially considering the character of Ahaz, his son and successorcaps1 . fcaps0 or we read (2Ki 16:3) Ahaz made his son pass through the fire. This son may have been Hezekiah, who served the Lord, and whose prayer in sickness was most graciously herd and answered. Isa. 38:1-22

began : 2Ki 10:32; 1Sa 3:12; Jer 25:29; Luk 21:28

to send : Deu 28:48; Psa 78:49; Isa 10:5-7; Jer 16:16, Jer 43:10

Rezin : 2Ki 16:5; 2Ch 28:6; Isa 7:1, Isa 7:8; Hos 5:12, Hos 5:13

Pekah : 2Ki 15:27

TSK: 2Ki 15:38

Jotham : 2Sa 7:12; 1Ki 1:2, 1Ki 14:20, 1Ki 14:31

Ahaz : 2Ki 16:1; 1Ch 3:13; 2Ch 28:1; Mat 1:9, Achaz

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 2Ki 15:19

This is the first distinct mention which we find in Scripture of Assyria as an aggressive power. From the native monuments we learn that she had been for above a century pushing her conquests beyond the Euphrates, and seeking to reduce under her dominion the entire tract between that river and Egypt. Jehu had paid tribute. Some - arguing from the use of the phrase "confirmed the kingdom"(here, and in 2Ki 14:5) - think that Jehoahaz had acknowledged Assyrian suzerainty, and consented that her monarchs should receive their investiture from the hands of the Ninevite king. But hitherto there had been no hostile invasion of Jewish or Israelite soil by an Assyrian army. Now, however, the Assyrians are at last formally introduced into the history. A series of aggressions is related in this and the four following chapters, culminating, on the one hand, in the destruction of the northern kingdom, on the other, in the complete failure of Sennacherib’ s attempt upon Judaea and Egypt.

With respect to the present expedition, there are certain difficulties. The name of Pul does not appear among the Assyrian monumental kings, and it is absent from the copies of the Assyrian Canon, containing the entire list of monarchs from about 910 B.C. to 670 B.C. Assyria Proper, moreover, appears to have been in a state of depression for some 40 years before the accession of Tiglath-Pileser 2Ki 15:29. It is probable that, during the depression of the Ninevite line, Pul, a Chaldaean and not an Assyrian king, established a second monarchy upon the Euphrates, which claimed to be the true Assyria, and was recognized as such by the nations of Syria and Palestine. His invasion was probably provoked by Menahem’ s conquest of Thapsacus, which he would view as a wanton aggression upon his territory.

A thousand talents of silver - Compared with the tribute of Hezekiah soon afterward 2Ki 18:14, this seems a large sum; but it is not beyond the resources of such a State as Samaria at the period. The tie which had bound Samaria to Assyria from the reign of Jehu to that of Jeroboam II, had ceased to exist during the period of Assyrian depression. Menahem now renewed it, undertaking the duties of a tributary, and expecting the support which Assyria was accustomed to lend to her dependencies in their struggles with their neighbors. Hence, the reproaches of Hosea (marginal reference "n").

Barnes: 2Ki 15:20

Menahem exacted the money - The kings of Israel had no such ready resource in difficulties as that possessed by the kings of Judah in the temple treasury 2Ki 12:18; 2Ki 16:8. Hence, the forced contribution from the people, the odium of which was diminished by confining the levy to the comparatively rich.

Each man fifty shekels - As the silver talent contained 3,000 shekels, the levy of fifty shekels a head must have extended to 60,000 persons.

Barnes: 2Ki 15:21

Assyrian inscriptions show that Menahem was subsequently redfaced to subjection by Tiglath-Pileser 2Ki 15:29.

Barnes: 2Ki 15:25

A captain of his - A mere "captain,"a person, therefore, of very moderate rank. The low birth of Pekah is probably glanced at in Isaiah’ s favorite designation of him as "Remaliah’ s son"Isa 7:4-5, Isa 7:9; Isa 8:6.

From the fact that Pekah employed Gileadites to carry out his designs, it has been conjectured that he himself belonged to the trans-Jordanic region.

In the palace of the king’ s house - Rather, "In the tower of the king’ s palace;"or possibly "in the harem of the king’ s palace"(1Ki 16:18 note).

Barnes: 2Ki 15:29

Tiglath-Pileser is the first among the Assyrian monarchs of Scripture whom we can certainly identify with a king mentioned in the monuments. According to the Assyrian Dr. he reigned from 745 B.C. to 727 B.C.; and the monuments show us this energetic and powerful prince (though, probably, an usurper), building and repairing palaces, levying armies, and carrying on successful wars against Merodach-Baladan in Babylonia, Rezin at Damascus, Hiram at; Tyre, the Medes, the Armenians, the natives of Northern Mesopotamia, and the Arabs who bordered upon Egypt. His Assyrian name, Tiglat-pal-zira, is composed of the elements tiglat, "adoration,"pal, "son,"and zira, a word of uncertain meaning.

Ijon and Abel-beth-maachah - On the position of some of the towns mentioned in this verse see the marginal reference and Jos 19:36. Janoah is not the Janohah of Jos 16:6 (modern Yanun, southeast of Nablous), but a city (Hunin?) near the Sea of Merom. Gilead is, probably, to be limited here to a small district of Peraea, lying to the east of Lake Merom, and in later times known as Gaulanitis (the reading of Septuagint here). If so, we must suppose two expeditions of Tiglath-Pileser against Pekah, the first mentioned here, and the second recorded in Chronicles and Isaiah (see the marginal reference "q;"2Ki 16:9 note).

Barnes: 2Ki 15:30

Hoshea, the son of Elah - One of Pekah’ s friends, according to Josephus.

The twentieth year of Jotham - According to 2Ki 15:33 and 2Ch 27:1, Jotham reigned only 16 years. See also the suggestion in the margin. Strangely enough, this first year of Hoshea is also called, not the fourth, but the twelfth of Ahaz 2Ki 17:1. The chronological confusion of the history, as it stands, is striking.

Uzziah - i. e. Azariah. See 2Ki 15:1-4.

Barnes: 2Ki 15:31

The rest of the acts of Pekah - On these, see 2Ki 16:5 note.

Barnes: 2Ki 15:32

The writer here resumes the history of Judah from 2Ki 15:7, to resume and conclude the history of Israel in 2 Kings 17.

Barnes: 2Ki 15:34

Jotham imitated his father in all respects, excepting in his impious usurpation of the priestly functions (2Ki 15:5 note; 2Ch 27:2).

Barnes: 2Ki 15:35

He built the higher gate - Jotham followed the example of his father in military, no less than in religious, matters (compare the marginal reference with 2Ch 26:9). The "higher"or "upper gate"of the temple is thought to have been that toward the north; and its fortification would seem to indicate fear of an attack from that quarter.

Barnes: 2Ki 15:37

The recent invasions of Pul and Tiglath-Pileser had effectually alarmed Pekah and Rezin, and had induced them to put aside the traditional jealousies which naturally kept them apart, and to make a league offensive and defensive. Into this league they were anxious that Judaea should enter; but they distrusted the house of David, which had been so long hostile both to Damascus and to Samaria. They consequently formed the design of transferring the Jewish crown to a certain Ben-Tabeal Isa 7:6, probably a Jewish noble, perhaps a refugee at one of their courts, whom they could trust to join heartily in their schemes (2Ki 16:5 note).

Poole: 2Ki 15:19

Pul the king of Assyria called by heathen authors Pulbelochus, who by the help of Arbaces the Mede vanquished Sardanapalus the last monarch of Assyria, and translated the kingdom to Chaldea, and was the first king of Babylon and Assyria; Arbaces being made king of the Medes and Persians.

Against the land to wit, of Israel, as the context shows.

Menahem gave i.e. agreed or promised to give, as the next verse explains it.

That his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand; that he might assist him against all that did or should oppose him. By which it appears that his cruelty to Tiphsah was so far from establishing him, as he expected, that it weakened and endangered him so far, that he was forced to call in a foreign prince to his aid.

Poole: 2Ki 15:20

Of each man i.e. of each of those wealthy Israelites. But as each of these were not equally wealthy, so it is not probable that he taxed them equally. Others therefore render it to or for each man , i.e. for every Assyrian soldier; which interpretation is favoured by the placing of the words in the Hebrew text, which differs from that in our translation.

Poole: 2Ki 15:25

Argob and Arieh might be either Pekah’ s partners in this treason, or the king’ s courtiers or officers, who were now slain with him.

Fifty men of the Gileadites who assisted him in the execution of his treason.

Poole: 2Ki 15:29

Tiglath-pileser or, Tilgath-pilneser , 2Ch 28:20 , called in heathen authors Phulasar, or Phul-assur , the son of that Pul or Phul above, 2Ki 15:19 .

Abel-beth-maachah of which see 1Ki 15:20 . Janoah ; a city of Ephraim, Jos 16:6 . Kedesh and Hazor ; two cities of Naphtali, Jos 12:22 19:36 .

Gilead all the land beyond Jordan, which was nigher to the Assyrian than the rest.

Galilee to wit, the Upper Galilee, as may be gathered from the following words, all (or, even all )

the land of Naphtali which seem to be added by way of explication or restriction, to show what Galilee he meant, even the Upper, in which Naphtali’ s lot fell. See Poole "Isa 9:1" .

Poole: 2Ki 15:30

Smote him, and slew him which he did more easily effect, because the people were enraged against Pekah, as the man who by his murder of king Pekahiah the son of Menahem, whom the Assyrian monarch set up and favoured, and by his unnecessary war with Ahaz, had brought the Assyrian upon them, and caused the loss of one half of that kingdom.

In the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah

Quest. How could this be, when Jotham reigned only sixteen years, below, 2Ki 15:33 ?

Answ The meaning is, that he began his reign in the twentieth year after the beginning of Jotham’ s reign; or, which is the same thing, in the fourth year of Ahaz, son of Jotham, as appears from 2Ki 16:2 . But the sacred writer, having not yet made mention of Ahaz, thought it more proper to number Hoshea’ s years by Jotham, of whom he had spoken, than by Ahaz. Besides, as Jotham did reign divers years in his father’ s life, so might Ahaz in Jotham’ s life, and Jotham might for divers reasons (which it is needless here to inquire) resign up the administration of the kingdom wholly into Ahaz’ s hands some years before his death, and therefore might be said to reign but sixteen years, though he lived longer.

Poole: 2Ki 15:33

When he began to reign to wit, properly and alone; for he had reigned before this, as his father’ s deputy and viceroy.

Poole: 2Ki 15:35

Not of the temple, properly so called; but of one of the courts of the temple, probably that which led to the king’ s palace, 2Ch 23:20 ; called also the new gate , Jer 26:10 36:10 .

Poole: 2Ki 15:37

In those days i.e. towards the end of Jotham’ s reign.

The Lord began to send i.e. disposed their hearts to unite their forces together, and to make preparation for a war against Judah; which yet they did not execute till Ahaz’ s reign.

Haydock: 2Ki 15:20

Rich. The lower classes were not perhaps entirely exempted.

Haydock: 2Ki 15:25

Near. Hebrew, "may be along with Argob, &c." who were in the conspiracy. (Chaldean, Septaugint, &c.) (Calmet)

Haydock: 2Ki 15:26

Israel. This book is lost. (Haydock) ---

The Paralipomenon takes no notice of these kings; but relates only the transactions of the kings of Juda after Joas gained the victory; which greatly abridged their power, chap. xiv. 14.

Haydock: 2Ki 15:27

Romelia. St. Jerome (ep. 142.) places the birth of Romulus in this year, which preceded the famous Olympiads. But Salien differs that event 14 years. (The year before Christ 769.) (Haydock)

Haydock: 2Ki 15:30

In the twentieth year of Joatham. That is, in the twentieth year from the beginning of Joatham's reign. The sacred writer chooses rather to follow here this date, tan to speak of the years of Achaz, who had not yet been mentioned. (Challoner) ---

But Joatham reigned only 16 years, (ver. 33.) so that this was the fourth year of Achaz. (Haydock) ---

Usher says that Osee did not ascend the throne till nine years after the death of Phacee, as he is asserted to have commenced his reign in the twelfth year of Achaz, chap. xvii. 1. But another difficulty arises from the mention of this 20th year, as Phacee would have reigned 22, instead of 20; (ver. 27.) for Joatham only commenced in the second year of Phacee. To reconcile these passages, we may conclude that Osee conspired against the king of Israel in the 18th year of Joatham, gained possession of part of the kingdom in the 20th of the same prince, and of the whole in the 12th of Achaz. (Calmet) ---

The pretended interregnum ought to be rejected, as the murderer of the late king would not delay to ascend the throne. Houbigant adds 10 years to the reign of Phacee, as well as to that of Zacharias: the dates assigned to the kings of Israel being otherwise so much deficient, p. 113.

Haydock: 2Ki 15:34

Did he. Yet he did not imitate his presumption. God gave great success to his enterprises, 2 Paralipomenon xxvii. 2.

Haydock: 2Ki 15:35

Gate, repairing that on the east. Jeremias (xxvi. 10.) mentions the new gate. Joatham also made great additions to the walls of Jerusalem. (Paralipomenon)

Haydock: 2Ki 15:37

Began. Achaz was much more infested by these princes.

Gill: 2Ki 15:19

And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land,.... The land of Israel, he invaded it; a Jewish chronologer ^u calls him Pulbelicho; and he is generally thought to be the same with Belochus or Belesis, governor of Babylon, who, with Arbaces the Mede, slew Sardanapalus, said to be the last of the Assyrian kings, and translated the empire to the Chaldeans; he ruling over Babylon and Nineveh, and Arbaces over the Medes and Persians; but Pul was not a Babylonian, but an Assyrian ^w, and the first king of the Assyrians, at least, the Scriptures speak of: we read no more of him; but one Metasthenes, a Persian historian, feigned and published by Annius, and so named by him instead of Megasthenes, calls him Phulbelochus, and says ^x he reigned forty eight years:

and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver; and a talent of silver, according to Brerewood ^y was three hundred and seventy five pounds; but Bishop Cumberland ^z calculates it at three hundred and fifty three pounds eleven shillings and ten pence half penny; 1,000 of them made a large sum of money, according to the former 375,000 pounds; and this he gave to him, not only to desist from the invasion of his land, but

that his hand might be with him; and not against him:

and to confirm the kingdom in his hand; which being got by usurpation, and supported by cruelty, was but tottering.

Gill: 2Ki 15:20

And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth,.... Who were most able to pay it, by which means he eased the poor, and might thereby attach them to him:

of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria: that is, he required them to pay fifty shekels apiece to make up the above sum as a present to Pul; though the words in the original text lie more naturally thus, "to give to the king of Assyria fifty shekels of silver for one man"; that is, for every man in his army; which amounted to about six pounds a man:

so the king of Assyria turned back; to his own country:

and stayed not there in the land; in the land of Israel, neither to distress nor to help Menahem, for which he gave him the money.

Gill: 2Ki 15:21

And the rest of the acts of Menahem,.... We are referred to the same book of chronicles for them as for those of the rest of the kings, which seems to be a form the historian uses of them all.

Gill: 2Ki 15:22

And Menahem slept with his fathers,.... Died a natural death, and in peace, though an usurper and a tyrant:

and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead; the kingdom he had usurped continued in his family.

Gill: 2Ki 15:23

In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria,.... As it was in the thirty ninth of Azariah that his father began his reign, and he reigned ten years, they must end in the forty ninth of Azariah, and therefore there must be an interregnum of a year; perhaps the title of Pekahiah might be disputed, and it was a year before he could get settled on the throne:

and reigned two years; being slain by one of his captains, as after related.

Gill: 2Ki 15:24

And he did that which was evil,.... Besides other sins, he cleaved to that of worshipping the calves, a piece of state policy all the kings of Israel gave into.

Gill: 2Ki 15:25

But Pekah the son of Remaliah, a captain of his,.... The word signifies a "third" man, the third to the king, as some think; Josephus ^a calls him a "chiliarch", one that had the command of a thousand men:

conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the king's house; Josephus ^b says it was at a banquet:

with Argob, and Arieh; whom, according to Abarbinel, Pekah slew with the king, being mighty men, who were always about him; but they seem rather to be conspirators with Pekah, and assisting to him in smiting the king; the former of these, Ben Gersom thinks, was governor of Argob, a country on the other side Jordan, and the latter had his name from his fortitude, which signifies a lion:

and with him fifty men of the Gileadites; which may seem to strengthen the above notion concerning Argob, since the Gileadites were of the same side of Jordan, and were near Argob, see Deu 3:13.

and he killed him, and reigned in his room, as his father killed Shallum, and reigned in his stead.

Gill: 2Ki 15:26

And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah,.... The same form of expression is used as before, 2Ki 15:21, of all the kings.

Gill: 2Ki 15:27

In the fifty second year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria,.... Which was the last year of the reign of Azariah:

and reigned twenty years; which was a long reign for an usurper and murderer.

Gill: 2Ki 15:28

And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord,.... Not only in committing the above crimes of usurpation and murder, but idolatry, and particularly the worshipping of the calves, hinted at in the text.

Gill: 2Ki 15:29

In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria,.... Into the land of Israel; he is called by a Jewish chronologer ^c, Pul-Asir; so Phul-Assar by Metasthenes ^d, who says he reigned twenty five years; he very probably was the son of Pul the Assyrian king, mentioned 2Ki 15:19, and is thought to be the same that Aelianus ^e calls Tilgamos; some think he had the first part of his name from Diglath, or Diglito, by which the river Tigris is called in Pliny ^f, with which Assyria was washed; and that Pil, or Pul, is Baal, Bel, Jupiter, and Azar is Mars ^g; of all which his name is composed:

and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah; of which see 1Ki 15:20,

and Janoah; a city in the tribe of Ephraim, Jos 16:6.

and Kedesh, and Hazor; cities in Naphtali: Jos 19:36.

and Gilead; a country beyond Jordan, which belonged to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half tribe of Manasseh:

and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; that is, upper Galilee, which lay in Naphtali:

and carried them captive to Assyria; which was the first captivity of Israel in which half their tribes were carried away.

Gill: 2Ki 15:30

And Hoshea the son or Elab made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead,.... Did by him as he had done by Pekahiah, 2Ki 15:28, this was measure for measure, as the Jews say: and this he did

in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah; and yet Jotham is said to reign but sixteen years, 2Ki 15:33, this must be reckoned therefore either from the time of his being viceroy, and judging Israel in his father's lifetime, 2Ki 15:5 or this was the fourth year of Ahaz, and the twentieth year, reckoning from the time Jotham began to reign, who is the rather mentioned, because as yet the historian had taken no notice of Ahaz.

Gill: 2Ki 15:31

And the rest of the acts of Pekah,.... Not recorded here, were to be read in the book of chronicles of the kings so often referred to.

Gill: 2Ki 15:32

In the second year of Pekah, the son of Remaliah king of Israel, began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign. Pekah began to reign in the fifty second year of Azariah, or Uzziah, which was his last year, 2Ki 15:27, and which was the first of Pekah; Uzziah reigned full fifty two, and then Jotham succeeded, which was the beginning of the second of Pekah.

Gill: 2Ki 15:33

Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign,.... Alone, after the death of his father:

and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and his reign, upon the whole, was a good reign:

and his mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok; a person well known in those times; Dr. Lightfoot ^h thinks he was high priest.

Gill: 2Ki 15:34

And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord,.... Jarchi, in 2Ch 27:2, observes, from a writer of theirs, that in all the kings of Judah before him, even in the best, some sins were found; but in Jotham there was nothing scandalous and reproachful; and it is a high character Josephus ⁱ gives of him, that there was no virtue wanting in him; he was pious towards God, just towards men, and careful of the public good; but the inspired historian chiefly respects matters of religious worship; he did not give into idolatry:

he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done; that is, according to what was well done by him; he did not imitate him in going into the temple to burn incense, which is particularly excepted. 2Ch 27:2.

Gill: 2Ki 15:35

Howbeit the high places were not removed,.... As they were not by his father, and the same is observed of the best of kings before:

the people sacrificed and burnt incense still in the high places; from which they could not be brought off by prophets or kings:

he built the higher gate of the house of the Lord; which was between the temple and the king's palace, which led to it; this he repaired and beautified, or added something to it; or otherwise it was built by Solomon, and therefore called the new gate, Jer 26:10 it is the same that was afterwards called the gate of Nicanor; the east gate, as say the Jewish writers ^k.

Gill: 2Ki 15:36

Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Of which mention is often made by the inspired historians; some of Jotham's other acts are recorded in the canonical book of Chronicles, 2Ch 27:1.

Gill: 2Ki 15:37

In those days,.... At the end of the days of Jotham, or after his death, things might be in design, and preparations made before, but nothing of what follows came to pass in his life, but in the times of his son:

the Lord began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah: to make war with them as a scourge to Ahaz for his sins; of which is in the following chapter.

Gill: 2Ki 15:38

And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father,.... Died, and was buried with the kings of Judah in their sepulchres:

and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead; an account of whose reign we have in the next chapter.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Ki 15:19

¹ sn Pul was a nickname of Tiglath-pileser III (cf. 15:29). See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 171-72.

² tn Heb “gave.”

³ tn Heb “Pul.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁴ tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 75,000 pounds of silver (cf. NCV “about seventy-four thousand pounds”); NLT “thirty-seven tons”; CEV “over thirty tons”; TEV “34,000 kilogrammes.”

⁵ tn Heb “so his hands would be with him.”

⁶ tn Heb “to keep hold of the kingdom in his hand.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 15:20

¹ tn Heb “and Menahem brought out the silver over Israel, over the prominent men of means, to give to the king of Assyria, fifty shekels of silver for each man.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 15:21

¹ tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Menahem, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”

NET Notes: 2Ki 15:22

¹ tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 15:23

¹ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

NET Notes: 2Ki 15:24

¹ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

² tn Heb “turn away from.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 15:25

¹ tn Heb “and he struck him down in Samaria in the fortress of the house of the king, Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men from the sons of the Gileadites, and they killed him.”

sn The precise identity of Argob and Arieh, as well as their relationship to the king, are uncertain. The usual assumption is that they were officials assassinated along with Pekahiah, or that they were two of the more prominent Gileadites involved in the revolt. For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 173.

NET Notes: 2Ki 15:26

¹ tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Pekahiah, and all which he did, look, they are written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 15:27

¹ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

NET Notes: 2Ki 15:28

¹ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

² tn Heb “turn away from.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 15:29

¹ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.

² tn Heb “them.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 15:30

¹ tn Heb “and struck him down and killed him.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 15:31

¹ tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Pekah, and all which he did, look, they are written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 15:33

¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

NET Notes: 2Ki 15:34

¹ tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord, according to all which Uzziah his father had done.”

NET Notes: 2Ki 15:36

¹ tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jotham, and that which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”

NET Notes: 2Ki 15:37

¹ tn Heb “the Lord began to send against Judah Rezin…and Pekahiah….”

NET Notes: 2Ki 15:38

¹ tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 15:19

[And] Pul the king of Assyria came against the ^{( g )} land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand ^{( h )} talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.

^{( g )} That is, of Israel.

^{( h )} Instead of seeking help from God, he went about by money to purchase the favour of this king being an infidel and therefore God forsook him, and Pul soon afterward broke his promises, destroyed his country and led his people away captive.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 15:25

But Pekah the son of Remaliah, a captain of his, conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the king's house, with ^{( i )} Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men of the Gileadites: and he killed him, and reigned in his room.

^{( i )} Which were of the same conspiracy.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 15:29

In the days of Pekah king of Israel ^{( k )} came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.

^{( k )} For God stirred up Pul and Tiglathpileser against Israel for their sins, (1Ch 5:26).

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 15:34

And he did [that which was] right in the sight of the LORD: he did according ^{( l )} to all that his father Uzziah had done.

^{( l )} He shows that his uprightness was not such, but that he had many great faults.

Geneva Bible: 2Ki 15:37

In ^{( m )} those days the LORD began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and ^{( n )} Pekah the son of Remaliah.

^{( m )} After the death of Jotham.

^{( n )} Who in one day slew 120,000 of Judah's fighting men (2Ch 28:6), because they had forsaken the true God.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 2Ki 15:1-38

1 Azariah's good reign.

5 He dying a leper, Jotham succeeds.

8 Zachariah the last of Jehu's generation, reigning ill, is slain by Shallum.

13 Shallum, reigning a month, is slain by Menahem.

16 Menahem strengthens himself by Pul.

21 Pekahiah succeeds him.

23 Pekahiah is slain by Pekah.

27 Pekah is oppressed by Tiglath-pileser, and slain by Hoshea.

32 Jotham's good reign.

36 Ahaz succeeds him.

MHCC: 2Ki 15:8-31

This history shows Israel in confusion. Though Judah was not without troubles, yet that kingdom was happy, compared with the state of Israel. The imperfections of true believers are very different from the allowed wickedness of ungodly men. Such is human nature, such are our hearts, if left to themselves, deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. We have reason to be thankful for restraints, for being kept out of temptation, and should beg of God to renew a right spirit within us.

MHCC: 2Ki 15:32-38

Jotham showed great respect to the temple. If magistrates cannot do all they would, for the suppressing of vice and profaneness, let them do the more to support and advance piety and virtue.

Matthew Henry: 2Ki 15:8-31

The best days of the kingdom of Israel were while the government was in Jehu's family. In his reign, and the next three reigns, though there were many abominable corruptions and miserable grievances in Israel, yet the crown went in succession, the kings died in their beds, and some care was taken of public affairs; but, now that those days are at an end, the history which we have in these verses of about thirty-three years represents the affairs of that kingdom in the utmost confusion imaginable. Woe to those that were with child (2Ki 15:16) and to those that gave suck in those days, for then must needs be great tribulations, when, for the transgression of the land, many were the princes thereof.

I. Let us observe something, in general, concerning these unhappy revolutions and the calamities which must needs attend them - these bad times, as they may truly be called. 1. God had tried the people of Israel both with judgments and mercies, explained and enforced by his servants the prophets, and yet they continued impenitent and unreformed, and therefore God justly brought these miseries upon them, as Moses had warned them. If you will yet walk contrary to me, I will punish you yet seven times more, Lev 26:21, etc. 2. God made good his promise to Jehu, that his sons to the fourth generation after him should sit upon the throne of Israel, which was a greater favour than was shown to any of the royal families either before or after his. God had said it should be so (2Ki 10:30) and we are told in this chapter (2Ki 15:12) that so it came to pass. See how punctual God is to his promises. These calamities God long designed for Israel, and they deserved them, yet they were not inflicted till that word had taken effect to the full. Thus God rewarded Jehu for his zeal in destroying the worship of Baal and the house of Ahab; and yet, when the measure of the sins of the house of Jehu was full, God avenged upon it the blood then shed, called the blood of Jezreel, Hos 1:4. 3. All these kings did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, for they walked in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Though at variance with one another, yet in this they agreed, to keep up idolatry, and the people loved to have it so; though they were emptied from vessel to vessel, that taste remained in them, and that scent was not changed. It was sad indeed when their government was so often altered, yet never for the better - that among all those contending interests none of them should think it as much their interest to destroy the calves as others had done to support them. 4. Each of these (except one) conspired against his predecessor, and slew him - Shallum, Menahem, Pekah, and Hoshea, all traitors and murderers, and yet all kings awhile, one of them ten, another twenty, and another nine years; for God may suffer wickedness to prosper and to carry away the wealth and honours awhile, but, sooner or later, blood shall have blood, and he that dealt treacherously shalt be dealt treacherously with. One wicked man is often made a scourge to another, and every wicked man, at length, a ruin to himself. 5. The ambition of the great men made the nation miserable. Here is Tiphsah, a city of Israel, barbarously destroyed, with all the coasts thereof, by one of these pretenders (2Ki 15:16), and no doubt it was through blood that each of them waded to the throne, nor could any of these kings perish alone. No land can have greater pests, nor Israel worse troubles, than such men as care not how much the welfare and repose of their country are sacrificed to their revenge and affectation of dominion. 6. While the nation was thus shattered by divisions at home the kings of Assyria, first one (2Ki 15:19) and then another (2Ki 15:29), came against it and did what they pleased. Nothing does more towards the making of a nation an easy prey to a common enemy than intestine broils and contests for the sovereignty. Happy the land where that is settled. 7. This was the condition of Israel just before they were quite ruined and carried away captive, for that was in the ninth year of Hoshea, the last of these usurpers. If they had, in these days of confusion and perplexity, humbled themselves before God and sought his face, that final destruction might have been prevented; but when God judgeth he will overcome. These factions, the fruit of an evil spirit sent among them, hastened that captivity, for a kingdom thus divided against itself will soon come to desolation.

II. Let us take a short view of the particular reigns.

1. Zachariah, the son of Jeroboam, began to reign in the thirty-eighth year of Azariah, or Uzziah, king of Judah, 2Ki 15:8. Some of the most critical chronologers reckon that between Jeroboam and his son Zachariah the throne was vacant twenty-two years, others eleven years, through the disturbances and dissensions that were in the kingdom; and then it was not strange that Zachariah was deposed before he was well seated on the throne: he reigned but six months, and then Shallum slew him before the people, perhaps as Caesar was slain in the senate, or he put him to death publicly as a criminal, with the approbation of the people, to whom he had, some way or other, made himself odious; so ended the line of Jehu.

2. But had Shallum peace, who slew his master? No, he had not (2Ki 15:13), one month of days measured his reign and then he was cut off; perhaps to this the prophet, who then lived, refers (Hos 5:7), Now shall a month devour them with their portions. That dominion seldom lasts long which is founded in blood and falsehood. Menahem, either provoked by his crime or animated by his example, soon served him as he had served his master - slew him and reigned in his stead, 2Ki 15:14. Probably he was general in the army, which then lay encamped at Tirzah, and, hearing of Shallum's treason and usurpation, hastened to punish it, as Omri did that of Zimri in a like case, 1Ki 16:17.

3. Menahem held the kingdom ten years, 2Ki 15:17. But, whereas we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel were merciful kings (1Ki 20:31), this Menahem (the scandal of his country) was so prodigiously cruel to those of his own nation who hesitated a little at submitting to him that he not only ruined a city, and the coasts thereof, but, forgetting that he himself was born of a woman, ripped up all the women with child, 2Ki 15:16. We may well wonder that ever it should enter into the heart of any man to be so barbarous, and to be so perfectly lost to humanity itself. By these cruel methods he hoped to strengthen himself and to frighten all others into his interests; but it seems he did not gain his point, for when the king of Assyria came against him, (1.) So little confidence had he in his people that he durst not meet him as an enemy, but was obliged, at a vast expense, to purchase a peace with him. (2.) Such need had he of help to confirm the kingdom in his hand that he made it part of his bargain with him (a bargain which, no doubt, the king of Assyria knew how to make a good hand of another time) that he should assist him against his own subjects that were disaffected to him. The money wherewith he purchased his friendship was a vast sum, no less than 1000 talents of silver (2Ki 15:19), which Menahem exacted, it is probable, by military execution, of all the mighty men of wealth, very considerately sparing the poor, and laying the burden (as was fit) on those that were best able to bear it; being raised, it was given to the king of Assyria, as pay for his army, fifty shekels of silver for each man in it. Thus he got clear of the king of Assyria for this time; he staid not to quarter in the land (2Ki 15:20), but his army now got so rich a booty with so little trouble that it encouraged them to come again, not long after, when they laid all waste. Thus was he the betrayer of his country that should have been the protector of it.

4. Pekahiah, the son of Menahem, succeeded his father, but reigned only two years, and then was treacherously slain by Pekah, falling under the load both of his own and of his father's wickedness. It is repeated concerning him as before that he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam. Still this is mentioned, to show that God was righteous in bringing that destruction upon them which came not long after, because they hated to be reformed, 2Ki 15:24. Pekah, it seems, had some persons of figure in his interest, two of whom are here named (2Ki 15:25), and with their help he compassed his design.

5. Pekah, though he got the kingdom by treason, kept it twenty years (2Ki 15:27), so long it was before his violent dealing returned upon his own head, but it returned at last. This Pekah, son of Remaliah, (1.) Made himself more considerable abroad than any of these usurpers, for he was, even in the latter end of his time (in the reign of Ahaz, which began in his seventeenth year), a great terror to the kingdom of Judah, as we find, Isa 7:1, etc. (2.) He lost a great part of his kingdom to the king of Assyria. Several cities are here named (2Ki 15:29) which were taken from him, all the land of Gilead on the other side Jordan, and Galilee in the north containing the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulon, were seized, and the inhabitants carried captive into Assyria. By this judgment God punished him for his attempt upon Judah and Jerusalem. It was then foretold that within two or three years after he made that attempt, before a child, then born, should be able to cry My father and my mother, the riches of Samaria should be taken away before the king of Assyria (Isa 8:4), and here we have the accomplishment of that prediction. (3.) Soon after this he forfeited his life to the resentments of his countrymen, who, it is probable, were disgusted at him for leaving them exposed to a foreign enemy, while he was invading Judah, of which Hoshea took advantage and, to gain his crown, seized his life, slew him, and reigned in his stead. Surely he was fond of a crown indeed who, at this time, would run such a hazard as a traitor did; for the crown of Israel, now that it had lost the choicest of its flowers and jewels, was lined more than ever with thorns, had of late been fatal to all the heads that had worn it, was forfeited to divine justice, and now ready to be laid in the dust - a crown which a wise man would not have taken up in the street, yet Hoshea not only ventured upon it but ventured for it, and it cost him dear.

Matthew Henry: 2Ki 15:32-38

We have here a short account of the reign of Jotham king of Judah, of whom we are told, 1. That he reigned very well, did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, 2Ki 15:34. Josephus gives him a very high character, stating that he was pious towards God, just towards men, and laid out himself for the public good, - that, whatever was amiss, he took care to have it rectified, - and, in short, wanted no virtue that became a good prince. Though the high places were not taken away, yet to draw people from them, and keep them close to God's holy place, he showed great respect to the temple, and built the higher gate which he went through to the temple. If magistrates cannot do all they would for the suppressing of vice and profaneness, let them do so much the more for the support and advancement of piety and virtue, and the bringing of them into reputation. If they cannot pull down the high places of sin, yet let them build and beautify the high gate of God's house. 2. That he died in the midst of his days, 2Ki 15:33. Of most of the kings of Judah we are told how old they were when they began their reign, and by that may compute how old they were when they died; but no account is kept of the age of any of the kings of Israel that I remember, only of the years of their reigns. This honour God would put upon the kings of the house of David above those of other families. And by these accounts it appears that there was none of all the kings of Judah that reached David's age, seventy, the common age of man. Asa's age I do not find. Uzziah lived to be sixty-eight, Manasseh sixty-seven, and Jehoshaphat sixty; and these were the three oldest; many of those that were of note did not reach fifty. This Jotham died at forty-one. He was too great a blessing to be continued long to such an unworthy people. His death was a judgment, especially considering the character of his son and successor. 3. That in his days the confederacy was formed against Judah by Rezin and Remaliah's son, the king of Syria and the king of Israel, which appeared so very formidable in the beginning of the reign of Ahaz that, upon notice of it, the heart of that prince was moved and the heart of the people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind, Isa 7:2. The confederates were unjust in the attempt, yet it is here said (2Ki 15:37), The Lord began to send them against Judah, as he bade Shimei curse David, and took away from Job what the Sabeans robbed him of. Men are God's hand - the sword, the rod in his hand - which he makes use of as he pleases to serve his own righteous counsels, though men be unrighteous in their intentions. This storm gathered in the reign of pious Jotham, but he came to his grave in peace and it fell upon his degenerate son.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 15:19

In the time of Menahem, Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave him 1000 talents of silver - more than two and a half millions of thalers (£375,000) - "that his hands might be with him, to confirm the kingdom in his hand."These words are understood by the majority of commentators from the time of Ephraem Syrus, when taken in connection with Hos 5:13, as signifying that Menahem invited Pul, that he might establish his government with his assistance. But the words of Hosea, "Ephraim goes to the Assyrian,"sc. to seek for help (2Ki 5:13, cf. 2Ki 7:11 and 2Ki 8:9), are far too general to be taken as referring specially to Menahem; and the assumption that Menahem invited Pul into the land is opposed by the words in the verse before us, "Pul came over the land." Even the further statement that Menahem gave to Pul 1000 talents of silver when he came into the land, that he might help him to establish his government, presupposes at the most that a party opposed to Menahem had invited the Assyrians, to overthrow the usurper. At any rate, we may imagine, in perfect harmony with the words of our account, that Pul marched against Israel of his own accord, possibly induced to do so by Menahem's expedition against Thapsacus, and that his coming was simply turned to account as a good opportunity for disputing Menahem's possession of the throne he had usurped, so that Menahem, by paying the tribute mentioned, persuaded the Assyrian to withdraw, that he might deprive the opposing party of the Assyrian support, and thereby establish his own rule.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 15:20-22

To collect the requisite amount, Menahem imposed upon all persons of property a tax of fifty shekels each. יצא with על , he caused to arise, i.e., made a collection. הציא in a causative sense, from יצא , to arise, to be paid (2Ki 12:13). חיל גּבּורי : not warriors, but men of property, as in Ruth. 2Ki 2:1; 1Sa 9:1. אחד לאישׁ , for the individual. Pul was the first king of Assyria who invaded the kingdom of Israel and prepared the way for the conquest of this kingdom by his successors, and for the extension of the Assyrian power as far as Egypt. According to the thorough investigation made by Marc. v. Niebuhr ( Gesch. Assurs u. Babels, pp. 128ff.), Pul, whose name has not yet been discovered upon the Assyrian monuments, was the last king of Nineveh of the family of the Derketades, who still ruled over Babylon according to Berosus, and the last king but one of this dynasty.

(Note: It is true that some trace of his expedition has been found in the monuments, since an inscription has been deciphered with tolerable certainty, stating that king Minikhimmi of Samirina (Menahem of Shomron or Samaria) paid tribute to an Assyrian king. But the name of this Assyrian king is not determined with certainty, as Rawlinson, and Oppert read it Tiglat-palassar , and suppose Tiglath-pileser to be intended; whereas M. v. Niebuhr (p. 132, note 1) imagines it to be the full name of Pul, since no Assyrian king ever had a name of one syllable like Pul as his official name, and even before that Hincks had detected in the name Minikhimmi the king Menahem who had to purchase the friendship of the Assyrian ruler Pul with 1000 talents of silver. (Comp. J. Brandis, uber d. histor. Gewinn aus der Entzifferung der assyr. Inschriften, Berl. 1856, p. 50.))

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 15:23-26

Reign of Pekahiah. - Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign "in the fiftieth year of Uzziah."As Menahem had begun to reign in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah and reigned ten years, he must have died in the forty-ninth year of Uzziah; and therefore, if his son did not become king till the fiftieth year, some months must have elapsed between the death of Menahem and Pekahiah's ascent of the throne, probably cause, in the existing disorganization of the kingdom, the possession of the throne by the latter was opposed. Pekahiah reigned in the spirit of his predecessors, but only for two years, as his aide-de-camp ( שׁלישׁ , see at 2Sa 23:8) Pekah conspired against him and slew him in the citadel ( ארמון , see at 1Ki 16:8) of the king's palace, with Argob and Aryeh. Argob and Aryeh were not fellow-conspirators of Pekah, who helped to slay the king, but principes Pekachijae , as Seb. Schmidt expresses it, probably aides-de-camp of Pekahiah, who were slain by the conspirators when defending their king. We must take the words in this sense on account of what follows: וגו חמשּׁים ועמּו , "and with him (Pekah) were fifty men of the Gileadites"(i.e., they helped him). The Gileadites probably belonged to the king's body-guard, and were under the command of the aides-de-camp of Pekah.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 15:27-29

Reign of Pekah. - Pekah the son of Remaliah reigned twenty years.

(Note: As this is apparently at variance not only with 2Ki 15:30, according to which Pekah was slain in the twentieth year of Jotham, i.e., in the fourth year of Ahaz, abut also with 2Ki 17:1, according to which Hosea the murderer of Pekah became king in the twelfth year of Ahaz and reigned nine years, Ewald has added ותשׁע after עשׂרים without any hesitation, and lengthened Pekah's reign to twenty-nine years, whereas Thenius proposes to alter twenty into thirty. But we do not thereby obtain an actual agreement either with 2Ki 15:30 or with 2Ki 17:1, so that in both these passages Thenius is obliged to make further alterations in the text. For instance, if Pekah had reigned for thirty years from the fifty-second or closing year of Uzziah's reign, Hosea would have ascended the throne in the fourteenth year of Ahaz, supposing that he really became king immediately after the murder of Pekah, and not in the twelfth, as is stated in 2Ki 17:1. It is only with a reign of twenty-eight years and a few months (one year of Uzziah, sixteen of Jotham, and eleven of Ahaz), which might be called twenty-nine years, that the commencement of Hosea's reign could fall in the twelfth year of Ahaz. But the discrepancy with 2Ki 15:30, that Hosea conspired against Pekah and slew him in the twentieth year of Jotham, is not removed thereby. For further remarks see at 2Ki 15:30 and 2Ki 17:1.)

During his reign the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser came, and after conquering the fortified cities round Lake Merom took possession of Gilead and Galilee, namely the whole land of Naphtali, and led the inhabitants captive to Assyria. Tiglath-pileser ( פּלאסר תּגלת or פּלסר תּגלת , 2Ki 16:7; פּלנאסר or פּלנסר תּלגת פּלנסר , 1Ch 5:26, and 2Ch 28:20; Θεγλαθφαλασάρ or Θαλγαθφελλασάρ , lxx; written Tiglat-palatsira or Tiglat-palatsar on the Assyrian monuments, and interpreted by Gesenius and others "ruler of the Tigris,"although the reading of the name upon the monuments is still uncertain, and the explanation given a very uncertain one, since Tiglat or Tilgat is hardly identical with Diglath = Tigris, but is probably a name of the goddess Derketo , Atergatis ), was, according to M. v. Niebuhr (pp. 156, 157), the last king of the Derketade dynasty, who, when the Medes and Babylonians threw off the Assyrian supremacy after the death of Pul, attempted to restore and extend the ancient dominion.

(Note: M. Duncker ( Gesch. des Alterthums, i. pp. 658, 659) also assumes that the dynasty changed with the overthrow of the Derketades, but he places it considerably earlier, about the year 900 or 950 b.c., because on the one hand Niebuhr's reasons for his view cannot be sustained, and on the other hand there are distinct indications that the change in the reigning family must have taken place about this time: viz., 1. in the ruins of the southern city of Nineveh, at Kalah, where we find the remains of the palace of two rulers, who sat upon the throne of Assyria between the years 900 and 830, whereas the castles of Ninos and his descendants must undoubtedly have stood in the northern city, in Nineveh; 2. in the circumstance that from the time mentioned the Assyrian kingdom advanced with fresh warlike strength and in a fresh direction, which would agree with the change in the dynasty.- Which of these two assumptions is the correct one, cannot yet be decided in the present state of the researches on this subject.)

His expedition against Israel falls, according to 2Ki 15:29 and 2Ki 16:9, in the closing years of Pekah, when Ahaz had come to the throne in Judah. The enumeration of his conquests in the kingdom of Israel commences with the most important cities, probably the leading fortifications. Then follow the districts of which he took possession, and the inhabitants of which he led into captivity. The cities mentioned are Ijon, probably the present Ayun on the north-eastern edge of the Merj Ayun; Abel-beth-maacah, the present Abil el Kamh, on the north-west of Lake Huleh (see at 1Ki 15:20); Janoach, which must not be confounded with the Janocha mentioned in Jos 16:6-7, on the border of Ephraim and Manasseh, but is to be sought for in Galilee or the tribe-territory of Naphtali, and has not yet been discovered; Kedesh, on the mountains to the west of Lake Huleh, which has been preserved as an insignificant village under the ancient name (see at Jos 12:22); Hazor, in the same region, but not yet traced with certainty (see at Jos 11:1). Gilead is the whole of the land to the east of the Jordan, the territory of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half-Manasseh (1Ch 5:26), which had only been wrested from the Syrians again a short time before by Jeroboam II, and restored to Israel (2Ki 14:25). הגּלילה (the feminine form of הגּליל , see Ewald, §173, h .) is more precisely defined by the apposition "all the land of Naphtali"(see at 1Ki 9:11). - In the place of אשּׁוּרה , "to the land of Assyria,"the different regions to which the captives were transported are given in 1Ch 5:26. For further remarks on this point see at 2Ki 17:6.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 15:30-31

Pekah met with his death in a conspiracy organized by Hosea the son of Elah, who made himself king "in the twentieth year of Jotham."There is something very strange in this chronological datum, as Jotham only reigned sixteen years (2Ki 15:33), and Ahaz began to reign in the seventeenth year of Pekah (2Ki 16:1); so that Pekah's death would fall in the fourth year of Ahaz. The reason for this striking statement can only be found, as Usher has shown (Chronol. sacr. p. 80), in the fact that nothing has yet been said about Jotham's successor Ahaz, because the reign of Jotham himself is not mentioned till 2Ki 15:32.

(Note: Other attempts to solve this difficulty are either arbitrary and precarious, e.g., the conjectures of the earlier chronologists quoted by Winer ( R. W. s. v. Jotham ), or forced, like the notion of Vaihinger in Herzog's Cycl . (art. Jotham ), that the words בן־עזיה ליותם are to be eliminated as an interpolation, in which case the datum "in the twentieth year"becomes perfectly enigmatical; and again the assertion of Hitzig ( Comm. z. Jesaj . pp. 72, 73), that instead of in the twentieth year of Jotham, we should read "in the twentieth year of Ahaz the son of Jotham,"which could only be consistently carried out by altering the text of not less than seven passages (viz., 2Ki 15:33; 2Ki 16:1, and 2Ki 16:2, 2Ki 16:17; 2Ch 27:1 and 2Ch 27:8, and 2Ch 28:1); and lastly, the assumption of Thenius, that the words from בשׁנת to עזיה have crept into the text through a double mistake of the copyist and an arbitrary alteration of what had been thus falsely written, which is much too complicated to appear at all credible, even if the reasons which are supposed to render it probable had been more forcible and correct than they really are. For the first reason, viz., that the statement in what year of the contemporaneous ruler a king came to the throne is always first given when the history of this king commences, is disproved by 2Ki 1:17; the second, that the name of the king by the year of whose reign the accession of another is defined is invariably introduced with the epithet king of Judah or king of Israel, is shown by 2Ki 12:2 and 2Ki 16:1 to be not in accordance with fact; and the third, that this very king is never described by the introduction of his father's name, as he is here, except where the intention is to prevent misunderstanding, as in 2Ki 14:1, 2Ki 14:23, or in the case of usurpers without ancestors (2Ki 15:32, 2Ki 16:1 and 2Ki 16:15), is also incorrect in its first portion, for in the case of Amaziah in 2Ki 14:23 there was no misunderstanding to prevent, and even in the case of Joash in 2Ki 14:1 the epithet king of Israel would have been quite sufficient to guard against any misunderstanding.)

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 15:32-36

Reign of Jotham of Judah (cf. 2Ch 27:1-9). - 2Ki 15:32. "In the second year of Pekah Jotham began to reign."This agrees with the statement in 2Ki 15:27, that Pekah became king in the last year of Uzziah, supposing that it occurred at the commencement of the year. Jotham's sixteen years therefore came to a close in the seventeenth year of Pekah's reign (2Ki 16:1). His reign was like that of his father Uzziah (compare 2Ki 15:34, 2Ki 15:35 with 2Ki 15:3, 2Ki 15:4), except, as is added in Chr. 2Ki 15:2, that he did not force himself into the temple of the Lord, as Uzziah had done (2Ch 26:16). All that is mentioned of his enterprises in the account before us is that he built the upper gate of the house of Jehovah, that is to say, that he restored it, or perhaps added to its beauty. The upper gate, according to Eze 9:2 compared with 2Ki 8:3, 2Ki 8:5,2Ki 8:14 and 2Ki 8:16, is the gate at the north side of the inner or upper court, where all the sacrifices were slaughtered, according to Eze 40:38-43. We also find from 2Ch 27:3. that he built against the wall of Ophel, and several cities in the mountains of Judah, and castles and towers in the forests, and subdued the Ammonites, so that they paid him tribute for three years. Jotham carried on with great vigour, therefore, the work which his father had began, to increase the material prosperity of his subjects.

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Ki 15:37-38

In those days the Lord began to send against Judah Rezin, etc. It is evident from the position of this verse at the close of the account of Jotham, that the incursions of the allied Syrians and Israelites into Judah under the command of Rezin and Pekah commenced in the closing years of Jotham, so that these foes appeared before Jerusalem at the very beginning of the reign of Ahaz. - It is true that the Syrians had been subjugated by Jeroboam II (2Ki 14:28); but in the anarchical condition of the Israelitish kingdom after his death, they had no doubt recovered their independence. They must also have been overcome by the Assyrians under Pul, for he could never have marched against Israel without having first of all conquered Syria. But as the power of the Assyrians was greatly weakened for a time by the falling away of the Medes and Babylonians, the Syrians had taken advantage of this weakness to refuse the payment of tribute to Assyria, and had formed an alliance with Pekah of Israel to conquer Judah, and thereby to strengthen their power so as to be able to offer a successful resistance to any attack from the side of the Euphrates. - But as 2Ki 16:6. and 2 Kings 17 show, it was otherwise decreed in the counsels of the Lord.

Constable: 2Ki 9:30--18:1

C. The Second Period of Antagonism 9:30-17:41

The kingdoms of Israel and Judah continued without an alliance between them for the rest of the time the Northern Kingdom existed. This period began with Jehu's accession to the throne in 841 B.C. and continued until the Assyrian captivity of the Northern Kingdom in 722 B.C.

Constable: 2Ki 15:17-22

11. Menahem's evil reign in Israel 15:17-22

Menahem began Israel's seventh royal family. His reign lasted 10 years (752-742 B.C.).

Assyrian inscriptions have identified Pul as Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 B.C.; cf. v. 29; 16:7, 10; 1 Chron. 5:26). Pul was the throne name that Tiglath-Pileser III took as Babylon's sovereign after he conquered that nation about 729 B.C.⁹⁶ This is the first explicit mention of Assyria in Kings. Tiglath-Pileser was a very strong Assyrian ruler. He invaded Israel in 743 B.C. and consequently Israel fell under Assyria's control.

Because of Israel's apostasy God delivered her over to the clutches of a foreign power that would one day swallow her up (cf. Deut. 28:32-33).

Constable: 2Ki 15:23-26

12. Pekahiah's evil reign in Israel 15:23-26

In 742 B.C. Pekahiah began his two-year reign (742-740 B.C.). It ended when Pekah, one of his military officers, assassinated him in Samaria along with Argob and Arieh, who were probably Israelite princes (v. 25).

Constable: 2Ki 15:27-31

13. Pekah's evil reign in Israel 15:27-31

Though the writer did not clarify this point, it seems that Pekah had been ruling over Israel in Gilead since 752 B.C., the year Menahem assassinated Shallum. This must be the case in view of the writer's chronological references.⁹⁷ He wrote that in the fifty-second year of Azariah Pekah became king over Israel in Samaria. Apparently Pekah never accepted Menahem's claim to Israel's throne and set up a rival government on the east side of the Jordan River in Gilead. In 740 B.C. he assassinated Pekahiah in Samaria, moved there, and reigned until 732 B.C.

Part of Pekah's reason for opposing Menahem seems to have been a difference in foreign policy. Menahem was willing to submit to Assyrian control (vv. 19-20). Pekah evidently favored a harder line of resistance since he made a treaty with Rezin, the king of Damascus, against Assyria. This resulted in Tiglath-Pileser invading Israel along with Philistia and Aram in 734-732 B.C. (2 Chron. 28:5-8). He captured much of Israel's territory (v. 29) and deported many Israelites to Assyria about 733 B.C.

"This was to be the beginning of the elimination of Israel as an independent state."⁹⁸

Israel's defeat encouraged Hoshea to assassinate Pekah and succeed him in 732 B.C. Tiglath-Pileser claimed to have had a hand in setting Hoshea on Israel's throne.⁹⁹ Obviously Assyria was in control of affairs in Israel at this time.

Constable: 2Ki 15:32-38

14. Jotham's good reign in Judah 15:32-38

Jotham's 16 year reign over Judah (750-735 B.C.) began while Pekah was in power in Gilead. He shared the last four of these years with his coregent son Ahaz.

Jotham added the upper gate of the temple (v. 35), an opening between the outer and inner courts on the north side of the temple near the altar of burnt offerings.¹⁰⁰ This shows his concern for Yahweh's reputation in Judah (cf. 2 Chron. 27:3-6).

The Syro-Ephraimitic alliance, to which the writer referred briefly in verse 37, features significantly in 16:5-8 and Isaiah 7:1-17. Judah's neighbors to the north and east were eager to secure Judah's help in combatting the growing Assyrian threat. They turned against Judah because Judah did not join them (v. 37). The reasons for this will follow in the discussion of Ahaz, Judah's king (ch. 16).¹⁰¹

Guzik: 2Ki 15:1-38

2 Kings 15 - Unstable Monarchy in Israel

A. The reign of Azariah (Uzziah) over Judah

1. (1-4) A summary of his reign.

In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah, king of Judah, became king. He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done, except that the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

a. He did what was right in the sight of the LORD: The reign of Azariah (also called Uzziah in 2 Kings 15:13 and many other places in 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Isaiah) was largely characterized by the good he did in the sight of the LORD. His godliness was rewarded with a long reign of 52 years.

i. Azariah came to the throne in a difficult era: "Following the tragic events that brought King Amaziah's reign to an end, Jerusalem was in disarray, a major section of its protective wall destroyed, its temple and palace emptied of their treasures, and some of its inhabitants taken away to Israel as hostages." (Dilday)

ii. 2 Chronicles 26 tells us much more about the successful reign of Uzziah (Azariah):

· He began his reign when he was only 16 years old (26:3).

· He reigned during the ministry of Zechariah the prophet (26:5).

· He defeated the Philistines and took many of their cities, and also kept the Ammonites in tribute (26:6-8).

· He was internationally famous as a strong king (26:8).

· He was an ambitious builder and skilled in agriculture (26:9-10). "He probably gave special attention to the tillage of the soil because of the prophecies of Hosea and Amos concerning the scarcity about to come. (See Hosea 2:9; 4:3; 9:2; Amos 1:2; 4:6-9; 5:16-19)." (Knapp)

· He built up and organized the army, introducing several new items of military technology (26:11-15).

iii. Knapp suggests that Azariah became king in an unusual manner: "He seems to have come by the throne, not in the way of ordinary succession, but by the direct choice of the people. The princes had been destroyed by the Syrians toward the close of his grandfather Joash's reign (2 Chronicles 24:23, leaving the people a free hand."

b. Except that the high places were not removed: As with Jehoash (2 Kings 12:3) and Amaziah (2 Kings 14:4), the reforms of Azariah did not reach so far as to remove these traditional places of sacrifice to the LORD.

i. "The apparent compromise is indicative of a basic spiritual shallowness that was to surface in the prophecies of the great writing prophets of the eighth century B.C." (Patterson and Austel)

ii. "This, if it did not loose, yet it lessened his crown of glory." (Trapp)

2. (5-7) The sad end of his reign.

Then the LORD struck the king, so that he was a leper until the day of his death; so he dwelt in an isolated house. And Jotham the king's son was over the royal house, judging the people of the land. Now the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? So Azariah rested with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the City of David. Then Jotham his son reigned in his place.

a. The LORD struck the king, so that he was a leper until the day of his death: 2 Chronicles 26 also tells us of the downfall of Azariah, who was marvelously helped till he became strong (2 Chronicles 26:15). The Chronicler goes on: But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense (2 Chronicles 26:16). The priests tried to stop him, but the King insisted on forcing his way into the temple to offer incense.

i. Azariah violated what had become a general principle in God's dealing with Israel: that no king should also be a priest, and that the offices of prophet, priest, and king should not be combined in one man - until the Messiah, who fulfilled all three offices.

ii. "His great power fostered such pride and haughtiness that about 750 B.C. he sought to add to his vast power by usurping the prerogatives of the sacred priesthood." (Patterson and Austel)

b. He dwelt in an isolated house: Azariah came into the temple as an arrogant king, and he left - indeed, he hurried to get out, because the Lord had struck him (2 Chronicles 26:20) - he left as a humbled leper.

i. "It was a fearful stroke from God. Death was the actual penalty enjoined by the law fro his crime (Numbers 18:7), and leprosy was really that - a living death, prolonged and intensified." (Knapp)

c. So Azariah rested with his fathers: The death of Azariah (again, also known as Uzziah) also contributed to the call of the Prophet Isaiah: In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne (Isaiah 6:1).

i. Considering the reign of Azariah:

· He began his reign at only 16 years of age.

· He reigned for 52 years.

· Overall, he was a good and strong king who led Israel to many military victories and who was an energetic builder and planner.

· Despite all this, Azariah had a tragic end.

ii. Therefore, when Isaiah wrote that he was called in the year King Uzziah died, he said a lot. It is to say, "In the year a great and wise king died." But it is also to say, "In the year a great and wise king who had a tragic end died." Isaiah had great reason to be discouraged and disillusioned at the death of King Uzziah, because a great king had passed away, and because his life ended tragically. Yet despite it all, he saw the enthroned LORD God who was greater than any earthly king.

B. Five kings over the Kingdom of Israel.

This section of 2 Kings 15 begins the story of five kings over Israel. "This chapter anticipates the final overthrow of this kingdom of the tribes. It describes the corruption and disorganization that made them the easy prey of Assyria." (Meyer)

1. (8-12) The short, evil reign of Zechariah.

In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. Then Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and struck and killed him in front of the people; and he reigned in his place. Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. This was the word of the LORD which He spoke to Jehu, saying, "Your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation." And so it was.

a. Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months: The reign of Zechariah was both short and wicked, and he continued in the state-sponsored idolatry begun by Jeroboam.

i. "There appears to be (from a comparison of dates) a period unaccounted for, of about eleven years, between Jeroboam's death and the beginning of his son Zechariah's reign. . . . Anarchy probably prevailed during the above-noted interregnum." (Knapp)

b. Then Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and struck and killed him in front of the people: Zechariah was so despised by his own people that Shallum was able to do this. This was the end of the dynasty of Jehu, which began with such potential but ended (as God has foretold) in great darkness.

i. "God keepeth promise with his foes: shall he fail his friends?" (Trapp)

ii. "The death of this last king of the dynasty of Jehu saw the end of the Northern Kingdom proper. In the last twenty years six rulers were to follow each other, but only one was die naturally. Anarchy, rivalry and regicide led to terminal bloodshed which fulfilled Hosea's prophecies (Hosea 1:4)." (Wiseman)

iii. "Within the next forty-three years half a dozen "pseudo-kings" would reign in rapid succession, on murderer replacing another on the throne, as the nation tottered on the brink of anarchy." (Dilday)

2. (13-16) The even briefer reign of Shallum.

Shallum the son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria. For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, came to Samaria, and struck Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria and killed him; and he reigned in his place. Now the rest of the acts of Shallum, and the conspiracy which he led, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. Then from Tirzah, Menahem attacked Tiphsah, all who were there, and its territory. Because they did not surrender, therefore he attacked it. All the women there who were with child he ripped open.

a. Shallum . . . he reigned a full month: The dynasty of Jehu lasted four generations; the dynasty of Shallum lasted four weeks.

i. "The great prosperity and expansion under Jeroboam II appears to have corrupted the people and caused them to give free reign to their evil desires and violence. Those in authority, instead of checking this spirit of lawlessness, found pleasure in it. 'They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies' (Hosea 7:3)." (Knapp)

b. Now the rest of the acts of Shallum: The writer of 2 Kings has no moral comment to make on the brief reign of Shallum. Perhaps he did not reign long enough to show himself either good or bad. Certainly, the violence that marked both his rise to and fall from power shows that he did not reign with the blessing of God.

i. "Israel was now practically under a military despotism, downtrodden and oppressed, and yet sinning still with a high hand against God." (Morgan)

c. Menham attacked Tiphsah . . . Because they did not surrender, therefore he attacked it. All the women there who were with child he ripped open: This act of horrible brutality was commanded by Menham - who became the next king of Israel. This shows the depths of brutality and ungodliness of the times.

i. "The action by Menahem against the inhabitants of Tiphsah is unparalleled for brutality by any Israelite. Here it may mark the increasing influence of the surrounding nations. It was a foreign practice inflicted on the Israelites themselves by Aram (2 Kings 8:12), Ammon (Amos 1:13) and Assyria (Hosea 13:8)." (Wiseman)

3. (17-22) A summary of the reign of Menahem.

In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi became king over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. Pul king of Assyria came against the land; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to strengthen the kingdom under his control. And Menahem exacted the money from Israel, from all the very wealthy, from each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and did not stay there in the land. Now the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Menahem rested with his fathers. Then Pekahiah his son reigned in his place.

a. Menahem the son of Gadi became king over Israel: His reign was typical of the kings of Israel in that it was both evil and a continuation of the state-sponsored idolatry of Jeroboam.

b. Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to strengthen the kingdom under his control: Menahem put the kingdom of Israel under tribute to the Assyrian Empire. He purchased the backing of the Assyrian King with a large amount of money raised from the wealthy in his kingdom, and therefore ruled with the strength of Assryia supporting him.

i. "The burden of the levy fell upon the rich, which needs not excite much sympathy when we learn from the prophets Amos and Micah how their riches were obtained. See Amos 4:1; 5:11,12; 8:4-6; Micah 2:2; 6:10-12." (Knapp)

ii. "The Assyrian policy was initially to leave a state on its borders independent, though requiring a substantial annual payment for this privilege. Thereafter the state might be made a vassal, which entailed having an Assyrian official at court as a watchdog on the ruler's attitudes." (Wiseman)

4. (23-26) The two year reign of Pekahiah.

In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. Then Pekah the son of Remaliah, an officer of his, conspired against him and killed him in Samaria, in the citadel of the king's house, along with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of Gilead. He killed him and reigned in his place. Now the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

a. Pekahiah the son of Menahem became king over Israel: The previous two kings of Israel (before Menahem) did not reign successfully enough to pass the kingdom on to a son or another dynastic descendent. Menahem ruled well enough to pass the kingdom to Pekahiah.

b. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin: The familiar refrain of this indictment against the kings of Israel is repeated regarding Pekahiah.

i. "Why should Jeroboam so frequently be called 'the son of Nebat'? Why should the father be for ever pilloried with the son, except that he was in some way responsible for, and implicated in, his sins? There was a time when perhaps Nebat might have restrained the growing boy, or led him to the true worship of God; or perhaps his parental influence and example were deadly in their effect." (Meyer)

c. He killed him and reigned in his place: The blessing of God was obviously not on Pekahiah, whose reign ended with assassination after only two years. This was the end of another brief dynasty, and the start of a new one.

i. An officer of his: "The insurrection originated with the king's own personal bodyguard." (Patterson and Austel)

5. (27-31) The 20 year reign of Pekah.

In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maachah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria. Then Hoshea the son of Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck and killed him; so he reigned in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. Now the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

a. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD: The kings, families, and dynasties ruling Israel changed quickly during this period. Yet there was an amazing continuity of evil through these dynasties. Each was evil, and each continued the state sponsored idolatry in Israel.

i. For chronologers, the 20 year reign of Pekah is difficult to place. It perhaps includes time that Pekah ruled as an anti-government rebel in certain regions of Israel.

b. Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took: This Assyrian king, unlike in the days of Menahem, would not be paid off by the king of Israel. He came and took some of the best land of the Kingdom of Israel, including much of the northern part of the Kingdom.

i. "With the loss of Galilee and Gilead and with the presence of Assyrian troops all along the Israel's western frontier, it seemed evident that Pekah's anti-Assyrian policy had brought Israel to the point of extinction." (Patterson and Austel)

ii. "From 1 Chronicles 5:26 we learn that Pul and Tiglath-pileser, kings of Assyria, carried away into captivity the two tribes of Reuben, and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh; all that belonged to Israel on the other side of the Jordan. These were never restored to Israel." (Clarke)

iii. "These were dark days of Israel, her territory now reduced to a tiny kingdom only thirty miles wide by forty miles long." (Dilday)

c. He carried them captive to Assyria: This became an official state policy of the Assyrian Empire. Upon conquering a land, if necessary, they relocated by force the best and the brightest of the conquered nation, bringing them to Assyria.

i. "This first reference to the practice of removing leaders and selected experts into exile shows that the next step had now been taken towards making Israel a vassal-state." (Wiseman)

d. Hoshea the son of Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck and killed him: This was another king and another dynasty to end with assassination, as a powerful demonstration of the great instability in the northern kingdom.

i. "Josephus says that Hoshea was 'a friend' of Pekah's (Antiquities ix.13). . . . But watch as he might, his very friend in whom he trusted became, in the ordering of God, his slayer; so impossible it is for the wicked to escape their merited retribution." (Knapp)

ii. "He slew in his 'fierce anger' one hundred thousand Jews in one day (2 Chronicles 28:6); and God requited him in kind; for as he had so treacherously shed man's blood, by man was his blood also treacherously shed." (Knapp)

C. Jotham's reign over Judah.

1. (32-36) A summary of the reign of Jotham.

In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. However the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. He built the Upper Gate of the house of the LORD. Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

a. And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD: This stands in strong contrast to the evil done by the previously mentioned kings of Israel. Among the kings of Judah, there were good and godly kings.

b. He did according to all that his father Uzziah had done: The pattern is seen in both the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, where the son reigns as his father had before him. While this is not concretely predetermined, certainly this is a principle that shows us great influence that a father has on a son.

i. "He also turned his attention to urban planning, construction cities in the highlands of Judah that, together with a system of towers and fortification in the wooded areas, could serve both economic and military purposes." (Patterson and Austel)

c. He built the Upper Gate of the house of the LORD: This was always a positive sign in Judah. When kings and leaders were concerned about the house of the LORD, it reflected some measure of spiritual revival.

i. In particular, it seems that Jotham rebuilt the link between the temple and the palace. "He wished free access from his own house to that of the Lord. He would strengthen the link between the two houses - keep his line of communication open (to use a military figure) with the source of his supplies of strength and wisdom. This is one of the secrets of his prosperity and power." (Knapp)

ii. His father Azariah (Uzziah) misunderstood the link between the royal house and the house God, demanding priestly authority (2 Chronicles 26:16-21). Many kings before him wanted no link between the royal house and the house of God. Jotham understood that he was a king and not a priest, yet he wanted a good, open link between the palace and the temple.

iii. 2 Chronicles 27:6 says, So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God. The building of this link between the palace and the temple was one of the chief ways that he prepared his way before the LORD. "That high gate between the palace and the temple was better than a Chinese wall around his kingdom. It is in communion with God that real prosperity and power is found." (Knapp)

iv. "As Chronicles shows, Jotham strove to defend his small territory and his increasing power was attributed to his steadfast way of life before God." (Wiseman)

v. "Jotham is the only one of all the Hebrew kings, from Saul down, against whom God has nothing to record. In this his character is in beautiful accord with his name, Jehovah-perfect." (Knapp)

2. (37-38) Judah begins to be chastened for their partial obedience.

In those days the LORD began to send Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah. So Jotham rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. Then Ahaz his son reigned in his place.

a. In those days the LORD began to send Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah: Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the writer of 2 Kings tells us that it was the hand of the LORD that sent these foreign rulers who troubled Judah.

b. The LORD began to send: This was the beginning. If Judah and her kings responded to these chastening events in the right way, God would take note. If they hardened their hearts and rejected the correction of God, He would take note of that as well.

i. "During Jotham's reign, the combined forces of King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel began their invasion of Judah, but the full impact of these military assaults was not felt until Jotham's son became king." (Dilday)

© 2006 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Commentary -- Other

Critics Ask: 2Ki 15:27

2 KINGS 15:27 —How can this verse say Pekah ruled over Samaria for 20 years when he took Samaria 8 years before the end of his reign?

PROBLEM: According to 2 Kings 15:27 , Pekah ruled over Israel in Samaria for 20 years. However, Hoshea the son of Elah killed Pekah only 8 years after Pekah had taken Samaria from Menahem. How could Pekah have reigned over Israel for 20 years when he only reigned from Samaria for 8 years?

SOLUTION: Although Pekah did not have control over the city of Samaria, he was considered to be the only lawful king of Israel, and therefore his reign over Israel, and its capital city Samaria, was calculated from the time he claimed the throne after the death of Zechariah in 752 B.C. Pekah actually took up official residence in Samaria in 740 B.C. , approximately two years after Menahem died. However, only eight years later, in 739 B.C . , Hoshea led a conspiracy against Pekah and killed him.   

Introduction / Outline

JFB: 2 Kings (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF KINGS, in the ancient copies of the Hebrew Bible, constitute one book. Various titles have been given them; in the Septuagint and the Vulgate they are called the Third and Fourth Books of Kings. The authorship of these books is unknown; but the prevailing opinion is that they were compiled by Ezra, or one of the later prophets, from the ancient documents that are so frequently referred to in the course of the history as of public and established authority. Their inspired character was acknowledged by the Jewish Church, which ranked them in the sacred canon; and, besides, it is attested by our Lord, who frequently quotes from them (compare 1Ki 17:9; 2Ki 5:14 with Luk 4:24-27; 1Ki 10:1 with Mat 12:42).

JFB: 2 Kings (Outline)

• MOAB REBELS. (2Ki 1:1)
• AHAZIAH'S JUDGMENT BY ELIJAH. (2Ki 1:2-8)
• ELIJAH BRINGS FIRE FROM HEAVEN ON AHAZIAH'S MESSENGERS. (2Ki 1:9-16)
• AHAZIAH DIES, AND IS SUCCEEDED BY JEHORAM. (2Ki 1:17-18)
• ELIJAH DIVINES JORDAN. (2Ki 2:1-10)
• HE IS TAKEN UP TO HEAVEN IN A CHARIOT OF FIRE. (2Ki 2:11-18)
• ELISHA HEALS THE WATERS. (2Ki 2:19-25)
• JEHORAM'S EVIL REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 3:1-3)
• MESHA, KING OF MOAB, REBELS. (2Ki 3:4-5)
• ELISHA PROMISES WATER AND VICTORY OVER MOAB. (2Ki. 3:6-24)
• ELISHA AUGMENTS THE WIDOW'S OIL. (2Ki 4:1-7)
• PROMISES A SON TO THE SHUNAMMITE. (2Ki 4:8-17)
• RAISES HER DEAD SON. (2Ki. 4:18-37)
• PURIFIES DEADLY POTTAGE. (2Ki 4:38-41)
• SATISFIES A HUNDRED MEN WITH TWENTY LOAVES. (2Ki 4:42-44)
• NAAMAN'S LEPROSY. (2Ki 5:1-7)
• ELISHA SENDS HIM TO JORDAN, AND HE IS HEALED. (2Ki 5:8-15)
• ELISHA REFUSES NAAMAN'S GIFTS. (2Ki 5:15-19)
• GEHAZI, BY A LIE, OBTAINS A PRESENT, BUT IS SMITTEN WITH LEPROSY. (2Ki 5:20-27)
• ELISHA CAUSES IRON TO SWIM. (2Ki 6:1-7)
• DISCLOSES THE KING OF SYRIA'S COUNSEL. (2Ki 6:8-17)
• HIS ARMY SMITTEN WITH BLINDNESS. (2Ki 6:18-23)
• BEN-HADAD BESIEGES SAMARIA. (2Ki 6:24-33)
• ELISHA PROPHESIES INCREDIBLE PLENTY IN SAMARIA. (2Ki. 7:1-16)
• THE UNBELIEVING LORD TRODDEN TO DEATH. (2Ki 7:17-20)
• THE SHUNAMMITE'S LAND RESTORED. (2Ki 8:1-6)
• HAZAEL KILLS HIS MASTER, AND SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 8:7-15)
• JEHORAM'S WICKED REIGN. (2Ki 8:16-23)
• AHAZIAH SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 8:24)
• JEHU IS ANOINTED. (2Ki. 9:1-23)
• AHAZIAH IS SLAIN. (2Ki 9:27-35)
• JEZEBEL EATEN BY DOGS. (2Ki 9:36-37)
• JEHU CAUSES SEVENTY OF AHAB'S CHILDREN TO BE BEHEADED. (2Ki. 10:1-17)
• HE DESTROYS THE WORSHIPPERS OF BAAL. (2Ki 10:18-29)
• JEHOASH SAVED FROM ATHALIAH'S MASSACRE. (2Ki 11:1-3)
• HE IS MADE KING. (2Ki 11:4-12)
• ATHALIAH SLAIN. (2Ki 11:13-16)
• JEHOIADA RESTORES GOD'S WORSHIP. (2Ki 11:17-20)
• JEHOASH REIGNS WELL WHILE JEHOIADA LIVED. (2Ki. 12:1-18)
• HE IS SLAIN. (2Ki 12:19-21)
• JEHOAHAZ'S WICKED REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 13:1-7)
• JOASH SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki. 13:8-25)
• AMAZIAH'S GOOD REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki 14:1-6)
• HE SMITES EDOM. (2Ki 14:7)
• JOASH DEFEATS HIM. (2Ki 14:8-16)
• HE IS SLAIN BY A CONSPIRACY. (2Ki 14:17-20)
• AZARIAH SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 14:21-22)
• JEROBOAM'S WICKED REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 14:23-29)
• AZARIAH'S REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki 15:1-7)
• ZECHARIAH'S REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (2Ki 15:8-16)
• MENAHEM'S REIGN. (2Ki 15:17-21)
• PEKAHIAH'S REIGN. (2Ki 15:22-24)
• PEKAH'S REIGN. (2Ki 15:27-31)
• JOTHAM'S REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki 15:32-38)
• AHAZ' WICKED REIGN OVER JUDAH. (2Ki. 16:1-16)
• HE SPOILS THE TEMPLE. (2Ki 16:17-19)
• HOSHEA'S WICKED REIGN. (2Ki 17:1-6)
• SAMARIA TAKEN, AND ISRAEL FOR THEIR SINS CARRIED CAPTIVE. (2Ki. 17:7-41)
• HEZEKIAH'S GOOD REIGN. (2Ki 18:1-3)
• HE DESTROYS IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 18:4-37)
• SENNACHERIB BESIEGES JERUSALEM. (2Ki. 18:17-37)
• HEZEKIAH IN DEEP AFFLICTION. (2Ki 19:1-5)
• COMFORTED BY ISAIAH. (2Ki 19:6-7)
• SENNACHERIB SENDS A BLASPHEMOUS LETTER TO HEZEKIAH. (2Ki 19:8-13)
• HEZEKIAH'S PRAYER. (2Ki. 19:14-34)
• AN ANGEL DESTROYS THE ASSYRIANS. (2Ki 19:35-36)
• SENNACHERIB SLAIN. (2Ki 19:37)
• HEZEKIAH'S LIFE LENGTHENED. (2Ki 20:1-7)
• THE SUN GOES TEN DEGREES BACKWARD. (2Ki 20:8-20)
• MANASSEH'S WICKED REIGN, AND GREAT IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 21:1-18)
• AMON'S WICKED REIGN. (2Ki 21:19-26)
• JOSIAH'S GOOD REIGN. (2Ki 22:1-2)
• HE PROVIDES FOR THE REPAIR OF THE TEMPLE. (2Ki 22:3-7)
• HILKIAH FINDS THE BOOK OF THE LAW. (2Ki 22:8-15)
• JOSIAH CAUSES THE LAW TO BE READ. (2Ki 23:1-3)
• HE DESTROYS IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 23:4-28)
• JEHOIAKIM PROCURES HIS OWN RUIN. (2Ki 24:1-7)
• JEHOIACHIN SUCCEEDS HIM. (2Ki 24:8-9)
• JERUSALEM TAKEN. (2Ki 24:10-16)
• ZEDEKIAH'S EVIL REIGN. (2Ki 24:17-20)
• JERUSALEM AGAIN BESIEGED. (2Ki 25:1-3)
• ZEDEKIAH TAKEN. (2Ki. 25:4-30)

TSK: 2 Kings (Book Introduction)

The events detailed in these books (Kings) are highly interesting and important. The account of the wisdom, magnificence, and extended commerce of Solomon; the rash and impolitic conduct of Rehoboam; the disobedient prophet; the widow of Zarephath; Elijah and the prophets of Baal; Ben-hadad’s pride and defeat; Elijah’s assumption into heaven; Elisha’s succession to his ministry, and the series of illustrious miracles he performed; the panic flight of the Syrians; the history of Ben-hadad and Hazael; and the predicted death of Ahab and Jezebel, and their children, are all pregnant with instruction, and have furnished themes for frequent dissertation. We perceive in these impressive histories the characters and qualities of men painted with the utmost fidelity, and the attributes of God displayed with great effect. we contemplate the exact accomplishment of God’s promises and threatenings, the wisdom of his dispensations, and the mingled justice and mercy of his government. The particulars and circumstances are sketched out with a brief and lively description, and the imagination lingers with pleasure in filling up the striking outlines presented to our view. The authenticity of these books is attested by the prophecies they contain, which were subsequently fulfilled; by the citation of our Saviour and his Apostles; by their universal reception by the Jewish and Christian churches; and by the corresponding testimonies of profane authors and ancient sculptures.

TSK: 2 Kings 15 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

2Ki 15:1, Azariah’s good reign; 2Ki 15:5, He dying a leper, Jotham succeeds; 2Ki 15:8, Zachariah the last of Jehu’s generation, reigning ill, is slain by Shallum; 2Ki 15:13, Shallum, reigning a month, is slain by Menahem; 2Ki 15:16, Menahem strengthens himself by Pul; 2Ki 15:21, Pekahiah succeeds him; 2Ki 15:23, Pekahiah is slain by Pekah; 2Ki 15:27, Pekah is oppressed by Tiglath-pileser, and slain by Hoshea; 2Ki 15:32, Jotham’s good reign; 2Ki 15:36, Ahaz succeeds him.

Poole: 2 Kings 15 (Chapter Introduction)

KINGS CHAPTER 15

Azariah, his good reign, but is punished with leprosy, and dieth, 2Ki 15:1-7 . Zachariah reigneth ill; is slain by Shallum; who reigneth a month, and is slain by Menahem, 2Ki 15:8-15 . He is strengthened by Pul king of Assyria: his son succeedeth him, 2Ki 15:16-22 . He is slain by Pekah, 2Ki 15:23-26 . A part of the Israelites is carried away captive to Assyria by Tiglath-pileser, 2Ki 15:27-29 . Hoshea slayeth Pekah, and succeedeth him. Jotham’ s good reign over Judah: Ahaz succeedeth him, 2Ki 15:30-38 .

MHCC: 2 Kings 15 (Chapter Introduction)

(2Ki 15:1-7) Reign of Azariah, or Uzziah, king of Judah.

(v. 8-31) The latter kings of Israel.

(v. 32-38) Jotham, king of Judah.

Matthew Henry: 2 Kings (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Second Book of Kings

This second book of the Kings (which the Septuagint, numbering from Samuel, called the fourth ) is a continuation of the former book; and, some think, might better have been made to begin with the fifty-first verse of the foregoing chapter, where the reign of Ahaziah begins. The former book had an illustrious beginning, in the glories of the kingdom of Israel, when it was entire; this has a melancholy conclusion, in the desolations of the kingdoms of Israel first, and then of Judah, after they had been long broken into two: for a kingdom divided against itself cometh to destruction. But, as Elijah's mighty works were very much the glory of the former book, towards the latter end of it, so were Elisha's the glory of this, towards the beginning of it. These prophets out-shone their princes; and therefore, as far as they go, the history shall be accounted for in them. Here is, I. Elijah fetching fire from heaven and ascending in fire to heaven, ch. 1 and 2. II. Elisha working many miracles, both for prince and people, Israelites and foreigners, ch. 3-7. III. Hazael and Jehu anointed, the former for the correction of Israel, the latter for the destruction of the house of Ahab and the worship of Baal, ch. 8-10. IV. The reign of several of the kings, both of Judah and Israel, ch. 11-16. V. The captivity of the ten tribes, ch. 17. VI. The good and glorious reign of Hezekiah, ch. 18-20. VII. Manassah's wicked reign, and Josiah's good one, ch. 21-23. VIII. The destruction of Jerusalem by the king of Babylon, ch. 24 and 25. This history, in the several passages of it, confirms that observation of Solomon, That righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is the reproach of any people.

Matthew Henry: 2 Kings 15 (Chapter Introduction)

In this chapter, I. The history of two of the kings of Judah is briefly recorded: - 1. Of Azariah, or Uzziah (2Ki 15:1-7). 2. Of Jotham his son (2Ki 15:32-38). II. The history of many of the kings of Israel that reigned at the same time is given us in short, five in succession, all of whom, except one, went down slain to the pit, and their murders were their successors. 1. Zachariah, the last of the house of Jehu, reigned six months, and then was slain and succeeded by Shallum (2Ki 15:8-12). 2. Shallum reigned one month, and then was slain and succeeded by Menahem (2Ki 15:13-15). 3. Menahem reigned ten years, or tyrannised rather, such were his barbarous cruelties (2Ki 15:16) and unreasonable exactions (2Ki 15:20), and then died in his bed, and left his son to succeed him first, and then suffer for him (2Ki 15:16-22). 4. Pekahiah reigned two years, and then was slain and succeeded by Pekah (2Ki 15:23-26). 5. Pekah reigned twenty years, and then was slain and succeeded by Hoshea, the last of all the kings of Israel (2Ki 15:27-31) for things were now working and hastening apace towards the final destruction of that kingdom.

Constable: 2 Kings (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Second Kings continues the narrative begun in 1 Kings. It opens with the translation of godly Elijah to heaven and closes with the transportation of the ungodly Jews to Babylon. For discussion of title, writer, date, and scope of 2 Kings, see the introductory section in my notes on 1 Kings.

Message¹

Second Kings is a sequel to 1 Kings. First Kings covers about one and a half centuries and 2 Kings about three centuries. In both books the two thrones are in view: the earthly and the heavenly.

First Kings emphasizes the facts of these thrones. The earthly throne consistently failed, but the heavenly throne consistently prevailed. Second Kings emphasizes the consequences that result from each of these situations. Its major value is its revelation of the failure of man and the victory of God.

The failure of man comes through the content of this book, but the victory of God comes through the pre-exilic prophets who wrote during the three centuries covered in 2 Kings. These prophets were Hosea, Amos, and Jonah in Israel. In Judah they were Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah.

Notice first the revelation of this book concerning human failure.

The reason the nations failed was the people lost their vision of Yahweh. We can see this quite clearly in the attitudes and actions of the kings. Most of the kings were evil because they had no vision of the throne in heaven. They did not appreciate their position under God. A few of them were good, but even these fell short of the standard of devotion to God that David had set. Some of them conducted reforms, but none of them removed the places of pagan worship in the land (the "high places"). Essentially they conducted state business with little concern for God. Idolatry and foreign alliances are the evidence that the people lacked a vision of God. Another evidence of this is the people's inability to perceive their national setbacks as divine discipline. The prophets were constantly trying to help the people see this.

The method by which the nations failed was the people forgot their national vocation. They developed, on the one hand, an improper exclusiveness. They did not believe God could have any pity or mercy on any other people but themselves. Jonah demonstrated this attitude. On the other hand, they failed to be exclusive as God meant them to be. They formed alliances with other nations contrary to God's will. God intended His people to be a blessing to all other people and to trust in Him alone. The people not only lost their vision of God, they also lost their vision of their own vocation as a unique nation in the world (Exod. 19:5).

The evidence that the nations failed was the people lost their spiritual sensitivity. It is amazing but true that the ministry of the writing prophets that occupies so much space in the Old Testament was very ineffective in their own day (e.g., Isa. 53:1). The religious reformations that did take place were fairly superficial (cf. 2 Kings 22:8-20). When Hezekiah began his reform it took 16 days simply to carry the accumulated rubbish out of the temple (2 Chron. 29:17). In Josiah's day not even one copy of the Law was available until someone discovered one among the debris in the temple. When the people heard it read they were completely unfamiliar with it (2 Chron. 34:14-21).

Notice too in this book the revelation concerning the victory of God. There is much evidence of this as well.

The reason for God's victory is traceable to His promise, with an oath, to bless Abraham's descendants (Gen. 22:16-18). He will allow nothing to keep Him from fulfilling that promise. His covenant with Abraham underlies all of His dealings with the Israelites that this book documents. Remember that the Davidic Covenant grew out of the Abrahamic Covenant. God's covenants rested on His love.

The method by which God accomplished victory was by using the prophets as His messengers to communicate with His people and by using direct intervention to control their history.

The evidence of God's victory is the continued existence of the physical seed of Abraham. The Jews still exist today. Arnold Toynbe, the historian, called the Jews a fossil race. God has preserved them to fulfill His purposes on the earth. So even though they failed Him, He has not failed them.

I would summarize the message of 2 Kings, therefore, as follows. Though people fail God, God will not fail people. This is foundational to the doctrine of eternal security that the New Testament expounds more fully.

The main reason the Israelites failed God was they lost sight of Him. Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision (of God) the people cast off restraint." When people lose sight of God their ideals deteriorate. They turn to idolatry to fill the vacuum left by God's absence. Also, their purposes suffer defeat. They do not achieve fulfillment or realize their destiny. Furthermore their consciences become dead. They become unresponsive to the Word of God. You have a high calling. Point people to God.

On the other hand, God will never fail humanity (Isa. 42:1, 4). The man who said this, Isaiah, could do so because He did not lose sight of God. His vision of God was clear and great (Isa. 1:1; 6:1). It enabled him to maintain confidence in the throne in heaven when the throne on earth was failing terribly (Isa. 40:27-31). Is your confidence in God? Many evangelicals are wringing their hand in distress because the Christian cause seems to be suffering in America. God is still on His throne.

If we are to serve our generation faithfully, we must see God. When we do, we will find inspiration in the certainty of His ultimate victory. How can we keep God in our view? Read the Word daily. Pray. Bring Him into all your decisions, your worries, your fears. Do not lose sight of Him for one day. Do not forget your vocation in life (Matt. 28:19-20). Ask God to keep you spiritually sensitive.

Constable: 2 Kings (Outline)

Outline

(Continued from notes on 1 Kings)

3. Ahaziah's evil reign in Israel -1 Kings 22:51-2 Kings 1:18

4. Jehoram's evil reign in Israel 2:1-8:15

5. Jehoram's evil reign in Judah 8:16-24

6. Ahaziah's evil reign in Judah 8:25-9:29

C. The second period of antagonism 9:30-17:41

1. Jehu's evil reign in Israel 9:30-10:36

2. Athaliah's evil reign in Judah 11:1-20

3. Jehoash's good reign in Judah 11:21-12:21

4. Jehoahaz's evil reign in Israel 13:1-9

5. Jehoash's evil reign in Israel 13:10-25

6. Amaziah's good reign in Judah 14:1-22

7. Jeroboam II's evil reign in Israel 14:23-29

8. Azariah's good reign in Judah 15:1-7

9. Zechariah's evil reign in Israel 15:8-12

10. Shallum's evil reign in Israel 15:13-16

11. Menahem's evil reign in Israel 15:17-22

12. Pekahiah's evil reign in Israel 15:23-26

13. Pekah's evil reign in Israel 15:27-31

14. Jotham's good reign in Judah 15:32-38

15. Ahaz's evil reign in Judah ch. 16

16. Hoshea's evil reign in Israel 17:1-6

17. The captivity of the Northern Kingdom 17:7-41

III. The surviving kingdom chs. 18-25

A. Hezekiah's good reign chs. 18-20

1. Hezekiah's goodness 18:1-12

2. Sennacherib's challenge to Hezekiah 18:13-37

3. Yahweh's immediate encouragement 19:1-13

4. Hezekiah's prayer 19:14-19

5. Yahweh's answer 19:20-37

6. Hezekiah's illness and recovery 20:1-11

7. The prophecy of Babylonian captivity 20:12-19

8. Hezekiah's death 20:20-21

B. Manasseh's evil reign 21:1-18

C. Amon's evil reign 21:19-26

D. Josiah's good reign 22:1-23:30

1. Josiah's goodness 22:1-2

2. Josiah's reforms 22:3-23:27

3. Josiah's death 23:28-30

E. Jehoahaz's evil reign 23:31-35

F. Jehoiakim's evil reign 23:36-24:7

G. Jehoiachin's evil reign 24:8-17

H. Zedekiah's evil reign 24:18-25:7

I. The captivity of the Southern Kingdom 25:8-30

Constable: 2 Kings

2 Kings

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 2 Kings (Book Introduction)

THE FOURTH BOOK OF KINGS.

INTRODUCTION.

This Book brings us to the conclusion of the kingdom of Israel, (chap. xvii.) and to the captivity of Juda, at Babylon, chap. xxv. We behold some virtuous princes reigning over the two tribes [of Juda and Benjamin], while the ten were uniformly governed by men of perverse morals. (Worthington) --- Yet there were some who adhered to the Lord in both kingdoms. David and his descendants (Haydock) occupy the throne near 480 years; and, after the captivity, continue in some degree of honour till the coming of Christ. (Worthington) --- But various families rule over Israel; some by usurpation, (Haydock) others by God's appointment: who thus chooses to chastise the wicked. He still watches over his Church, and sends his prophets for the instruction of all. (Worthington) --- We have enquired in the preface of the former Book, who composed this. (Haydock) --- The kingdom of Israel subsists about 250, (Worthignton) or 254 years. This Book contains the transactions of 308 years. (Calmet) --- But the chronology is extremely perplexed. To the sixth year of Ezechias, when Israel was led away captive, the kingdom of Juda seems to have lasted 260, and that of Israel only 241 years, though they both commenced at the same period. The errors regard the kings of Isreal, according to Houbigant, who would assign the following years to the respective kings of Juda and Israel. 1. Of Juda: Solomon, 40; Roboam, 17; Abiam, 3; Asa, 41, Josaphat, 25; Joram, 8; Ochozias, 1; (the same is said to have begun to reign in the preceding year, the 11th of Joram, 4 Kings ix. 29, incorrectly) Athalia, 6; Joas, 40; Amasias, 29p; (he reigns 15 after the death of Joas, king of Isreal) Azarias, 52; Joatham, 16; Achaz, 16; Ezechias, 6; in which year, the three hundredth from the commencement of Solomon's reign, and the two hundred and sixtieth of the kingdom of Juda, Samaria was taken. 2. The kings of Israel: Jeroboam, 22; Nadab, 2; Baasa, 24; Ela, 2; Zambri, 7 days; Amri, 12; Achab, 22; Ochozias, 2; Joram, 12; Jehu, 28; Joachaz, 17; Joas, 16; Jeroboam, 41; Zacharias, 10½; (in the text 10 is omitted.; Haydock) Sellum, 1 month; Manahem, 10; Phaceia, 2; Phacee, 30; (in the text, 20.; Haydock) Osee, 9; in all, 261½ years, (Houbigant, Chron. Sac.) or 261 years and 7 months. The variation of 19 months, which still appears, may be owing to some of the years being incomplete. (Haydock) --- 3. After a reign of 28 years over Juda, Ezechias is succeeded by Manasses, who reigns 55: Amon, 2; Josias, 31; Joachaz, a few months; Eliacim, or Joakim, 11; Joachin, Conias, or Jechonias, had reigned ten years with his father. After three months and ten days reigning alone, he is led away to Babylon with part of the people. Matthanias, or Sedecias, is appointed in his stead; but proving refractory, is also, after nine years, deprived of his sight, and conducted with 832 of his subjects to Babylon. Nabuchodonosor had already led away 3023, under Joachin. After the death of Godolias, who was left to govern the miserable remains of the people, the year of the world 3417, he made 745 more captives, and thus an end was put to the kingdom of Juda. The scourge had been retarded for some time, by the repentance of Manasses, and the prayers of the prophets. (Calmet)

Gill: 2 Kings (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS

This, and the preceding book, are properly but one book divided into two parts, because of the size of it, as the book of Samuel; it is a continuation of the history of the kings of Israel and Judah; and for a further account of it the reader is referred to the title of the preceding book.

Gill: 2 Kings 15 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 15

This chapter begins with the reign of Azariah king of Judah, 2Ki 15:1, and then gives a short account of the several kings of Israel, to the last of them; of Zachariah, 2Ki 15:8, of Shallum, 2Ki 15:13 of Menahem, 2Ki 15:16 of Pekahiah, 2Ki 15:23, of Pekah, succeeded by Hoshea, the last of them, 2Ki 15:27, and is included with the reign of Jotham king of Judah, 2Ki 15:32.