Melakhim II Chapter 15 | The Disintegration of the Kingdom of Israel

Our chapter describes the disintegration of the Kingdom of Israel. Within a short period of time, six kings succeed one another, with each rebellion marked by assassinations and struggles for power. From a prophetic perspective, none of these rebellious kings are considered legitimate. This is evident in the opening of Hoshe'a’s prophecy, which describes the era in which he prophesied: "This is the word of the Lord which came to Hoshe'a son of Be’eri in the days of Uziya, Yotam, Achaz, and Yechizkiya, kings of Yehuda, and in the days of Yerovam son of Yoash, king of Israel." (Hoshe'a 1:1) Hoshe'a prophesied during the reigns of Yotam, Achaz, and Yechizkiya, kings of Yehuda, whose reigns overlap with all the kings of Israel mentioned in this chapter (Hoshe'a son of Ela, the last king, begins his reign during the time of Achaz). However, when enumerating the kings of Israel during Hoshe'a's prophetic career, the Tanakh halts at Yerovam son of Yoash, and after him they aren't considered kings anymore.

The rebellions in the Kingdom of Israel were not mere power struggles within the royal court. Throughout these rebellions, we observe tensions between the residents of the eastern side of the Jordan River and the residents of the Efrayimite hill. The first rebel is Shalum ben Yavesh, whose name hints at his origin — Yavesh Gilad. The next rebel is Menachem son of Gadi, likely from the city of Tirtza in the territory of Efrayim. Menachem succeeds in securing the throne for his son by bribing the king of Assyria to assist him in “maintaining control of the kingdom.” (15:19) In the next generation, Pekachya, Menachem’s son, is assassinated by Pekach son of Remalyahu, who is accompanied by “fifty men of the Gileadites.” (15:25).

The prophet Yeshayahu describes these conflicts: "By the rage of the Lord of Hosts, the land is blackened; the people but fuel for fire; brother cares nothing for brother. He on the right carves meat but stays hungry; he on the left will eat but not feel full; a man will eat the flesh of his own arm – Menashe on Efrayim, Efrayim on Menashe, and the two together on Yehuda. And still He has not turned away His rage, and still He stretches forth His hand." (Yeshaya 9:18–20). The tribe of Menashe, settled in the Gilad region east of the Jordan, and the Efrayimites in the hill country, battle each other for control of the kingdom. Ultimately, the kingdom collapses.

During the account of Menachem ben Gadi’s consolidation of power, the Tanakh includes a chilling description typically associated with foreign kings: "It was then that Menachem attacked Tifsach and everything in it and its territories from Tirtza;, they would not yield, so he attacked – he even slashed open its pregnant women." (Melakhim II 15:16) Tifsach is generally identified as a city within the Kingdom of Israel, intensifying the shock at this act of cruelty — ripping open pregnant women. Such brutality is described elsewhere in the Tanakh in reference to foreign kings, such as Chazael of Aram (Melakhim II 8:12), and in the prophet Amos’s rebuke of the Amonites: "So says the Lord: On the account of the children of Amon's three crimes and on account of the fourth, I will not forgive them: to expand their borders, they sliced open the pregnant women of the Gilad." (Amos 1:13)

The exile of Israel begins in this chapter, with the residents of the eastern side of the Jordan being the first to be exiled. The process of exile unfolds from the outside shell to the center. First, the eastern side of the Jordon territories are exiled, followed by the Kingdom of Israel, and finally, the Kingdom of Yehuda is exiled, along with Jerusalem.