Shalmaneser

Shal´muh-nee´zuhr

The name of two Assyrian kings important for the history of ancient Israel. 1 Shalmaneser III, the son of Ashurnasirpal II and king of Assyria 858–824 BCE. Though not mentioned by name in the Bible, Shalmaneser III was the king opposed by Ahab of Israel in 853. Later, in 841, King Jehu rendered tribute to Shalmaneser III, following the latter’s defeat of Hazael of Damascus. 2 Shalmaneser V, the son of Tiglath-pileser III, king of Assyria 727–722 BCE, who figures prominently in (2Kgs 17:1-6). In 726, Hosea of Israel recognized him as overlord and rendered tribute (2Kgs 17:3). Shortly thereafter, a rebellion against Assyria led to Hosea’s imprisonment in 724. Shalmaneser laid siege to Samaria, and the city fell to him in the autumn of 722, but Shalmaneser’s death left the fate of Samaria undetermined. The “king of Assyria” who exiled Israelites from Samaria (2Kgs 17:6;) was Shalmaneser V’s successor, Sargon II, who reconquered the city in 720 BCE.