Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Kings 15:16 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 16. 16Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Menahem commits an atrocity against pregnant women at Tiphsah. The violence enforces submission to his rule.
A one-month king, then Menahem's atrocity at Tiphsah
This verse is one part of that explanation in 2 Kings 15:13–16. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 2 Kings 15:13–16
Read 2 Kings 15:16 with 15:13–16. The selected wording supplies one closing in the thought unit with its stated result or transition; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Shallum rules one month before Menahem kills him; Menahem then sacks resistant Tiphsah and rips open pregnant women.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Shallum is killed and Menahem brutalizes Tiphsah,” 2 Kings 15:16 closes the thought unit with its stated result or transition through the wording “Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 2 Kings 15:8–12 establishes this prior movement: Zechariah continues Jeroboam's pattern and is publicly assassinated by Shallum, fulfilling the stated four-generation limit on Jehu's dynasty. 2 Kings 15:13–16 continues the same royal, prophetic, household, military, reform, or exile movement; that evidenced relationship, rather than database adjacency alone, explains its placement.
Read 2 Kings 15:13–16 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Kings 15:13–16 forms one scene or regnal notice: Shallum rules one month before Menahem kills him; Menahem then sacks resistant Tiphsah and rips open pregnant women.
Verse 13. 13 Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria.
Verse 14. 14 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.
Verse 15. 15 And the rest of the acts of Shallum, and his conspiracy which he made, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
Verse 16. 16 Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up.
Follow the Context
- Shallum rules one month before Menahem kills him; Menahem then sacks resistant Tiphsah and rips open pregnant women.
- The unit closes by establishing the result or tension named in “Shallum is killed and Menahem brutalizes Tiphsah” before the next narrated movement.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“all the women therein that were with child he ripped up”
In plain language: Menahem commits an atrocity against pregnant women at Tiphsah.
The violence enforces submission to his rule.
Why it matters: It must be named as harm, not admired as strength.
How certain? very strongWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Kings 15:16 does not permit the wording “Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The text does not authorize terror against civilians, sexualized atrocity, harming pregnant people or unborn children, or admiring brutality as decisive rule.
What Remains True
Faithful interpretation protects the dignity, agency, safety, grief, and material needs of people whom leadership-centered readings can overlook. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: Shallum rules one month before Menahem kills him; Menahem then sacks resistant Tiphsah and rips open pregnant women. In 2 Kings 15:16, the concrete line “Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened…” keeps that truth accountable to narrated evidence.
Teach It Back
In 70–220 words, explain 2 Kings 15:16's role in 15:13–16. Paraphrase “Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened…,” identify one agent or affected person, state one material source or historical limit, and name one conclusion the context does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 2 Kings 15:13–16 — Shallum is killed and Menahem brutalizes TiphsahSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Tiphsah's location and the textual form of its name are disputed; the atrocity is explicit enough that uncertainty must not sanitize it.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 2 Kings 15:13–16, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, royal formulas, clause relationships, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 15:13–16
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 2 Kings with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: A unit-bounded translation comparison plus only the lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, or older-English notes actually printed for these verses; silence is not treated as evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible 2 Kings PDF, printed pp. 649–651, translation and translator notes for 15:13–16
Open source ↗