1 In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign.
2 Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem.
3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done;
4 Save that the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places.
5 And the LORD smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house. And Jotham the king's son was over the house, judging the people of the land.
6 And 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?
7 So Azariah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.
8 In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months.
9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
10 And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead.
11 And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
12 This was the word of the LORD which he spake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth generation. And so it came to pass.
13 Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria.
14 For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, and came to Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in his stead.
15 And 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.
16 Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up.
17 In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria.
18 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
19 And Pul 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.
20 And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land.
21 And 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?
22 And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead.
23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years.
24 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
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 Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men of the Gileadites: and he killed him, and reigned in his room.
26 And 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.
27 In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years.
28 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel 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.
30 And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.
31 And 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.
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.
33 Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.
34 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD: he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done.
35 Howbeit the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burned incense still in the high places. He built the higher gate of the house of the LORD.
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?
37 In those days the LORD began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah.
38 And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.
1 In the twenty H6242 H8141 and seventh H7651 year H8141 of Jeroboam H3379 king H4428 of Israel H3478 began Azariah H5838 son H1121 of Amaziah H558 king H4428 of Judah H3063 to reign. H4427
2 Sixteen H8337 H6240 years H8141 old H1121 was he when he began to reign, H4427 and he reigned H4427 two H8147 and fifty H2572 years H8141 in Jerusalem. H3389 And his mother's H517 name H8034 was Jecholiah H3203 of Jerusalem. H3389
3 And he did H6213 that which was right H3477 in the sight H5869 of the LORD, H3068 according to all that his father H1 Amaziah H558 had done; H6213
4 Save that the high places H1116 were not removed: H5493 the people H5971 sacrificed H2076 and burnt incense H6999 still on the high places. H1116
5 And the LORD H3068 smote H5060 the king, H4428 so that he was a leper H6879 unto the day H3117 of his death, H4194 and dwelt H3427 in a several H2669 house. H1004 And Jotham H3147 the king's H4428 son H1121 was over the house, H1004 judging H8199 the people H5971 of the land. H776
6 And the rest H3499 of the acts H1697 of Azariah, H5838 and all that he did, H6213 are they not written H3789 in the book H5612 of the chronicles H1697 H3117 of the kings H4428 of Judah? H3063
7 So Azariah H5838 slept H7901 with his fathers; H1 and they buried H6912 him with his fathers H1 in the city H5892 of David: H1732 and Jotham H3147 his son H1121 reigned H4427 in his stead.
8 In the thirty H7970 H8141 and eighth H8083 year H8141 of Azariah H5838 king H4428 of Judah H3063 did Zachariah H2148 the son H1121 of Jeroboam H3379 reign H4427 over Israel H3478 in Samaria H8111 six H8337 months. H2320
9 And he did H6213 that which was evil H7451 in the sight H5869 of the LORD, H3068 as his fathers H1 had done: H6213 he departed H5493 not from the sins H2403 of Jeroboam H3379 the son H1121 of Nebat, H5028 who made Israel H3478 to sin. H2398
10 And Shallum H7967 the son H1121 of Jabesh H3003 conspired H7194 against him, and smote H5221 him before H6905 the people, H5971 and slew H4191 him, and reigned H4427 in his stead.
11 And the rest H3499 of the acts H1697 of Zachariah, H2148 behold, they are written H3789 in the book H5612 of the chronicles H1697 H3117 of the kings H4428 of Israel. H3478
12 This was the word H1697 of the LORD H3068 which he spake H1696 unto Jehu, H3058 saying, H559 Thy sons H1121 shall sit H3427 on the throne H3678 of Israel H3478 unto the fourth H7243 generation. And so it came to pass.
13 Shallum H7967 the son H1121 of Jabesh H3003 began to reign H4427 in the nine H8672 and thirtieth H7970 year H8141 of Uzziah H5818 king H4428 of Judah; H3063 and he reigned H4427 a full H3117 month H3391 in Samaria. H8111
14 For Menahem H4505 the son H1121 of Gadi H1424 went up H5927 from Tirzah, H8656 and came H935 to Samaria, H8111 and smote H5221 Shallum H7967 the son H1121 of Jabesh H3003 in Samaria, H8111 and slew H4191 him, and reigned H4427 in his stead.
15 And the rest H3499 of the acts H1697 of Shallum, H7967 and his conspiracy H7195 which he made, H7194 behold, they are written H3789 in the book H5612 of the chronicles H1697 H3117 of the kings H4428 of Israel. H3478
16 Then Menahem H4505 smote H5221 Tiphsah, H8607 and all that were therein, and the coasts H1366 thereof from Tirzah: H8656 because they opened H6605 not to him, therefore he smote H5221 it; and all the women therein that were with child H2030 he ripped up. H1234
17 In the nine H8672 H8141 and thirtieth H7970 year H8141 of Azariah H5838 king H4428 of Judah H3063 began Menahem H4505 the son H1121 of Gadi H1424 to reign H4427 over Israel, H3478 and reigned ten H6235 years H8141 in Samaria. H8111
18 And he did H6213 that which was evil H7451 in the sight H5869 of the LORD: H3068 he departed H5493 not all his days H3117 from the sins H2403 of Jeroboam H3379 the son H1121 of Nebat, H5028 who made Israel H3478 to sin. H2398
19 And Pul H6322 the king H4428 of Assyria H804 came H935 against the land: H776 and Menahem H4505 gave H5414 Pul H6322 a thousand H505 talents H3603 of silver, H3701 that his hand H3027 might be with him to confirm H2388 the kingdom H4467 in his hand. H3027
20 And Menahem H4505 exacted H3318 the money H3701 of Israel, H3478 even of all the mighty men H1368 of wealth, H2428 of each H259 man H376 fifty H2572 shekels H8255 of silver, H3701 to give H5414 to the king H4428 of Assyria. H804 So the king H4428 of Assyria H804 turned back, H7725 and stayed H5975 not there in the land. H776
21 And the rest H3499 of the acts H1697 of Menahem, H4505 and all that he did, H6213 are they not written H3789 in the book H5612 of the chronicles H1697 H3117 of the kings H4428 of Israel? H3478
22 And Menahem H4505 slept H7901 with his fathers; H1 and Pekahiah H6494 his son H1121 reigned H4427 in his stead.
23 In the fiftieth H2572 H8141 year H8141 of Azariah H5838 king H4428 of Judah H3063 Pekahiah H6494 the son H1121 of Menahem H4505 began to reign H4427 over Israel H3478 in Samaria, H8111 and reigned two years. H8141
24 And he did H6213 that which was evil H7451 in the sight H5869 of the LORD: H3068 he departed H5493 not from the sins H2403 of Jeroboam H3379 the son H1121 of Nebat, H5028 who made Israel H3478 to sin. H2398
25 But Pekah H6492 the son H1121 of Remaliah, H7425 a captain H7991 of his, conspired H7194 against him, and smote H5221 him in Samaria, H8111 in the palace H759 of the king's H4428 house, H1004 with Argob H709 and Arieh, H745 and with him fifty H2572 men H376 of the Gileadites: H1121 H1569 and he killed H4191 him, and reigned H4427 in his room.
26 And the rest H3499 of the acts H1697 of Pekahiah, H6494 and all that he did, H6213 behold, they are written H3789 in the book H5612 of the chronicles H1697 H3117 of the kings H4428 of Israel. H3478
27 In the two H8147 H8141 and fiftieth H2572 year H8141 of Azariah H5838 king H4428 of Judah H3063 Pekah H6492 the son H1121 of Remaliah H7425 began to reign H4427 over Israel H3478 in Samaria, H8111 and reigned twenty H6242 years. H8141
28 And he did H6213 that which was evil H7451 in the sight H5869 of the LORD: H3068 he departed H5493 not from the sins H2403 of Jeroboam H3379 the son H1121 of Nebat, H5028 who made Israel H3478 to sin. H2398
29 In the days H3117 of Pekah H6492 king H4428 of Israel H3478 came H935 Tiglathpileser H8407 king H4428 of Assyria, H804 and took H3947 Ijon, H5859 and Abelbethmaachah, H62 and Janoah, H3239 and Kedesh, H6943 and Hazor, H2674 and Gilead, H1568 and Galilee, H1551 all the land H776 of Naphtali, H5321 and carried them captive H1540 to Assyria. H804
30 And Hoshea H1954 the son H1121 of Elah H425 made H7194 a conspiracy H7195 against Pekah H6492 the son H1121 of Remaliah, H7425 and smote H5221 him, and slew H4191 him, and reigned H4427 in his stead, in the twentieth H6242 year H8141 of Jotham H3147 the son H1121 of Uzziah. H5818
31 And the rest H3499 of the acts H1697 of Pekah, H6492 and all that he did, H6213 behold, they are written H3789 in the book H5612 of the chronicles H1697 H3117 of the kings H4428 of Israel. H3478
32 In the second H8147 year H8141 of Pekah H6492 the son H1121 of Remaliah H7425 king H4428 of Israel H3478 began Jotham H3147 the son H1121 of Uzziah H5818 king H4428 of Judah H3063 to reign. H4427
33 Five H2568 and twenty H6242 years H8141 old H1121 was he when he began to reign, H4427 and he reigned H4427 sixteen H8337 H6240 years H8141 in Jerusalem. H3389 And his mother's H517 name H8034 was Jerusha, H3388 the daughter H1323 of Zadok. H6659
34 And he did H6213 that which was right H3477 in the sight H5869 of the LORD: H3068 he did H6213 according to all that his father H1 Uzziah H5818 had done. H6213
35 Howbeit the high places H1116 were not removed: H5493 the people H5971 sacrificed H2076 and burned incense H6999 still in the high places. H1116 He built H1129 the higher H5945 gate H8179 of the house H1004 of the LORD. H3068
36 Now the rest H3499 of the acts H1697 of Jotham, H3147 and all that he did, H6213 are they not written H3789 in the book H5612 of the chronicles H1697 H3117 of the kings H4428 of Judah? H3063
37 In those days H3117 the LORD H3068 began H2490 to send H7971 against Judah H3063 Rezin H7526 the king H4428 of Syria, H758 and Pekah H6492 the son H1121 of Remaliah. H7425
38 And Jotham H3147 slept H7901 with his fathers, H1 and was buried H6912 with his fathers H1 in the city H5892 of David H1732 his father: H1 and Ahaz H271 his son H1121 reigned H4427 in his stead.
1 In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign.
2 Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.
3 And he did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that his father Amaziah had done.
4 Howbeit the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
5 And Jehovah smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a separate house. And Jotham the king's son was over the household, judging the people of the land.
6 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?
7 And Azariah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.
8 In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months.
9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, as his fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin.
10 And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead.
11 Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
12 This was the word of Jehovah which he spake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons to the fourth generation shall sit upon the throne of Israel. And so it came to pass.
13 Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned the space of a month in Samaria.
14 And Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, and came to Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in his stead.
15 Now 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.
16 Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the borders thereof, from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up.
17 In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, `and reigned' ten years in Samaria.
18 And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin.
19 There came against the land Pul the king of Assyria; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.
20 And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land.
21 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?
22 And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead.
23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, `and reigned' two years.
24 And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin.
25 And Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the castle of the king's house, with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of the Gileadites: and he slew him, and reigned in his stead.
26 Now 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.
27 In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, `and reigned' twenty years.
28 And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin.
29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maacah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria.
30 And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.
31 Now 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.
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.
33 Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok.
34 And he did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done.
35 Howbeit the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burned incense in the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of Jehovah.
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?
37 In those days Jehovah began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah.
38 And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.
1 In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned hath Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah,
2 a son of sixteen years was he in his reigning, and fifty and two years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother `is' Jecholiah of Jerusalem,
3 and he doth that which `is' right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that Amaziah his father did,
4 only, the high places have not turned aside -- yet are the people sacrificing and making perfume in high places.
5 And Jehovah smiteth the king, and he is a leper unto the day of his death, and he dwelleth in a separate house, and Jotham son of the king `is' over the house, judging the people of the land.
6 And the rest of the matters of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?
7 And Azariah lieth with his fathers, and they bury him with his fathers, in the city of David, and reign doth Jotham his son in his stead.
8 In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah reigned hath Zechariah son of Jeroboam over Israel, in Samaria, six months,
9 and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, as did his fathers, he hath not turned aside from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat that he caused Israel to sin.
10 And Shallum son of Jabesh conspireth against him, and smiteth him before the people, and putteth him to death, and reigneth in his stead.
11 And the rest of the matters of Zechariah, lo, they are written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel.
12 It `is' the word of Jehovah that He spake unto Jehu, saying, `Sons of the fourth `generation' do sit for thee on the throne of Israel;' and it is so.
13 Shallum son of Jabesh hath reigned in the thirty and ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigneth a month of days in Samaria;
14 and go up doth Menahem son of Gadi from Tirzah and cometh in to Samaria, and smiteth Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria, and putteth him to death, and reigneth in his stead.
15 And the rest of the matters of Shallum, and his conspiracy that he made, lo, they are written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel.
16 Then doth Menahem smite Tiphsah, and all who `are' in it, and its borders from Tirzah, for it opened not `to him', and he smiteth `it', all its pregnant women he hath ripped up.
17 In the thirty and ninth year of Azariah king of Judah reigned hath Menahem son of Gadi over Israel -- ten years in Samaria.
18 And he doth the evil in the eyes of Jehovah, he hath turned not aside from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat that he caused Israel to sin, all his days.
19 Pul king of Asshur hath come against the land, and Menahem giveth to Pul a thousand talents of silver, for his hand being with him to strengthen the kingdom in his hand.
20 And Menahem bringeth out the silver `from' Israel, `from' all the mighty men of wealth, to give to the king of Asshur, fifty shekels of silver for each one, and the king of Asshur turneth back and hath not stayed there in the land.
21 And the rest of the matters of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?
22 And Menahem lieth with his fathers, and reign doth Pekahiah his son in his stead.
23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah hath Pekahiah son of Menahem reigned over Israel, in Samaria -- two years,
24 and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, he hath not turned aside from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat that he caused Israel to sin.
25 And Pekah son of Remaliah, his captain, doth conspire against him, and smiteth him in Samaria, in the high place of the house of the king with Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men of the sons of the Gileadites, and he putteth him to death, and reigneth in his stead.
26 And the rest of the matters of Pekahiah, and all that he did, lo, they are written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel.
27 In the fifty and second year of Azariah king of Judah, reigned hath Pekah son of Remaliah over Israel, in Samaria -- twenty years,
28 and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, he hath not turned aside from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, that he caused Israel to sin.
29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel hath Tiglath-Pileser king of Asshur come, and taketh Ijon, and Abel-Beth-Maachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and removeth them to Asshur.
30 And make a conspiracy doth Hoshea son of Elah against Pekah son of Remaliah, and smiteth him, and putteth him to death, and reigneth in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.
31 And the rest of the matters of Pekah, and all that he did, lo, they are written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel.
32 In the second year of Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel reigned hath Jotham son of Uzziah king of Judah.
33 A son of twenty and five years was he in his reigning, and sixteen years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother `is' Jerusha daughter of Zadok,
34 and he doth that which `is' right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that Uzziah his father did he hath done.
35 Only, the high places have not turned aside -- yet are the people sacrificing and making perfume in high places; he hath built the high gate of the house of Jehovah.
36 And the rest of the matters of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?
37 In those days hath Jehovah begun to send against Judah Rezin king of Amram and Pekah son of Remaliah.
38 And Jotham lieth with his fathers, and is buried with his fathers, in the city of David his father, and reign doth Ahaz his son in his stead.
1 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah, king of Judah, began to reign.
2 He was sixteen years old when he began to reign; and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem.
3 And he did what was right in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his father Amaziah had done.
4 Only, the high places were not removed: the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
5 And Jehovah smote the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death, and dwelt in a separate house. And Jotham the king's son was over the house, judging the people of the land.
6 And 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?
7 And Azariah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David; and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.
8 In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria, six months.
9 And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah, according as his fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
10 And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead.
11 And the rest of the acts of Zechariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
12 This was the word of Jehovah which he spoke to Jehu saying, Thy sons shall sit upon the throne of Israel unto the fourth [generation]. And so it came to pass.
13 Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria.
14 And Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, and came to Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in his stead.
15 And 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.
16 Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and its territory from Tirzah, because they did not open [to him]; and he smote [it]: all the women in it that were with child he ripped up.
17 In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi began to reign over Israel, for ten years, in Samaria.
18 And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah: he departed not, all his days, from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
19 Pul 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 establish the kingdom in his hand.
20 And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, of all those who were wealthy, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land.
21 And 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?
22 And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead.
23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, for two years.
24 And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
25 And Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the fortress of the king's house, with Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men of the Gileadites; and he slew him, and reigned in his stead.
26 And 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.
27 In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, for twenty years.
28 And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, and Abel-Beth-Maachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.
30 And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him and slew him; and he reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.
31 And 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.
32 In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, began to reign.
33 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.
34 And he did what was right in the sight of Jehovah: he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done.
35 Only, the high places were not removed: the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. It was he who built the upper gate of the house of Jehovah.
36 And 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?
37 In those days Jehovah began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah.
38 And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.
1 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign.
2 Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.
3 He did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that his father Amaziah had done.
4 However the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
5 Yahweh 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.
6 Now 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?
7 Azariah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Jotham his son reigned in his place.
8 In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months.
9 He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, 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.
10 Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and struck him before the people, and killed him, and reigned in his place.
11 Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
12 This was the word of Yahweh which he spoke to Jehu, saying, Your sons to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. So it came to pass.
13 Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned the space of a month in Samaria.
14 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.
15 Now 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.
16 Then Menahem struck Tiphsah, and all who were therein, and the borders of it, from Tirzah: because they didn't open to him, therefore he struck it; and all the women therein who were with child he ripped up.
17 In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, [and reigned] ten years in Samaria.
18 He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh: he didn't depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.
19 There came against the land Pul the king of Assyria; and Menahem gave Pul one thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.
20 Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and didn't stay there in the land.
21 Now 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?
22 Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his place.
23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, [and reigned] two years.
24 He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh: he didn't depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.
25 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: and he killed him, and reigned in his place.
26 Now 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.
27 In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, [and reigned] twenty years.
28 He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh: he didn't depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.
29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel Beth Maacah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria.
30 Hoshea 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.
31 Now 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.
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.
33 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok.
34 He did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done.
35 However the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burned incense in the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of Yahweh.
36 Now 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?
37 In those days Yahweh began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah.
38 Jotham 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.
1 In the twenty-seventh year of the rule of Jeroboam, king of Israel, Azariah, son of Amaziah, became king of Judah.
2 He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he was ruling in Jerusalem for fifty-two years; his mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.
3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Amaziah had done.
4 But he did not take away the high places, and the people still went on making offerings and burning them in the high places.
5 And the Lord sent disease on the king and he became a leper, and to the day of his death he was living separately in his private house. And Jotham his son was over his house, judging the people of the land.
6 Now the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all he did, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Judah?
7 And Azariah went to rest with his fathers and was put into the earth with his fathers in the town of David; and Jotham his son became king in his place.
8 In the thirty-eighth year of Azaliah, king of Judah, Zechariah, son of Jeroboam, was king over Israel for six months.
9 And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his father had done, not turning away from the sin which Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, did and made Israel do.
10 And Shallum, the son of Jabesh, made a secret design against him, and, attacking him in Ibleam, put him to death and became king in his place.
11 Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah are recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.
12 This was what the Lord had said to Jehu, Your sons to the fourth generation will be kings of Israel. And so it came about.
13 Shallum, the son of Jabesh, became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah, king of Judah; and he was ruling in Samaria for the space of one month.
14 Then Menahem, the son of Gadi, went up from Tirzah and came to Samaria, and attacking Shallum, son of Jabesh, in Samaria, put him to death and made himself king in his place.
15 Now the rest of the acts of Shallum, and the secret design which he made, are recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.
16 Then Menahem sent destruction on Tappuah and all the people in it, and its limits, from Tirzah, because they would not let him come in; and he had all the women who were with child cut open.
17 In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah, king of Judah, Menahem, the son of Gadi, became king over Israel, and was ruling in Samaria for ten years.
18 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not keep himself from the sin which Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, did and made Israel do.
19 In his day, Pul, the king of Assyria, came up against the land; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver so that he might let him keep the kingdom.
20 And Menahem got the money from Israel, from all the men of wealth, fifty silver shekels from every man, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria went back without stopping in the land.
21 Now the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all he did, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Israel?
22 And Menahem went to rest with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son became king in his place.
23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah, the son of Menahem, became king over Israel in Samaria, ruling for two years.
24 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, not turning from the sin which Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, did and made Israel do.
25 And Pekah, the son of Remaliah, his captain, made a secret design against him, attacking him in the king's great house in Samaria; and with him were fifty men of Gilead; and he put him to death and became king in his place.
26 Now the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all he did, are recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.
27 In the fifty-second year of Azariah, king of Judah, Pekah, the son of Remaliah, became king over Israel in Samaria, ruling for twenty years.
28 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, not turning from the sin which Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, did and made Israel do.
29 In the days of Pekah, king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, came and took Ijon and Abel-beth-maacah and Janoah and Kedesh and Hazor and Gilead and Galilee and all the land of Naphtali; and he took the people away to Assyria.
30 And Hoshea, the son of Elah, made a secret design against Pekah, the son of Remaliah, and, attacking him, put him to death and became king in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham, the son of Uzziah.
31 Now the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all he did, are recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.
32 In the second year of Pekah, the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham, the son of Uzziah, became king of Judah.
33 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he was ruling for sixteen years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.
34 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Uzziah had done.
35 But he did not take away the high places, and the people still went on making offerings and burning them in the high places. He was the builder of the higher doorway of the house of the Lord.
36 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all he did, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Judah?
37 In those days the Lord first sent against Judah, Rezin, the king of Aram, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah.
38 And Jotham went to rest with his fathers, and was put into the earth in the town of David his father; and Ahaz his son became king in his place.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 2 Kings 15
Commentary on 2 Kings 15 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Reign of Azariah (Uzziah) or Judah (cf. 2 Chron 26). - The statement that “in the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam Azariah began to reign” is at variance with 2 Kings 14:2, 2 Kings 14:16-17, and 2 Kings 14:23. If, for example, Azariah ascended the throne in the fifteenth year of Joash of Israel, and with his twenty-nine years' reign outlived Joash fifteen years (2 Kings 14:2, 2 Kings 14:17); if, moreover, Jeroboam followed his father Joash in the fifteenth year of Amaziah (2 Kings 14:23), and Amaziah died in the fifteenth year of Jeroboam; Azariah (Uzziah) must have become king in the fifteenth year of Jeroboam, since, according to 2 Kings 14:21, the people made him king after the murder of his father, which precludes the supposition of an interregnum. Consequently the datum “in the twenty-seventh year” can only have crept into the text through the confounding of the numerals טו (15) with כז (27), and we must therefore read “in the fifteenth year.”
2 Kings 15:2-6
Beside the general characteristics of Uzziah's fifty-two years' reign, which are given in the standing formula, not a single special act is mentioned, although, according to 2 Chron 26, he raised his kingdom to great earthly power and prosperity; probably for no other reason than because his enterprises had exerted no permanent influence upon the development of the kingdom of Judah, but all the useful fruits of his reign were destroyed again by the ungodly Ahaz. Uzziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Amaziah had done. For as the latter was unfaithful to the Lord in the closing years of his reign, so did Uzziah seek God only so long as Zechariah, who was experienced in divine visions, remained alive, and God gave success to his enterprises, so that during this time he carried on successful wars against the Philistines and Arabians, fortified the walls of Jerusalem with strong towers, built watch-towers in the desert, and constructed cisterns for the protection and supply of his numerous flocks, promoted agriculture and vine-growing, and organized a numerous and well-furnished army (2 Chronicles 26:5-15). But the great power to which he thereby attained produced such haughtiness, that he wanted to make himself high priest in his kingdom after the manner of the heathen kings, and usurping the sacred functions, which belonged according to the law to the Levitical priests alone, to offer incense in the temple, for which he was punished with leprosy upon the spot (2 Kings 15:5 compared with 2 Chronicles 26:16.). The king's leprosy is described in our account also as a punishment from God. יי ויננּע : Jehovah smote him, and he became leprous. This presupposes an act of guilt, and confirms the fuller account of this guilt given in the Chronicles, which Thenius, following the example of De Wette and Winer, could only call in question on the erroneous assumption “that the powerful king wanted to restore the regal high-priesthood exercised by David and Solomon” Oehler (Herzog's Cycl.) has already shown that such an opinion is perfectly “groundless,” since it is nowhere stated that David and Solomon performed with their own hands the functions assigned in the law to the priests in connection with the offering of sacrifice, as the co-operation of the priests is not precluded in connection with the sacrifices presented by these kings (2 Samuel 6:17, and 1 Kings 3:4, etc.). - Uzziah being afflicted with leprosy, was obliged to live in a separate house, and appoint his son Jotham as president of the royal house to judge the people, i.e., to conduct the administration of the kingdom. - The time when this event occurred is not stated either in our account or in the Chronicles. But this punishment from God cannot have fallen upon him before the last ten years of his fifty-two years' reign, because his son, who was only twenty-five years old when his father died (2 Kings 15:33, and 2 Chronicles 27:1), undertook the administration of the affairs of the kingdom at once, and therefore must have been at least fifteen years old. החפשׁית בּית is taken by Winer, Gesenius, and others, after the example of Iken, to signify nosocomium , an infirmary or lazar-house, in accordance with the verb Arab. xfs̆ , fecit , II debilis , imbecillis fuit . But this meaning cannot be traced in Hebrew, where חפשׁי is used in no other sense than free, set at liberty, manumissus . Consequently the rendering adopted by Aquila is correct, οἶκος ἐλευθερίας ; and the explanation given by Kimchi of this epithet is, that the persons who lived there were those who were sent away from human society, or perhaps more correctly, those who were released from the world and its privileges and duties, or cut off from intercourse with God and man.
2 Kings 15:7
When Uzziah died, he was buried with his fathers in the city of David, but because he died of leprosy, not in the royal family tomb, but, as the Chronicles (2 Kings 15:23) add to complete the account, “in the burial-field of the kings;” so that he was probably buried in the earth according to our mode. His son Jotham did not become king till after Uzziah's death, as he had not been regent, but only the administrator of the affairs of the kingdom during his father's leprosy.
Reign of Zachariah of Israel. - 2 Kings 15:8. “In the thirty-eighth year of Uzziah, Zachariah the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel six months.” As Jeroboam died in the twenty-seventh year of Uzziah, according to our remarks on 2 Kings 14:29, there is an interregnum of eleven years between his death and the ascent of the throne by his son, as almost all the chronologists since the time of Usher have assumed. It is true that this interregnum may be set aside by assuming that Jeroboam reigned fifty-one or fifty-three years instead of forty-one, without the synchronism being altered in consequence. but as it is not very probable that the numeral letters נב or נג should be confounded with מא , and as the conflict for the possession of the throne, which we meet with after the very brief reign of Zachariah, when taken in connection with various allusions in the prophecies of Hosea, rather favours the idea that the anarchy broke out immediately after the death of Jeroboam, we regard the assumption of an interregnum as resting on a better foundation than the removal of the chronological discrepancy by an alteration of the text.
2 Kings 15:9-12
Zechariah also persevered in the sin of his fathers in connection with the calf-worship therefore the word of the Lord pronounced upon Jehu (2 Kings 10:30) was fulfilled in him. - Shallum the son of Jabesh formed a conspiracy and put him to death קבל־עם , before people, i.e., openly before the eyes of all.
(Note: Ewald in the most marvellous manner has made קבל־עם into a king ( Gesch . iii. p. 598).)
As Israel would not suffer itself to be brought to repentance and to return to the Lord, its God and King, by the manifestations of divine grace in the times of Joash and Jeroboam, any more than by the severe judgments that preceded them, and the earnest admonitions of the prophets Hosea and Amos; the judgment of rejection could not fail eventually to burst forth upon the nation, which so basely despised the grace, long-suffering, and covenant-faithfulness of God. We therefore see the kingdom hasten with rapid steps towards its destruction after the death of Jeroboam. In the sixty-two years between the death of Jeroboam and the conquest of Samaria by Shalmaneser anarchy prevailed twice, in all for the space of twenty years, and six kings followed one another, only one of whom, viz., Menahem, died a natural death, so as to be succeeded by his son upon the throne. The other five were dethroned and murdered by rebels, so that, as Witsius has truly said, with the murder of Zachariah not only was the declaration of Hosea (Hosea 1:4) fulfilled, “I visit the blood-guiltiness of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu,” but also the parallel utterance, “and I destroy the kingdom of the house of Israel,” since the monarchy in Israel really ceased with Zachariah. “For the successors of Zachariah were not so much kings as robbers and tyrants, unworthy of the august name of kings, who lost with ignominy the tyranny which they had wickedly acquired, and as wickedly exercised.” - Witsius, Δεκαφυλ . p. 320.
Reign of Shallum. - Shallum reigned only a full month ( ירח־ימים , as in Deuteronomy 21:13; see at Genesis 29:14). Menahem the son of Gadi then made war upon him from Tirzah; and by him he was smitten and slain. Menahem must have been a general or the commander-in-chief, as Josephus affirms. As soon as he became king he smote Tiphsach, - i.e., Thapsacus on the Euphrates, which has long since entirely disappeared, probably to be sought for in the neighbourhood of the present Rakka, by the ford of el Hamman, the north-eastern border city of the Israelitish kingdom in the time of Solomon (1 Kings 5:4), which came into the possession of the kingdom of Israel again when the ancient boundaries were restored by Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:25 and 2 Kings 14:28), but which had probably revolted again during the anarchy which arose after the death of Jeroboam, - “and all that were therein, and the territory thereof, from Tirzah; because they opened not (to him), therefore he smote it, and had them that were with child ripped up.” מתּרצה does not mean that Menahem laid the land or district waste from Tirzah to Tiphsach, but is to be taken in connection with יכּה in this sense: he smote Tiphsach proceeding from Tirzah, etc. The position of this notice, namely, immediately after the account of the usurpation of the throne by Menahem and before the history of his reign, is analogous to that concerning Elath in the case of Uzziah (2 Kings 14:22), and, like the latter, is to be accounted for from the fact that the expedition of Menahem against Tiphsach formed the commencement of his reign, and, as we may infer from 2 Kings 15:19, became very eventful not only for his own reign, but also for the kingdom of Israel generally. The reason why he proceeded from Tirzah against Tiphsach, was no doubt that it was in Tirzah, the present Tallusa, which was only three hours to the east of Samaria (see at 1 Kings 14:17), that the army of which Menahem was commander was posted, so that he had probably gone to Samaria with only a small body of men to overthrow Shallum, the murderer of Zachariah and usurper of the throne, and to make himself king. It is possible that the army commanded by Menahem had already been collected in Tirzah to march against the city of Tiphsach, which had revolted from Israel when Shallum seized upon the throne by the murder of Zachariah; so that after Menahem had removed the usurper, he carried out at once the campaign already resolved upon, and having taken Tiphsach, punished it most cruelly for its revolt. On the cruel custom of ripping up the women with child, i.e., of cutting open their wombs, see 2 Kings 8:12; Amos 1:13, and Hosea 14:1. Tiphsach, Thapsacus, appears to have been a strong fortress; and from its situation on the western bank of the Euphrates, at the termination of the great trade-road from Egypt, Phoenicia, and Syria to Mesopotamia and the kingdoms of Inner Asia (Movers, Phöniz. ii. 2, pp. 164,165; and Ritter, Erdkunde, x. pp. 1114-15), the possession of it was of great importance to the kingdom of Israel.
(Note: There is no foundation for the view propounded by Ewald ( Gesch . iii. p. 599), Simson ( Hosea , pp. 20, 21), Thenius, and many others, that Tiphsach was a city between Tirzah and Samaria, which Menahem laid waste on his march from Tirzah to Samaria to dethrone Shallum; for it rests upon nothing more than the perfectly unwarrantable and ungrammatical combination of מתרצה with את־גבוליה , “ its boundaries towards Tirzah ” (Sims.), and upon the two worthless objections: (1) that the great distance of מתרצה from יכה precludes the rendering “ going out from Tirzah; ” and (2) that Menahem was not the man to be able to conquer Thapsacus on the Euphrates. But there is no foundation for the latter assertion, as we have no standard by which to estimate the strength and bravery of the Israelitish army commanded by Menahem. And the first objection falls to the ground with the correct rendering of מתרצה , viz., “ proceeding from Tirzah, ” which is preferred even by Ewald and Thenius. With this rendering, the words by no means affirm that Menahem smote Tiphsach from Tirzah on the way to Samaria . This is merely an inference drawn from v. 13, according to which Menahem went from Tirzah to Samaria to overthrow Shallum. But this inference is open to the following objections: (1) that it is very improbable that there was a strong fortress between Tirzah and Samaria, which Menahem was obliged to take on his march before he could overthrow the usurper in the capital of the kingdom; and (2) that the name Tiphsach, trajectus , ford, is by no means a suitable one for a city situated on the mountains between Tirzah and Samaria, and therefore, in order to carry out the hypothesis in question, Thenius proposes to alter Tiphsach into Tappuach , without any critical warrant for so doing.)
Reign of Menahem. - Menahem's reign lasted ten full years (see at 2 Kings 15:23), and resembled that of his predecessors in its attitude towards God. In 2 Kings 15:18, the expression כּל־ימיו (all his days) is a very strange one, inasmuch as no such definition of time occurs in connection with the usual formula, either in this chapter (cf. 2 Kings 15:24 and 2 Kings 15:28) or elsewhere (cf. 2 Kings 3:3; 2 Kings 10:31; 2 Kings 13:2, 2 Kings 13:11, etc.). The lxx have instead of this, ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτοῦ (in his days). If we compare 2 Kings 15:29, בּא פּקח בּימי (in the days of Pekah came, etc.), בּא בּימיו might possibly be regarded as the original reading, from which a copyist's error בּא כּל־מיו arose, after which כּל־ימיו was connected with the preceding clause.
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 (
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 (2 Kings 12:13). חיל גּבּורי : not warriors, but men of property, as in Ruth. 2 Kings 2:1; 1 Samuel 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.))
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 2 Samuel 23:8) Pekah conspired against him and slew him in the citadel ( ארמון , see at 1 Kings 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.
Reign of Pekah. - Pekah the son of Remaliah reigned twenty years.
(Note: As this is apparently at variance not only with 2 Kings 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 2 Kings 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 2 Kings 15:30 or with 2 Kings 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 2 Kings 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 2 Kings 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 2 Kings 15:30 and 2 Kings 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 , 2 Kings 16:7; פּלנאסר or פּלנסר תּלגת פּלנסר , 1 Chronicles 5:26, and 2 Chronicles 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 2 Kings 15:29 and 2 Kings 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 1 Kings 15:20); Janoach, which must not be confounded with the Janocha mentioned in Joshua 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 Joshua 12:22); Hazor, in the same region, but not yet traced with certainty (see at Joshua 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 (1 Chronicles 5:26), which had only been wrested from the Syrians again a short time before by Jeroboam II, and restored to Israel (2 Kings 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 1 Kings 9:11). - In the place of אשּׁוּרה , “to the land of Assyria,” the different regions to which the captives were transported are given in 1 Chronicles 5:26. For further remarks on this point see at 2 Kings 17:6.
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 (2 Kings 15:33), and Ahaz began to reign in the seventeenth year of Pekah (2 Kings 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 2 Kings 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., 2 Kings 15:33; 2 Kings 16:1, and 2 Kings 16:2, 2 Kings 16:17; 2 Chronicles 27:1 and 2 Chronicles 27:8, and 2 Chronicles 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 2 Kings 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 2 Kings 12:2 and 2 Kings 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 2 Kings 14:1, 2 Kings 14:23, or in the case of usurpers without ancestors (2 Kings 15:32, 2 Kings 16:1 and 2 Kings 16:15), is also incorrect in its first portion, for in the case of Amaziah in 2 Kings 14:23 there was no misunderstanding to prevent, and even in the case of Joash in 2 Kings 14:1 the epithet king of Israel would have been quite sufficient to guard against any misunderstanding.)
Reign of Jotham of Judah (cf. 2 Chronicles 27:1-9). - 2 Kings 15:32. “In the second year of Pekah Jotham began to reign.” This agrees with the statement in 2 Kings 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 (2 Kings 16:1). His reign was like that of his father Uzziah (compare 2 Kings 15:34, 2 Kings 15:35 with 2 Kings 15:3, 2 Kings 15:4), except, as is added in Chr. 2 Kings 15:2, that he did not force himself into the temple of the Lord, as Uzziah had done (2 Chronicles 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 Ezekiel 9:2 compared with 2 Kings 8:3, 2 Kings 8:5,2 Kings 8:14 and 2 Kings 8:16, is the gate at the north side of the inner or upper court, where all the sacrifices were slaughtered, according to Ezekiel 40:38-43. We also find from 2 Chronicles 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.
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 (2 Kings 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 2 Kings 16:6. and 2 Kings 17 show, it was otherwise decreed in the counsels of the Lord.