2 Kings 15 is the fifteenth chapter of the second part of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BCE, with a supplement added in the sixth century BCE. This chapter records the events during the reigns of Azariah (Uzziah) and his son, Jotham, the kings of Judah, as well as of Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah and Pekah, the kings of Israel. Twelve first verses of the narrative belong to a major section 2 Kings 9:1–15:12 covering the period of Jehu's dynasty.
Text This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language. It is divided into 38 verses.
Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century).
Structure This chapter can be divided into the following sections: : Regnal account of Azariah (Uzziah) ben Amaziah of Judah : Regnal account of Zechariah ben Jeroboam of Israel : Regnal account of Shallum ben Jabesh of Israel : Regnal account of Menahem ben Gadi of Israel : Regnal account of Pekahiah ben Menahem of Israel : Regnal account of Pekah ben Remaliah of Israel : Regnal account of Jotham ben Uzziah of Judah
Analysis This chapter displays a contrast between the stability of the southern kingdom and the downward sliding of the northern kingdom, with two royal records of Judah bracketing the narrative of five Israel kings in quick succession. Each reign is judged using a standard formula, one for the kings of Judah (verses , ) and another for the kings of Israel (verses , , , ).
Azariah (Uzziah), king of Judah (15:1–7) The regnal records of Azariah the son of Amaziah, the king of Judah, can be demarcated by the introductory form (verses 1–4) and the concluding form (verses 5–7). The main account is in verse 5 regarding the king's leprosy and the active role of his son, Jotham, in ruling the kingdom on his behalf, but the length of the co-regency is not explicitly recorded. The period of his reign coincides largely with the reign of Jeroboam, who ruled over a kingdom territory comparable to that of Solomon, so Azariah's kingdom was a vassal to the kingdom of Israel. provides a more detailed account of Azariah's reign, especially the reason God striking him with leprosy, his 'military actions against Philistia, the Arabs of Geur-Baal, and the Meunites', as well as 'his efforts to fortify Jerusalem and to secure the hold on the Shephelah.'
Verse 1 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah, king of Judah, began to reign. ESV "In the 27th year of Jeroboam": According to Thiele's chronology,Thiele, Edwin R., The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, (1st ed.; New York: Macmillan, 1951; 2d ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965; 3rd ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan/Kregel, 1983). , 9780825438257 following "accession year method", Azariah the son of Amaziah of Judah started to reign alone as the 10th king of Judah between April and September 767 BCE, following a period of co-regency (since the capture of Amaziah by Joash of Israel).
Verse 2 He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. NKJV Cross reference: 2 Chronicles 26:3 "He reigned 52 years": according to Thiele's chronology, following the "accession year method", Azariah became king at the age of 16 when his father, Amaziah, was taken as hostage to the kingdom of Israel in 791 BCE, as a co-regent until his father's death between April and September 767 BCE, when he ruled alone at the age of 39, until his death between September 740 BCE and September 739 BCE at the age of 68. "Jecholiah of Jerusalem" (also written as "Jecoliah" (ESV) or "Jekoliah" (MEV)) could be arranged as a wife for Amaziah to 'consolidate Amaziah's hold on Jerusalem following a failed attempt at revolt'.
Verse 5 And the Lord touched the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house. And Jotham the king's son was over the household, governing the people of the land. MEV "A leper": suffered from "leprosy", which was a 'term for several skin diseases' (cf. ).Note [a] on 2 Kings 15:5 in MEV As a leper, Azariah was deemed impure (), and unfit to carry out the state functions or to appear at the temple. "A separate house": from , bet hakhofshit; the meaning is uncertain.Note [a] on 2 Kings 15:5 in NET Bible The Torah commands lepers to live apart from the population ().
Verse 7 And Azariah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Jotham his son reigned in his place. ESV The time of Azariah's death coincides with the time Isaiah received his call to be a prophet ("in the year that King Uzziah died"; Isaiah 6:1). E.L. Sukenik found an Aramaic inscription that reads, "Here were brought the bones of Uzziah, king of Judah. Do not open!" and once marked the tomb of Uzziah outside Jerusalem.Albright, W. F. (1931) "The Discovery of an Aramaic Inscription Relating to King Uzziah". BASOR 44:8–10.
Zechariah, king of Israel (15:8–12) Zechariah, the last ruler of the Jehu dynasty, only reigned for six months and his assassination ends a long period of stability in the kingdom of Israel. It is set in the frame of the divine guidance that God himself announced to the founder of the dynasty (2 Kings 10:30) and confirms the fulfillment of it in verse 12.
Verse 8 In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months. NKJV "In the 38th year of Azariah": based on Thiele's chronology, McFall determines that Jeroboam should have died between the month Elul (6th month; August/September) and Tishrei (7th month; September/October) 753 BCE, and immediately was succeeded by Zechariah, his son, while still counted as the 38th year of Azariah (which was calculated from Tishrei to Tishrei or September to September). "Six months": Zechariah's assassination happened probably in the early months of 752 BCE (before 1 Nisan 752 BCE), which is counted as the 39th year of Azariah.
Verse 10 And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead KJV "Before the people" (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT): from the Masoretic Hebrew text , qaval ʿam. Lucian's Greek version reads “in Ibleam” ( beyivleʿam (cf. NAB, TEV),Note on 2 Kings 15:10 in NET Bible the location where Ahaziah of Judah is slain by Jehu (2 Kings 9:27), which provides a certain irony when Zechariah, the last of Jehu's dynasty, was also slain in the same place. The Greek Septuagint text in Codex Vaticanus and some Hebrew text reads Keblaʿam.
Verse 12 This was the word of the Lord which He spoke to Jehu, saying, “Your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” And so it was. NKJV "To the fourth generation": a fulfillment of the word of YHWH in 2 Kings 10:30 that Jehu and four generations of his descendants (Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam II, and Zechariah) ruled from approximately 814-753 BCE; Jehu's dynasty ended when Shallum assassinated Zechariah in 753 BCE.Note [b] on 2 Kings 15:12 and note on 2 Kings 10:30 in NET Bible
Shallum, king of Israel (15:13–16) After bringing an end to the Jehu dynasty (verse 10), Shallum could only reign for a month before he was slain by Menahem. The literary structure consists of an 'introductory regnal form' (verse ), the body of the account (verse 14) and the 'concluding regnal form' (verse ). Menahem's submission to Assyria (verses ) suggests that his action was to stop an attempt to revolt against the Assyrian by Shallum.
Menahem, king of Israel (15:17–22) The 10-year reign of Menahem provides a 'rare period of stability' in the final years of the northern kingdom, which was the result of Menahem's tributary payment to the Assyrian king, Tiglath-Pileser III (also known as Pul, cf. ANET 272). The tribute, along with those from other monarch, is listed with Menahem's name explicitly in the annals of the Assyria (ANET 283–284). To pay that tribute, Menahem instituted an oppressive tax, fifty shekels (about 1 pounds, or 575 gramsNote on 2 Kings 15:20 in MEV) of silver per person from all the wealthy men in Israel (verse 20), which may contribute to the coup against his son after he died.
Verse 17 In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi began to reign over Israel, and he reigned ten years in Samaria. ESV "In the 39th year of Azariah": based onThiele's chronology, Menahem would start to reign by the end of April 752 BCE and died between September 742 BCE and April 741 BCE after sitting on the throne for 10 years.
Verse 19
And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand. KJV "Assyria": from this verse to the end of the book, Assyria is mentioned 48 times (12 times 4), replacing Aram as the principal threat to the northern kingdom (Aram essentially disappears after 2 Kings 16, except one brief mention in ). "1000 talents" of metal: is about 38 tons, or 34 metric tons.Note on 2 Kings 15:19 in MEV One talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms.Note on 2 Kings 15:19 in ESV Tiglath-Pileser records the tribute from Menahem in one of his inscriptions (ANET 283).The Annals of Tiglath-pileser. Livius.org. Translation into English by Leo Oppenheim. Quote: "I [Tiglath Pileser III] received tribute from... Menahem of Samaria...gold, silver, ...".
Pekahiah, king of Israel (15:23–26) The main regnal account of Pekahiah, the 17th king of Israel, only mentions his assassination by a group of 50 men from Gilead led by Pekah ben Remaliah, his own captain (verse 25).
Verse 23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years. KJV "In the 50th year of Azariah": based onThiele's chronology, Pekahiah would start to reign between September 742 BCE and April 741 BCE after the death of his father, Menahem. "Two years": Pekahiah would have died between September 740 BCE and April 739 BCE based on the accession year method in Thiele's chronology.
Pekah, king of Israel (15:27–31) The main record of Pekah's reign in this section focuses on the invasion of Tiglath-Pileser III into Israel in 734–732 BCE and his murder in a coup led by Hosea ben Elah, backed by the Assyrians, as noted in the annals of Assyria (ANET 284. Quote: "They overthrew their king Pekah (Pa-qa-ḥa) and I placed Hoshea (A-ú-si-ʼ) as king over them. I [Tiglath-Pileser III] received from them 10 talents of gold, 1,000 (?) talents of silver as their [tri]bute, and brought them to Assyria"). Pekah's alliance with Rezin of Damascus in the Syro-Ephraimite War to resist the Assyrians and attack Judah, a vassal to the Assyrians, is recorded in multiple passages (verse 37, 2 Kings 16:5, 7–9; Isaiah 7:1–17; Isaiah 9:1) and also in the annals of the Assyrians (ANET 283–284).
Verse 27 In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years. NKJV "In the 52nd year of Azariah": based on Thiele's chronology, Pekah reign as a sole king in Samaria between September 740 BCE and April 739 BCE after the death of Pekahiah, but he may have been considered to reign together with Menahem 12 years earlier.