SUMMARY
The reign of Hoshea (732-722) brings an end to the Northern KingdomThe Northern Kingdom consisted of ten of the twelve tribes of Israel and lasted for 200 years until it was destroyed by Assyria in 721 B.C.E. In the northern kingdom the kings were evil. Prophets like Elijah and Amos railed against them and their evildoing. More.
ANALYSIS
Hoshea, the last of the northern kings, came to power by assassinating Pekah, who may have tried to resist Assyrian domination (15:30). He, himself however, was deposed and imprisoned by Shalmaneser V after his pro-Assyrian sympathies changed and he attempted to withhold tribute, seeking an alliance with King So (otherwise unknown) of Egypt (v. 4). Shalmaneser then began a three-year-long siege of Samaria that ended in the fall of Samaria and the deportation of “the Israelites” (vv. 5-7). Assyrian inscriptions help to fill in some of the gaps in the terse report of 2 Kings:
• Samaria was actually captured by Sargon II, the son of Tiglath-pileser III, in the year of his accession, 722/21.
• The siege was in response to rebellion, but several states were involved.
• Ilubi’di of Hamath was the one who fomented the rebellion.
• Sib’e of Egypt and King Hanunu of Gaza both supported the insurgency.
• Samaria was rebuilt and made the capital of an Assyrian province.
• The number of Israelites (“house of Omri”) deported to Assyrian provinces was 27,290.
Assyria had a specific pattern to their foreign policy with their conquered lands. In addition to exiling a certain amount of the population, they would also bring in peoples from other conquered lands and resettle them in the newly occupied territory. This strategic relocation of people and resettlement of lands effectively dealt with rebellion and ensured some measure of stability in the empire. It was crushing, however, for Israel’s self-concept. It is tragically ironic that Israel, who had always defined itself in terms of its distinctive character as a people, should fall to an empire whose policy of resettlement is designed to eliminate the distinctive ethnic and political identities of those whom they have conquered. Israel never recovered from the fulfillment of Ahijah’s prophecyProphecy is the gift, inspired by God, of speaking and interpreting the divine will. Prophets such as Amos, Isaiah, and Ezekiel spoke words of judgment and comfort to the people of Israel on behalf of God. More to Jeroboam at the beginning of the Northern Kingdom’s existence (1 Kings 14:15-16). The Northern Kingdom’s descendants, the Samaritans, bore the marks of Assyria’s foreign policy in aspects of their culture and religion, explaining in part the animosity between Samaritans and Jews in Jesus’ time.
