Menahem מְנַחֵם
King of Israel who reigned for ten years.
Who is Menahem in the Bible?
Menahem was a king of Israel who reigned for ten years in Samaria after assassinating his predecessor Shallum in approximately 746 BC (2 Kings 15:14, 15:17). He is remembered primarily for his ruthlessness and cruelty, most notably his brutal attack on the city of Tiphsah, where he committed horrific atrocities against its inhabitants (2 Kings 15:16). When Pul, king of Assyria, threatened Israel's stability, Menahem paid him one thousand talents of silver as tribute to secure military withdrawal and maintain his grip on power, a sum he raised by imposing a heavy tax of fifty shekels on each wealthy Israelite (2 Kings 15:19-20). Menahem's reign represents a period of moral and political decline in Israel, characterized by violence and increasing dependence on foreign powers, and he was eventually succeeded by his son Pekahiah (2 Kings 15:22). His story illustrates the instability and spiritual deterioration that marked Israel's later monarchy.
Biography
Menahem was the son of Gadi and became king of Israel after assassinating Shallum, who had reigned for only one month (2Ki.15.14). Menahem reigned for ten years in Samaria (2Ki.15.17). During his reign, he was known for his cruelty, particularly for his brutal treatment of the city of Tiphsah, where he ripped open pregnant women (2Ki.15.16). When Pul, the king of Assyria, invaded Israel, Menahem paid him a thousand talents of silver to withdraw and to strengthen his own hold on the kingdom (2Ki.15.19-20). To raise this tribute, Menahem exacted fifty shekels of silver from each wealthy man in Israel (2Ki.15.20). Menahem died and was succeeded by his son Pekahiah (2Ki.15.22).
Family
In Scripture
1 biblical book2 Kings 5 verses
- 2 Kings 15:14
"Then Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah to Samaria, struck down and killed Shallum son of Jabesh, and reigned in his place."
- 2 Kings 15:16
"At that time Menahem, starting from Tirzah, attacked Tiphsah and everyone in its vicinity, because they would not open their gates. So he attacked Tiphsah and ripped open all the pregnant women."
- 2 Kings 15:17
"In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah’s reign over Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria ten years."
- 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."
- 2 Kings 15:20
"Menahem exacted this money from each of the wealthy men of Israel—fifty shekels of silver from each man—to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and did not remain in the land."
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script |
|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | מְנַחֵם |
Encyclopedia Article
ISBE 1915 (Public Domain) Menahem
as 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 BC (others, as seen below, put later).
2Early 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 (2Ki 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.
3Menahem 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" (2Ki 15:19).
4A Conflict of Dates
A difficulty attaches to the dates of this period. The Pul of 2Ki 15:19 and 1Ch 5:26 is now identified with Tiglath-pileser III, who took this title on ascending the throne of Assyria in 745 BC. 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 BC, whereas the last year we can give to Menahem is 749, or 10 years earlier.
5Proposed 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.
6Character
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
me'-nan.
See MENNA.
me'-ne, me'-ne, te'-kel, u-far'-sin, men'-a, men'a, tek'-el, oo-far'-sin (mene' ~mene' ~teqel ~uph