In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel ,.... Shallum reigning but one month, both their reigns began the same year. read more
REIGNS OF AZARIAH AND JOTHAM OVER JUDAH ; AND OF ZACHARIAH , SHALLUM , MENAHEM , PEKAHIAH , AND PEKAH OVER ISRAEL . read more
Some lessons from the history of kings. "In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam," etc. The mighty Governor of the universe is represented as saying to the Jewish nation, "I gave thee a king in mine anger" ( Hosea 13:2 ). And truly, with a certain number of exceptions here and there through the ages, kings have proved malific scourges of the race. In this chapter there are mentioned no less than seven of those men who are called kings, but who, instead of having one grain of moral... read more
Anarchy in Israel. With rapid descent the kingdom of Israel, which had risen to great external prosperity under Jeroboam II ; hastened to its fall. The prophets give us vivid pictures of the corruption of the times. The bonds of social life were loosened, oppression was rampant, the fear of God seemed to have died out of the land; there was no confidence, peace, or good will among any classes, in the nation. As a consequence, the throne was a prey to any adventurer who had power to seize... read more
Worldly prosperity not infrequently the ruin of kingdoms. I. EXAMPLE OF SAMARIA . Scarcely ever was there a more prosperous reign than that of Jeroboam II .—a reign of forty-one years of continual success, uncheckered by a misfortune-Syria defeated, the old border everywhere recovered, Hamath occupied, Damascus brought into a subject condition. As usual, where there is military success, wealth flowed in, and with wealth, luxury. "Great houses" were built ( Amos 3:15 ), "ivory... read more
REIGN OF MENAHEM , AND EXPEDITION OF PUL AGAINST SAMARIA . Two events only of Menahem's reign receive notice from the writer. read more
In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah King of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel (comp. verse 13, and the comment ), and reigned ten years in Samaria. So Josephus ('Ant. Jud.,' 9.11. § 1). read more
Chaos in Israel (15:8-26)The long and prosperous reign of Jeroboam II brought political as well as social and religious troubles. When Jeroboam died, Israel entered a time of political chaos, as ambitious men fought to seize power. The nation lost its stability, and Assyria soon began to show interest in adding Israel to its rapidly expanding empire.Jehu’s dynasty, which began bloodily, ended bloodily when its fifth king was murdered after a reign of only six months (8-12; cf. 10:30; Hosea 1:4;... read more
Azariah. See note on 2 Kings 14:21 . Menahern. Their names are mentioned, together with Rezin (2 Kings 16:9 ), in Tiglath-pileser's inscriptions. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 15:8-31
The best days of the kingdom of Israel were while the government was in Jehu's family. In his reign, and the next three reigns, though there were many abominable corruptions and miserable grievances in Israel, yet the crown went in succession, the kings died in their beds, and some care was taken of public affairs; but, now that those days are at an end, the history which we have in these verses of about thirty-three years represents the affairs of that kingdom in the utmost confusion... read more