2 Kings 17:3
in 2 Kings 17Shalmaneser king of Assyria attacked him, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and brought him tribute.
KJV
Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents.
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This verse in 2 Kings 17
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAgainst him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria,.... Which some take to be the same with Tiglathpileser, see 1Ch 5:26 but he rather seems to be his son; his name was to be found, as Josephus (w) relates, in the archives of the Tyrians, against whom he had an expedition; his name is Salmanassar in Metasthenes (x), who says he reigned seventeen years: and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents, to depart from him; he became tributary to him, and agreed to pay him a yearly tax. (w) Antiqu. l. 9. c. 14. sect.
This site's exposition
Shalmaneser king of Assyria
on 2 Kings 17:3-4
Shalmaneser receives tribute from Hoshea as a subject king, then finds him treating with So king of Egypt behind his back and withholding the yearly present. So is not identified further in the text, and readers name him variously as Osorkon of Egypt's Twenty-second Dynasty or the Egyptian city of Sais read as though it were a king's name; the identification stays open. The broken tribute is what turns a vassal into a prisoner, shut up and bound before Assyria ever reaches Samaria's gate.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
And it may be worth while to relate from what sources the Samaritans were made up; since all this country is called Samaria. Whence then did they receive their name? The mountain was called "Somor" from its owner, as also Esaias saith, "and the head of Ephraim is Somoron;" but the inhabitants were termed not "Samaritans" but "Israelites." But as time went on, they offended God, and in the reign of Pekah, Tiglath-Pileser came up, and took many cities, and set upon Elah, and having slain him, gave the kingdom to Hoshea. Against him Shalmaneser came and took other cities, and made them subject and tributary. At first he yielded, but afterwards he revolted from the Assyrian rule, and betook himself to the alliance of the Ethiopians. The Assyrian learnt this, and having made war upon them and destroyed their cities, he no longer allowed the nation to remain there, because he had such suspicions that they would revolt.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Shalmaneser - The son, or successor of Tiglath-pileser. The ancient Hebrew writers made him the same with Sennacherib, who eight years after this time, invaded the kingdom of Judah; it being very frequent in the Eastern parts, for one man to be called by several names.
), and, if that less judgment had prevailed to humble and reform them, the greater would have been prevented. That they brought it upon themselves by the indirect course they took to shake off the yoke of the king of Assyria,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Of Shalmaneser, the successor of Tiglath-pileser in the Assyrian Canon, we know little from Assyrian sources, since his records have been mutilated by his successors, the Sargonids, who were of a wholly different family. The archives of Tyre mention him as contemporary with, and warring against, a Tyrian king named Elulaeus. The expedition, referred to here, was probably in the first year of Shalmaneser (727 B.C.). Its main object was the reduction of Phoenicia, which had re-asserted its independence, but (except Tyre) was once more completely reduced.
Shalmaneser - This was the son and successor of Tiglath-pileser. He is called Shalman by Hosea, Hos 10:14, and Enemessar, in the book of Tobit, 1:2. Gave him presents - Became tributary to him.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עָלָ֣יו | ʾalav | on him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עָלָ֔ה | ʾalah | he came up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| שַׁלְמַנְאֶ֖סֶר | shalmaneser | Shalmaneser | H8022 → | |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אַשּׁ֑וּר | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
| וַֽיְהִי־ | vayhi- | and he became | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| ל֤וֹ | lo | of him | ||
| הוֹשֵׁ֙עַ֙ | hoshea' | Hoshea | H1954 → | 16 times |
| עֶ֔בֶד | ʾeved | subject | H5650 → | 799 times |
| וַיָּ֥שֶׁב | vaiyashev | and he returned | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| מִנְחָֽה׃ | minchah | tribute | H4503 → | 211 times |
עָלָ֣יוon him
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
עָלָ֔הhe came up
ʾalahH5927 →890 times
שַׁלְמַנְאֶ֖סֶרShalmaneser
shalmaneserH8022 →
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
אַשּׁ֑וּרAssyria
ʾashurH804 →151 times
וַֽיְהִי־and he became
vayhi-H1961 →3559 times
ל֤וֹof him
lo
הוֹשֵׁ֙עַ֙Hoshea
hoshea'H1954 →16 times
עֶ֔בֶדsubject
ʾevedH5650 →799 times
וַיָּ֥שֶׁבand he returned
vaiyashevH7725 →1056 times
ל֖וֹto him
lo
מִנְחָֽה׃tribute
minchahH4503 →211 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
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…
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…
- 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…
- 2 Kings 16:7
So 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…
- 1 Kings 15:20
And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and the whole land of Naphtali, including the region of Chinnereth.
- Joshua 20:7
So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
- 1 Chronicles 5:26
Through
Hosea 10:14the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be demolished as Shalman devastated Beth-arbel in the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to pieces along with…
it leads to
- Hosea 13:16
Samaria will bear her guilt because she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.
- Habakkuk 1:10
They scoff at kings and make rulers an object of scorn. They laugh at every fortress and build up siege ramps to seize it.
- 2 Kings 18:9–10
In the fourth year of Hezekiah’s reign, which was the seventh year of the reign of Hoshea son of Elah over Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and besieged it.
- Hosea 13:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
On this chapter
What the record shows
1 entry- Shalmaneser V (Ululaya) — attested in contemporary inscriptionundisputed
Neo-Babylonian Chronicle; king-lists
Biblical figure (King of Assyria, 726-722 BC) identified in extra-biblical epigraphy.
Counterpoint: His existence is certain, but the evidence is thinner than for the kings around him: almost no inscriptions from his own short reign survive, and he is known mainly from chronicles and king lists compiled afterward, together with a few inscribed weights.
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily 31 on John; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.