Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 15:23
In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, [and reigned] two years.
23. Pekahiah . . . son of Menahembegan to reignOn comparing the date given with Azariah’sreign, it seems that several months had intervened between the deathof Menahem and the accession of Pekahiah, probably owing to a contestabout the throne.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria,…. As it was in the thirty ninth of Azariah that his father began his reign, and he reigned ten years, they must end in the forty ninth of Azariah, and therefore there must be an interregnum of a year; perhaps the title of Pekahiah might be disputed, and it was a year before he could get settled on the throne:
and reigned two years; being slain by one of his captains, as after related.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Reign of Pekahiah. – Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign “in the fiftieth year of Uzziah.” As Menahem had begun to reign in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah and reigned ten years, he must have died in the forty-ninth year of Uzziah; and therefore, if his son did not become king till the fiftieth year, some months must have elapsed between the death of Menahem and Pekahiah’s ascent of the throne, probably cause, in the existing disorganization of the kingdom, the possession of the throne by the latter was opposed. Pekahiah reigned in the spirit of his predecessors, but only for two years, as his aide-de-camp ( , see at 2Sa 23:8) Pekah conspired against him and slew him in the citadel ( , see at 1Ki 16:8) of the king’s palace, with Argob and Aryeh. Argob and Aryeh were not fellow-conspirators of Pekah, who helped to slay the king, but principes Pekachijae , as Seb. Schmidt expresses it, probably aides-de-camp of Pekahiah, who were slain by the conspirators when defending their king. We must take the words in this sense on account of what follows: , “and with him (Pekah) were fifty men of the Gileadites” (i.e., they helped him). The Gileadites probably belonged to the king’s body-guard, and were under the command of the aides-de-camp of Pekah.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
C. THE TWO-YEAR REIGN OF PEKAHIAH 15:2326
TRANSLATION
(23) In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel; and he reigned in Samaria two years. (24) And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin. (25) And Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired and smote him in Samaria in the tower of the kings house along with Argob and Arieh; and with him fifty men of the Gileadites; and he slew him and reigned in his place. (26) Now the rest of the acts of Pekahiah and all which he did, behold they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
Seventeenth King of Israel
PEKAHIAH BEN MENAHEM
742740 B.C.
(Yahweh has observed)
2Ki. 15:23-26
Synchronism
Pekahiah 1 = Uzziah 50
Contemporary Prophet
Hosea
The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness. Pro. 11:5
COMMENTS
The short reign of Pekahiah was wholly uneventful. He held the throne for parts of two years and performed no action that the historian thought worthy of record. One of his captains, Pekah the son of Remaliah, conspired against him and slew him in the tower (i.e., loftiest part) of the royal house. Along with the king two other prominent personagesArgob and Ariehdied. Joining Pekah in this conspiracy were fifty Gileadites who may have been part of the royal bodyguard at this time (2Ki. 15:25).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(23-26) THE REIGN OF PEKAHIAH
(Heb., Pkahyh).
(23) In the fiftieth year.The forty-ninth, if verse seventeen were exact.
(25) But . . . a captain of his.And . . . his adjutant (or knight, 2Ki. 7:2).
The palace of the kings house.The same expression occurred in 1Ki. 16:18. The word armn, rendered palace, is usually explained as meaning citadel or keep, from a root meaning to be high. (Comp. in Greek.) Ewald makes it the harem, which, as the innermost and most strongly-guarded part of an Oriental palace, is probably meant here. Thither Pekahiah had fled for refuge before the conspirators.
With Argob and Arieh.Pekah slew these two persons, probably officers of the royal guard, who stood by their master, as well as the king himself.
The peculiar names are an indication of the historical character of the account. Argob suggests that the person who bore this name was a native of the district of Bashan so designated (1Ki. 4:13); Arieh (lion), like our own Cceur-de-Lion, betokens strength and bravery. (Comp. 1Ch. 12:8, The Gadites, whose faces were as the faces of lions.)
And with him fifty men of the Gileadites.Or, and with him were fifty, &c. Pekah was supported by fifty soldiers, probably of the royal guard. Menahem himself was of Gadite origin (2Ki. 15:17), and so belonged to Gilead. He would therefore be likely to recruit his body-guard from among the Gileadites, who were always famous for their prowess. (Comp. Jos. 17:1; Jdg. 11:12; 1Ch. 26:31.) The two names Argob and Arieh agree with this supposition. The LXX. reads, in place of the Gileadites, , of the four hundred, which reminds us of Davids six hundred Gibbrm (2Sa. 15:18).
Josephus accounts for the short reign of Pekahiah by the statement that he imitated the cruelty of his father.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
REIGN OF PEKAHIAH, 2Ki 15:23-26.
23. The fiftieth year According to 2Ki 15:17, Menahem must have died in the forty-ninth year of Azariah, so that perhaps several months elapsed before his son became the acknowledged king. Perhaps, as Keil suggests, his right to the throne was contested.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Reign Of Pekahiah King of Israel c. 742/41-740/39 BC ( 2Ki 15:23-26 ).
Pekahiah (‘YHWH is open eyed’) succeeded his father, but it was as king of a country seething with discontent at having had to pay tribute to Assyria. Few in Israel actually really knew what they were now dealing with. To most the kings of Assyria were simply booty seeking kings who came and went (as they had done in the past), similar, for example, to the kings of Aram. The vision of a powerful country which exceeded the strength of all the surrounding nations put together and was building a great empire was outside their conception. Thus when Pekahiah came to the throne, and had presumably indicated that he would continue his father’s policy of submission to Assyria, it was inevitable that there would be a reaction. And that reaction took the form of his deputy who had been ruling on Menahem’s behalf in Gilead (or had set up a rival kingship in Gilead). He also was named Pekahiah, and therefore Pekah for short, (or took the name on becoming king), and he was himself anti-appeasement. He assassinated Pekahiah in Samaria, and took over the throne, presumably with the consent of most of Israel who favoured the anti-appeasement policy. They would learn their lesson too late.
Analysis.
In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years. And he did what was evil in the sight of YHWH. He departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, by which he made Israel to sin (2Ki 15:23-24).
And Pekah the son of Remaliah, his deputy, conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the castle of the king’s house, with Argob and Arieh, and with him were fifty men of the Gileadites, and he slew him, and reigned instead of him (2Ki 15:25).
Now the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel (2Ki 15:26).
Note that in ‘a’ we have Pekahiah’s behaviour depicted and in the parallel are referred to the official annals for further information concerning his acts. Centrally in ‘b’ we have described the revolution against him.
2Ki 15:23
‘In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years.’
Pekahiah came to the throne about two years before Uzziah’s death. Once again Uzziah’s reign is calculated from when he became co-regent. The name Pekahiah (pkhy) appears on a Palestinian seal, and on a jar from Hazor. It means ‘YHWH is open-eyed’. He reigned for just over a year (two part years).
2Ki 15:24
‘And he did what was evil in the sight of YHWH. He departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, by which he made Israel to sin.’
In his short reign he made no attempt to return Israel to true Yahwism. He was content with the bastardised religion that Jeroboam I had introduced, a religion which resulted in many of the causes for dissatisfaction in Israel’s life-style..
2Ki 15:25
‘And Pekah the son of Remaliah, his deputy, conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the castle of the king’s house, with Argob and Arieh, and with him were fifty men of the Gileadites, and he slew him, and reigned instead of him.
Pekah, the son of Remaliah, was apparently a Gileadite from Transjordan, and he was clearly supported by a large majority of the people. This suggests that the reason for the revolt was Pekahiah’s attitude of appeasement and his loyalty towards Assyria, a policy that Israel would have done well to continue. Pekah was Pekahiah’s deputy ruler in Transjordan, and the fact that he arrived with a mere fifty men indicated that he expected the support of the whole of the people who had probably appealed to him to act. That he required so many was because he had to overcome those of the king’s bodyguard who were on duty. It was an organised rebellion. Argob and Arieh were probably two main supporters of Pekahiah’s policy of appeasement, or possibly even representatives of the king of Assyria. Argob may well have been named after the city of Argob in Transjordan, and his name could mean ‘eagle’, Arieh means ‘lion’. The attack was probably timed so that they would be found there with the king. The castle of the king’s house would be the well protected royal quarters.
2Ki 15:26
‘Now the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.’
The rest of the acts of Pekahiah could be found in the official royal annals. No indication is given of what happened to his body, which may suggest that it had been treated with contempt. Feelings were running high.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Pekahiah and Pekah in Israel
v. 23. In the fiftieth year of Azariah, king of Judah, v. 24. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, v. 25. But Pekah, the son of Remaliah, a captain of his, v. 26. And the rest of the acts of Pekahlah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
v. 27. In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah, king of Judah, Pekah, the son of Remaliah, began to reign over Israel in Samarla, and reigned twenty years, v. 28. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, v. 29. In the days of Pekah, king of Israel, came Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, v. 30. And Hoshea, the son of Elah, v. 31. And the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
2Ki 15:23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, [and reigned] two years.
Ver. 23. Reigned two years. ] Not ten years, as Drusius affirmeth. a
a Regnavit annos decem.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
fiftieth year. From 2Ki 15:17 there appears to be an interregnum of some months.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Usurpers and Invaders
2Ki 15:23-38
The dissolution of Israel proceeded rapidly, for nothing could avert the steady advance of the Assyrian. According to the usual policy of Eastern conquerors, the flower of the nation was sent beyond the Euphrates to people the thinly inhabited portions of the Assyrian empire; and when this process was completed, new settlers were brought from Assyria to occupy the depopulated land, 2Ki 17:24. The cuneiform inscriptions discovered at Nineveh contain remarkable corroborations of the Bible records. This was the first captivity, or exile, of Israel.
The ten tribes never returned to Palestine to any appreciable degree; but their terrible discipline became the enriching of the world. They planted synagogues on foreign soil, and disseminated in many lands the knowledge of Jehovah and their Scriptures. They were represented at Jerusalem by their descendants on the day of Pentecost; and the Apostle John counted their myriads among the redeemed, Rev 7:1-17.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Pekahiah
(Jah has observed)
2Ki 15:23-26
The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.-Pro 11:5
In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. But Pekah the son of Remaliah, a captain of his, conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the kings house, with Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men of the Gileadites: and he killed him, and reigned in his room. Azariah (Uzziah), during his long reign of more than half a century, saw the death of five of Israels kings, three of whom were assassinated, besides an interregnum of anarchy lasting at least eleven years. This marked contrast is what the prophet referred to, probably, when he wrote, Ephraim encompasseth Me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit, but Judah yet walketh with God [El], and with the holy things of truth (Hos. 11:13, N. Tr.). This does not mean that all Judahs ways pleased the Lord, but that, unlike apostate Israel, they still, as a State, maintained the truth of Jehovah, as revealed in the law and symbolized in the temples worship and service.
Pekahiahs slayer was his captain ( shalish, aide-de-camp, probably; the general of his house, Josephus says), Pekah, with two of his followers, and a company of fifty Gileadites. These Gileadites (fugitives of Ephraim, Judges 12:425) appear to have been a rough, wild class, a kind of Hebrew highlanders, and ready in Pekahiahs day for any and all manner of villainy. See Hos 6:8. They slew the king in his very palace (with his friends at a feast; Josephus Ant. ix. n, 1), so bold were they. His name, Jah has observed, implies that God had looked upon the murder of Shallum by his father Menahem, and in the death of Pekahiah his son requited it (2Ch 24:22). His name, like his fathers and grandfathers, does not occur anywhere else in Scripture.
And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. His death ended the seventh dynasty of the Israelitish kings.
25 Fugitives of Ephraim, however, was an unrighteous taunt of the proud Ephraimites to their Manassite brethren. Gilead was a direct descendant of Manasseh, eldest son of Joseph, and head of a large, powerful family, to whom Moses gave the conquered territory east of Jordan called Gilead. See Num 32:39-41; Deu 3:13.
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
am 3243, bc 761
and reigned two years: 2Ki 21:19, 1Ki 15:25, 1Ki 16:8, 1Ki 22:51, Job 20:5
Reciprocal: 2Ki 15:27 – the two 2Ki 15:32 – Jotham
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
12. Pekahiah’s evil reign in Israel 15:23-26
In 742 B.C. Pekahiah began his two-year reign (742-740 B.C.). It ended when Pekah, one of his military officers, assassinated him in Samaria, in addition to Argob and Arieh, who were probably Israelite princes (2Ki 15:25).