2 Kings 15:13-16

2 Kings 15:13-16

[13] Shallum  the son  of Jabesh  began to reign  in the nine  and thirtieth  year  of Uzziah  king  of Judah;  and he reigned  a full  month  in Samaria.  [14] For Menahem  the son  of Gadi  went up  from Tirzah,  and came  to Samaria,  and smote  Shallum  the son  of Jabesh  in Samaria,  and slew  him, and reigned  [15] And the rest  of the acts  of Shallum,  and his conspiracy  which he made,  behold, they are written  in the book  of the chronicles  of the kings  of Israel.  [16] Then Menahem  smote  Tiphsah,  and all that were therein, and the coasts  thereof from Tirzah:  because they opened  not to him, therefore he smote  it; and all the women therein that were with child  he ripped up. 

What does 2 Kings 15:13-16 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Shallum"s reign was even shorter than Zechariah"s. It lasted only one month (752 B.C.).
Menahem was the commander-in-chief of Jeroboam II"s army. [1] He was serving in Tirzah, Israel"s former capital. Menahem regarded Shallum as a usurper to the throne. He evidently believed that as commander of the army he should have succeeded Zechariah. Menahem probably attacked Tiphsah in Israel because its inhabitants refused to acknowledge his claim to the throne. He probably hoped that his violent destruction of that town ( 2 Kings 15:16) would move other Israelite leaders to support him.
As the history of Israel unfolds, the reader cannot help noticing how the kings increasingly behaved as their Gentile neighbors, who had no special regard for God"s Law.