2 Kings 15

Chapter context

What is happening in 2 Kings 15?

prophetic witnessjudgmentexileidolatry

2 Kings 15 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as decline of Judah. Second Kings follows the ministries of Elijah and Elisha, recounts the decline of both kingdoms, and ends with Jerusalem’s fall and a faint glimmer of Davidic continuity. Read this chapter with the wider themes of prophetic witness, judgment, and exile in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.

¹ In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign. ² Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. ³ And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done; ⁴ Save that the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places. ⁵ And the LORD smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the house, judging the people of the land. ⁶ And the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ⁷ So Azariah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead. 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. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead. ¹¹ And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 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. 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. ¹⁴ For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, and came to Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in his stead. ¹⁵ And the rest of the acts of Shallum, and his conspiracy which he made, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ¹⁶ Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up. ¹⁷ In 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. ¹⁸ And 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. 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. ²⁰ And 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. ²¹ And 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? ²² And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead. 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. ²⁴ And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. ²⁵ But Pekah the son of Remaliah, a captain of his, conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the king’s house, with Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men of the Gileadites: and he killed him, and reigned in his room. ²⁶ And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ²⁷ In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years. ²⁸ And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. ²⁹ In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria. ³⁰ And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. ³¹ And the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ³² In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign. ³³ Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. ³⁴ And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD: he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. ³⁵ Howbeit the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burned incense still in the high places. He built the higher gate of the house of the LORD. ³⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ³⁷ In those days the LORD began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah. ³⁸ And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.

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Glossary

Amaziah Person v. 1, 3: Strengthened by Jehovah. (1. ) A Levite, son of Hilkiah, of the descendants of Ethan the Merarite ( 1 Chr. 6:45 ). (2. ) The son and successor of Joash, and eighth king of the separate kingdom of Judah ( 2 Kings 14:1-4 ).
Azariah Person v. 1, 6-8, 17, 23, 27: Whom Jehovah helps. (1. ) Son of Ethan, of the tribe of Judah ( 1 Chr. 2:8 ). (2. ) Son of Ahimaaz, who succeeded his grandfather Zadok as high priest ( 1 Chr. 6:9 ; 1 Kings 4:2 ) in the days of Solomon.
Jeroboam Person v. 1, 8-9, 18, 24, 28: Increase of the people. (1. ) The son of Nebat ( 1 Kings 11:26-39 ), “an Ephrathite,” the first king of the ten tribes, over whom he reigned twenty-two years (B. C. 976-945).
Jerusalem Place v. 2, 33: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Jerusalem.
City People v. 7, 38: The earliest mention of city-building is that of Enoch, which was built by Cain ( Gen. 4:17 ). After the confusion of tongues, the descendants of Nimrod founded several cities (10:10-12).
City of David Place v. 7, 38: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: City of David.
David Person v. 7, 38: Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam. 17:25 .
Samaria Place v. 8, 13-14, 17, 23, 25, 27: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Samaria.
Zachariah Person v. 8, 11: Remembered by the Lord. (1. ) Son of Jeroboam II., king of Israel.
Nebat Person v. 9, 18, 24, 28: Sight; aspect, the father of Jeroboam, the king of Israel ( 1 Kings 11:26 , etc. ).
Ibleam Place v. 10: People-waster, a city assigned to Manasseh ( Josh. 17:11 ), from which the Israelites, however, could not expel the Canaanites ( Judg. 1:27 ). It is also called Bileam ( 1 Chr. 6:70 ). Modern identification: Khirbet Belameh.
Shallum Person v. 10, 13-15: Retribution. (1. ) The son of Jabesh, otherwise unknown. He “conspired against Zachariah, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead” ( 2 Kings 15:10 ).
Jehu Person v. 12: Jehovah is he. (1. ) The son of Obed, and father of Azariah ( 1 Chr. 2:38 ). (2. ) One of the Benjamite slingers that joined David at Ziklag ( 1 Chr. 12:3 ).
Menahem Person v. 14, 16-17, 19-23: Conforting, the son of Gadi, and successor of Shallum, king of Israel, whom he slew. After a reign of about ten years (B. C. 771-760) he died, leaving the throne to his son Pekahiah.
Tirzah Place v. 14, 16: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Tell el Farah.
Tiphsah Place v. 16: Apple-region. (1. ) A town in the valley or lowland of Judah; formerly a royal city of the Canaanites ( Josh. 12:17 ; 15:34 ). It is now called Tuffuh, about 12 miles west of Jerusalem. Modern identification: Tell Abu Zarad.
Assyria Place v. 19-20, 29: Biblical region. Modern identification: Nineveh.
Gilead Place v. 25, 29: Biblical region. Modern identification: Tell edh Dhahab esh Sherqiyeh.
Pekah Person v. 25, 27, 29-32, 37: Open-eyed, the son of Remaliah a captain in the army of Pekahiah, king of Israel, whom he slew, with the aid of a band of Gileadites, and succeeded (B. C. 758) on the throne ( 2 Kings 15:25 ).
Remaliah Person v. 25, 27, 30, 32, 37: Adorned by the Lord, the father of Pekah, who conspired successfully against Pekahiah ( 2 Kings 15:25 , 27, 30, 32, 37; Isa. 7:1 , 4, 5, 9; 8:6).
Abel-beth-maacah Place v. 29: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Tel Abel Beth Maacah.
Galilee Place v. 29: Biblical region. Modern identification: Galilee.
Hazor Place v. 29: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Tel Hazor.
Ijon Place v. 29: A ruin, a city of Naphtali, captured by Ben-hadad of Syria at the instance of Asa ( 1 Kings 15:20 ). Modern identification: Tell Dibbine.
Janoah Place v. 29: Or Jano’hah, rest. (1. ) A town on the north-eastern border of Ephraim, in the Jordan valley ( Josh. 16:6 , 7). Identified with the modern Yanun, 8 miles south-east of Nablus. Modern identification: Yanouh.
Kedesh Place v. 29: Sanctuary. (1. ) A place in the extreme south of Judah ( Josh. 15:23 ). Probably the same as Kadesh-barnea (q. v. ). (2. ) A city of Issachar ( 1 Chr. 6:72 ). Possibly Tell Abu Kadeis, near Lejjun. Modern identification: Tel Kedesh.
Naphtali Person v. 29: My wrestling, the fifth son of Jacob. His mother was Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid ( Gen. 30:8 ). When Jacob went down into Egypt, Naphtali had four sons ( Gen. 46:24 ). Little is known of him as an individual.
Jerusha Person v. 33: Possession, or possessed; i. e., “by a husband”, the wife of Uzziah, and mother of king Jotham ( 2 Kings 15:33 ).
Zadok Person v. 33: Righteous. (1. ) A son of Ahitub, of the line of Eleazer ( 2 Sam. 8:17 ; 1 Chr. 24:3 ), high priest in the time of David ( 2 Sam. 20:25 ) and Solomon ( 1 Kings 4:4 ).
Rezin Person v. 37: Firm; a prince, a king of Syria, who joined Pekah (q. v. ) in an invasion of the kingdom of Judah ( 2 Kings 15:37 ; 16:5-9 ; Isa. 7:1-8 ). Ahaz induced Tiglath-pileser III.
Syria Place v. 37: Biblical region. Modern identification: Damascus.