MPV Commentary

1. In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea began to reign. This timing can be reconciled with 2Ki 15:30 by understanding that Hoshea conspired against Pekah in the twentieth year of Jotham's reign, two years before he was acknowledged as king of Israel.

2. During his reign, Hoshea did evil, but not to the same extent as previous kings of Israel. Unlike them, he neither established the worship of Baal nor forced the people to follow the symbolic rituals of the calves. However, through the influence of the nineteen princes who had ruled before him, the nation became thoroughly demoralized due to their idolatrous and sinful practices.

3. Shalmaneser, also known as Sargon (Isa 20:1), an Assyrian king, marched against Hoshea. Recent discoveries have confirmed that this king was involved in a campaign against Samaria, whose name is recorded on the Ninevite monuments as Hoshea.

4. After paying tribute for several years, Hoshea withheld the stipulated payment to Shalmaneser and was subsequently found guilty of conspiracy. In response, Shalmaneser declared war against Israel, which began in the sixth year of Hoshea's reign. During this time, Hoshea sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, hoping to secure his aid against the Assyrian conqueror.

5. However, Shalmaneser marched against Hoshea and ravaged the entire country of Israel, besieging Samaria and carrying its inhabitants into captivity in his own land. The king himself was taken prisoner and imprisoned for life. This practice of transplanting a conquered people to a foreign land was based on the idea that they would be more easily controlled among a diverse population.

6. Shalmaneser carried away the remaining Israelites, placing them in Halah, along the Chabor River, which flows through the highlands of Assyria known as Gozan or Zozan. This region is characterized by its pasturage and was suitable for the Israelites' pastoral lifestyle. The Medish inhabitants of this area had previously revolted against their rulers and been destroyed; it was likely that they wanted to repopulate the area with industrious people like the captive Israelites.