Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah ,.... The same with Azariah: he is sometimes called by one name, and sometimes by the other, see 2 Kings 14:21 , and he reigned a full month in Samaria : and no longer; so soon were the conspiracy against his sovereign, and the murder of him, punished. read more
For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah ,.... A city in the tribe of Manasseh, the royal city of the kings of Israel before Omri, of which See Gill on Joshua 12:24 , whether Menahem was of this city, or was now besieging it with an army he had the command of, as Josephus F18 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 9. c. 11. sect. 1.) suggests, is not certain; however, hearing what had befallen Zachariah, he came from hence: and came to Samaria; which, according to Bunting F19 Travels,... read more
He reigned a full month - Menahem is supposed to have been one of Zachariah's generals. Hearing of the death of his master, when he was with the troops at Tirzah, he hastened to Samaria, and slew the murderer, and had himself proclaimed in his stead. But, as the people of Tiphsah did not open their gates to him, he took the place by assault; and as the text tells us, practiced the most cruel barbarities, even ripping up the women that were with child! 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
Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of Uzziah King of Judah. This date follows from that of 2 Kings 15:8 , and must stand or fall with it. The true accession-year of Shallum was probably the twenty-seventh of Uzziah. And he reigned a fall month in Samaria ; literally, a month of days—"thirty days" according to Josephus. read more
SHORT AND UNIMPORTANT REIGN OF SHALLUM . Three verses suffice for the reign of Shallum, the son of Jabesh, who held the throne for only thirty days. Hearing of his conspiracy, Menahem, the son of Gadi—"the general," as Josephus calls him ('Ant. Jud.,' 10.11. § 1)—marched from Tirzah to Samaria, got Shallum into his power, and put him to death ( 2 Kings 15:14 ). The writer concludes with the usual formula ( 2 Kings 15:15 ). 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