(19) And.--As it stands, the verse begins abruptly. But the reading of the LXX. restores the connection: In his days Pul the king of Assyria," &c. (Comp, 2Kings 15:29.)

Pul.--This name has been read in the cuneiform (Pu-u-lu, i.e., P-lu, an officer of Sargon's). For the identity of Pul, king of Assyria, with Tiglath Pileser II., see Note on 1Chronicles 5:26, and Schrader's Die Keil-inschr. und das Alt. Test, pp. 227-240 (2nd edit., 1883). Prof. Schrader gives the following as the result of his elaborate and most interesting discussion: (1) Menahem of Israel and Azariah of Judah were contemporaries, according to the Bible as well as the Inscriptions. (2) According to the Bible, both these rulers were contemporary with an Assyrian king Pul; according to the Inscriptions, with Tiglath Pileser. (3) Berosus calls Pul a Chaldean; Tiglath Pileser calls himself king of Chaldea. (4) Pul-Porus became in 731 B.C. king of Babylon; Tiglath Pileser in 731 B.C. received the homage of the Babylonian king Merodach-Baladan, as he also reduced other Babylonian princes in this year, amongst them Chinz?ros of Amukkan. (5) Poros appears in the canon of Ptolemy as king of Babylon; Tiglath Pileser names himself "king of Babylon." (6) Chinz?ros became king of Babylon in 731 B.C. according to the canon, and, in fact, along with (or, under) a king of the name of P?ros; the hypothesis that the vanquished king of Amukkan of the same name was entrusted by Tiglath Pileser with the vassal-kingship of Babylon is suggested at once by the coincidence of the chronological data. (7) In the year 727-726 B.C. a change of government took place in Assyria in consequence of the death of Tiglath Pileser, and in Babylonia in consequence of the death of Porus. (8) No king appears in the Assyrian lists by a name like Pul, which is anomalous as a royal designation; we can only identify Pul with some other name in the lists, and, on historical grounds, with Tiglath Pileser only. (9) Pul and P?ros are forms of the same name (comp. Babiru for Babilu in Persian inscriptions). (10) From all this, the conclusion is inevitable that Pul and Porus Pul and Tiglath Pileser, are one and the same person.

Came against the land.--Rather, came upon the land (Isaiah 10:28; Judges 18:27). The meaning here is, occupied it.

A thousand talents of silver.--About 375,000.

That his hand might be with him.--Pul (Tiglath Pileser) came at the invitation of Menahem to establish the latter in the sovereignty against other pretenders as a vassal of Assyria. (Comp. Hosea 5:13; Hosea 7:11; Hosea 8:9.) Tiff lath Pileser had first reduced Rezin king of Syria-Damascus, which was probably much weakened by the victories of Jeroboam II. (See Note on 2Kings 15:14.)

Verse 19. - And Pul, the King of Assyria came against the land. There is no connective in the Hebrew text, and it has been proposed to supply one; but there can be little doubt that the best emendation is that suggested by Thenius, who changes the כָּל־יָמָיו of ver. 18 into בְיָמָיו, and attaches that word to ver. 19. Ver. 19 will then read thus: "In his days Pul the King of Assyria came against the laud" - and no connective will be wanted. The greatest doubt has been entertained with regard to the identity of Pul, whose name does not appear in the Assyrian Eponym Canon, or in any other purely Assyrian document. But recently discovered Babylonian documents seem to prove that Pul (Pulu) was the Babylonian name for Tiglath-pileser, who reigned under that name in Babylon during his last two years, and appears in the Canon of Ptolemy as "Porus." Tiglath-pileser, the great founder of the later Assyrian empire, made himself king in B.C. 745, and proceeded to consolidate the Assyrian power on every side, after a period of great weakness and disorganization. He made several expeditions against Babylonia, and several into Syria and Palestine. The expedition in which he came into contact with Menahem is thought to have been that of his eighth year, B.C. 738 (see G. Smith, 'Eponym Canon,' pp. 117-120; and, for the identity of Tiglath-pileser with Pul, see the 'Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology' for 1884, p. 198). And Menahem gave Pal a thousand talents of silver. A vast sum certainly, equal to above a quarter of a million of our money, perhaps to some extent a punishment for the siege and sack of Tiphsah. But not a sum that it would have been impossible to pay. A King of Damascus, about fifty years previously, had bought off an Assyrian attack by the payment of two thousand three hundred talents of silver and twenty talents of gold (see 'Eponym Canon,' p. 115). That his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand; i.e. that Pal might take him under his protection, accept him as one of his subject-princes, and (by implication) support him against possible rivals.

15:8-31 This history shows Israel in confusion. Though Judah was not without troubles, yet that kingdom was happy, compared with the state of Israel. The imperfections of true believers are very different from the allowed wickedness of ungodly men. Such is human nature, such are our hearts, if left to themselves, deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. We have reason to be thankful for restraints, for being kept out of temptation, and should beg of God to renew a right spirit within us.And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land,.... The land of Israel, he invaded it; a Jewish chronologer (u) calls him Pulbelicho; and he is generally thought to be the same with Belochus or Belesis, governor of Babylon, who, with Arbaces the Mede, slew Sardanapalus, said to be the last of the Assyrian kings, and translated the empire to the Chaldeans; he ruling over Babylon and Nineveh, and Arbaces over the Medes and Persians; but Pul was not a Babylonian, but an Assyrian (w), and the first king of the Assyrians, at least, the Scriptures speak of: we read no more of him; but one Metasthenes, a Persian historian, feigned and published by Annius, and so named by him instead of Megasthenes, calls him Phulbelochus, and says (x) he reigned forty eight years:

and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver; and a talent of silver, according to Brerewood (y) was three hundred and seventy five pounds; but Bishop Cumberland (z) calculates it at three hundred and fifty three pounds eleven shillings and ten pence half penny; 1,000 of them made a large sum of money, according to the former 375,000 pounds; and this he gave to him, not only to desist from the invasion of his land, but

that his hand might be with him; and not against him:

and to confirm the kingdom in his hand; which being got by usurpation, and supported by cruelty, was but tottering.

(u) David Ganz. Tzemach David, par. 2. fol. 5. 2.((w) See the Universal History, vol. 4. B. 1. ch. 8. sect. 5. (x) De Judicio Temp. & Annal. Pers. fol. 221. 2.((y) De Ponder & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 4. (z) Scripture Weights and Measures, c. 4. p. 120.