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2 Chronicles 28:20

in 2 Chronicles 28

Then Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came to Ahaz but afflicted him rather than strengthening him.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not.

KJV

And Tilgath–pilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not.

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This verse in 2 Chronicles 28

Commentary

3 notes on this verse
And Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria came unto him,.... Not to Jerusalem, but to Damascus, where he made a diversion in his favour, and took that city, and where Ahaz met him, 2Ki 16:9. and distressed him, but strengthened him not; exhausted his treasures, and laid a tribute upon him, but did not help him against the Edomites and Philistines, or recover for him the cities they had taken from him; and, in taking Damascus, he served himself more than Ahaz, and paved the way for seizing upon the ten tribes.

This site's exposition

afflicted him rather than strengthening him

on 2 Chronicles 28:20-21

Tiglath-pileser comes to Ahaz, but he “afflicted him rather than strengthening him”. Ahaz had taken a portion from the house of the LORD, from the royal palace and from the princes to pay for that help. Chronicles tells what the alliance cost and what it failed to buy.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Tilgath-pilneser - This form of the name is doubly corrupt. See the properly Hebraized form in 2Ki 15:29. Distressed him, but strengthened him not - This statement, and that at the end of 2Ch 28:21, is supplemental to, and not contradictory of, 2Ki 16:9. Here it is the writer’s object to note that the material assistance rendered by Tiglath-pileser to Ahab, was no real “help” or “strength,” but rather a cause of “distress.”

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

came upon him for he had sent after him to aid him, as is written in II Kings (16:7): “And Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pilneser.”
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on II Chronicles 28:20:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
but he was of no help to him Even though we find in II Kings (ibid.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on II Chronicles 28:21:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

10 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיָּבֹ֣אand he came

    vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times

  • עָלָ֔יוon him

    ʾalavH5921 →5755 times

  • תִּלְּגַ֥תTiglath-

    tilegatH8407 →

  • פִּלְנְאֶ֖סֶרpileser

    pilneeserH8407 →

  • מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • אַשּׁ֑וּרAssyria

    ʾashurH804 →151 times

  • וַיָּ֥צַרand he harassed

    vaiyatzarH6887 →54 times

  • ל֖וֹ<to> him

    lo

  • וְלֹ֥אand not

    velo'H3808 →5168 times

  • חֲזָקֽוֹ׃he strengthened him

    chazakoH2388 →291 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

13 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

2 Kings 15:29In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people as captives to Assyria.4 works1 Chronicles 5:26So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria) to take the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. And he brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan, where they remain to this day.3 worksIsaiah 30:16“No,” you say, “we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! “We will ride swift horses,” but your pursuers will be faster.3 works1 Chronicles 5:6and Beerah his son, whom Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria carried into exile.3 works2 Chronicles 30:6So the couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his officials, which read: “Children of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that He may return to those of you who remain, who have escaped the grasp of the kings of Assyria.3 worksIsaiah 10:20On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer depend on him who struck them, but they will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.3 works
The other 7 cross-references, with their words ▾
Jeremiah 2:37Moreover, you will leave that place with your hands on your head, for the LORD has rejected those you trust; you will not prosper by their help.”2 works2 Kings 16:7–10So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are rising up against me.”2 worksHosea 5:13When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, then Ephraim turned to Assyria and sent to the great king. But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.2 worksIsaiah 7:20On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates—the king of Assyria—to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well.2 works2 Kings 17:5Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land, marched up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years.2 worksIsaiah 30:3But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame, and the refuge of Egypt’s shade your disgrace.2 worksJeremiah 50:17Israel is a scattered flock, chased away by lions. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria; the last to crush his bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    1 Chronicles 5:26

    So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria) to take the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. And…

    it leads to

    • 2 Kings 17:6

      In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried away the Israelites to Assyria, where he settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 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 15:29

      In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people…

    • 2 Kings 18:11

      The king of Assyria exiled the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.

    • 1 Chronicles 5:6

      and Beerah his son, whom Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria carried into exile.

  • Through

    2 Kings 15:29

    In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people…

    it leads to

    • 1 Chronicles 5:26

      So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria) to take the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. And…

  • Through

    Isaiah 30:16

    “No,” you say, “we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! “We will ride swift horses,” but your pursuers will be faster.

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 31:1

      Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy…

  • Through

    Jeremiah 2:37

    Moreover, you will leave that place with your hands on your head, for the LORD has rejected those you trust; you will not prosper by their help.”

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 13:19

      And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore her robe. And putting her hand on her head, she went away crying bitterly.

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies1

About 2 Chronicles

Saphan Reading the Book of the Law to Josiah, Philip Galle, engraving after Maarten van Heemskerck, 1569, Royal Library of Belgium. Public domain.
Saphan Reading the Book of the Law to Josiah, Philip Galle, engraving after Maarten van Heemskerck, 1569, Royal Library of Belgium. Public domain.
2 Chronicles: the study guide →Read 2 Chronicles 28 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.

Read on in 2 Chronicles 28 →