Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Kings 15:20 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 20. 20And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse places the cost of Assyrian tribute on Israel's wealthy households.
Read It With
- 2 Kings 15:17–15:22
Read 2 Kings 15:20 within 2 Kings 15:17–15:22. Menahem continues royal evil, pays Pul of Assyria to secure his rule, and raises the tribute from wealthy Israelites before dying.
Why This Verse Appears Here
This verse places the cost of Assyrian tribute on Israel's wealthy households. This detail is necessary to the thought unit “Menahem buys Assyrian support by taxing the wealthy,” but it is not the unit's whole claim.
Read 2 Kings 15:17–22 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Kings 15:17–15:22 forms one scene or regnal notice: Menahem continues royal evil, pays Pul of Assyria to secure his rule, and raises the tribute from wealthy Israelites before dying.
Verse 17. 17 In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria.
Verse 18. 18 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
Verse 19. 19 And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.
Verse 20. 20 And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land.
Verse 21. 21 And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
Verse 22. 22 And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead.
Follow the Context
- Menahem continues royal evil, pays Pul of Assyria to secure his rule, and raises the tribute from wealthy Israelites before dying.
- The unit's narrated outcome or evaluation prepares the next movement without making every described action exemplary.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Kings 15:20 does not stand alone from 2 Kings 15:17–15:22. Foreign backing and elite taxation do not prove legitimate rule, and the burden must not be erased by a neutral fiscal summary.
What Remains True
This verse places the cost of Assyrian tribute on Israel's wealthy households. In the complete scene, that detail supports this larger account: Menahem continues royal evil, pays Pul of Assyria to secure his rule, and raises the tribute from wealthy Israelites before dying.
How It Can Shape Life
- When teaching 2 Kings 15:20, keep this contribution and 2 Kings 15:17–15:22 together. Foreign backing and elite taxation do not prove legitimate rule, and the burden must not be erased by a neutral fiscal summary.
Teach It Back
Explain 2 Kings 15:20's precise role in 2 Kings 15:17–15:22. Include the first historical horizon, surrounding verses, one person or cost that a royal or miracle-centered reading could obscure, material uncertainty, and one conclusion this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 2 Kings 15:17–15:22 — Menahem buys Assyrian support by taxing the wealthySources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Pul is commonly identified with Tiglath-pileser III; regnal dates and mechanisms of payment remain reconstructed from multiple sources.
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 15:17–15:22, 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 15:17–15:22
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 15:17–15:22
Open source ↗