Bible Strands
2 Kings 15:19
Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver in order to gain his support and strengthen his own grip on the kingdom.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Menahem rules Israel amid persistent idolatry when the Assyrian king Pul invades the land.
The words — The narrative records Pul’s arrival with בָּא (ba'), "he came," and Menahem’s payment with וַיִּתֵּן (va/yitti), "and he gave."
The thread — This political bribe parallels Amaziah’s consolidation of power in 2 Kings 14:5, Hezekiah’s liquidation of temple assets in 2 Kings 18:16, and the covenant unfaithfulness detailed in 1 Chronicles 5:25.
Why it lands — The text states that Menahem secured his throne through foreign tribute rather than divine reliance, requiring the reader to weigh the immediate cost of political survival against covenant loyalty.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 14:5 As soon as the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, Amaziah executed the servants who had murdered his father the king.
- 2 Kings 18:16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold with which he had plated the doors and doorposts of the temple of the LORD, and he gave it to the king of Assyria.
- 1 Chronicles 5:25 But they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and they prostituted themselves with the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.
- 2 Kings 12:18 So King Joash of Judah took all the sacred objects dedicated by his fathers—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah—along with his own consecrated items and all the gold found in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram. So Hazael withdrew from Jerusalem.
- 2 Kings 16:8 Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s palace, and he sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria.
- 2 Kings 17:3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria attacked him, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute.
- Isaiah 9:1 Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those in distress. In the past He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future He will honor the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations:
- Jeremiah 17:5 This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes mere flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Hosea 8:9 For they have gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey on its own. Ephraim has hired lovers.
- Hosea 10:6 Yes, it will be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim will be seized with shame; Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols.