But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, for he had sent envoys to So[a] king of Egypt, and he no longer paid tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore Shalmaneser seized him and put him in prison. – 2 Kings 17:4

Today's Scripture Reading (March 5, 2020): 2 Kings 17

Osorkon IV reigned in Egypt from 730 until sometime soon after 716 B.C.E., the last mention that we have of the Egyptian King. It was a period of chaos in the North African nation, and Osorkon was fighting threats to his reign from within Egypt itself. Likely, the Nile Delta had already fallen out of his control and into the hands of several small Libyan kingdoms and principalities. Osorkon IV may have actually ruled only over the cities of Tanis and Bubastis in the Delta, and not much more. Osorkon IV is the most likely candidate for the identity of King So mentioned in 2 Kings 17, So being a shortened form of the pharaoh's name.

Hoshea was a titular king in Israel, having been defeated by the Assyrians, and he had pledged his allegiance to Assyrians as the condition for being allowed to continue to rule over the Kingdom of Israel. Hoshea's oath was presented to Shalmaneser according to 2 Kings, or the king history remembers as Shalmaneser V. But while Osorkon IV was dealing with chaos in Egypt, it seems that there was also chaos within the Assyrian Empire. It may have been this Assyrian turmoil that prodded the advisers to Hoshea to attempt to break away from their Assyrian lords.

And so, Hoshea sent a message to Osorkon IV asking for help from the Egyptians to break from their Assyrian captors. And the Hoshea's action resulted in the worst possible outcome. First, no help came from Egypt. Knowing what was happening at the time in the North African nation, it might have been that Osorkon IV simply had no support to send to Hoshea. He was too busy at home to worry about what was happening in a small nation on the East Coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The second unfortunate event was that Shalmaneser V became aware of Hoshea's attempt to get help from Egypt and charged the king with breaking his vow to Assyria. And immediately, Shalmaneser V laid siege to the cities of Israel.

But the timing of the siege seems to make it likely that, while Shalmaneser V may have started the attack on Israel, he possibly did not live to see the action completed. In 722 B.C.E., Shalmaneser V died, we do not know how, and Sargon II stole the throne of Assyria. Sargon II was a usurper to the Assyrian throne of uncertain parentage and not a descendant of Shalmaneser. It seems likely that the conclusion of the siege against Israel, and the distribution of people sent into exile, was actually done by Sargon II. And then he called his soldiers home as he secured his reign against any other pretenders to the Assyrian throne.

But which Assyrian King completed the defeat of Israel doesn't matter. Hoshea would be the last King of the Kingdom of Israel, and he was seized and sent to prison as a traitor, and, likely, it was there the last King of Israel died.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 29