And the head of Ephraim [is] Samaria
. Samaria was the metropolis or chief city of Ephraim, or the ten
tribes of Israel: and the head of Samaria [is] Remaliah's
son;
Pekah, son of Remaliah, was king of Samaria, as of all Israel.
The sense is, that, until the sixty five years were ended, there
should be no enlargement of the kingdom of Israel; Judah should
not be added to it; Samaria should continue, and not Jerusalem be
the metropolis of it; and Pekah, during his life, should be king
of Israel, but not of Judah. If ye will not
believe;
the Targum adds,
``the words of the prophet;''surely ye shall not be established,