29 - Israel and Judah from the coming of Assyrian domination until the fall of Samaria, and the struggle for independence in Judah (c. 750–700 B.C.)

Summary

TIGLATH-PILESER III AND THE ASSYRIAN THREAT

In the first half of the eighth century B.C. the independent kingdoms of Israel and Judah enjoyed a period of prosperity which had not been known since the time of Solomon in the tenth century. A new situation began to develop, however, with the accession of Tiglath-pileser III to the throne of Assyria in 744 B.C. At that time Uzziah (767–740) was still in power in Judah, while Menahem (752–742), the founder of the fifth dynasty of Israelite kings since the death of Solomon, was ruling in Samaria. Very little is said about Menahem in the Old Testament. He seems to have been violent and ruthless (II Ki. 15:16); when there was a threat from the power of Assyria he was quick to collect treasure from the wealthy men of Israel in order to pay substantial tribute in silver (II Ki. 15:19–20). This passage names ‘Pul, King of Assyria’ as the recipient of the tribute, Pul being another name for Tiglath-pileser III, as stated in I Chron. 5 : 26, and indeed in his annals the latter boasts that he received tribute from ‘Menahem the Samarian’. The date at which Menahem paid this tribute is uncertain.

During the eighteen years of his reign Tiglath-pileser established the power of Assyria in the west, but while his own inscriptions supply a considerable amount of information about his conquests, they have been preserved in such a form as to make it very difficult to assign the military activities narrated in them to exact years in his reign.