Shalmaneser was the son of Tiglath-Pileser III and he ruled Assyria from 727 to 722 B.C., which is where he appears on the Bible Timeline Poster with World History. This particular king came to power after Tiglath-Pileser had passed away. His birth name was Ululayu, and he later changed it to Shalmanezer.
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During the reign of Shalmaneser, he conquered the northern tribes of Israel. God allowed this Assyrian king to judge his people for their sin of idolatry. When Shelmanezer went up against Israel, he defeated King Hoshea.
This particular king was considered an evil ruler by God, but the Lord also says that he wasn’t as wicked as many of the Israeli rulers before him. After defeating Israel, Shalmaneser allowed King Hoshea to stay in power as long as he paid him tribute. King Hoshea went along with King Shalmanezer’s demands, but the Israeli monarch eventually rebelled against Assyria.
King Hoshea tried to form a secret alliance with Pharaoh So of Egypt. While Hoshea formed this alliance, he didn’t pay any tribute to King Shalmaneser. The Assyrian rulers then put him in chains and carried him away to prison. King Hoshea ruled Israel for 9 years before he was imprisoned. The Assyrian king decided to march the Israelites back to Assyria or other parts of his empire. He placed them in areas such as Harbor, Gozan, and Medes. These areas would have been in places such as modern-day Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
King Shalmaneser then transported peoples from other parts of his empire such as Babylon and Hamath and placed them in various Israeli cities such as Samaria. After King Shalmaneser placed these people inside of Samaria God had to send lions against some of these people because they would not obey him. The Assyrian king then authorized a priest to go back to Israel to teach the people about God. Instead of turning completely away from idol worship the people continued to pray to pagan gods while worshipping the Lord. They even designated priests to lead them in the worship of foreign deities.
God told the people that if they feared him and worshiped him alone he would deliver them from their enemies, but the people didn’t listen. They continued to worship other gods, and they taught their children to do the same thing for many generations. God had used a foreign ruler to help get his people to get back in line with his truth. He allowed these rulers to use extreme measures to get the people to come to their senses. Some of the people did respond to God’s methods of correction but many did not. Eventually, King Shelmanezer had passed away, and Israel no longer had a king since Hoshea was the last ruler before the people were exiled.
Biblical References:
- 2 Kings 17: 1 – 4 Outlines King Hoshea’s reign and how he was forced to pay Assyria tribute.
- 2 Kings 17: 5 – 23 Shelmanezer carries away many Israelites and God condemns his people for their sins.
- 2 Kings 17: 24 – 33 Assyria resettles foreigners in Samaria.
- 2 Kings 17: 29 – 41 God tells the people to turn to him so that they will be protected, but the people still refuse to listen.
