In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months. He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, as his fathers had done. He didn’t depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin. Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and struck him before the people, and killed him, and reigned in his place. Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. This was Yahweh’s word which he spoke to Jehu, saying, “Your sons to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” So it came to pass.
Parallel Translations
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In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months.
He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, as his fathers had done. He didn’t depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.
Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and struck him before the people, and killed him, and reigned in his place.
Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
This was Yahweh’s word which he spoke to Jehu, saying, “Your sons to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” So it came to pass.
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In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months.
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.
And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead.
And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
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.
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In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months.
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, wherewith he made Israel to sin.
And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead.
Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
This was the word of the LORD which He spoke unto Jehu, saying: 'Thy sons to the fourth generation shall sit upon the throne of Israel.' And so it came to pass.
Cross-references (33)
- 2 Kings 10:30 (v12) Yahweh said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in executing that which is right in my eyes, and have done to Ahab’s house according to…
- 2 Kings 9:25-26 (v12) Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, “Pick him up, and throw him in the plot of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember how, when…
- 2 Kings 13:10 (v12) In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria for sixteen years.
- 2 Kings 13:13 (v12) Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat on his throne. Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
- 2 Kings 14:29 (v12) Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; and Zechariah his son reigned in his place.
Show all 33 cross-references
- Zechariah 1:6 (v12) But my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, didn’t they overtake your fathers? “Then they repented and said,…
- Mark 13:31 (v12) Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
- John 10:35 (v12) If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture can’t be broken),
- John 19:24 (v12) Then they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to decide whose it will be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled,…
- John 19:36-37 (v12) For these things happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled, “A bone of him will not be broken.” Again another Scripture says, “They…
- Acts 1:16 (v12) “Brothers, it was necessary that this Scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning…
- Numbers 23:19 (v12) God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and…
- 1 Kings 15:28 (v10) Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha killed him, and reigned in his place.
- 1 Kings 16:9-10 (v10) His servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza,…
- 2 Kings 9:24 (v10) Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and struck Joram between his arms; and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his…
- 2 Kings 9:31 (v10) As Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, “Do you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master?”
- 2 Kings 9:36-37 (v12) Therefore they came back, and told him. He said, “This is Yahweh’s word, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘The…
- 2 Kings 10:29 (v9) However, Jehu didn’t depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin, the golden calves that were in…
- 2 Kings 10:31 (v9) But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of Yahweh, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He didn’t depart from the sins of Jeroboam, with…
- 2 Kings 13:1 (v12) In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria for…
- 2 Kings 13:2 (v9) He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin. He…
- 2 Kings 13:11 (v9) He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight. He didn’t depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to…
- 2 Kings 14:16-17 (v8) Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son reigned in his place. Amaziah the…
- 2 Kings 14:24 (v9) He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight. He didn’t depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to…
- 2 Kings 14:28 (v11) Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he fought, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, which…
- 2 Kings 14:29–15:1 (v8) Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; and Zechariah his son reigned in his place. In the twenty-seventh year of…
- 2 Kings 15:14 (v10) Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, came to Samaria, struck Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, killed him, and reigned in his…
- 2 Kings 15:25 (v10) Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired against him and attacked him in Samaria, in the fortress of the king’s house, with Argob…
- 2 Kings 15:30 (v10) Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, attacked him, killed him, and reigned in his place, in the…
- Hosea 1:4-5 (v10) Yahweh said to him, “Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and will…
- Amos 7:9 (v10) The high places of Isaac will be desolate, the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with…
- 2 Kings 10:10 (v12) Know now that nothing will fall to the earth of Yahweh’s word, which Yahweh spoke concerning Ahab’s house. For Yahweh has done that which…
- 2 Kings 14:21 (v8) All the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (21 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv8, 10 He was the fourth in descent from Jehu, who…
He was the fourth in descent from Jehu, who reigned according to God’s promise, but in him God began to execute his wrath against the house of Jehu.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv8–12 2Ki 15:8 In the thirty and eighth year of…
2Ki 15:8 In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months.
Ver. 8. Six months.] So soon God despatched him out of the way, and with him the whole house of Jehu, for their great wickedness.
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 On vv8, 10 The thirty and eighth year of Azariah; of which…
The thirty and eighth year of Azariah; of which See Poole "2Ki 15:2".
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v8 The best days of the kingdom of Israel were…
The best days of the kingdom of Israel were while the government was in Jehu's family. In his reign, and the next three reigns, though there were many abominable corruptions and miserable grievances in Israel, yet the crown went in succession, the kings died in their beds, and some care was taken of public affairs; but, now that those days are at an end, the history which we have in these verses of about thirty-three years represents the affairs of that kingdom in the utmost confusion imaginable. Woe to those that were with child (Kg2 15:16) and to those that gave suck in those days, for then must needs be great tribulations, when, for the transgression of the land, many were the princes thereof.
I. Let us observe something, in general, concerning these unhappy revolutions and the calamities which must needs attend them - these bad times, as they may truly be called. 1. God had tried the people of Israel both with judgments and mercies, explained and enforced by his servants the prophets, and yet they continued impenitent and unreformed, and therefore God justly brought these miseries upon them, as Moses had warned them. If you will yet walk contrary to me, I will punish you yet seven times more, Lev 26:21, etc. 2. God made good his promise to Jehu, that his sons to the fourth generation after him should sit upon the throne of Israel, which was a greater favour than was shown to any of the royal families either before or after his. God had said it should be so (Kg2 10:30) and we are told in this chapter (Kg2 15:12) that so it came to pass. See how punctual God is to his promises. These calamities God long designed for Israel, and they deserved them, yet they were not inflicted till that word had taken effect to the full. Thus God rewarded Jehu for his zeal in destroying the worship of Baal and the house of Ahab; and yet, when the measure of the sins of the house of Jehu was full, God avenged upon it the blood then shed, called the blood of Jezreel, Hos 1:4. 3. All these kings did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, for they walked in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Though at variance with one another, yet in this they agreed, to keep up idolatry, and the people loved to have it so; though they were emptied from vessel to vessel, that taste remained in them, and that scent was not changed. It was sad indeed when their government was so often altered, yet never for the better - that among all those contending interests none of them should think it as much their interest to destroy the calves as others had done to support them. 4. Each of these (except one) conspired against his predecessor, and slew him - Shallum, Menahem, Pekah, and Hoshea, all traitors and murderers, and yet all kings awhile, one of them ten, another twenty, and another nine years; for God may suffer wickedness to prosper and to carry away the wealth and honours awhile, but, sooner or later, blood shall have blood, and he that dealt treacherously shalt be dealt treacherously with. One wicked man is often made a scourge to another, and every wicked man, at length, a ruin to himself. 5. The ambition of the great men made the nation miserable. Here is Tiphsah, a city of Israel, barbarously destroyed, with all the coasts thereof, by one of these pretenders (Kg2 15:16), and no doubt it was through blood that each of them waded to the throne, nor could any of these kings perish alone. No land can have greater pests, nor Israel worse troubles, than such men as care not how much the welfare and repose of their country are sacrificed to their revenge and affectation of dominion. 6. While the nation was thus shattered by divisions at home the kings of Assyria, first one (Kg2 15:19) and then another (Kg2 15:29), came against it and did what they pleased. Nothing does more towards the making of a nation an easy prey to a common enemy than intestine broils and contests for the sovereignty. Happy the land where that is settled. 7. This was the condition of Israel just before they were quite ruined and carried away captive, for that was in the ninth year of Hoshea, the last of these usurpers. If they had, in these days of confusion and perplexity, humbled themselves before God and sought his face, that final destruction might have been prevented; but when God judgeth he will overcome. These factions, the fruit of an evil spirit sent among them, hastened that captivity, for a kingdom thus divided against itself will soon come to desolation.
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II. Let us take a short view of the particular reigns.
1. Zachariah, the son of Jeroboam, began to reign in the thirty-eighth year of Azariah, or Uzziah, king of Judah, Kg2 15:8. Some of the most critical chronologers reckon that between Jeroboam and his son Zachariah the throne was vacant twenty-two years, others eleven years, through the disturbances and dissensions that were in the kingdom; and then it was not strange that Zachariah was deposed before he was well seated on the throne: he reigned but six months, and then Shallum slew him before the people, perhaps as Caesar was slain in the senate, or he put him to death publicly as a criminal, with the approbation of the people, to whom he had, some way or other, made himself odious; so ended the line of Jehu.
2. But had Shallum peace, who slew his master? No, he had not (Kg2 15:13), one month of days measured his reign and then he was cut off; perhaps to this the prophet, who then lived, refers (Hos 5:7), Now shall a month devour them with their portions. That dominion seldom lasts long which is founded in blood and falsehood. Menahem, either provoked by his crime or animated by his example, soon served him as he had served his master - slew him and reigned in his stead, Kg2 15:14. Probably he was general in the army, which then lay encamped at Tirzah, and, hearing of Shallum's treason and usurpation, hastened to punish it, as Omri did that of Zimri in a like case, Kg1 16:17.
3. Menahem held the kingdom ten years, Kg2 15:17. But, whereas we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel were merciful kings (Kg1 20:31), this Menahem (the scandal of his country) was so prodigiously cruel to those of his own nation who hesitated a little at submitting to him that he not only ruined a city, and the coasts thereof, but, forgetting that he himself was born of a woman, ripped up all the women with child, Kg2 15:16. We may well wonder that ever it should enter into the heart of any man to be so barbarous, and to be so perfectly lost to humanity itself. By these cruel methods he hoped to strengthen himself and to frighten all others into his interests; but it seems he did not gain his point, for when the king of Assyria came against him, (1.) So little confidence had he in his people that he durst not meet him as an enemy, but was obliged, at a vast expense, to purchase a peace with him. (2.) Such need had he of help to confirm the kingdom in his hand that he made it part of his bargain with him (a bargain which, no doubt, the king of Assyria knew how to make a good hand of another time) that he should assist him against his own subjects that were disaffected to him. The money wherewith he purchased his friendship was a vast sum, no less than 1000 talents of silver (Kg2 15:19), which Menahem exacted, it is probable, by military execution, of all the mighty men of wealth, very considerately sparing the poor, and laying the burden (as was fit) on those that were best able to bear it; being raised, it was given to the king of Assyria, as pay for his army, fifty shekels of silver for each man in it. Thus he got clear of the king of Assyria for this time; he staid not to quarter in the land (Kg2 15:20), but his army now got so rich a booty with so little trouble that it encouraged them to come again, not long after, when they laid all waste. Thus was he the betrayer of his country that should have been the protector of it.
4. Pekahiah, the son of Menahem, succeeded his father, but reigned only two years, and then was treacherously slain by Pekah, falling under the load both of his own and of his father's wickedness. It is repeated concerning him as before that he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam. Still this is mentioned, to show that God was righteous in bringing that destruction upon them which came not long after, because they hated to be reformed, Kg2 15:24. Pekah, it seems, had some persons of figure in his interest, two of whom are here named (Kg2 15:25), and with their help he compassed his design.
5. Pekah, though he got the kingdom by treason, kept it twenty years (Kg2 15:27), so long it was before his violent dealing returned upon his own head, but it returned at last. This Pekah, son of Remaliah, (1.) Made himself more considerable abroad than any of these usurpers, for he was, even in the latter end of his time (in the reign of Ahaz, which began in his seventeenth year), a great terror to the kingdom of Judah, as we find, Isa 7:1, etc. (2.) He lost a great part of his kingdom to the king of Assyria. Several cities are here named (Kg2 15:29) which were taken from him, all the land of Gilead on the other side Jordan, and Galilee in the north containing the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulon, were seized, and the inhabitants carried captive into Assyria. By this judgment God punished him for his attempt upon Judah and Jerusalem. It was then foretold that within two or three years after he made that attempt, before a child, then born, should be able to cry My father and my mother, the riches of Samaria should be taken away before the king of Assyria (Isa 8:4), and here we have the accomplishment of that prediction. (3.) Soon after this he forfeited his life to the resentments of his countrymen, who, it is probable, were disgusted at him for leaving them exposed to a foreign enemy, while he was invading Judah, of which Hoshea took advantage and, to gain his crown, seized his life, slew him, and reigned in his stead. Surely he was fond of a crown indeed who, at this time, would run such a hazard as a traitor did; for the crown of Israel, now that it had lost the choicest of its flowers and jewels, was lined more than ever with thorns, had of late been fatal to all the heads that had worn it, was forfeited to divine justice, and now ready to be laid in the dust - a crown which a wise man would not have taken up in the street, yet Hoshea not only ventured upon it but ventured for it, and it cost him dear.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv8–12 And the rest of the acts of Zachariah,.... During…
And the rest of the acts of Zachariah,.... During his six months' reign, and what he might do before in the interregnum:
behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel: for be they more or fewer, good or bad, they were all recorded there which were of any moment.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v8 Six months - After the throne had been vacant…
Six months - After the throne had been vacant several years, thro' the dissentions that were in the kingdom.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv10, 12 Verse 10. Smote him before the people] In some…
Verse 10. Smote him before the people] In some public assembly: he probably became very unpopular.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv10–12 2Ki 15:10. Shallum the son of Jabesh — Probably…
2Ki 15:10. Shallum the son of Jabesh — Probably one of his chief captains; conspired against him — On what pretence is quite uncertain. And smote him before the people — Openly and impudently, which, it is likely, he presumed to do, either because he remembered that the promise of the kingdom, made to Jehu, was confined to the fourth generation, (2Ki 10:30,) which he observed to be now expired; or because he perceived the people were generally disaffected to their king, and favourable to his attempt.
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 On vv8, 10 In the thirty and eighth year - Rather, according…
In the thirty and eighth year - Rather, according to the previous numbers 2Ki 14:23; 2Ki 15:2, the 27th year of Azariah. Some suppose an interregnum between Jeroboam and Zachariah, which, however, is very improbable.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv8, 10 Thirtieth. Usher would place an interregnum of eleven years…
Thirtieth. Usher would place an interregnum of eleven years and a half, after the death of Jeroboam, to make the first year of Zacharias correspond with the 38th of Azarias, during which, he supposes, the troubles mentioned [in] Amos vii., and viii., happened. But this interregnum has no foundation, ver. 5. (Calmet) --- Capellus says it would have lasted above 22 years. He and Houbigant would read, 28th: the latter adds ten years to the reign of Zacharias. The transcriber might easily omit the years, as they end in the same manner as months. Arabic has "six years;" whence we may infer, that the copies formerly varied. The exploits of Zacharias require a longer space than six months. (Chron. sac. p. 107, 110.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v8 ZECHARIAH'S REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (Kg2 15:8-16)
ZECHARIAH'S REIGN OVER ISRAEL. (Kg2 15:8-16)
In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel--There was an interregnum from some unknown cause between the reign of Jeroboam and the accession of his son, which lasted, according to some, for ten or twelve years, according to others, for twenty-two years, or more. This prince pursued the religious policy of the calf-worship, and his reign was short, being abruptly terminated by the hand of violence. In his fate was fulfilled the prophecy addressed to Jehu (Kg2 10:30; also Hos 1:4), that his family would possess the throne of Israel for four generations; and accordingly Jehoahaz, Joash, Jehoram, and Zechariah were his successors--but there his dynasty terminated; and perhaps it was the public knowledge of this prediction that prompted the murderous design of Shallum.
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 On vv8, 10, 12 REIGN OF ZACHARIAH, KING OF ISRAEL, 2Ki_15:8-12.
REIGN OF ZACHARIAH, KING OF ISRAEL, 2Ki_15:8-12.
8. The thirty and eighth year of Azariah — According to 2Ki_14:23, Jeroboam began to reign in Amaziah’s fifteenth year, and as he reigned forty-one years, he must have died in Uzziah’s twenty-sixth or twenty-seventh year. Hence there must have been an interregnum in the kingdom of Israel of about eleven years, from the twenty-sixth or twenty-seventh to the thirty-eighth of Uzziah; or else, as is more probable, Jeroboam reigned not forty-one, but fifty-two or fifty-three years. This is further shown by the concurring dates given in 2Ki_15:13; 2Ki_15:17; 2Ki_15:23; 2Ki_15:27.
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 On vv8–12 8–12. Zechariah king of Israel. He is slain, after…
8–12. Zechariah king of Israel. He is slain, after six months, by Shallum, who succeeded him (Not in Chronicles)
8. Zachariah [R.V. Zechariah] the son of Jeroboam] This was as is noticed below, in. verse 12, the fourth generation of the family of Jehu. The sovereignty had been promised them no longer.
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 On vv8, 9, 10, 12 (8) In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah.—This…
(8-16) THE REIGNS OF ZACHARIAH AND SHALLUM IN SAMARIA.
(8) In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah.—This agrees with the assumption that Jeroboam reigned fifty-one years (2Ki_14:23).
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 On vv8–12 Vers. 8-12. REIGN OF ZACHARIA OVER ISRAEL. FULFILLMENT OF…
Vers. 8-12. REIGN OF ZACHARIA OVER ISRAEL. FULFILLMENT OF THE PROMISE MADE JEHU. The writer has nothing to record of Zachariah but his murder by Shallum after a reign of six months. Vers. 8, 9, and 11 contain the usual formula. Ver. 10 gives the only event that needed record. Ver. 12 recalls to the reader"s attention a previous passage, in which a prophecy had been mentioned, whereof Zachariah"s reign was the fulfillment.
In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah King of Judah did Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria. If Azariah began to reign in the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam (ver. 1), and Jeroboam died in his forty-first or forty-second year, (2Ki_14:23) Zachariah must have ascended the throne in the fifteenth or sixteenth year of Azariah. Even if Azariah became king in the fifteenth of Jeroboam, as has been shown to be probable (see the comment on ver. 1), Zachariah"s accession cannot have been earlier than Azariah"s twenty-sixth year. An interregnum between the death of Jeroboam and the accession of Zachariah is not to be thought of. Six months. So also Josephus (see "Ant. Jud.," 9:11.
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Vers. 8-31. Worldly prosperity not infrequently the ruin of kingdoms.
I EXAMPLE OF SAMARIA. Scarcely ever was there a more prosperous reign than that of Jeroboam II a reign of forty-one years of continual success, uncheckered by a misfortune-Syria defeated, the old border everywhere recovered, Hamath occupied, Damascus brought into a subject condition. As usual, where there is military success, wealth flowed in, and with wealth, luxury. "Great houses" were built, (Amo_3:15) "ivory houses;" i.e. houses inlaid or paneled with ivory; distinct mansions were inhabited during the summer and during the winter time. (Amo_3:15) The children of Israel passed their lives in Samaria, lying "in the corner of a bed," and in Damascus lounging "upon a couch". (Amo_3:12) Flagons of wine" were "loved"; (Hos_3:1) "whoredom and wine and new wine took away their heart". (Hos_4:11) And with this softness was blended, on the one hand, the seductive influence of a licentious religionism, on the other, the coarser and ruder vices to which luxury and self-indulgence inevitably lead. Patriotism disappeared, and self-seeking took its place. "Politically all was anarchy or misrule; kings made their way to the throne through the murder of their predecessors, and made way for their successors through their own. Shallum slew Zechariah; (2Ki_15:10) Menahem slew Shallum (ver. 14); Pekah slew the son of Menahem (ver. 25); Hoshea slew Pekah (ver. 30). The whole kingdom of Israel was a military despotism, and, as in the Roman empire, those in command came to the throne" (Pusey"s "Minor Prophets," p. 2). Society was corrupt to the core. The idolatries of the calves, of Baal, and of Moloch worked out their natural results, and bore their bitter fruit. "Creature-worship," as St. Paul points out, (Rom_1:23-32) was the parent of every sort of abomination; and religion having become creature-worship, what God gave as the check to sin became its incentive. Every commandment of God was broken, and that habitually. All was falsehood, (Hos_4:1) adultery (Hos_4:11; Amo_2:7) blood shedding; (Hos_5:2 Hos_6:8) deceit of God (Hos_4:2) producing faithlessness to man; excess and luxury were supplied by secret or open robbery, (Hos_7:1) oppression, (Hos_12:7) false dealing (Amo_8:5; Hos_12:7) perversion of justice (Hos_10:4; Amo_2:6) grinding of the poor. (Hos_12:7) Blood was shed like water, until one stream met another, (Hos_4:2) and overspread the land with one defiling deluge. Adultery was consecrated as an act of religion. (Hos_4:14) Those who were first in rank were first in excess. People and king vied in debauchery; (Hos_7:5) and the sottish king joined and encouraged the free-thinkers and blasphemers of his court. (Hos_7:3) The idolatrous priests loved and shared in the sins of the people; (Hos_4:8, Hos_4:9) nay, they seem to have set themselves to intercept those on either side of Jordan, who would go to worship at Jerusalem, laying wait to murder them. (Hos_5:1 Hos_6:9) Corruption had spread through the whole land, even the places once sacred through God"s revelations or other mercies to their fore-fathers Bethel, Gilgal, Gilead, Mizpah, Shechem were especial scenes of corruption or of sin. (Hos_4:15 Hos_5:1 Hos_6:8, Hos_6:9, etc.) Every holy memory was effaced by present corruption. Could things be worse? There was one aggravation more. Remonstrance was useless; (Hos_4:4) the knowledge of God was willfully rejected; (Hos_4:6) the people hated rebuke; (Amo_5:10) the more they were called, the more they refused; (Hos_11:2, Hos_11:7) they forbade their prophets to prophesy; (Amo_2:12) and their false prophets hated God greatly. (Hos_9:7, Hos_9:9) All attempts to heal all this disease only showed its incurableness" (ibid., p. 3).
II EXAMPLE OF TYRE. The prosperity of Tyre in the seventh and eighth centuries before our era was extraordinary. She was mistress of her sister cities, Sidon and Gebal and Arvad; she ruled over a hundred colonies; on her island-rock she was safe from Assyria; the trade of the world was in her hands. "Situate at the entry of the sea, a merchant of the people for many isles"; (Eze_27:3) full of worldly wisdom, the wisdom that gets increase of riches; (Eze 28:8-5) rich beyond all conception in precious metals, and in gems, (Eze_28:13) and in spices, and in broidered work, (Eze_27:9, Eze_27:24) and in ivory and, (Eze_27:15) and in all manner of merchandise; approved, respected, called "the renowned city, strong in the sea"; she (Eze_26:17) had reached the acme of her glory, of her wealth, of her greatness. But with what results to her moral tone and temper? Her heart was "lifted up"; (Eze_28:5) her pride became excessive; she said in her heart, "I am of perfect beauty" (Eze_27:8) am a god; I sit in the seat of God". (Eze_28:2) "Iniquity" of every kind was found in her (Eze_28:15) envp, (Eze_26:2) and "violence" (ver. 16), and corrupt wisdom (ver. 17), and profanation of sanctuaries (ver. 18), and even dishonesty in her traffic (ver. 18). And with iniquity, as usual, came ruin. Because of her pride, and her envy, and her violence, and her other iniquities, God brought a fire into her midst, which devoured her and reduced her to ashes. (Eze_26:18) The Babylonians were made God"s instrument to chastise her, and carry off her wealth, and break down her walls, and destroy her pleasant houses, and slay her people with the, (Eze_26:11, Eze_26:12) and make her a byword among the nations (Eze_27:32) a desolation, a hissing, and a terror (ver. 36).
III EXAMPLE OF ROME. The ruin of Rome was undoubtedly wrought by that long career of unexampled military success, which began with the closing years of the Second Punic War, and continued till she was the world"s mistress. The wealth of Carthage, Macedonia, and Asia flowing into her coffers, destroyed the antique simplicity and severity of manners, stimulated ambition, provoked inordinate desire, and led to those terrific civil wars, in which the blood of the noblest and the bravest was shed like water, and Rome fell ruined by her own strength" (Horace). It was not the influx of the barbarians that destroyed Rome; she fell from internal decay. The decline of Roman civilization dates from before the fall of the republic. It was then that population began to diminish, and the pure Roman blood to be mingled with the refuse of every nation. Slaves, freedmen, clients, glided into the tribes and gentes, and were followed by absolute foreigners, Greeks and Egyptians and Syrians, effete races in a state both of physical and moral degradation. "The Orontes flowed into the Tiber." The very names of those in the highest position became grotesque and strange, such as Cicero and Cato would have pronounced manifestly barbarous. A decay of moral principles followed this admixture. Slavery prevailed, and slavery in ancient as in modern times was "a hotbed of vice and selfish indulgence, enervating the spirit and vital forces of mankind, discouraging legitimate marriage, and enticing to promiscuous and barren concubinage. The fruit of such hateful unions, if fruit there were, engaged little regard from their selfish fathers, and both law and usage continued to sanction the exposure of infants, from which the female sex undoubtedly suffered most. The losses of Italy from this horrid practice were probably the greatest; but the provinces also lost proportionally; the imitation of Roman habits was rife on the remotest frontiers; the conquests of the empire were consolidated by the attractions of Roman indulgence and sensuality; slavery threw discredit on all manual labor, and engendered a false sentiment of honor, which constrained the poorer classes of freemen to dependence and celibacy; vice and idleness went hand-in-hand, and combined to stunt the moral and physical growth of the Roman citizen, leaving his weak and morbid frame exposed in an unequal contest to the fatal influences of his climate" (Merivaie, "Roman Empire," vol. 8. pp. 353, 354). It was a race which had thus lost its stamina, and become effete and worn out, that succumbed to barbarian inroads which, a few centuries earlier, it would have repulsed without any difficulty.
Vers. 8-22. Anarchy in Israel.
With rapid descent the kingdom of Israel, which had risen to great external prosperity under Jeroboam II, hastened to its fall. The prophets give us vivid pictures of the corruption of the times. The bonds of social life were loosened, oppression was rampant, the fear of God seemed to have died out of the land; there was no confidence, peace, or good will among any classes, in the nation. As a consequence, the throne was a prey to any adventurer who had power to seize it.
I THE FALL OF JEHU"S HOUSE.
1. The shadow of doom. With the accession of Zachariah, Jeroboam"s son, the fourth generation of John"s dynasty ascended the throne The shadow of doom may thus be said to have rested On this ill-fated king. A prophet had Spoken it to the founder of the house, "Thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth generation." That word had its bright side of reward, but it had also its dark side of penalty, and it is this, which becomes prominent as the predicted term nears its close. Yet, as we can now also see, there is no fate in the matter. The reason why John"s sons were only to sit on the throne till the fourth generation lay in their own character and actions. God"s decrees do not work against, but in harmony with, the existing nature of things, and the established connection of causes and effects. John"s house was about to fall
(1) because John"s sons had been ungodly. None of them had sought God"s glory or taken any pains to promote godliness in the nation. On the contrary, they had continued sowing the wind of disobedience to God"s will, and the nation was now to reap the whirlwind.
(2) Under the rule of these kings, irreligion and immorality had spread fast, and struck their roots deep and wide in the kingdom. This will undermine any dynasty, will overthrow any empire. Rulers make a great mistake when they fix attention solely on external prosperity. If the foundations are rotten, the structure will sooner or later inevitably come down.
(3) Zachariah himself was a feeble king. This is implied even in the brief notice we have of him. It may be he who is referred to by Hosea, "In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine," etc. (Hos_7:5) In any case, we know that he was not only weak, but wicked did evil in the sight of the Lord.
2. The prophetic word fulfilled. A brief six months of the throne was all that was allowed to Zachariah. He seems to have been held in contempt by the people. His feeble character would appear the more feeble in contrast with that of his energetic and victorious father. We have a similar contrast in English history between Richard Cromwell and his father, Oliver. But Zachariah was more than feeble, he was worthless. Therefore, when the conspirator Shallum smote the king in the light of public day, "before the people," no hand seems to have been raised in his defense. He perished, and the house of Jehu was extinguished with him. Sinners do not live out half their days. (Psa_55:23) In due time the words of God are all fulfilled.
II THE REIGN OF MENAHEM. We may pass by the brief reign of Shallum, which lasted only a month, and of which no events are recorded. He was slain by Menahem, the son of Gadi, illustrating the truth of which this chapter affords other exemplifications, that they who take the sword shall perish by the sword. (Mat_26:52) In respect of Menahem, we notice:
1. His violent usurpation. He too possessed himself of the throne by violent means. He smote Shallum in Samaria, as Shallum had, a few weeks before, smitten Zachariah. The effect of these revolutions on the morals of the people and the administration of law may be imagined. What respect could be felt for royalty established by such methods? Shallum, indeed, was a murderer, but Menahem was no better. Neither by sanction of God nor by election of the people, but solely by brute force, did he set himself upon the throne. His rule was thus, in its inception and essence, a tyranny. To this had Israel come by rejecting their true Ruler God. "They have set up kings," said God, "but not by me". (Hos_8:4) He who rejects God as his Sovereign must bear a heavier yoke.
1. His sickening cruelties. The fact that Menahem kept the throne for ten years shows him to have been a man of no small natural ability. But his disposition was savagely cruel. Not only did ha smite Shallum a deed which might be pardoned but in his war with Tiphsah he was guilty of brutal atrocities on those who refused to submit to him (cf. ver. 16). In this he showed himself a man of a fierce and unscrupulous character. The people had become fierce, godless, and violent; and God gave them a king after their own image.
2. His league with Assyria. This is not the first contact of Israel with Assyria, but it is the first mention of that contact in the sacred history, The King of Assyria, here named Pul, came against the land, evidently with hostile intent; but Menahem, by the payment of a huge tribute, bought him off, and secured his sanction to his occupancy of the throne. (On the identification of Pul, see the Exposition.) Israel now came under a foreign yoke, and "sorrowed," as Hosea says, "for the burden of the King of princes". (Hos_8:10) Sin, which is an effort after emancipation from the Law and authority of God, ends in the sinner being reduced to miserable bondage (Luk_15:15, Luk_15:16; Joh_8:34)
3. His oppression of the people. To raise the money for Pul, Menahem was under the necessity of exacting large sums from the men of wealth in the land. From each, we are told, he took fifty shekels of silver. Much of this money had been wrung from the poor, and now it was taken from the rich. In the end, it was probably upon the poor that the burden would come back. Thus the land groaned under tyranny, foreign oppression, robbery, and grinding of class by class. The end was not quite yet, but it was fast approaching. We need not doubt that Menahem"s oppressive reign was hateful to the people. He escaped, however, the penalty of his misdeeds in his own person, and "slept with his fathers." It was his son Pekahiah who reaped the harvest he had sown.
III THE REIGN OF PEKAH. Pekahiah"s reign of two years, like that of Shallum, may be passed over. A stronger hand was needed to hold together the warring elements in this distracted kingdom, and such a hand was that of Pekah, the son of Remaliah.
1. Overthrow of the house of Menahem. Menahem had succeeded in handing down the throne to his son, but the latter could not keep it. The bold and ambitious Pekah, one of Pekahiah"s captains, having secured the co-operation of fifty Gileadites, smote the king in his palace, and his attendants with him. Thus another violent revolution took place in Israel. It is stated that Pekah kept the throne for twenty years, but there is great difficulty at this point in adjusting the chronology. It seems impossible, on the side of Judah, to shorten the reign of Ahaz, having regard to his own age, and that of his son Hezekiah, at their respective accessions. To bring the Jewish and Assyrian chronologies into accord, we must apparently either
(1) shorten the reign of Pekah by about ten years, and bring down the reign of Ahaz to a date considerably below that usually given, which involves also the abandonment of the biblical date for the commencement of the reign of Hezekiah, (2Ki_18:1) and of the synchronisms of this period generally; or
(2) suppose some break or hiatus of twenty years or so in the Assyrian lists at the epoch of the accession of Tiglath-pileser, i.e. the commencement of the new Assyrian empire. This view has its difficulties, but is not impossible. Pekah"s reign was as evil as that of his predecessors.
1. Invasions of Tiglath-pileser. During this reign began those invasions of the Assyrians, and deportations of the population, which culminated in the fall of Samaria and carrying captive of the whole people, some years later. This expedition, of which mention is made in the Assyrian inscriptions, took place towards the end of Pekah"s period of rule, and was a sequel to the events related in 2Ki_16:5-9. Pekah, in alliance with Rezia of Damascus, had made a plot to depose Ahaz of Judah, and to set a creature of his own upon the throne. (Isa_7:1-6) To this proposed attack we owe Isaiah"s magnificent prophecy of the Child Immanuel.
2. Pekahs death. This intriguing monarch also, as he had climbed to the throne by assassination, fell a victim to assassination. He was slain by Hoshea, the son of Elah, who succeeded him as the last King of Israel. J.O.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v8
THE AGONY OF THE NORTHERN KINGDOM
2Ki_15:8-31
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Shallum
B. C. 740
Menahem
B. C. 740-737
Pekahiah
B. C. 757-735
Pekah
B. C.735-734
"Blood toucheth blood."- Hos_4:2
"The revolters are profuse in murders."- Hos_5:2
"They have set up kings, but not by Me: they have made princes, and I knew it not."- Hos_8:4
"Non tam reges fuere quam lures, latrones, et tyranni."
- WITSIUS, "Decaph.," 326.
WITH the death of Zachariah begins the acute agony of Israels dissolution. Four kings were murdered in forty years. Indeed, within two centuries, at least nine kings-Nadab, Elah, Zimri, Tibni, Jehoram, Zachariah, Shallum, Pekahiah, Pekah-had made the steps of the throne slippery with blood. Except in the house of Omri, all. the kings of Israel either left no sons or left them to be slain. Amos, by his vision of the basket of summer fruit, had intimated that the sins of Israel were ripe for punishment, and the lesson had been emphasized by the paronomasia of quits, "summer," and queets, "end." {Amo_8:2} The prophet had singled four out of many crimes as the cause of her ruin. They were
(1) greedy oppression of the poor;
(2) land-grabbing;
(3) licentious and idolatrous revelries;
(4) cruelty to poor debtors, and rioting on the proceeds of unjust gains.
In their drunkenness they even tempted Gods Nazarites to break their vows. "Behold," saith Jehovah, "I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves." Even women shared in the common intoxication, and showed themselves utterly shameless, so that Amos contemptuously calls them "fat cows of Bashan upon the mountain of Samaria," whom in punishment the brutal conqueror should drag by the hair out of their ivory palaces, as a fisherman drags his prey out of the water by hooks. {Amo_4:1-3} Shallum, son of Jabesh, the unknown murderer of Zachariah and the usurper of his throne, suffered the fate of Zimri, and only reigned for one month. If his conspiracy was marked by the odious circumstances of treachery and corruption, which we infer from the allusions of Hosea, Shallum richly deserved the swift retribution which fell upon him. He seems to have destroyed Zachariah by means of his best affections-under the guise of friendship, in the midst of boon companionship. But the slayer of his master had no peace, and from the moment of his fruitless crime the unhappy country seems to have been plunged in the horrors of civil war. Some dim glimpses of the evils of the day are gained from the earlier Zechariah, just as some dim glimpses of the horrors of Rome in the days of the later Caesars may be seen in the Apocalypse. The prophet speaks of three shepherds cut off in one month, who abhorred God, and His soul was impatient at them.
Just as Galba, Otho, and Vitellius flit across the stage of the Empire amid war and assassinations, so Zachariah and Shallum are swept away by "dagger-thrusts through the purple." Was there a third? Ewald and others think that they detect a shadowy outline of him and of his name in 2Ki_15:10. If so, his name was Kobolam, but we know no more of him beyond the fact that "he was, and is not." For the sacred annals are but little concerned with this bloody phantasmagoria of feeble kings, who ruled amid usurpation, anarchy, hostile attacks from without, and civil war within. "Israel," said Hosea, "hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him. They have set up kings, but not by Me: they have made princes, and I knew it not." "They are all as hot as an oven, and have devoured their judges; all their kings have fallen; there is none among them that calleth upon Me." {Hos_8:3; Hos_7:7}
It was perhaps during this distracted epoch that for one moment there was an attempt to place the ruling authority of the nation in the hands of the prophet himself. So it would appear from Zec_11:7-14. Of course these chapters may be allegoric throughout, as, in any case, they are in great part. But if so, it becomes more difficult to understand the meaning. What the prophet says is as follows:-First, as though he saw the terrible conflagration of the Assyrian tyranny rolling southwards, and felt it to be irresistible, he bids Lebanon open her doors, that the fire may devour her cedars. There is perhaps an allusion to the death of Jeroboam II in the words, "Howl, fir tree, for the cedar is fallen." He sees in vision the forces of devastation raging among the oaks of Bashan, the forest and the vintage, while the shepherds cry, and the ousted lions roar in vain. Then Jehovah bids him feed "the flock of the slaughter"-the flock sold remorselessly by its rich possessors, and slain, and left unpitied, as the people were despoiled by its nobles and its kings. The prophet undertakes the charge of the miserable flock, and takes two staves, one of which he calls "Prosperity," and the other "Union." While he was thus engaged three shepherds were cut off in one month, whom he loathed, and who abhorred him. But he finds his task hopeless, and flings it up; and in sign that his covenant with the people is broken, he breaks his staff "Prosperity." The nation refused to pay him anything for his services, except a paltry sum of thirty pieces of silver, and these he disdainfully flung into the sacred treasury. {Zec_9:1-17} Then seeing that all hope of union between Israel and Judah was at an end, he broke his staff "Union." Lastly, Jehovah says He will raise up a foolish, neglectful, cruel shepherd who would care for nothing but to eat the flesh of the fat and break the hoofs of the flock. And as for this worthless shepherd, the sword should be upon his arm and in his right eye; his arm shall be dried up, and his right eye utterly darkened.
By this cruel and self-seeking shepherd is probably meant Menahem. He had been, according to Josephus, the captain of the guard, and was living at Tirzah, the old beautiful capital of the land. From Tirzah, where he occupied the position of the captain of the chariots, he marched on the ill-supported Shallum. Samaria apparently offered no protection to the usurper. Menahem defeated him and put him to death. Then he proceeded to enforce the allegiance of the rest of the country. An otherwise unknown town of the name of Tiphsach ventured to resist him. Menahem conquered it, and perhaps thinking, as Machiavelli thought, that princes had better exhibit their utmost cruelty at first, to deter any further opposition, he let loose his ferocity on the town in a way which created a shuddering remembrance. As though he had been one of the ferocious heathen, who had never been restrained by the knowledge of God, he exhibited the extreme of callous brutality by ripping up all the women that were with child. In this he followed the remorseless example of Hazael. Hosea had prophesied that this should be the fate of Samaria; {Hos_13:16} Amos had denounced the Ammonites for acting thus in the cities of Gilead; {Amo_1:13} Shalmaneser III had, in B.C. 732, thus avenged himself on the resistance of Beth-Arbel, and Assyria was ultimately to meet an analogous retribution, {Nah_3:10} as also was Babylon. {Isa_13:16} But that a king of Ephraim, of Gods chosen people, should act thus to his own brethren was a horrible portent, ominous of swift destruction.
And the vengeance came. Menahem reigned, at least in name, for ten years; for the sword which had slain mothers with their unborn infants reduced the stricken people to terrified silence. But at this epoch Assyria woke once more from her lethargy, and became the scourge of God to the guilty people and their guiltier kings. For a whole century the Assyrians had either been governed by kings who had abjured the lust of blood and conquest, or had been too seriously occupied on their own eastern and northern frontiers to intermeddle with the southern kingdoms, or break down the barriers erected by the confederacy of Hamath and Damascus between Nineveh and the weaker principalities of Palestine. But now (B.C. 745) there came to the throne a king who, in Chaldaea, was known by the name of Pul, and in Assyria by the name of Tiglath-Pileser; and being too formidable for any power to stay his path, he marched against Menahem. Already he was lord of the world from the Caspian to the Gulf of Persia; already he had subdued Babylonia, Elam, Media, Armenia, eastward-Mesopotamia and Syria westward. Who was Menahem, the petty usurper of a tenth-rate kingdom, that he should withstand his power or even retard his advance?
The cruel usurper was in no condition to resist him. The brand of Cain was on him and his kingdom. How could the weak, impoverished, harassed troops of Israel stand up in battle against those numberless serried ranks, or withstand their tremendous discipline? If the very name of Persia had once stricken terror into the brave Greeks before the spell of Persian ascendency was broken at Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis, much more did the name of Assyria make the hearts of the wretched Israelites melt like water. They now for the first time saw those bearded warriors with their broad swords, their tremendous bows, their fierce, sensual faces, their thickset figures. In the language of the prophets we still hear the echo of the fears which they excited by their swift, unfaltering marches, their sleepless vigilance, their girded loins, stout sandals, and barbed arrows. {Isa_5:26-29}
"Their horses hoofs," says Isaiah, "shall be like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind: their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions; yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and carry it away safe, and there shall be none to deliver. And they shall roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea; and ii one look unto the land, behold darkness and distress, and the light is darkened in the clouds thereof."
Ancient Assyria lay beneath the Snowy Mountains of Kurdistan; and its capital, Nineveh-near Mosul, Kouyunjik, and Neby-Junus-lay six hundred miles from the Gulf of Persia. The people spoke, as their descendants still speak, a dialect of Syriac, akin both grammatically and structurally to Hebrew. Assyria was constantly at war with Babylonia; but for the most part the kings of Assyria held Babylon in subjection, and Tiglath-Pileser was a king of the Chaldaeans under the name Pul, as well as a king of Nineveh.
Menahem was warrior enough to know how hopeless it was to struggle against these trained forces. He was not even secure on his own throne. He thought it best to offer himself without resistance as a feudatory, if the Assyrian King would confirm his sovereignty. Tiglath-Pileser did not think Menahem worth more trouble, and was graciously pleased to accept by way of bribe a tribute of a thousand talents of silver, or about f125,000. This, however, as we learn from the "Eponym Canon," was not all. Menahem had to pay a further tribute year by year. Later on, in 738, Shalmaneser mentions Minik-himmi (Menahem), as well as Rasunnu (Rezin), among his tributaries.
The Assyrian withdrew, and Menahem had to exact this vast sum of money from his miserable subjects. To tax the poor was hopeless. He found that there were some sixty thousand persons who might be reckoned among the wealthier farmers and proprietors, {Comp. Job_20:15; Rth_2:1} and from them he at once exacted fifty shekels of silver (more than 3 pounds) apiece. Probably they thought that to pay the sum demanded was not too heavy a price for the retirement of these frightful Assyrians, whose forces Tiglath-Pileser did not withdraw until he had the money in hand. The event took place in 738, and Tiglath-Pileser continued to reign till 727. How bitterly the burden of foreign tribute was felt appears from Hos_8:9-10, which should perhaps be rendered, "They are gone up to Assyria like a wild ass alone by himself. Ephraim hath hired lovers. And they begin to be minished by reason of the burden of the king of princes." "The king of princes" was the haughty title usurped by Tiglath-Pileser, who said, "Are not my princes all of them kings?". {Isa_10:8} All this was a fulfillment of what Hosea had foreseen:-
"Ephraim is oppressed, he is crushed in judgment, because he was content to walk after vanity. Therefore am I unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness. When Ephraim saw his sickness, and the house of Judah his wound, then went Ephraim to Assyria, and sent unto an avenging king: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound. For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the House of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him."
The Assyrian was irresistible, because he was the destined instrument of the wrath of God. The "mixing, with the heathens" was a sin, and Israel in cooing to Assyria was like a foolish dove; but the day sometimes comes to doomed nations when no course can save them from the fate which they have provoked. {Hos_7:8-12} Not long afterwards Menahem died, and he had sufficiently established his rule to be succeeded as a matter of course by his son Pekahiah. But "Revenge and wrong bring forth their kind; The foul cubs like their parents are."
Samaria had fearful object-lessons in the apparently immediate success of murder and rebellion. The prize looked near and splendid: the vengeance might be belated or might not come. Of Pekahiah we are told absolutely nothing but that he reigned two years, with this stereotyped addition, that he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehova by continuing the calf-worship. After this brief and uneventful reign, his captain Pekah got together fifty fierce Gileadites, and with the aid of two otherwise unknown friends, Argob and Arieh, murdered Pekahiah in his own harem. Argob was probably so named from the district in Bashan, and Arieh was a fit name for a lion-faced Gadite. {1Ch_12:8}
The sacred historian troubles himself but little about these kings. His annals of them are brief to extreme meagerness. Like the prophet, he viewed them as God-abandoned phantoms of guilty royalty.
"They that cry unto me, My God, we, Israel, know thee.
Israel hath cast off that which is good:
The enemy shall pursue him.
They have set up kings, but not by Me;
They have removed them, and I knew it not:
Of their silver and their gold have they made them idols.
That they may be cut off.
He hath cast off thy calf, O Samaria."
Probably Pekahiah was, as so often happens, the weak son of a vigorous father. The times could not tolerate incapable sovereigns; and the fact that Pekah not only maintained himself on the throne for twenty years, but was able to take active steps of aggression against Jerusalem, seems to show that he was a man of some administrative capacity. If he had not achieved political and military importance, it would hardly have been worth while for a fierce and powerful king like Rezin, the last king of Syria, to form so close an alliance with him. Probably Rezin saw that his throne and his very existence were in danger, and Pekah wished with Rezins aid to resist to the uttermost the encroachments of Assyria, and escape the burdensome tribute which Menahem had paid. Indeed, it may well be that Pekahiahs passive continuance of this tribute may have been distasteful to the people of the land, and that they condoned or even tacitly aided Pekahs rebellion in order to get rid of it, and to find protection in an abler monarch. It was the last, perhaps the only, chance for the kings of Syria and of Israel. As we hear no more of Hamath as a member of the alliance, we must suppose that it had now been reduced to impotence and vassalage by the all-powerful Assyrian. If, however, there was to be any over-balance to the colossal menace of Nineveh, it could only be by a large confederacy; and it may have been the refusal of Jotham to join that confederacy, on the death of his father Uzziah, which caused the joint invasion of Rezin and Pekah to force him to accept their alliance or to suppress him altogether. In that case they might have formed a close alliance with Egypt, and the forces of the united South might, they fancied, prove to be a match for the forces of the North. {2Ki_15:37}
Whatever designs they may have formed against Jotham, or to whatever extent they may have annoyed him, it was not till the reign of his son Ahaz that they became formidable and ruinous. Of this we shall say more in recounting the reign of Ahaz. All that we need now remark is that their bold aggression on Judah became the cause of utter destruction to them both. They advanced against Ahaz, and overran his helpless country. It was their object to depose the descendant of David, and to crown in his place a certain unnamed "son of Tabeal"; whom Ewald supposed to have been a Syrian, but whose name may possibly furnish a specimen of the later Jewish device of Gematria.
It is not impossible that behind these events we may find the efforts and yearnings of a party which cared more for Israels unity than for Davids throne. Such a party may easily have sprung up during the splendid, prosperous reign of Jeroboam II. It has been conjectured by some that the election of Uzziah by the people-delayed, according to one reckoning, for twelve years-was in reality the triumph of the party which felt an unquenchable allegiance to Davids house. In Deuteronomy 33 Reuben is put before Judah; Jeshurun (i.e., Israel) is magnified far more than Judah; and some Northern shrine in Zebulun, as well as the Temple, is celebrated as a sanctuary. That there were men in Jerusalem who preferred Rezin and Pekahiah to their own king is clearly stated in Isaiah. He compares them to those who prefer a turbid torrent to a soft, sweet stream. "Because," he says, "this people despise the waters of Shiloah that flow softly, and take delight in Rezin and Remaliahs son; now, therefore, the Lord bringeth upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the King of Assyria, and all his glory." {Isa_8:6-7} Isaiah seems to have had a contempt for the whole attack. He told Ahaz not to fear for the stumps of those two smoking firebrands Rezin, King of Syria, and the Israelitish usurper, whom he only condescends to call "Remaliahs son." He promises the trembling Ahaz that, since he had faithlessly refused a sign, God would give him a sign. The sign was that the young woman who accompanied Isaiah-perhaps his youthful wife-should bear a son, whose name should be called Immanuel; and that before the child Immanuel whose designation, "God with us," was an omen of the loftiest hope-should be of an age to distinguish evil from good, the Northern land, which Ahaz abhorred, should be forsaken of both her kings.
The prophecy came true in every particular. Rezin and Pekah swept all before them, and besieged Jerusalem; but they wasted their time in vain before the fortifications which Jotham had strengthened and repaired. Obliged to raise the siege, Rezin carried his army southward, and indemnified himself by seizing Elath, by driving out the Judaean garrison, and replacing them with Syrians. It was the last gleam of Syrian success, before the final overthrow of Damascus which prophecy had often and emphatically foretold.
Pekah also withdrew his forces-no doubt compelled to do so by the step which Ahaz took in his desperation. For now the King of Judah invoked the protection and invited the active interference of Tiglath-Pileser against his enemies-"to save him out of the hand of the King of Syria, and out of the hand of the King of Israel, who were risen up against him."
Rezin and Damascus first felt the might of the Assyrians conquering arm. The account of his decisive conquest is preserved in the "Eponym Canon" and the passages which refer to the defeat of the Syrians will be found in the First Appendix at the end of the volume. It appears from the monuments that Rezin (Rasannu) lost not only his kingdom, but his life.
It is the death-knell of Aramaean greatness, as Amos had foretold.
"Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; Because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron: But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, Which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad. And I will break the bar of Damascus, And cut off him that sitteth [on the throne] in the Valley of Aven, And him that holdeth the scepter from Beth-Eden: And the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, Saith Jehovah."
Rezin was slain-how we know not; very probably by one of the horrible methods of torture-by being flayed alive, or decapitated, or having his lips and nose cut off-which were practiced by these demon-kings of Nineveh.
Nor did Pekah escape. Tiglath-Pileser advanced against the northern part of his dominions, and afflicted the land of Zebulon and Naphtali. Ijon; Abel-beth-Maachah, the city of Elisha; Zanoah, the ancient sanctuary of Kedesh-Naphtali, the home of the hero Barak; Hazor, the former capital of the Canaanitish king Jabin; Gilead; Galilee, -all submitted to him, apparently without striking a serious blow. He dealt with the miserable inhabitants in the way familiar to kings of Assyria. He deported them en masse into a strange country of which they did not understand the language, and in which they were reduced to hopeless subjection, while he supplied their places by aliens from various parts of his own dominions. There could be no securer method of reducing to paralysis all their national aspirations. Strangers in a strange land, they forgot their nationality, forgot their religion, forgot their language, forgot their traditions. Their sole resource was to plunge into material pursuits, and to melt away into indistinguishable obliteration among the neighboring heathen. It was the beginning of the Northern Captivity-of the loss of the Ten Tribes.
As Tiglath-Pileser thus permanently subdued and depopulated the land of the Northern Tribes, it is a Jewish tradition that at this time he carried away the golden "calf" from Dan among his spoils. Scripture does not record the fact, though in Hosea {Hos_8:5} there may be an allusion to the fate of that at Bethel, whether the right version be "He hath cast off thy calf, O Samaria," or "Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off." "The workman made it," he continues; "therefore it is not God: for the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces." And again: {Hos_10:5} "The people of Samaria shall fear because of the heifer of the House of Vanity: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the chemarim [i.e., the black-robed false priests thereof] shall tremble for it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed. It [the idol] shall also be carried to Assyria for a present to King Combat."
For a time Pekah escaped; but unsuccess is fatal to a murderous usurper, weakened by the loss and plunder of dominions which he is unable to defend. Instead of wasting time in the siege of a strong city like Samaria, Tiglath-Pileser in all probability stirred up Hoshea, the son of Elath, to rise in conspiracy against his master and slay him. For Pekah and Israel seem to have made light of the Northern raid. They said in their pride and stoutness of heart, "The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with new stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars." Such pretence of security was ill-timed and senseless, and Isaiah denounced it. "Therefore," he said, "Jehovah hath set up against Israel the adversaries of Rezin [i.e., the Assyrians], and hath stirred up his enemies; the Syrians on the east, and the Philistines on the west; and they have devoured Israel with open mouth. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still. Yet the people have not turned unto Him that smote them, neither have they sought the Lord of hosts. Therefore Jehovah hath cut off from Israel palm-branch and rush in one day. The elder and the honorable man, he is the head; and the prophet that speaketh lies, he is the tail. For they that lead this people cause them to err, and they that are led of them are swallowed up."
The following verses furnish one of the numerous pictures of the anarchy and abounding misery of these evil days. "For wickedness burneth as the fire: it devoureth the briers and thorns; yea, it kindleth in the thickets of the forest, and they roll upwards in thick clouds of smoke. Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land burnt up; the people also are the fuel of fire: no man spareth his brother. And one shall snatch on the right, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm: Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still."
We are told in the Book of Kings that Pekah reigned for twenty years; but some of these later reigns must be shortened to suit the exigencies of known chronological data. It seems probable that he occupied the throne for a much shorter time.
Such was the weakened, harassed, vassal kingdom-the gaunt specter of itself-to the throne of which, after a period of anarchy and chaos, Hoshea, by conspiracy and murder, succeeded as the miserable feudatory of Assyria.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v8 2Ki_15:10. Assassination of Zachariah by the conspirator Shallum—The compound…
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
2Ki_15:10. Assassination of Zachariah by the conspirator Shallum—The compound word rendered “before the people,” would seem to record a public act of regicide to which the populace offered no resistance. But Dr. H. Gratz reals it as “in Ibleam” (i.e., a town in the plains of Jezreel). Yet קָבָל עַם naturally mean what the text records, although Gratz notes that the A. V. is ungrammatical. The Sept. translate thus:—καὶ έπάταξεν αύτὸν εν Κεβλαἂμ.
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2Ki_15:12. This was the word of the Lord unto Jehu; so it came to pass—See chap. 2Ki_10:30. Thus Jehu’s dynasty perished ignominiously, and the verity of God’s pledge was vindicated equally with the severity of God’s judgments.
2Ki_15:19. King of Assyria came against the land; and Menahem gave talents … that he might confirm the kingdom in his hand—This was the first effort by a king of Israel to ensure his own throne by purchase of protection from a foreign power. Hosea denounced it (Hos_5:13; Hos_7:11; Hos_10:6). It opened the pathway which led onwards to Israel’s doom. Protection from a mighty nation issues in oppression by them. And 2Ki_15:19 leads forward inevitably to 2Ki_15:29. “the king of Assyria carried them captive to Assyria.”
2Ki_15:29. Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria—He was the successor of Pul (2Ki_15:19). Smith’s translation of the cuneiform inscriptions gives the name as Taklat-pel-ashir, which may mean “Lord of the Tigris;” but this is uncertain. His annals and the records of his expedition into Syria have been found at Nimroud, but his genealogy is not given; and as this is the only instance of silence concerning a king’s pedigree it is supposed he was a usurper.
HOMILETICS OF 2Ki_15:8-31
THE UNMISTAKABLE SIGNS OF NATIONAL DECAY AND RUIN
I. Seen in rapid and violent dynastic changes.—During the tranquil and prosperous reigns of Uzziah and Jotham in Judah, the kingdom of Israel was plunged into anarchy and civil war, as in the days of Omri; and no less than six different monarchs occupied the throne, one of them retaining the throne only for a single month. Of the five kings after Jeroboam, only one died upon his bed. As Kitto puts it, the history sounds much like this—B murdered A and reigned in his stead; C murdered B and reigned in his stead; D murdered C and reigned in his stead; E murdered D and reigned in his stead.
Ay, sir, our ancient crown, in these wild times
Oft stood upon a cast—the gamester’s ducat,
So often staked and lost, and then regained,
Scarce knew so many hazards.
The Spanish Father.
No nation can be permanent where the governing power is unstable, commerce is paralysed, life imperilled, and the national spirit broken.
II. Seen in the prevalence of tyranny and bloodshed (2Ki_15:16-20).—Menahem waded to the throne through a stream of blood. One district refusing to recognize him, he compelled submission by the perpetration of the most horrible cruelties. To buy off an attack from the Assyrians, he exacted heavy sums of money from his people. When a nation is drained of its life-blood by civil discord, and of its wealth by a foreign power, its final doom is not very distant.
III. Seen in the powerlessness of the nation to repel invasion (2Ki_15:19; 2Ki_15:29). It is at this point of the history we first come in sight of the great Assyrian power that is to play so important a part in the future destiny of the Jewish nation—a presage of the catastrophe which was finished fifty yearn later. Menahem, though a bold warrior, knew it was madness to cope with a power so formidable, and bribed the Assyrian to withdraw by offering tribute. But in the days of Pekah the Assyrian was not so easily pacified. He ravaged the kingdom east of the Jordan, and swept away the tribes of that region into captivity; and, such was the enfeebled condition of the nation, it does not appear that Pekah made the least resistance. The steps of the process now going on with Israel have often been repeated in history. The first danger is averted by a bribe, which only serves as a temptation to new aggression. Each new attack leaves the doomed state weaker and weaker, till it is reduced to tribute; and at last a despairing effort to shake off the yoke brings down destruction. It is a noble sight to see a brave nation struggling for life and independence against a superior force; but Israel had become so demoralised that the spirit of resistance was crushed, and, for the most part, they submitted to their fate with supine indifference.
LESSONS:—
1. The nations that abandon God will be abandoned by Him.
2. The ruler who uses his power for his own aggrandisement and pleasure lives in constant peril, and perishes without any to mourn his loss.
3. The sins and follies of one nation are punished by another.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
2Ki_15:8-31. The five kings who followed Zechariah persevered in the sins of Jeroboam, which was, from the very commencement of the kingdom, the germ of its ruin. It is to them that the prophet’s words apply—“They have set up kings, but not by me; they have made princes, and I knew it not” (Hos_8:4). Only one of them died a natural death and left the succession to his son, who, in his turn, could only retain the sceptre for a short time. Of the others, each one killed his predecessor in order to gain the throne, the authority of which was, in the meantime, shattered by these commotions. One of the most important factors in the history of this period is the conflict with the rising Assyrian monarchy, which came to assist the internal dissension in hurrying the nation to its downfall. Assyria was destined, in the purpose of God, to be the instrument for inflicting the long-threatened judgment.—Witsius.
—Rulers who seized power by force and violence have never been the deliverers and protectors of their people, but rather tyrants who led it to its ruin. “In one demagogue,” says Luther, “there are hidden ten tyrants.” As is the master, so is the servant; as is the head, so are the members. A succession of rulers, who attained the throne by conspiracy, revolt, perjury, and murder, is the surest sign, not only that there is something rotten in the state, but also that there is nothing sound in the nation. The corruption in Israel extended, in the first place, from the head downwards. Jeroboam made Israel to sin. Then it came from below upwards. The rebels and murderers who came to the throne, came from the people. These kings were so hostile that the one killed the other; but they were of one accord in abandoning Jehovah and persevering in the sin of Jeroboam. This was the cause of their ruin. When there is no fear of God in the heart, then the door is open to every sin and vice.
2Ki_15:10. The public assassination of a monarch—I. Readily accomplished if he is. unpopular. II. Reveals the demoralization of the times. III. Increases rather than diminishes the public calamities. IV. Exposes the assassin to a similar fate (2Ki_15:14).
—“Smote him before the people” openly and impudently—which he presumed to do, either because he remembered that the prophecy of the kingdom made to Jehu was confined to the fourth generation (chap. 2Ki_10:30), which he observed to be now expired, or because he perceived that the people were generally disaffected to their king and favourable to his attempt.—Pool.
2Ki_15:12. The inflexible fidelity of the Divine Word—I. Is based on the unchangeableness of the Divine nature. II. Is frequently illustrated by facts of history. III. Is a source of strength to the obedient, and of wholesome fear to the wicked.
—God keepeth promise with His foes: shall He fail with His friends?—Trapp.
This was an actual confirmation of the declaration in the fundamental law of Israel, that God visits the sins of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generations (Exo_20:5; Exo_24:7; Deu_5:9)—that is, the sin against the first and chief commandment: “Thou shalt have none other gods before me.” This commandment was the foundation of the covenant with Israel, and the centre of the Israelitish nationality. The meaning is, that the sin of Jeroboam will not be permitted by God to run on beyond the third or fourth generation. No dynasty in Israel which followed the sin of Jeroboam lasted for more than three or four generations. The house of Jeroboam, like that of Baasha and Menahem, perished with its first members; the house of Omri with its third; and the house of Jehu with its fourth. Zimri, Shallum, Pehah, and Hosea died without successors; while the house of David remained without long interruption upon the throne. Although single kings in the line were guilty of apostacy, yet the sin was never continued until the second generation.—Lange.
2Ki_15:16. The barbarities of revenge. I. Indicate a debased and brutal nature. II. May terrify into submission, but cannot command genuine obedience. III. An unstable foundation on which to build a throne (2Ki_15:17). IV. Reveal the coward when confronted with a superior power (2Ki_15:19).
2Ki_15:19. The instrument of Divine retribution. I. A time for solemn reflection when its shadow first crosses our path. II. It is vain to think it can be bribed with money. III. Soon demonstrates the pitilessness of its power (2Ki_15:29).
—The tie that had bound Samaria to Assyria from the reign of Jehu to that of Jeroboam II. had ceased to exist during a period of Assyrian depression. Menahem now renewed it, undertaking the duties of a tributory, and expecting the support and assistance which the great paramount state of Asia was accustomed to lend to her dependencies in their struggles with their neighbours. Hence the reproaches of Hosea, who sees in the submission of Ephraim an unfaithful reliance on an arm of flesh, which was at once foolish and wicked (Hos_5:13; Hos_7:11; Hos_8:9).—Speaker’s Comm.
—Now for the first time appeared on the Eastern horizon that great power which for a hundred years was the scourge of Asia. The ancient empire of Assyria, possibly repressed for the time by the dominion of Solomon, rose on its fall, and was henceforth intermingled with all the good and evil fortunes of the kingdom of Israel. Already in the reign of Jehu her influence began to be felt. His name is to be read on the black obelisk which records the tributes offered to Shalmaneser I. in the form of gold and silver and articles manufactured in gold. The destruction of Damascus by Jeroboam II. brought the two powers of Israel and Assyria into close contact; there was now no intervening kingdom to act as a breakwater. Long before its actual irruption the rise of the new power is noted by the prophets. Jonah had already traversed the desert and seen that great Nineveh. Amos had already, though without naming it, foretold that a people should arise which should crush the powerful empire of Jeroboam from end to end, and sees the nations one by one swept into captivity. Hosea brings out the danger more definitely, sometimes naming it, sometimes speaking of it only under the form of the contentions king. The wakeful ear of Isaiah catches the sound of the irresistible advance of the Assyrian armies; their savage warfare, their strange language, the speed of their march, their indefatigable energy, their arrows sharp, their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs like flint, and their chariots like a whirlwind.—Stanley.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v10 As prophesied, Amo 7:9.
smote
As prophesied, Amo 7:9.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v8 Zachariah and Shallum in Israel
Zachariah and Shallum in Israel
v. 8. In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah, king of Judah, after an interregnurn or a state of anarchy lasting eleven years, did Zachariah, the son of Jeroboam, reign over Israel in Samaria six months, the affairs of the nation at that time being in a state of turmoil.
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v. 9. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his fathers had done, there was no change of policy with reference to the calf-worship. He departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, thus inaugurating this era of idolatry.
v. 10. And Shallum, the son of Jabesh, conspired against him, and smote him before the people, not in secret, but in public, and slew him, and reigned in his stead.
v. 11. And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
v. 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. It was in accordance with this promise, 2Ki 10:30, that Zachariah, who represented the fourth generation, had at least a short reign before he was assassinated.
v. 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, enjoying the rule gained by his murder of the king for only a very brief season.
v. 14. For Menahem, the son of Gadi, who seems to have been the commander-in-chief of Israel’s army, went up from Tirzah, only a few miles from Samaria, where the army was stationed, and came to Samaria, and smote Shallum, the son of Jabesh, in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, usurping the throne by force.
v. 15. And the rest of the acts of Shallum, and his conspiracy which he made, how he planned to make his conspiracy a success, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. God does not sanction conspiracies and assassinations, but He sometimes makes use of them for the ends He has in mind.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv8, 10 In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah
In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah
It can be stated clearly that this is the thirty-eighth year of his reign. AT: "In year 38 of the reign of Azariah king of Judah" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Numbers)
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Zechariah son of Jeroboam
This Jeroboam was the second king of Israel that had that name. He was the son of King Jehoash.
reigned over Israel in Samaria for six months
Samaria is the city that Zechariah lived in when he was king of Israel. AT: "lived in Samaria and reigned over Israel for six months"
He did what was evil
"Zechariah did what was evil"
what was evil in the sight of Yahweh
The sight of Yahweh represents Yahweh's judgment. See how you translated this in 2 Kings 3:2. AT: "what was evil in Yahweh's judgment" or "what Yahweh considers to be evil" (See: Metaphor)
He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat
Departing from sins represents refusing to do those sins. AT: "Zechariah did not refuse to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat" or "He sinned as Jeroboam son of Nebat had sinned" (See: Metaphor)
Jeroboam son of Nebat
This Jeroboam was the first king of the ten northern tribes that made up the kingdom of Israel.
who had caused Israel to sin
Here the word "Israel" represents the people of the kingdom of Israel. AT: "who had caused the people of Israel to sin" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
Uzziah
kingdom of Judah
Zechariah (OT)
Jeroboam
kingdom of Israel
Samaria
evil
Yahweh
ancestor
sin
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 On v8 15:8-12 Jeroboam II’s son Zechariah was far less capable…
15:8-12 Jeroboam II’s son Zechariah was far less capable than his father. Zechariah perpetuated the sins that Jeroboam [I] . . . led Israel to commit. God had promised Jehu a royal line to the fourth generation (10:30); Zechariah’s six-month reign fulfilled that promise.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.