II Kings 15:17-22 · Bible study
2 Kings 15:17-22 Commentary: Menahem's Reign
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Exegetical study of Menahem's ten-year rule over Israel, his tribute to Pul of Assyria, and the theological message for God's people under political pressure.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Menahem, an evil king, pays tribute to Assyria to secure his throne, then dies naturally; the passage highlights Israel's political and spiritual decline.
- Key words: 'Pul' (possibly Tiglath‑pileser III), 'talents of silver' (~37 tons), 'mighty men of wealth' (wealthy taxpayers).
- Main debate: Whether Pul is a separate Assyrian king or another name for Tiglath‑pileser; whether Menahem invited the invasion or merely responded.
- Theological theme: Trusting military alliances and riches instead of God leads to bondage, even if it buys short‑term peace.
- Best use: A warning against making expedient compromises with worldly powers while abandoning covenant faithfulness.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
17In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah’s reign over Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria ten years.
18And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and throughout his reign he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.
19Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver in order to gain his support and strengthen his own grip on the kingdom.
20Menahem exacted this money from each of the wealthy men of Israel—fifty shekels of silver from each man—to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and did not remain in the land.
21As for the rest of the acts of Menahem, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
22And Menahem rested with his fathers, and his son Pekahiah reigned in his place.
WEB World English Bible 2000
17In the thirty ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi began to reign over Israel for ten years in Samaria.
18He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight. He didn’t depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.
19Pul the king of Assyria came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul one thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.
20Menahem exacted the money from Israel, even from all the mighty men of wealth, from each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and didn’t stay there in the land.
21Now the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
22Menahem slept with his fathers, and Pekahiah his son reigned in his place.
KJV King James Version 1769
17In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria.
18And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
19And 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.
20And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land.
21And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
22And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
17In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria.
18And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin.
19There 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.
20And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land.
21Now the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
22And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
17In the thirty and ninth year of Azariah king of Judah reigned hath Menahem son of Gadi over Israel--ten years in Samaria.
18And he doth the evil in the eyes of Jehovah, he hath turned not aside from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat that he caused Israel to sin, all his days.
19Pul king of Asshur hath come against the land, and Menahem giveth to Pul a thousand talents of silver, for his hand being with him to strengthen the kingdom in his hand.
20And Menahem bringeth out the silver from Israel, from all the mighty men of wealth, to give to the king of Asshur, fifty shekels of silver for each one, and the king of Asshur turneth back and hath not stayed there in the land.
21And the rest of the matters of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?
22And Menahem lieth with his fathers, and reign doth Pekahiah his son in his stead.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
17In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi began to reign over Israel, for ten years, in Samaria.
18And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah: he departed not, all his days, from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
19Pul the king of Assyria came against the land; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to establish the kingdom in his hand.
20And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, of all those who were wealthy, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land.
21And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
22And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
17In the nine and thirtieth year of Azarias, king of Juda, reigned Manahem, son of Gadi, over Israel, ten years, in Samaria.
18And he did that which was evil before the Lord: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin, all his days.
19And Phul, king of the Assyrians, came into the land, and Manahem gave Phul a thousand talents of silver to aid him and to establish him in the kingdom.
20And Manahem laid a tax upon Israel, on all that were mighty and rich, to give the king of the Assyrians, each man fifty sicles of silver: so the king of the Assyrians turned back, and did not stay in the land.
21And the rest of the acts of Manahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?
22And Manahem slept with his fathers: and Phaceia, his son, reigned in his stead.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · II Kings 15:17
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this passage portrays Menahem as a king who 'did evil in the sight of the LORD' (v.18), continuing the idolatrous policies of Jeroboam I. His ten-year reign in Samaria (v.17) marks the first time an Assyrian king, identified as Pul (almost certainly Tiglath-pileser III), appears as a direct threat to the northern kingdom (Barnes, Keil). Menahem's response was to pay a massive tribute of 1,000 talents of silver (about 37 tons) to buy Pul's support and 'confirm the kingdom in his hand' (v.19). To raise this sum, he imposed a levy of fifty shekels on every wealthy man in Israel (v.20). The Assyrian army withdrew, and Menahem eventually died naturally, passing the throne to his son Pekahiah (v.22). The passage leaves the impression of a tyrant who sacrificed his own people for political survival, all while the prophets (Hosea, Amos) were warning Israel of coming judgment.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: Menahem's reign was evil, Assyria invaded, a large tribute was paid, and the kingdom continued under his son before eventually falling.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Identity of Pul | Pul is a king of Assyria who invaded Israel during Menahem's reign. | Some commentators (e.g., Cambridge, Keil) identify Pul with Tiglath‑pileser III; others (e.g., Clarke) are more cautious, noting Pul may be a separate figure. The cross‑reference in 1 Ch 5:26 links Pul and Tiglath‑pileser as distinct or synonymous. |
| Menahem's motive for the tribute | He paid to avoid destruction and to gain Assyrian support for his throne. | Some (Jamieson‑Fausset‑Brown, following Keil) argue Pul marched against Israel uninvited; others read v.19 as suggesting Menahem actively sought an alliance ('that his hand might be with him'). |
| The number of taxpayers in v.20 | Fifty shekels per man were collected from wealthy citizens. | Based on the total of 1,000 talents, the number of contributors is usually calculated as 60,000. Some see this as a precise census; others as a round estimate. The text does not give a count, making the exact number speculative. |
| Synthesis with the prophetic tradition | Hosea and Amos prophesied during Menahem's time, condemning Israel's idolatry and alliances. | Whether Menahem's tribute is directly denounced by Hosea (e.g., Hos 5:13, 'Ephraim went to Assyria') is debated. Some (Keil) see a direct link; others view Hosea's oracles as more general. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The reign of Menahem (c. 752-742 BC) sits in the final decades of the northern kingdom of Israel. After a series of palace coups, Zachariah murdered by Shallum, Shallum murdered by Menahem (2 Ki 15:8‑14), Israel was militarily weak and politically fractured. Into this vacuum stepped Assyria, which had been expanding westward under Tiglath-pileser III (called 'Pul' in this text, possibly his Babylonian throne-name; see 1 Ch 5:26).
Pul's invasion of Israel (v.19) was part of a broader campaign to secure the Mediterranean coast. The 'thousand talents of silver' was a staggering sum, Barnes calculates that at fifty shekels per man, the levy fell on 60,000 property owners, a figure that highlights both Israel's remaining wealth and the crushing burden of the tribute. Unlike Judah's kings, who could draw on temple treasuries (2 Ki 12:18; 16:8), Israel's kings had no such reserve, so Menahem extracted the money directly from the wealthy elite (v.20).
Chronologically, the synchronism 'thirty-ninth year of Azariah [Uzziah] of Judah' (v.17) anchors Menahem's accession. The 'ten years' of his reign (v.17) likely include the year of his coup, and his 'sleeping with his fathers' (v.22), dying a natural death, is remarkable given his violent seizure of power and the brutality earlier displayed when he 'ripped up all their women who were with child' at Tiphsah (v.16). The historian notes his evil but does not yet pronounce the final verdict; that comes in the chapters ahead.
Textual Notes
The supplied commentaries note two minor textual issues. The phrase 'all his days' in v.18 is absent from the Septuagint (LXX), though present in the Masoretic Text. Some English translations (e.g., ASV, WEB) retain it; others (e.g., BSB) omit it. Additionally, the introductory clause of v.19 lacks a conjunction in the Hebrew, which the RV and Cambridge represent by beginning with 'There came against the land Pul…' instead of 'And Pul the king…' The LXX adds 'In his days' at the start of v.19, likely to ease the transition. No significant variant affects the meaning of the passage.
Reception History
This passage has received less homiletic attention than the more dramatic accounts of Assyrian invasions later in Kings. However, Reformation‑era commentators (Geneva Notes, Matthew Henry) used it to illustrate the futility of trusting in foreign powers instead of God. John Calvin referenced Menahem's tribute as an example of how tyrants burden their own people to maintain power. In the 19th century, critical scholars (Keil, Barnes) used the Assyrian monuments to identify Pul with Tiglath‑pileser III and to confirm the historical reliability of the biblical chronology. Modern evangelical preachers often cite these verses when teaching on the cost of compromise and the danger of seeking security outside God's covenant.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Political crisis meets spiritual failure. Menahem's evil (v.18) is not just personal; it is national. The sins of Jeroboam, state‑sponsored idolatry, had left Israel without divine protection. When Assyria came, Menahem had no God to turn to.
- Tribute bought a truce, but not peace. The silver bought a temporary withdrawal (v.20), but the root problem, a kingdom built on oppression and idolatry, remained. Sixty thousand wealthy men paid for Menahem's grip on power.
- A 'peace' that could not last. Menahem died in his bed (v.22), but his son Pekahiah reigned only two years before another assassin struck (v.25). The problems Menahem deferred became his son's collapse.
Five-point outline
- Historical setting: Assyria's first direct strike against Israel (v.19).
- The price of survival: 1,000 talents of silver extracted from the rich (v.20).
- Theological diagnosis: 'He did that which was evil', the chronic formula for every northern king (v.18).
- Short‑term success: Pul turned back; Menahem kept his throne (v.20).
- The cost to the nation: a precedent of tribute that later kings would repeat, leading to exile (2 Ki 17:3‑4).
Illustration hooks
- A business owner who takes on high‑interest debt to keep control of the company, short‑term relief, long‑term bondage.
- A family that covers a financial crisis by borrowing from everyone they know, only to face a worse crisis later.
- A student who cheats on an exam to pass a course, but the missing knowledge leaves them unprepared for the next level.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why did God allow a ruthless king like Menahem to reign for ten years without immediate judgment?
- Was Menahem simply a pragmatist trying to save Israel, or was his tribute a betrayal of trust in God?
- How should we respond when our leaders make compromises that seem necessary but are morally questionable?
Leading a Discussion
This passage shows Israel's leadership choosing political calculation over covenant faithfulness. Menahem's tribute to Assyria bought a decade of peace, but at what cost? The small group questions below will help you explore the tensions of faith, power, and survival.
Discussion questions
- Read verses 17‑18. Why does the historian repeat the same formula ('he did evil… he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam') for Menahem as for earlier kings? What does that repetition tell us about the pattern of Israel's collapse?
- Verse 19 says Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver 'that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.' What does this reveal about Menahem's view of where true security comes from?
- The tribute was raised by taxing only 'the mighty men of wealth' (v.20). How might the rich have felt about this? How might the poor have felt?
- In what way does Menahem's decision echo the earlier sin of Israel asking for a human king (1 Sam 8)? What does trusting 'horses and chariots' (or foreign armies) look like in our own lives?
- Verse 22 says Menahem 'slept with his fathers.' After the violence of verse 16, why might the historian note his peaceful death? What does that silence imply about God's patience?
- How does this passage connect to the ministry of the prophet Hosea, who criticized Israel for 'going to Assyria' (Hos 5:13)?
- If you were a pastor or prophet in Menahem's court, what would you have said to him when Pul arrived? What would you say to a Christian leader facing a similar temptation today?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| II 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. |
| II Kings 14:5 | As soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, he killed his servants who had slain the king his father, |
| II 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. |
| II Kings 17:3 | Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him; and Hoshea became his servant, and brought him tribute. |
| II Kings 17:4 | The king of Assyria discovered a 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. |
| II 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. |
| I Chronicles 5:25 | 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. |
| I Chronicles 5:26 | 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 away the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and to the river of Gozan, to this day. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke identifies Pul, the first Assyrian king mentioned since Nimrod, as the ruler of Nineveh during Jonah's mission. He interprets "hand" in verse 19 as power or influence and calculates each man's fifty shekels as over five pounds in English money.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes identifies King Pul not as a standard Assyrian monarch but likely a Chaldaean who founded a separate kingdom during Assyria's decline. He treats Menahem's tribute as a calculated renewal of vassalage to secure Assyrian military support, a move that drew prophetic reproach and burdened the wealthy.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge commentary identifies Pul, the Assyrian king who attacked Israel, as Tiglath-pileser II, using evidence from cuneiform inscriptions and ancient historians. It also notes that Menahem's payment of a thousand talents of silver highlights Israel's great wealth during this period.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill identifies Pul as the first Assyrian king named in Scripture, rejecting the common identification with a Babylonian governor. He calculates the thousand talents of silver as a huge sum, which Menahem raised by taxing only the wealthy men at fifty shekels each, sparing the poor. Gill notes that Menahem, though a usurper, died in peace.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB reconciles two biblical accounts by arguing that Menahem did not invite Pul into Israel. Instead, Pul advanced on his own, and Menahem paid a heavy tribute to turn him from an invading enemy into a political ally, securing his own shaky rule.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch argue that Menahem did not invite the Assyrian king Pul into Israel, as many commentators have assumed. Instead, Pul invaded on his own, and Menahem paid the heavy tribute not as a bribe for help, but to persuade Pul to withdraw and thereby undercut a rival faction that had sought Assyrian support.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry stresses that God's promise to Jehu was kept exactly as spoken: his dynasty lasted four generations, no more. The rapid succession of short-lived, violent kings that follows shows both the precision of divine judgment and how quickly a kingdom unravels once God's restraint lifts.