2 Kings 15:27-31

D. PEKAH, THE GREAT NATIONALIST 15:27-31

TRANSLATION

(27) In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel; he reigned in Samaria twenty years. (28) And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who caused Israel to sin. (29) In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel-bethmaachah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galileeall the land of Naphtali and carried them captive to Assyria. (30) And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. (31) And the rest of the acts of Pekah and all which he did, behold they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

Eighteenth King of Israel
PEKAH BEN REMALIAH
740-732 B.C.*
(Watch)

2 Kings 15:27-31

Synchronism
Pekah 1 = Uzziah 52
Contemporary Prophet
Hosea

Righteousness tendeth toward life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death. Proverbs 11:19

*Ruled in Transjordan from 752 B.C.

COMMENTS

The assassination of Pekahiah took place in the last year of the long reign of Uzziah of Judah. The twenty years attributed to Pekah must be counted from 752 B.C., the first year of Menahem (2 Kings 15:27). No other way of fitting this twenty years into the chronological framework appears possible. This means, in effect, that throughout the reigns of Menahem and his son Pekahiah, Pekah maintained a rival dynasty, perhaps in Transjordan. Gray refers to this as partisan dating.

Pekah appears to have been radically anti-Assyrian in his foreign policy. He joined with Rezin of Damascus in forming a coalition of western states which hopefully would be able to withstand further Assyrian incursions. Fearful of reprisals at the hands of the ruthless Assyrians, Ahaz of Judah refused to join the coalition. Pekah and his ally Rezin then attacked Judah with the purpose of deposing Ahaz and putting someone more sympathetic to the anti-Assyrian cause on the throne (Isaiah 7:2-6). Ahaz summoned Tiglath-pileser to his aid. The great Assyrian monarch attacked the Northern Kingdom in 734 B.C., annexing much territory and deporting many captives. In 732 B.C. he attacked and destroyed Damascus. He probably would have destroyed Israel as well had it not been for the fact that Pekah was assassinated by Hoshea who was willing to pledge allegiance to Tiglath-pileser. Nonetheless, the Great King did take away captive great masses from the northern parts of Israel. Ijon and Abel-bethmaachah were towns near the waters of Merom (Lake Huleh) as were also Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor. It is disputed whether Gilead was the entire region east of Jordan or a small district near the waters of Merom.[583] Galilee was the region which later gave its name to the lake located there (2 Kings 15:29).

[583] The deportation of Transjordan alluded to in 1 Chronicles 5:26 is likely the same as mentioned here. This campaign is mentioned in three different Assyrian texts. See Gray, OTL, p.626.