Pul the king of Assyria came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul one thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.
Parallel Translations
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Pul the king of Assyria came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul one thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.
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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.
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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.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to 2 Kings 15:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Kings 14:5 As soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, he killed his servants who had slain the king his father,
- 2 Kings 18:16 At that time, Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of Yahweh’s temple, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.
- 1 Chronicles 5:25-26 They trespassed against the God of their fathers, and played the prostitute after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God destroyed before them. So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath Pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and to the river of Gozan, to this day.
- 2 Kings 12:18 Jehoash king of Judah took all the holy things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own holy things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of Yahweh’s house, and of the king’s house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria; and he went away from Jerusalem.
- 2 Kings 16:8 Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in Yahweh’s house, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.
- 2 Kings 17:3-4 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him, and Hoshea became his servant, and brought him tribute. The king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria seized him, and bound him in prison.
- Isaiah 9:1 But there shall be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time he has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
- Jeremiah 17:5 Yahweh says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man, relies on strength of flesh, and whose heart departs from Yahweh.
- Hosea 8:9-10 For they have gone up to Assyria, like a wild donkey wandering alone. Ephraim has hired lovers for himself. But although they sold themselves among the nations, I will now gather them; and they begin to waste away because of the oppression of the king of mighty ones.
- Hosea 10:6 It also will be carried to Assyria for a present to a great king. Ephraim will receive shame, and Israel will be ashamed of his own counsel.
- Hosea 5:13 “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to king Jareb: but he is not able to heal you, neither will he cure you of your wound.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Instead of seeking help of God, he went about…
Instead of seeking help of God, he went about by money to purchase the favor of this king being an infidel, and therefore God forsook him, and Pul soon afterward brake promise, destroyed his country, and led his people away captive.
That is, of Israel.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ki 15:19 [And] Pul the king of Assyria came…
2Ki 15:19 [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.
Ver. 19. And Pul the king of Assyria.] By other writers he is called Belosus, and Phul-Belosus: who, together with Arbaces, the Mede, besieged Sardanapalus, the last monarch of Assyria, who desperately burnt himself in his own palace, and left his empire to this Pul, the first Babylonian monarch, and Arbaces, who made himself king of Medes and Persians. Some hold that this Pul was that king of Nineveh which repented at the preaching of the prophet Jonah: and that here also the men of Nineveh rose in judgment against that nation, God stirring up a penitent Ethnic to take vengeance on impenitent Israel.
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To confirm the kingdom.] Which this usurper held not without opposition.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Pul the king of Assyria; called by heathen authors…
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.
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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.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah,.... The…
And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah,.... The same form of expression is used as before, Kg2 15:21, of all the kings.
, of all the kings.
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2 Kings 15:27
kg2 15:27
kg2 15:27
kg2 15:27In 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.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 19. Pul, the king of Assyria] This is…
Verse 19. Pul, the king of Assyria] This is the first time we hear of Assyria since the days of Nimrod, its founder, Ge 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.
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That his hand] That is, his power and influence, might be with him: in this sense is the word hand frequently used in Scripture.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Ki 15:19. Pul the king of Assyria came against…
2Ki 15:19. Pul the king of Assyria came against the land — This is the first time that we find any mention of the kingdom of Assyria, since the days of Nimrod, who erected a small principality there, Gen 10:11. And they were no great people, one would suppose, when the eighty-third Psalm was written, in which they are mentioned as auxiliaries to the children of Lot, against the Israelites, together with other small nations. But now they were become very powerful. This Pul, or Phul, was the first monarch of that nation that invaded Israel, and began their transportation out of their country. Some have been of opinion, with Bishop Patrick, Poole, and others, that he was the same with Belesis, the governor of Babylon, who, together with Arbaces the Mede, slew Sardanapalus, the last of the Assyrian monarchs, and translated the empire to the Chaldeans. But, according to Dr. Prideaux, Belesis was one generation later. It is supposed, therefore, that this Pul was the father of Sardanapalus, and the same king of Assyria who, when Jonah preached against Nineveh, gave great tokens of his humiliation and repentance. See Prideaux’s Con. A. 747, and Bedford’s Script. Chronology. Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver — A very considerable present indeed, being no less than f450,000 sterling. This sum he gave, not only with a view to turn away the army of Pul from him, but also to purchase his friendship and assistance against those of his own subjects who opposed him, and to confirm the kingdom in his hand. By which it appears, that his cruelty at Tiphsah was so far from establishing him as he expected, that it weakened and endangered him, so that he was obliged to call in a foreign power to his aid.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain This is the first distinct mention which we find…
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.
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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”).
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Pul the king of Assyria--This is the first Assyrian…
Pul the king of Assyria--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.
came against the land--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" (Kg2 12:1) [KEIL].
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a thousand talents of silver--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 Ch1 5:26).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 19. Pul… came against the land — Perhaps this…
19. Pul… came against the land — Perhaps this king of Assyria had become alarmed at Menahem’s successful expedition against Tiphsah, on the Euphrates, on the borders of his own dominion. Or possibly, as Rawlinson thinks, (see note on 2Ki_14:5,) the kingdom of Israel was already in some way dependent on Assyria, and the war against Tiphsah was regarded by Pul as an act of rebellion.
Gave Pul a thousand talents — About seventeen thousand dollars. This present turned the Assyrian foe into an ally, and led him at once to confirm the kingdom in his hand, that is, to ratify Menahem’s government, and recognise him as the king of Israel.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 19. And Pul the king of Assyria came against…
19. And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land] R.V. There came against the land Pul &c. The sentence has no conjunction, and so R.V. represents the original better. In the LXX. we find ‘In his days’ put as an introduction to the sentence, and the name of Pul represented by Φουὰ, or Φουλὰ or Φοὺλ.
In his work on ‘the Cuneiform Inscriptions and the Old Testament’, Prof. Schrader (p. 133. Engl. Trans. Vol. 1. p. 230) identifies Pul with Tiglath-pileser, and his grounds for so doing may be thus stated. Azariah king of Judah was a contemporary of Menahem king of Israel (2Ki_15:17). The Bible makes them both also contemporaries with Pul king of Assyria, while the inscriptions speak of them as contemporary with Tiglath-pileser the second. In Berosus’ Chaldæan history Pul is mentioned as a Chaldæan, Tiglath-pileser in the inscriptions calls himself king of Chaldæa. The name which in Berosus is ‘Phulus’ appears in the canon of Ptolemy as Πῶρος. This Porus became king of Babylon b.c. 731, in which year we learn from the inscriptions that Tiglath-pileser received homage from the Babylonian king, Merodach-baladan, and became thus lord paramount in Babylon. In the year 727–726 Tiglath-pileser dies, and at the same time a change of ruler takes place in Babylonia by the retirement of Porus. Pul or Por does not appear among the Assyrian kings unless it be under another name, and the only prince with whom the history allows him to be identical is Tiglath-pileser. Pul and Por are really the same name, changed by well-known phonetic laws. Hence it seems not improbable that Pul, Πῶρος, and Tiglath-pileser are names of one and the same person.
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Another supposition is that Pul is the name of one of Tiglath-pileser’s generals, who was in charge of the expedition against Israel. But he is in this verse very expressly called king of Assyria, and the Bible narrative continually makes it clear when an official person, not the king himself, is in command. For an example cf. Isa_20:1.
came against the land] i.e. Was making a hostile advance, and would have invaded Israel but for the bribe.
a thousand talents of silver] This represents a very large sum. Omri only gave two talents of silver (1Ki_16:24) for the ground on which he built Samaria; and in Hezekiah’s time the king of Assyria’s demands were only for 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold (2Ki_18:14). But we can have no doubt from the writings of the contemporary prophets that the northern kingdom was rich at this time. Amos speaks of their houses of ivory (2Ki_3:15), of their houses of hewn stone and their pleasant vineyards (2Ki_5:11), how they lay upon beds of ivory, ate of the choicest, had music in their feasts, drank wine in bowls and anointed themselves with the best ointments (2Ki_6:4-6): all indications of excessive wealth.
that his hand might be with him] The desire of Menahem was to secure Pul as an ally, and to gain his help against other adversaries; a very natural aim under the circumstances. To obtain this he no doubt acknowledged the Assyrian as his superior, and did homage to him, as well as paying him this large bribe.
to confirm the kingdom in his hand] These words, which make clear Menahem’s object, are unrepresented in the LXX.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (19) And.—As it stands, the verse begins abruptly. But…
(19) And.—As it stands, the verse begins abruptly. But the reading of the LXX. restores the connection: In his days Pul the king of Assyria,” &c. (Comp, 2Ki_15:29.)
Pul.—This name has been read in the cuneiform (Pu-u-lu, i.e., Pûlu, an officer of Sargon’s). For the identity of Pul, king of Assyria, with Tiglath Pileser II., see Note on 1Ch_5:26, and Schrader’s Die Keil-inschr. und das Alt. Test, pp. 227-240 (2nd edit., 1883). Prof. Schrader gives the following as the result of his elaborate and most interesting discussion: (1) Menahem of Israel and Azariah of Judah were contemporaries, according to the Bible as well as the Inscriptions. (2) According to the Bible, both these rulers were contemporary with an Assyrian king Pul; according to the Inscriptions, with Tiglath Pileser. (3) Berosus calls Pul a Chaldean; Tiglath Pileser calls himself king of Chaldea. (4) Pul-Porus became in 731 B.C. king of Babylon; Tiglath Pileser in 731 B.C. received the homage of the Babylonian king Merodach-Baladan, as he also reduced other Babylonian princes in this year, amongst them Chinzçros of Amukkan. (5) Poros appears in the canon of Ptolemy as king of Babylon; Tiglath Pileser names himself “king of Babylon.” (6) Chinzçros became king of Babylon in 731 B.C. according to the canon, and, in fact, along with (or, under) a king of the name of Pôros; the hypothesis that the vanquished king of Amukkan of the same name was entrusted by Tiglath Pileser with the vassal-kingship of Babylon is suggested at once by the coincidence of the chronological data. (7) In the year 727-726 B.C. a change of government took place in Assyria in consequence of the death of Tiglath Pileser, and in Babylonia in consequence of the death of Porus. (8) No king appears in the Assyrian lists by a name like Pul, which is anomalous as a royal designation; we can only identify Pul with some other name in the lists, and, on historical grounds, with Tiglath Pileser only. (9) Pul and Pôros are forms of the same name (comp. Bâbiru for Bâbilu in Persian inscriptions). (10) From all this, the conclusion is inevitable that Pul and Porus Pul and Tiglath Pileser, are one and the same person.
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Came against the land.—Rather, came upon the land (Isa_10:28; Jdg_18:27). The meaning here is, occupied it.
A thousand talents of silver.—About £375,000.
That his hand might be with him.—Pul (Tiglath Pileser) came at the invitation of Menahem to establish the latter in the sovereignty against other pretenders as a vassal of Assyria. (Comp. Hos_5:13; Hos_7:11; Hos_8:9.) Tiff lath Pileser had first reduced Rezin king of Syria-Damascus, which was probably much weakened by the victories of Jeroboam II. (See Note on 2Ki_15:14.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And Pul, the King of Assyria came against the…
And Pul, the King of Assyria came against the land. There is no connective in the Hebrew text, and it has been proposed to supply one; but there can be little doubt that the best emendation is that suggested by Thenius, who changes the wymyAlK of ver. 18 into wymyb and attaches that word to ver. 19. Ver. 19 will then read thus: "In his days Pul the King of Assyria came against the laud and no connective will be wanted. The greatest doubt has been entertained with regard to the identity of Pul, whose name does not appear in the Assyrian Eponym Canon, or in any other purely Assyrian document. But recently discovered Babylonian documents seem to prove that Pul (Pulu) was the Babylonian name for Tiglath-pileser, who reigned under that name in Babylon during his last two years, and appears in the Canon of Ptolemy as "Porus." Tiglathpileser, the great founder of the later Assyrian empire, made himself king in B.C. 745, and proceeded to consolidate the Assyrian power on every side,after a period of great weakness and disorganization. He made several expeditions against Babylonia, and several into Syria and Palestine. The expedition in which he came into contact with Menahem is thought to have been that of his eighth year, B.C. 738 (see G. Smith, "Eponym Canon," pp. 117-120; and, for the identity of Tiglath-pileser with Pul, see the "Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology" for 1884, p. 198). And Menahem gave Pal a thousand talents of silver. A vast sum certainly, equal to above a quarter of a million of our money, perhaps to some extent a punishment for the siege and sack of Tiphsah. But not a sum that it would have been impossible to pay. A King of Damascus, about fifty years previously, had bought off an Assyrian attack by the payment of two thousand three hundred talents of silver and twenty talents of gold (see "Eponym Canon," p. 115). That his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand; i.e. that Pal might take him under his protection, accept him as one of his subject-princes, and (by implication) support him against possible rivals.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Pul the king of Assyria came against the land
Pul the king of Assyria came against the land
The phrase "Pul the king of Assyria" represents Pul and his army. AT: "Pul the king of Assyria came with his army against the land" (See: Synecdoche)
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Pul the king of Assyria
Pul is the name of a man who was king of Assyria. He was also named Tiglath-Pileser. (See: How to Translate Names)
came against the land
The phrase "came against" is an idiom meaning to attack. "The land" refers to the land of Israel and represents the people who live there. AT: "came with his army to attack the people of Israel" (See: Idiom and Metonymy)
one thousand talents of silver
"1000 talents of silver." You may convert this to a modern measure. AT: "thirty-three thousand kilograms of silver" or "thirty-three metric tons of silver" (See: Numbers and Biblical Money)
so that Pul's support might be with him
The abstract noun "support" can be translated with the verb "support." AT: "so that Pul might support him" (See: Abstract Nouns)
to strengthen the kingdom of Israel in his hand
Having the kingdom in his hand represents ruling the kingdom. AT: "to strengthen his rule over the kingdom of Israel" (See: Metaphor)
exacted this money from Israel
"took this money from Israel"
fifty shekels of silver
You may convert this to a modern measure. AT: "six hundred grams of silver" or "three-fifths of a kilogram of silver" (See: Biblical Money)
did not stay there in the land
"did not stay there in Israel"
translationWords
Assyria
silver
kingdom of Israel
hand
turn
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 15:19-20 Tiglath-pileser: The NLT uses the Assyrian (see 15:29;…
15:19-20 Tiglath-pileser: The NLT uses the Assyrian (see 15:29; 16:6) form of the name, rather than the Hebrew form, Pul, which is taken from the Babylonian. Tiglath-pileser III seized the throne of Assyria in 744 BC and provided able leadership until his death in 727 BC. • When Tiglath-pileser launched the western campaign to regain territory held by Aram, Menahem paid him a heavy tribute of thirty-seven tons of silver to keep him from overrunning Israel. • Although Menahem’s name means comfort, the unsettled conditions in the northern kingdom provided little consolation for God’s people during his reign (752–742 BC).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.