II Kings 15:27

Reign of Pekah. - Pekah the son of Remaliah reigned twenty years. (Note: As this is apparently at variance not only with Kg2 15:30, according to which Pekah was slain in the twentieth year of Jotham, i.e., in the fourth year of Ahaz, abut also with Kg2 17:1, according to which Hosea the murderer of Pekah became king in the twelfth year of Ahaz and reigned nine years, Ewald has added ותשׁע after עשׂרים without any hesitation, and lengthened Pekah's reign to twenty-nine years, whereas Thenius proposes to alter twenty into thirty. But we do not thereby obtain an actual agreement either with Kg2 15:30 or with Kg2 17:1, so that in both these passages Thenius is obliged to make further alterations in the text. For instance, if Pekah had reigned for thirty years from the fifty-second or closing year of Uzziah's reign, Hosea would have ascended the throne in the fourteenth year of Ahaz, supposing that he really became king immediately after the murder of Pekah, and not in the twelfth, as is stated in Kg2 17:1. It is only with a reign of twenty-eight years and a few months (one year of Uzziah, sixteen of Jotham, and eleven of Ahaz), which might be called twenty-nine years, that the commencement of Hosea's reign could fall in the twelfth year of Ahaz. But the discrepancy with Kg2 15:30, that Hosea conspired against Pekah and slew him in the twentieth year of Jotham, is not removed thereby. For further remarks see at Kg2 15:30 and Kg2 17:1.) During his reign the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser came, and after conquering the fortified cities round Lake Merom took possession of Gilead and Galilee, namely the whole land of Naphtali, and led the inhabitants captive to Assyria. Tiglath-pileser (פּלאסר תּגלת or פּלסר תּגלת, Kg2 16:7; פּלנאסר or פּלנסר תּלגת פּלנסר, Ch1 5:26, and Ch2 28:20…

In this chapter, I. The history of two of the kings of Judah is briefly recorded: - 1. Of Azariah, or Uzziah (Kg2 15:1-7). 2. Of Jotham his son (Kg2 15:32-38). II. The history of many of the kings of Israel that reigned at the same time is given us in short, five in succession, all of whom, except one, went down slain to the pit, and their murders were their successors. 1. Zachariah, the last of the house of Jehu, reigned six months, and then was slain and succeeded by Shallum (Kg2 15:8-12). 2. Shallum reigned one month, and then was slain and succeeded by Menahem (Kg2 15:13-15). 3. Menahem reigned ten years, or tyrannised rather, such were his barbarous cruelties (Kg2 15:16) and unreasonable exactions (Kg2 15:20), and then died in his bed, and left his son to succeed him first, and then suffer for him (Kg2 15:16-22). 4. Pekahiah reigned two years, and then was slain and succeeded by Pekah (Kg2 15:23-26). 5. Pekah reigned twenty years, and then was slain and succeeded by Hoshea, the last of all the kings of Israel (Kg2 15:27-31) for things were now working and hastening apace towards the final destruction of that kingdom.

15:27 fifty-second year of King Uzziah’s reign: The date for Pekah’s accession is the final year of Uzziah’s reign (740 BC). Because of the standing relationship between Tiglath-pileser and Menahem, Pekah confined his influence to Gilead during Menahem’s reign (752–742 BC). With Menahem’s death, Pekahiah made Pekah an army commander. This provided Pekah with a broader base of support and gave him opportunity to seize the throne of Israel in 740 BC.