2 Kings 15:17-21

The Voice

¹⁷During Azariah’s 39th year as Judah’s king, Menahem (Gadi’s son) took over Israel’s throne in Samaria. His reign lasted 10 years. ¹⁸He committed evil in the Eternal’s eyes. He walked the wicked path of Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) causing the Israelites to live sinful lives.

¹⁹Tiglath-pileser,^[a] Assyria’s king, waged war against Israel, but Menahem tried to pay tribute with 37 tons of silver so that Tiglath-pileser would help make Menahem’s rule stronger and save Israel from invasion. ²⁰Menahem gathered the money from all the rich people in Israel. He took 20 ounces of silver from each person and gave it to the Assyrian king. After he had received all the money, the Assyrian king went back to Assyria.

Tiglath-pileser III is one of Assyria’s strongest kings. After seizing the throne during a civil war in 745 b.c., he sets out on a wildly successful campaign, enlarging Assyria’s sphere of influence from the northern part of the Northern Kingdom all the way to Babylon. As Assyria grows, its army grows because Tiglath-pileser incorporates the conquered people into his army. He cannot be stopped. He lays the groundwork for his son, Shalmaneser V, who will continue campaigning and actually conquer the Northern Kingdom, deporting Israelites to other parts of the Assyrian Empire.

²¹Is not the rest of Menahem’s story—his actions and lasting legacy—documented in the book of the chronicles of Israel’s kings?

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