2 Kings 15:25 - Exposition

But Pekah the son of Remaliah. Remaliah was probably a man of some importance, since Pekah seems to have been almost better known by his patronymic, Ben-Remaliah, "son of Remaliah," than by his own proper name (see Isaiah 7:4 , Isaiah 7:5 , Isaiah 7:9 ; Isaiah 8:6 ). A captain of his —"captain of a thousand," according to Josephus ( l.s.c .)— conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the king's house ; literally, in the tower (or keep) of the king ' s house , the loftiest part ( אַרְמוֹן is from רוּם , to be high)—certainly not the harem (Ewald), if Pekahiah was feasting there with his friends ( δολοφονηθεὶς ἐν συμποσίῳ μετὰ φίλων ἀπέθανε ), as Josephus says. With Argob and Arieh. These seem to be the "friends" of Josephus, who were with the king and shared his fate, not fellow-conspirators with Pekah. The names are uncommon ones. And with him — i.e. Pekah— fifty men of the Gileadites ; fifty men of "the Four Hundred," according to the LXX . "The Four Hundred" were probably the royal body-guard, which at this time may have consisted of Gileadites. And he killed him, and reigned in his room. It does not appear that Pekah had any grievance. His crime seems to have been simply prompted by ambition.