Bible Encyclopedia: Menahem

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

MENAHEM

men'-a-hem (menachem, "one who comforts"; Manaem; 2 Kings 15:14-22):

1. Accession and Reign:

Son of Gadi and 16th king of Israel. He reigned 10 years. Menahem was probably the officer in charge of the royal troops in Tirzah, one of the king's residences, at the time of the murder of Zechariah by Shallum. Hearing of the deed, he brought up his troops and avenged the death of his master by putting Shallum to death in Samaria. He then seized the vacant throne. His first full year may have been 758 B.C. (others, as seen below, put later).

2. Early Acts:

The country at this time, as depicted by Hosea and Amos, was in a deplorable condition of anarchy and lawlessness. Menahem, with a strong hand, enforced his occupation of the throne. One town only seems to have refused to acknowledge him. This was Tiphsah, a place 6 miles Southwest of Shechem, now the ruined village of Khurbet Tafsah. As Menahem is said to have attacked this enclosed city from Tirzah, lying to its North, it is probable that he took it on the way to Samaria, before proceeding to do battle with Shallum. If this was so, it is some explanation of the cruelty with which he treated its inhabitants (2 Kings 15:16). One such instance of severity was enough. The whole kingdom was at his feet. He proved to be a strong and determined ruler, and during the 9 or 10 years of his governorship had no further internecine trouble to contend with.

3. Menahem and Assyria:

But there was another source of disquiet. Assyria, under Pul, had resumed her advance to the West and threatened the kingdoms of Palestine. Menahem resolved on a policy of diplomacy, and, rather than risk a war with the conqueror of the East, agreed to the payment of a heavy tribute of 1,000 talents of silver. To raise this sum he had to assess his wealthier subjects to the extent of 50 shekels each. As there are 3,000 shekels in a talent of silver, it is obvious that some 60,000 persons, "mighty men of wealth," must have been laid under contribution in this levy-an indication at once of the enormity of the tribute, and of the prosperity of the country at the time. However short-sighted the policy, its immediate purpose was attained, which was that the hand of the Assyrian king "might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand" (2 Kings 15:19).

4. A Conflict of Dates:

A difficulty attaches to the dates of this period. The Pul of 2 Kings 15:19 and 1 Chronicles 5:26 is now identified with Tiglath-pileser III, who took this title on ascending the throne of Assyria in 745 B.C. In an inscription of Tiglath-pileser, Menahem appears as Minehimmu Samarina (Menahem the Samarian), together with Racunnu (Rezin) of Damascus and Hirumu (Hiram) of Tyre. The date given to this inscription is 738 B.C., whereas the last year we can give to Menahem is 749, or 10 years earlier.

5. Proposed Solutions:

The chronological difficulty which thus arises may be met in one of two ways. Either the inscription, like that on the black obelisk of Kurkh (see JEHU), was written some years after the events to which it refers and contains records of operations in which Tiglath-pileser took part before he became king; or Pekah-who was on the throne of Israel in 738 (?)-is spoken of under the dynastic name Menahem, though he was not of his family. The former of these hypotheses is that which the present writer is inclined to adopt. (By others the dates of Menahem are lowered in conformity with the inscription.)

See CHRONOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.

6. Character:

Menahem attempted no reformation in the national religion, but, like all his predecessors, adhered to the worship of the golden calves. On this account, like them, he incurs the heavy censure of the historian.

W. Shaw Caldecott

Greek

3127. Manaen -- Manaen, a Christian
... Transliteration: Manaen Phonetic Spelling: (man-ah-ane') Short Definition: Manaen
Definition: (Graecized form of Aramaic Menahem), Manaen, probably a member of ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3127.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

4505. Menachem -- "comforter," king of Northern Israel
... "comforter," king of Northern Israel. Transliteration: Menachem Phonetic Spelling:
(men-akh-ame') Short Definition: Menahem. ... NASB Word Usage Menahem (8). Menahem ...
/hebrew/4505.htm - 6k

Library

How Zachariah Shallum, Menahem Pekahiah and Pekah Took the ...
... How Zachariah Shallum, Menahem Pekahiah And Pekah Took The Government Over The
Israelites; And How Pul And Tiglath-Pileser Made An Expedition Against The ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 11 how zachariah shallum.htm

The Assyrian Captivity
... In judgment the Lord remembered mercy, and at first, when "Pul the king of Assyria
came against the land," Menahem, then king of Israel, was not taken captive ...
/.../white/the story of prophets and kings/chapter 23 the assyrian captivity.htm

Preface to the Anti-Manichæan Writings.
... Archbishop Usher conjectured that it was a form of Manaem or Menahem, which means
Paraclete or Comforter; founding this conjecture on the fact that Sulpicius ...
/.../preface to the anti-manichaean writings.htm

The Kingdom of Samaria.
... son to Jeroboam, came the doom of the House of Jehu, and in 773 the king was murdered
by Shallum, who only reigned a month, being killed by his general, Menahem ...
//christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson viii the kingdom of.htm

The Prophet Jonah.
... S.38), inferred from this mention of Nineveh, that the book had been composed in
consequence of the first invasion of the Assyrians under Menahem, who ascended ...
/.../hengstenberg/christology of the old testament/the prophet jonah.htm

Hosea
... We are irresistibly reminded of the rapid succession of kings that followed
Jeroboam"Zechariah his son, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/mcfadyen/introduction to the old testament/hosea.htm

Synagogues in the City; and Schools.
... "We find in Pesikta: R. Menahem, from R. Hoshaia, saith, Four hundred and eighty
synagogues were in Jerusalem, according to the arithmetical value of the word ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 36 synagogues in the.htm

The Divided Kingdom.
... 15. Shallum, 2:K.15:13-14. Reigned 1 month and was slain. 16. Menahem,
2:K.15:14-22. Reigned 10 years and died. 17. Pekahian, 2:K.15:23-26. ...
/.../tidwell/the bible period by period/chapter xiii the divided kingdom.htm

The Prophet Hosea.
... and ver.5: "Not for help nor for profit, but for shame and for reproach." Such
historical circumstances, [Pg 172] however, had not yet occurred under Menahem. ...
/.../hengstenberg/christology of the old testament/the prophet hosea.htm

The Old Testament and Archeology
... In the annals which tell of his victory over Azriau of Yaudi he mentions Menahem
of Samaria as one of the kings whose tribute he received. ...
/.../the christian view of the old testament/chapter iv the old testament.htm

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

Menahem

comforter; who conducts them; preparation of heat

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Menahem

(comforter), son of Gadi, who slew the usurper Shallum, and seized the vacant throne of Israel. B.C. 772. His reign, which lasted ten years, is briefly recorded in (2 Kings 15:14-22) He maintained the calf-worship of Jeroboam. The contemporary prophets Hosea and Amos have left a melancholy picture of the ungodliness, demoralization and feebleness of Israel. Menahem reigned B.C. 771-760.

ATS Bible Dictionary

Menahem

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.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Conforting, the son of Gadi, and successor of Shallum, king of Israel, whom he slew. After a reign of about ten years (B.C. 771-760) he died, leaving the throne to his son Pekahiah. His reign was one of cruelty and oppression (2 Kings 15:14-22). During his reign, Pul (q.v.), king of Assyria, came with a powerful force against Israel, but was induced to retire by a gift from Menahem of 1,000 talents of silver.

Thesaurus

Menahem (8 Occurrences)
... During his reign, Pul (qv), king of Assyria, came with a powerful force against
Israel, but was induced to retire by a gift from Menahem of 1,000 talents of ...
/m/menahem.htm - 13k

Menahem's (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version Concordance Menahem's (1 Occurrence). 2 Kings 15:21 Now the
rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they ...
/m/menahem's.htm - 6k

Men'ahem (8 Occurrences)
Men'ahem. Menahem, Men'ahem. Menahem's . Multi-Version Concordance
Men'ahem (8 Occurrences). 2 Kings 15:14 And Menahem the son of ...
/m/men'ahem.htm - 8k

Pekahiah (4 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary The Lord opened his eyes, the son and successor
of Menahem on the throne of Israel. He was murdered in ...
/p/pekahiah.htm - 10k

Tiglathpileser (3 Occurrences)
... Kings, tilleghath pilnecer, in 2 Chronicles; Septuagint Algathphellasar; Assyrian,
Tukulti-abal-i-sarra): King of Assyria in the days of Menahem, Pekahiah, and ...
/t/tiglathpileser.htm - 11k

Tiglath-pileser (6 Occurrences)
... Kings, tilleghath pilnecer, in 2 Chronicles; Septuagint Algathphellasar; Assyrian,
Tukulti-abal-i-sarra): King of Assyria in the days of Menahem, Pekahiah, and ...
/t/tiglath-pileser.htm - 12k

Shallum (27 Occurrences)
... 13, marg.). Menahem rose up against Shallum and put him to death (2 Kings
15:14, 15, 17), and became king in his stead. (2.) Keeper ...
/s/shallum.htm - 22k

Gadi (2 Occurrences)
... GADI. ga'-di (gadhi, "fortunate"): The father of Menahem, one of the kings of
Israel who reached the throne through blood (2 Kings 15:14, 17). ...
/g/gadi.htm - 7k

Tiphsah (2 Occurrences)
... through it. Menahem undertook an expedition against this city, and "smote
Tiphsah and all that were therein" (2 Kings 15:16). This ...
/t/tiphsah.htm - 9k

Tirzah (17 Occurrences)
... Zimri perished in the flames of his palace, rather than fall into Omri's hands.
In Tirzah Menahem matured his rebellion against Shallum (2 Kings 15:14). ...
/t/tirzah.htm - 14k

Bible Concordance

Menahem (8 Occurrences)

2 Kings 15:14 Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, and came to Samaria, and struck Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and killed him, and reigned in his place.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

2 Kings 15:16 Then Menahem struck Tiphsah, and all who were therein, and its borders, from Tirzah: because they didn't open to him, therefore he struck it; and all the women therein who were with child he ripped up.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

2 Kings 15:17 In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

2 Kings 15:19 There came against the land Pul the king of Assyria; and Menahem gave Pul one thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

2 Kings 15:20 Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and didn't stay there in the land.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

2 Kings 15:21 Now the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

2 Kings 15:22 Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his place.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

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.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Subtopics

Menahem

Menahem: King of Israel

Related Terms

Menahem's (1 Occurrence)

Men'ahem (8 Occurrences)

Pekahiah (4 Occurrences)

Tiglathpileser (3 Occurrences)

Tiglath-pileser (6 Occurrences)

Shallum (27 Occurrences)

Gadi (2 Occurrences)

Tiphsah (2 Occurrences)