The Reign Of Menahem King Of Israel c. 752-742/41 BC (2 Kings 15:17-22).
The author has nothing good to say about the reign of Menahem, but it was crucially important for one reason. Up to this time Assyria had either been kept at bay, when Aram and Israel had both been strong, or had been open to receiving token tribute on its forays into the territories of Aram, Tyre, Israel and Philistia. It had made no attempt to ‘settle'. But from this time on Assyria would seek to dominate the territory and would demand much greater tribute, crushing any state which refused to submit, and eventually turning parts of it into Assyrian provinces when they proved too recalcitrant. It acted right up to the Egyptian border. In time those who submitted would be required to have an Assyrian official at court to oversee the interests of Assyria, and to act as an observer of the behaviour and attitudes of their kings and courtiers. Thus now Assyria had come to stay and establish an empire.
The invasion by Tiglath-pileser III (Pulu) took place late in Menahem's reign. Menahem, having failed to return Israel to the true worship of YHWH (thus failing to ensure that he would enjoy His protection) was therefore wise to submit to Assyria and by that receive Assyria's approval of his kingship. Once he had done that he came under Assyria's ‘protection'. The alternative would have been destruction, as had happened to the northern states around Hamath. But many in Israel, not aware of the international situation, would not have been happy at the thought of paying taxes to Assyria. After all, Israel had never had to do so before. (Previous light tribute assessed on, for example, Jehu and Jehoash, and mentioned in inscriptions, would have come out of the royal treasury). Thus the paying of tribute to Assyria became a bone of contention in Israel, and an influential anti-Assyria party grew up. They had no real conception of the size, power and efficiency of the armies of Assyria.
‘In the thirty ninth year of Azariah king of Judah Menahem the son of Gadi began to reign over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria.'
Menahem's reign is as usual dated in terms of the kings of Judah. He began to reign in the thirty ninth year of Azariah (note the reference to him as Uzziah in 2 Kings 15:13). This was again dated from the beginning of Azariah's co-regency with his father. Menahem reigned for ten years.
‘And he did what was evil in the sight of YHWH. All his days he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, by which he made Israel to sin.'
Menahem made no effort to change the current attitude towards religion in Israel, allowing the false cult set up by Jeroboam to continue. In view of what we know of his savagery this does not surprise us. Thus he ‘did evil in the sight of YHWH' and did so for ‘all his days'. There was no true turning back to YHWH.
‘There came against the land Pul the king of Assyria, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.'
The result was that when Pul (Pulu = Tiglath Pileser III) invaded the territory late in Menahem's reign Menahem paid tribute rather than resist. (It was understandable. Unless they succeeded in driving back the Assyrians, which was very unlikely without YHWH's interference which they had forfeited by their religious attitudes, resistance would have resulted in widespread devastation and an increase in the tribute required). By this means he obtained the king of Assyria's sanction to remain as king without undue interference. The tribute amounted to a thousand talents of silver, which was too much to be borne by the king's treasury. It represented three million shekels, or thirty four thousand kilogrammes, or thirty seven tons of silver. This payment of tribute by Menahem is recorded in the Assyrian annals (Menahem is described as me-ni-hi-imme sa-me-ri-na-a). The name Pulu was the name which Tiglath Pileser III took when he ascended the throne of Babylon. It is testified to in Babylonian inscriptions.
‘And Menahem exacted the money from Israel, even from all the great 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 did not stay there in the land.'
Menahem obtained the tribute by taxing sixty thousand ‘great men of wealth', an indication of Israel's continuing prosperity. Each contributed fifty shekels. For most it was not a huge amount. Fifty shekels was at this time the price of a slave in Assyria. But it would cause a great deal of dissatisfaction and be a blow to national pride. They had never been so used before. The result was that the king of Assyria ‘turned back' from invading the land, rather than occupying it. Menahem's action was politically wise, but not acceptable to many independently minded Israelites (even though it saved them from total devastation).
‘Now 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?'
The remainder of what Menahem did could be found in the official annals of the kings of Israel.
‘And Menahem slept with his fathers, and Pekahiah his son reigned instead of him.'
Menahem died peacefully, and ‘slept with his fathers' (which means no more than that he died). We are given no details of his burial. He was replaced by Pekahiah his son who would be acceptable to Assyria, conditional on him paying any tribute required. The take over appears to have taken place peacefully, at least initially.