Shalmaneser

Biblical Record

Shalmaneser was a king of Assyria. In the Bible his name appears only in 2 Kings. Historians identify him as the fifth Assyrian king to bear this name, namely Shalmaneser V.

• 2 Kings 17:3–6: When Shalmaneser came up against him, Hoshea, king of the northern kingdom of Israel, became his servant and paid him tribute (the payment rendered by a vassal state). Hoshea later sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, rebelling against Assyria and withholding the tribute. The king of Assyria then imprisoned Hoshea and besieged Samaria for three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried the Israelites away captive into Assyria.
• 2 Kings 18:9–11: These verses recount the same events according to the chronology of the southern kingdom of Judah. Shalmaneser besieged Samaria in the fourth year of Hezekiah, and after three years, in Hezekiah's sixth year, the city fell.

Significance Within the Bible

The books of Kings record Shalmaneser's military campaign as the immediate occasion for the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel. At the same time, they explain that the fundamental cause of the kingdom's destruction was Israel's forsaking of God's covenant and its worship of idols (2 Kings 17:7–23). In this account Shalmaneser appears only as an instrument of judgment; his own faith and character are not addressed. His name does not appear in the New Testament.

Interpretation and Points of Debate

• Who captured Samaria: 2 Kings 17:6 identifies the king who took the city only as "the king of Assyria," and 18:10 states that "they took it." However, Sargon II, Shalmaneser's successor, claims the conquest of Samaria as his own achievement in his inscriptions. Accordingly, some hold that Shalmaneser captured the city shortly before his death, while others propose that Sargon credited the achievement to himself or that he suppressed a subsequent revolt. The Babylonian Chronicle records that Shalmaneser V destroyed a city called "Samara'in," which some interpret as Samaria. Those who emphasize biblical inerrancy generally maintain that the two records can be harmonized.
• Distinction from other kings named Shalmaneser: Assyrian inscriptions also mention Shalmaneser III (ninth century BC). His Black Obelisk depicts Jehu, or his envoy, presenting tribute, and it is frequently cited in biblical archaeology. The only Shalmaneser named in the Bible, however, is Shalmaneser V.
• Some interpreters identify "Shalman" in Hosea 10:14 with Shalmaneser, but others regard him as a different figure, and the question remains unsettled.
• This king's reign is also mentioned in Tobit 1, which the Catholic Church accepts as canonical. Protestants classify Tobit among the Apocrypha.

In Korean Churches

In Korean churches, Shalmaneser is rarely treated as a sermon subject in his own right. He is mentioned chiefly in sermons on the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel or in Bible studies on Kings, where he is presented as historical background illustrating the consequences of disobedience to the covenant.