The Meaning of 2 Kings 15:14 Explained

2 Kings 15:14

KJV: 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 in his stead.

YLT: and go up doth Menahem son of Gadi from Tirzah and cometh in to Samaria, and smiteth Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria, and putteth him to death, and reigneth in his stead.

Darby: And 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 in his stead.

ASV: And 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 in his stead.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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  in his stead. 

What does 2 Kings 15:14 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Kings 15:13-22 - Buying Temporary Relief
The usurping murderer Shallum enjoyed but a very brief reign, occupying the throne for one month only, and then being slain by Menahem, who, according to Josephus, was commander of his forces. Menahem carried his arms as far as Tiphsah, which apparently resisted this red-handed assassin. The ruthless cruelty which he showed toward the hapless citizens attracted the notice of the Assyrian monarch, and led ultimately to that invasion of Israel which terminated in its destruction. God has ever sat as Judge over the nations. His judgments and sentences are exact. With what measure we mete, it shall be measured to us again.
Menahem obtained a temporary respite by the gift of one thousand talents, which secured the alliance of the king of Assyria, turning him from an avenger into a patron. See Hosea 5:13. This was the confederacy to which Isaiah probably refers in his chapter, Isaiah 8:1-22, when he alludes to a confederacy that seemed to bode no good. But on the bosom of this cloud of menace shone, as always, the rainbow of promise which is implied in the name "Immanuel." [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Kings 15

1  Azariah's good reign
5  He dying a leper, is succeeded by Jotham
8  Zachariah the last of Jehu's generation, reigning ill, is slain by Shallum
13  Shallum, reigning a month, is slain by Nenahem
16  Menahem strengthens himself by Pul
21  Pekahiah succeeds him
23  Pekahiah is slain by Pekah
27  Pekah is oppressed by Tiglath-pileser, and slain by Hoshea
32  Jotham's good reign
36  Ahaz succeeds him

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 15:14 mean?

For went up Menahem son of Gadi from Tirzah and came to Samaria and struck - Shallum of Jabesh in Samaria and killed him and he reigned in his place
וַיַּעַל֩ מְנַחֵ֨ם בֶּן־ גָּדִ֜י מִתִּרְצָ֗ה וַיָּבֹא֙ שֹׁמְר֔וֹן וַיַּ֛ךְ אֶת־ שַׁלּ֥וּם יָבֵ֖ישׁ בְּשֹׁמְר֑וֹן וַיְמִיתֵ֖הוּ וַיִּמְלֹ֥ךְ תַּחְתָּֽיו

וַיַּעַל֩  For  went  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
מְנַחֵ֨ם  Menahem 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: מְנַחֵם  
Sense: son of Gadi and king of the northern kingdom of Israel; slew the usurper Shallum to ascend the throne and reigned for ten years; contemporary with prophets Hosea and Amos.
בֶּן־  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
גָּדִ֜י  of  Gadi 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: גָּדִי  
Sense: the Gadite father of Menahem, a king of Israel.
מִתִּרְצָ֗ה  from  Tirzah 
Parse: Preposition-m, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: תִּרְצָה 
Sense: one of the 7 daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher of the tribe of Manasseh.
וַיָּבֹא֙  and  came 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
שֹׁמְר֔וֹן  to  Samaria 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שֹׁמְרֹון  
Sense: the region of northern Palestine associated with the northern kingdom of the 0 tribes of Israel which split from the kingdom after the death of Solomon during the reign of his son Rehoboam and were ruled by Jeroboam.
וַיַּ֛ךְ  and  struck 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָכָה  
Sense: to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
שַׁלּ֥וּם  Shallum 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שַׁלּוּם  
Sense: son of Jabesh, conspirator and slayer of king Zachariah of the northern kingdom of Israel ending the dynasty of Jehu; assumed the throne and became the 5th king of the northern kingdom; reigned for one month and was killed by Menahem.
יָבֵ֖ישׁ  of  Jabesh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָבֵשׁ 
Sense: a town in the territory of Gilead; according to Eusebius, it is beyond the Jordan, 6 miles (0 km) from Pella, on the mountain road to Gerasa; site unknown but may be modern ‘Wadi Yabes’.
בְּשֹׁמְר֑וֹן  in  Samaria 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שֹׁמְרֹון  
Sense: the region of northern Palestine associated with the northern kingdom of the 0 tribes of Israel which split from the kingdom after the death of Solomon during the reign of his son Rehoboam and were ruled by Jeroboam.
וַיְמִיתֵ֖הוּ  and  killed  him 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
וַיִּמְלֹ֥ךְ  and  he  reigned 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָלַךְ 
Sense: to be or become king or queen, reign.
תַּחְתָּֽיו  in  his  place 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: מִתְחָה 
Sense: the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas.