2 Kings 15:19

Pul ¹  king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem paid ²  him ³  a thousand talents ⁴  of silver to gain his support ⁵  and to solidify his control of the kingdom. ⁶ 

2Ki 12:18; 2Ki 14:5; 2Ki 16:8; 2Ki 17:3,4; 2Ki 18:16; 1Ch 5:25,26; Isa 9:1; Jer 17:5; Ho 5:13; Ho 8:9,10; Ho 10:6

¹ sn Pul was a nickname of Tiglath-pileser III (cf. 15:29). See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 171-72.

² tn Heb “gave.”

³ tn Heb “Pul.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁴ tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 75,000 pounds of silver (cf. NCV “about seventy-four thousand pounds”); NLT “thirty-seven tons”; CEV “over thirty tons”; TEV “34,000 kilogrammes.”

⁵ tn Heb “so his hands would be with him.”

⁶ tn Heb “to keep hold of the kingdom in his hand.”