2 Kings 17:3

3 Then Shalmaneser king of Assyria attacked. Hoshea was already a puppet of the Assyrian king and regularly sent him tribute,

2 Kings 17:3 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 17:3

Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria
Which some take to be the same with Tiglathpileser, see ( 1 Chronicles 5:26 ) but he rather seems to be his son; his name was to be found, as Josephus ^F23 relates, in the archives of the Tyrians, against whom he had an expedition; his name is Salmanassar in Metasthenes ^F24, who says he reigned seventeen years:

and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents,
to depart from him; he became tributary to him, and agreed to pay him a yearly tax.

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 Antiqu. l. 9. c. 14. sect. 2.
F24 De Judicio Temp. fol. 221. 2.

2 Kings 17:3 In-Context

1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel. He ruled in Samaria for nine years.

2 As far as God was concerned, he lived a bad life, but not nearly as bad as the kings who had preceded him.

3 Then Shalmaneser king of Assyria attacked. Hoshea was already a puppet of the Assyrian king and regularly sent him tribute,

4 but Shalmaneser discovered that Hoshea had been operating traitorously behind his back - having worked out a deal with King So of Egypt. And, adding insult to injury, Hoshea was way behind on his annual payments of tribute to Assyria. So the king of Assyria arrested him and threw him in prison,

5 then proceeded to invade the entire country. He attacked Samaria and threw up a siege against it. The siege lasted three years.