2 Kings 15 · WEB
Rapid-Succession Kings of Israel; Assyrian Pressure; Jotham of Judah
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In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign.
2He was sixteen years old when he began to reign; and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.
3He did that which was right in Yahweh's eyes, according to all that his father Amaziah had done.
4However the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense in the high places.
5Yahweh struck the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death, and lived in a separate house. Jotham the king's son was over the household, judging the people of the land.
6Now the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
7Azariah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David; and Jotham his son reigned in his place.
8In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months.
9He did that which was evil in Yahweh's sight, as his fathers had done. He didn't depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.
10Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him and struck him before the people, and killed him, and reigned in his place.
11Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
12This was the word of Yahweh which he spoke to Jehu, saying, "Your sons to the fourth generation will sit on the throne of Israel." It was so.
13Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned one month in Samaria.
14For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah and came to Samaria and struck Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and killed him, and reigned in his place.
15Now the rest of the acts of Shallum, and his conspiracy which he made, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
16Then Menahem attacked Tiphsah and all who were in it, and its borders, from Tirzah; because they didn't open to him, therefore he attacked it, and all the pregnant women in it he ripped open.
17In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned ten years.
18He did that which was evil in Yahweh's sight. He didn't depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.
19Pul the king of Assyria came against the land; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.
20Menahem exacted the money from Israel, even from all the mighty men of wealth, fifty shekels of silver from each man, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back and didn't stay there in the land.
21Now the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
22Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his place.
23In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years.
24He did that which was evil in Yahweh's sight. He didn't depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.
25But Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired against him and struck him in Samaria in the castle of the king's house, with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of the Gileadites. He killed him and reigned in his place.
26Now the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
27In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, twenty years.
28He did that which was evil in Yahweh's sight. He didn't depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.
29In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria.
30Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah and struck him and killed him, and reigned in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.
31Now the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
32In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah began to reign.
33He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok.
34He did that which was right in Yahweh's eyes. He did according to all that his father Uzziah had done.
35However the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense in the high places. He built the upper gate of Yahweh's house.
36Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
37In those days Yahweh began to send Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah.
38Jotham slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; and Ahaz his son reigned in his place.
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Summary
This chapter records the rapid collapse of Israel's northern kingdom through a succession of assassinations and coups — five different kings in a few decades after Jeroboam II's death. Zechariah reigns six months before Shallum kills him; Shallum reigns one month before Menahem kills him; Menahem buys off the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser with enormous tribute; his son Pekahiah reigns two years before his own officer Pekah assassinates him; Pekah reigns twenty years before Hoshea kills him, while Assyria under Tiglath-Pileser strips away Israel's northern territories. Judah, by contrast, has Jotham — a relatively faithful king who builds in the Temple, though the high places remain.
Themes
- Political instability as a sign of national spiritual collapse
- The relentless reappearance of "the sins of Jeroboam" as the root cause of Israel's crisis
- The rising Assyrian empire as the instrument of God's judgment
- The contrast between the northern kingdom's chaos and the relative stability of Judah
Key verses
- 2 Kgs 15:12 — “This was the word of Yahweh which he spoke to Jehu, saying, 'Your sons to the fourth generation will sit on the throne of Israel.' It was so.”
- 2 Kgs 15:19-20 — “Pul the king of Assyria came against the land; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver… So the king of Assyria turned back.”
- 2 Kgs 15:29 — “Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria came and took… all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria.”
Context & background
Tiglath-Pileser III (called Pul in verse 19, his Babylonian throne name) was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire based at Nineveh (modern Mosul, northern Iraq) who dramatically expanded Assyrian power across the ancient Near East in the 740s-720s BC. Galilee and Naphtali (modern northern Israel, including the Sea of Galilee region) were among the first territories stripped from Israel in 733 BC. Damascus (modern Damascus, Syria) was also threatened. Tirzah, where Menahem came from, was the earlier capital of Israel before Samaria was built — it is located at modern Tell el-Far'ah North in the West Bank. Azariah (also called Uzziah) was the king of Judah during whose reign Isaiah received his vision (Isaiah 6:1).
Cross-references
- 2 Kgs 10:30 — God's promise to Jehu of four generations on the throne, fulfilled in verse 12
- Amos 7:9 — Amos prophesies the fall of Jeroboam's dynasty
- Hos 1:4 — Hosea predicts the end of Jehu's dynasty
- Isa 7:1-9 — Isaiah prophesies during the Syro-Ephraimite crisis involving Pekah and Rezin (verse 37)
- Isa 9:1-2 — "The land of Naphtali" whose exile is described here becomes the territory where Jesus begins his ministry