Menahem
16th King of Israel
752–742 BC
Father
Gadi
Children
Pekahiah
Biography
Menahem son of Gadi came from Tirzah to Samaria, killed Shallum, and reigned ten years. When the city of Tiphsah (or Tappuah) did not open its gates to him, he attacked it and ripped open all the pregnant women — an act of extreme brutality that shocked even the ancient world's military norms. He continued in all the sins of Jeroboam I. During his reign the Assyrian empire under Tiglath-Pileser III made its first major incursion into Israel. To secure his throne and buy off the Assyrian threat, Menahem exacted a tax of fifty shekels of silver from every wealthy man in Israel — totaling 1,000 talents — and paid it to Tiglath-Pileser. This transaction marked the beginning of Israel's subjugation to Assyria and the hemorrhaging of national wealth that would contribute to the kingdom's eventual fall.
Key Events
Because Tiphsah did not open its gates, Menahem attacked it and ripped open all the pregnant women
Pul (Tiglath-Pileser III) of Assyria came against the land; Menahem paid him 1,000 talents of silver
Levied fifty shekels of silver from each wealthy man in Israel to raise the 1,000 talents for Assyria
Tiglath-Pileser turned back and did not stay in the land after receiving the tribute
Spiritual Significance
Menahem demonstrates how political compromise with empire is paid for by the suffering of the people. He bought his throne's security by taxing ordinary Israelites and subjugating the nation to Assyria. His cruelty at Tiphsah and his capitulation to Assyria represent the twin evils of a leader who is brutal to the weak and servile to the powerful.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
Maintained stability for 10 years, kept Assyria from occupying Israel temporarily
Weaknesses
Extreme cruelty (ripped open pregnant women), capitulation to Assyria, heavy taxation, continuation of Jeroboam's idolatry
Lessons
Leaders who gain power by violence and maintain it by cruelty ultimately serve not their people but themselves and foreign powers. Menahem crushed the weak (Tiphsah), taxed the wealthy (to pay Assyria), and secured nothing for Israel's future.
Related Characters
Shallum
King he assassinated to gain power
Pekahiah
Son and successor
Tiglath-Pileser III
Assyrian king he paid tribute to