2 Kings 15

2 KINGS CHAPTER 15

Judah’s King Azariah

      • In the 27th year of the reign of Israel’s King Jeroboam, Amaziah’s son Azariah became king of Judah. He was 16 years old when he became king and he reigned for 52 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah and she was from Jerusalem. He did what was right in Yahweh’s eyes, just as his father Amaziah had. However, the high places were not removed and the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on them. Yahweh afflicted the king so that he suffered from a skin disease until the day he died. He lived in a separate house and his son, Jotham, was in charge of the king’s household and governed the people of the land.

        • Guzik writes, “The reign of Azariah (also called Uzziah in 2 Kings 15:13 and many other places in 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Isaiah) was largely characterized by the good he did in the sight of the LORD. His godliness was rewarded with a long reign of 52 years…2 Chronicles 26 tells us much more about the successful reign of Uzziah (Azariah)…As with Jehoash (2 Kings 12:3) and Amaziah (2 Kings 14:4), the reforms of Azariah did not reach so far as to remove these traditional places of sacrifice to the LORD…a. The LORD struck the king, so that he was a leper until the day of his death: 2 Chronicles 26 also tells us of the downfall of Azariah, who was marvelously helped till he became strong (2 Chronicles 26:15). The Chronicler goes on: But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense (2 Chronicles 26:16). The priests tried to stop him, but the king insisted on forcing his way into the temple to offer incense. Azariah violated what had become a general principle in God’s dealing with Israel: that no king should also be a priest, and that the offices of prophet, priest, and king should not be combined in one man – until the Messiah, who fulfilled all three offices.”

        • On the statement that the king lived in a “separate house” ESV Study Bible notes, “…lit. in Hebrew ‘the house of freedom’ (bet hakhopshit), which is probably a metaphor for being relieved of responsibility in government more than a description of his living conditions. The king was seriously incapacitated and was regarded as effectively dead (cf the related Hb word khopshi in connection with the world of the dead in Job 3:19, ‘free,’ and Ps. 88:5, ‘set loose’)…His son Jotham therefore exercised effective governmental power in Judah.”

      • HCSB adds, “The ’52 years’ was from 792-740 BC. He was co-regent with Amaziah from 792-767 BC. Jotham’s co-regency with Azariah was from 750-740 BC.”

        • NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible includes this interesting information regarding Azariah’s reign:

          • “…at some point during his long reign [he] may indeed have risen to a position of preeminence among the Syro-Palestinian kingdoms. The evidence is implicit and disputed, however. It comes from two textual fragments that some scholars view as forming parts of one text from the reign of Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 BC), but that others claim derive from different Assyrian kings (Tiglath-Pileser III and the later Sargon II or Sennacherib). The composite text has been interpreted as suggesting that Azariah stood at the head of an anti-Assyrian alliance during the early years of renewed Assyrian activity in the west in 743-738 BC- the period in which our Biblical sources suggest that his son Jotham was exercising effective governmental power in Judah as a result of his father’s illness…”

          • “The first fragment identifies a person apparently called ‘Azriau’ of ‘Ia-u-da-a-a’ as a payer of tribute to Assyria. The second fragment comes from the annals of Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 BC) and describes an unnamed group of kings who had taken 19 districts and cities of the coast belonging to Hamath and had given them to one “Azriau.’ The identification of “Azriau’ with Azariah of Judah is disputed. However, even if it were shown to be indisputably the case that the first fragment belongs to the records of a king no later than Tiglath-Pileser III, the fact remains that the second fragment contains a name Az-ri-a-a-u that is written in an Israelite, not an Aramean, form and that we know of no king of this name in this period other than Azariah of Judah. These points taken together favor identifying Az-ri-a-a-u with Azariah, at least in the case of the second fragment.”

      • The rest of the events of Azariah’s reign, including all of his accomplishments, are recorded in the book, “Annals of the Kings of Judah.” Azariah rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of David. His son Jotham succeeded him as king.

Israel’s King Zechariah

      • In the 38th year of the reign of Judah’s King Azariah, Jeroboam’s son Zechariah became king of Israel. He reigned in Samaria for 6 months. He did what was evil in Yahweh’s eyes just as his ancestors had. He didn’t turn away from the sins of Nebat’s son Jeroboam, which he caused Israel to commit. Jabesh’s son Shallum conspired against him, assassinated him in Ibleam, and took his place as king. The rest of the events of Zechariah’s reign are written in the book, “Annals of the Kings of Israel.” So the word that Yahweh had spoken to Jehu was fulfilled. He said, “Four generations of your descendants will sit on Israel’s throne.”

        • ESV Study Bible says, “Israel’s respite from foreign oppression is as temporary as her domination of Judah. With the passing of Jeroboam II, the nation has reached the ‘fourth generation’ of the divine promise to Jehu (10:30) and has returned to the unstable government of the northern kingdom implied by 1 Kings 14:15 and illustrated in 1 Kings 14-16 (before the house of Omri and Jehu were established). Reign now follows reign in quick succession, as the reader moves toward the end of Israel’s story.”

        • HCSB notes, “The ‘thirty-eighth year’ was 753 BC.”

Image via NLT Illustrated Study Bible

The Last Years of the Northern Kingdom (15:13-17:41)

Israel’s King Shallum

      • In the 39th year of the reign of Judah’s King Uzziah, Jabesh’s son Shallum became king and he ruled in Samaria for one month. Gadi’s son Menahem went from Tirzah to Samaria and killed Jabesh’s son Shallum there and became king in his place. The rest of the events of Shallum’s reign, along with the conspiracy he organized, are recorded in the book, “Annals of the Kings of Israel.” At that time Menahem came from Tirzah and attacked Tiphsah, everyone in the city and its vicinity, because they refused to surrender. He even ripped open the pregnant women.

        • ESV Study Bible notes, “Tirzah (Tell el-Farah), situated in the Samarian hills northeast of Shechem, was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel during the reigns of Baasha, Elah, Zimri, and Omri (1 Kgs 15:33; 16:8, 15, 23) before Omri relocated to Samaria.”

        • NLT Illustrated Study Bible writes, “At Tirzah, Menahem heard of King Zechariah’s assassination by Shallum. Menahem gathered his forces and moved against Samaria. This horrible wartime practice, noted in Assyrian and Babylonian documents, is also attributed to King Hazael of Aram (8:12). See also Hos 10:14; 13:16; Amos 1:13.”

        • HCSB adds, “The ‘thirty-ninth year’ was 752 BC. ‘Uzziah’ was also known as “Azariah.’ Shallum’s record was unique in that there is no evaluation of his actions and attitudes toward idolatry. This omission does not imply he was faithful to Yahweh, but that his reign was so short there was nothing by which to evaluate him.”

Israel’s King Menahem

      • In the 39th year of the reign of Judah’s King Azariah, Gadi’s son Menahem became king of Israel. He ruled for 10 years in Samaria. He did evil in Yahweh’s eyes. During his entire reign he didn’t turn away from the sins of Nebat’s son Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.

        • HCSB notes, “…The ‘thirty-ninth year’ was 752 BC. Menahem reigned 10 years, until 742 BC.”

      • Then Pul, the king of Assyria, invaded the land and Menahem gave him 75,000 pounds of silver to gain his support and solidify his control over the kingdom. Menahem got the silver from Israel by making each of the wealthy men of Israel pay 20 ounces of silver to the Assyrian king. So the king of Assyria left and didn’t stay in the land.

        • ESV Study Bible writes, “’Pul’ is the Hebrew version of the Akkadian ‘Pulu,’ a short name for Tiglath-Pileser III, known from the Babylonian king lists. Tiglath-Pileser’s goal was apparently to establish an Assyrian trading center on the border with Egypt, and he required control of the intervening regions to accomplish this and to ensure safe passage for trade between Philistia and Assyria. Menahem’s tributary payment of a thousand talents of silver makes him Assyria’s friend for the time being, and is mentioned in Assyrian records relating to Tiglath-Pileser’s successful campaign of 738 BC against Syria and Phoenicia.”

        • The same source continues, “ Sixty-three ostraca were found at Samaria that record tax payments that Menahem imposed on Israel to pay off the Assyrian king Pul in 738 BC.”

      • The rest of the events of Menahem’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the book, “Annals of the Kings of Israel.” Menahem rested with his ancestors and his son Pekahiah succeeded him as king.

Image via NLT Illustrated Study Bible

Israel’s King Pekahiah

      • In the 50th year of the reign of Judah’s King Azariah, Menahem’s son Pekahiah became king of Israel. He reigned in Samaria for 2 years. He did what was evil in Yahweh’s eyes and didn’t turn away from the sins of Nebat’s son Jeroboam, which he caused Israel to commit. His officer Pekah, who was Remaliah’s son, conspired against him. Taking 50 men of Gilead with him, he assassinated Pekehiah, as well as Argob and Arieh, in the citadel of the king’s house in Samaria. Then Pekah took his place as king. The rest of the events of Pekahiah’s reign, including all of his accomplishments, are recorded in the book, “Annals of the Kings of Israel.”

        • Guzik remarks, “The previous two kings of Israel (before Menahem) did not reign successfully enough to pass the kingdom on to a son or another dynastic descendant. Menahem ruled well enough to pass the kingdom to Pekahiah.”

        • On the identities of Argob and Ariah, NET Bible says, “The precise identity of Argob and Arieh, as well as their relationship to the king, are uncertain. The usual assumption is that they were officials assassinated along with Pekahiah, or that they were two of the more prominent Gileadites involved in the revolt.”

Israel’s King Pekah

      • In the 52nd year of the reign of Judah’s King Azariah, Remaliah’s son Pekah became king of Israel in Samaria. He reigned for 20 years. He did what was evil in Yahweh’s eyes. He didn’t turn away from the sins of Nebat’s son Jeroboam, which he caused Israel to commit.

        • HCSB notes, “The ‘fifty-second year’ was 740 BC. Pekah reigned 20 years, 752-732 BC…”

        • There is an issue with trying to get a 20 year reign for Pekah. NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible explains, “It seems clear that if Menahem was king of Israel in 738 BC and Pekah was succeeded by Hoshea around 732 BC, Pekah could not have reigned for 20 years over Israel. Indeed, if we were simply to add together the regnal years for Hoshea (17:1), Pekahiah (v. 23) and Pekah, and work backward from the fall of Samaria at the juncture of the reigns of the Assyrian kings Shalmaneser V and Sargon II in 722 BC, we would arrive at a starting date for Pekah’s reign of around 753 BC- well before the accession of Tiglath-Pileser III in 745 BC. The best solution is to assume that before succeeding Pekahiah in Samaria, Pekah had already ruled as governor over at least part of the Israelite territory mentioned in v. 29. Verse 25 appears to locate his power base in Gilead. Pekah then counted his regnal years from the earlier period (during which he was not really a king) as a way of claiming legitimacy, perhaps as the ‘true’ successor to Jeroboam II.”

      • During Pekah’s reign over Israel, Assyria’s King Tiglath-Pileser came and captured Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali. He deported the people to Assyria. Elah’s son Hoshea conspired against Remaliah’s son Pekah. He attacked and assassinated him, and then took his place as king in the 20th year of the reign of Uzziah’s son Jotham. The rest of the events of Pekah’s reign, including all of his accomplishments, are recorded in the book, “Annals of the Kings of Israel.”

        • NLT Illustrated Study Bible writes, “With his second western campaign (734-732 BC), Tiglath-pileser…attacked Israel again. Pekah had allied himself with King Rezin of Aram in an ill-conceived anti-Assyrian coalition (see Isa 9:1). As a result of this invasion, Tiglath-pileser captured and conquered much of Israel’s northern and eastern territory. Pekah’s doomed political policies caused dissension in Israel that led to his assassination by Hoshea, whose action was probably intended to placate the Assyrian king and preserve the northern kingdom. In his annals, Tiglath-pileser claimed that he put Hoshea on the throne and received his heavy tribute.”

        • ESV Study Bible says, “This list of conquered towns to the west of the Jordan, however, is not exhaustive but representative (moving from Ijon, at the northern end of the Huleh Valley and guarding the main highway leading from Palestine to Syria, to Hazor, the largest site in Upper Galilee and occupying the most strategic position in the region.) The Assyrians also deported a significant percentage of Israel’s population, which was a major feature of Tiglath-pileser’s imperial policy, designed to increase the Assyrian labor force and reduce the possibility of further opposition among subjugated peoples.”

        • NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible adds, “…Tiglath-Pileser III made deportation of this kind a major feature of his imperial policy, and it was imitated often by subsequent rulers. It is estimated that 250,000 to 500,000 people were deported during the reigns of Assyrian kings…”

Judah’s King Jotham

      • In the 2nd year of the reign of Israel’s King Pekah, who was the son of Remaliah, Uzziah’s son Jotham became king of Judah. He was 25 years old when he became king and he ruled for 16 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerusha and she was the daughter of Zadok. He did what was right in Yahweh’s eyes just as his father Uzziah had. However, the high places were not removed and the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on them.

        • NLT Illustrated Study Bible explains, “The second year of Pekah’s reign reflects the first full year of Jotham’s independent reign; he was co-regent with his father for the previous decade. [It was] sixteen years from the beginning of his co-regency with his father Uzziah (750 BC) until his son Ahaz became the primary ruler of Judah (735 BC).”

      • Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of Yahweh’s house. The rest of the events of Jotham’s reign, including all of his accomplishments, are recorded in the book, “Annals of the Kings of Judah.” In those days, Yahweh began sending Syria’s King Rezin and Remaliah’s son Pekah against Judah. Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of his ancestor David. His son Ahaz succeeded him as king.

        • ESV Study Bible writes, “Jotham’s reign saw the beginning of Micah’s prophetic ministry (Mic 1:1).”

        • On the Upper Gate, NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible says, “The ‘gate behind the guard’ (11:6) that was located in a wall separating the temple and palace complexes. It is intriguing that Jotham should give attention to the boundary marker between temple and palace when it is precisely the transgression of that boundary for which 2 Chr 26:16-21 blames his father.” ESV Study Bible mentions that this gate was, “presumably damaged in the course of Jehoash’s incursion into Jerusalem in 14:13-14.”

        • Guzik remarks, “In particular, it seems that Jotham rebuilt the link between the temple and the palace…His father Azariah (Uzziah) misunderstood the link between the royal house and the house God, demanding priestly authority (2 Chronicles 26:16-21). Many kings before him wanted no link between the royal house and the house of God. Jotham understood that he was a king and not a priest, yet he wanted a good, open link between the palace and the temple. 2 Chronicles 27:6 says, So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God. The building of this link between the palace and the temple was one of the chief ways that he prepared his way before the LORD…”

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