Reading for January 6th

 Read 2 Kings 15.1-22. In 15.1-38: Azaiah and Jotham of Judah; Zecaraiah, Shallum, Menahem, and Pekahiah of Israel. In verse 1: Azariah also known as Uzziah (2 Chr 26). In verse 4: High places were shrines other than the temple of Jerusalem. In verse 5: Leprosy was a word used for a variety of skin diseases. It was greatly feared because it was regarded as fatal and incurable. Lepers were isolated because the disease was contagious. Hence, Azaiah and his son Jotham were co-regents, that is they ruled together. In verse 12: The prophecy about the duration of the Jehu dynasty occurs in 10.30. The rapid succession of contenders to the throne at the end of the Jehu dynasty is reminiscent of the last days of Baasha's house in 1 Kings 16. In verse 15: The rest of the deeds is part of the standard deuteronomistic formula. Since he reigned only one month (v. 13), Shallum did not have time to accomplish many deeds. In verse 16: Tiphsah was a town on the Euphrates, quite out of Menahem's reach. a better reading is Tappuah (as in the Septuahgint), which was within Israel. The practice of rip[ping] open pregnant women is mentioned elsewhere in the bible in the context of wars with other countries (2 Kings 8.12; Hos 13.16; Am 1.13). The reason for Menahem's brutality against the town of Tappuah is unknown, but it has been suggested that this was Sahllum's hometown. In verse 19: Pul was another name for Tiglath-pileser III, one of the greatest kings of the Assyrian empire (see v. 29). A talent was between 45 and 130 pounds. A thousand talents of silver was an enormous sum. In verse 20: A shekel was slightly less than half an ounce. Comments or Questions..