Reading for January 7th

 Read 2 Kings 15.23-38. In verse 27: Twenty years is difficult to fit into a chronology for Israel. If it is not a simple error or exaggeration, it may indicate that Israel was divided and that Pekah reigned over a splinter section of it before becoming king over the entire country. In verse 29: The sites listed in this verse are all in northern Israel which along with Damascus and Syria, was ravaged in 733-32 BCE. In verse 30: Tiglath-pileser helped Hoshea to overthrow Pekah. The overthrow and Hoshea's pro-Assyrian policy kept Israel from meeting the fate as Syria in 732. Hoshea's kingdom, however, was only a part of the former state, since the northern part of the country was made into an Assyrian province. In verse 37: Pekah and Rezin wanted to force Judah to join them in a coalition to resist Tiglath-pileser of Assyria. The matter came to a head during the reign of Ahaz. See 16.5. Comments or Questions..