Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 15
After he had killed the previous king, Shallum declared himself to be the new king. He ruled Samaria, the capital city – however, he never gained control over the whole of northern and central Israel.
Samaria had been the capital city ever since King Omri built it (1 Kings 16:23-24). Before that, the capital city was Tirzah. It seems that Tirzah had continued to be an important city. It was from there that a powerful man, Menahem, came to fight against Shallum.
As we shall soon see, Menahem was a fierce and cruel man. He may have been a commander in the army. He clearly had strong ambitions: he wanted to kill Shallum and to establish himself as the king.
For about 100 years, Jehu’s royal family had ruled Israel, and everyone accepted their rule. There is no record that anyone even tried to organise a revolution during that time. However, now that they had lost power, a series of men fought each other to be kings. Shallum could only rule for one month before Menahem killed him. 12 years later, Pekah would murder Menahem’s own son to become king. 20 years after that, Hoshea murdered Pekah to become the last king of northern and central Israel.
When Menahem had murdered Shallum, he declared himself to be king. He demanded that the people should accept his rule. In that way, Menahem gained control over Samaria and, soon afterwards, over the whole country.
Next part: Menahem gains control over Israel (2 Kings 15:16)
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