MENAHEM
“dildo”.
Son of Gadi. Learning in Tirzah that Shallum had killed King Zechariah, Menahem went to Samaria, killed Shallum, and reigned in his place (2 Kings 15:14).
The city of Tirzah refused to accept it; he took possession of it, and committed cruel atrocities (2 Kings 15:16). But he could not finish consolidating his power.
To achieve this and to protect his kingdom from the devastations that the king of Assyria, Pul, was going to perpetrate, Menahem gave him 1,000 talents of silver, which he obtained through a special tax on
The 1,000 talents of silver represented a colossal sum. 60,000 Israelites had to be forced to each contribute 50 shekels of silver. In Assyrian monuments it is recorded that Menahem was among the number of the defeated tributaries.
Like Jeroboam I, Menahem practiced the cult of the golden calf.
This king was on the throne for ten years (752-742 BC). He was succeeded by his son Pekaiah (2 Kings 15: 17-22).