The sixteenth king of Israel, previously general of the army of Zachariah. He was at Tirzah when he heard of his master's murder; and immediately marching against Shallum, who had shut himself up in Samaria, he captured and slew him, and them ascended the throne. He reigned in Samaria ten years, 771-760 B. C., and was a tyrannical and cruel idolater. Pul, king of Assyria, having invaded Israel during the reign of Menahem, obliged him to pay a tribute of a thousand talents, which Menahem raised by a tax on all his rich subjects of fifty shekels a head. He seems to have died a natural death; but his son and successor Pekahiah reigned only two years, and was the last of the dynasty, 2 Kings 15:13-22 . The name of Menahem is found on the Assyrian tablets recently discovered.
Although written in 1859 by William Rand, this dictionary of the Bible from the American Tract Society is still relevant today.Wikipedia
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