2 Kings 15:19-20

19 Then Pul ^[a] king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver ^[b] in order to gain his support and strengthen his own grip on the kingdom.

20 Menahem exacted this money from each of the wealthy men of Israel—fifty shekels of silver ^[c] from each man—to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and did not remain in the land.

2 Kings 15:19-20 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 15

This chapter begins with the reign of Azariah king of Judah, 2Ki 15:1-7, and then gives a short account of the several kings of Israel, to the last of them; of Zachariah, 2Ki 15:8-12, of Shallum, 2Ki 15:13,14,15 of Menahem, 2Ki 15:16-22 of Pekahiah, 2Ki 15:23-26, of Pekah, succeeded by Hoshea, the last of them, 2Ki 15:27-31, and is included with the reign of Jotham king of Judah, 2Ki 15:32-38.

Footnotes

• [a]. Pul is another name for Tiglath-pileser; see verse 29.
• [b]. 1,000 talents is approximately 37.7 tons or 34.2 metric tons of silver.
• [c]. 50 shekels is approximately 1.26 pounds or 569.8 grams of silver.