1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Menahem

MENAHEM (Hebrew for “consoler”), a king of Israel. He was the son of Gadi (i.e. perhaps, a man of Gad), and during the disturbances at the death of Jeroboam II. seized the throne and reigned ten years (2 Kings xv. 14–18). The scene of his revolt was Tirzah, the old seat of the kings of Israel between Jeroboam I. and Omri (which period the present closely resembles), and it was only after perpetrating nameless cruelties at Tappuah^[1] on the border of Ephraim and Mannasseh that the counter revolt of Shallum, son of Jabesh (perhaps a Gileadite), was suppressed. Towards the end of his reign, Tiglath-Pileser IV. marched against north Syria, and among his tributaries mentions Menahem^[2] together with Rezin of Damascus, and kings of Tyre, Gebal, &c. (c. 738 B.C.). According to the Old Testament account the Assyrian king even advanced against Israel, and only withdrew in consideration of a tribute amounting to about £400,000. A thousand talents (i.e. about 3,000,000 shekels) was raised by assessing every wealthy person at 50 shekels. The act was hardly popular, and the internal troubles which he had quelled broke out again at or shortly after his death. The Gileadites again conspired, and having slain his son Pekahiah set up Pekah the son of Remaliah in his place^[3] This meant a return to an anti-Assyrian policy. (See Ahaz.)  (S. A. C.) 

1. Scarcely Tiphsah (2 Kings xv. 16) on the Euphrates.
2. The identification of the Israelite king with Me-ni-hi-(im)-ml of Sa-me-ri-na-ai on the Ass. inscription has been unnecessarily doubted.
3. The chronology in xv. 2, 23, 32, appears to confuse Pekah and Pekahiah, and the view has been held that they were originally one and the same; cf. Cheyne, Ency. Bib., col. 3643.