Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia SHALMANESER shal-ma-ne'-zer (shalman'ecer; Septuagint Samennasar, Salmandsar): The name of several Assyrian kings. See ASSYRIA; CAPTIVITY. It is Shalmaneser IV who is mentioned in the Biblical history (2 Kings 17:3; 2 Kings 18:9). He succeeded Tiglathpileser on the throne in 727 B.C., but whether he was a son of his predecessor, or a usurper, is not apparent. His reign was short, and, as no annals of it have come to light, we have only the accounts contained in 2 Kings for his history. In the passages referred to above, we learn that Hoshea, king of Israel, who had become his vassal, refused to continue the payment of tribute, relying upon help from So, king of Egypt. No help, however, came from Egypt, and Hoshea had to face the chastising forces of his suzerain with his own unaided resources, the result being that he was taken prisoner outside Samaria and most likely carried away to Nineveh. The Biblical narrative goes on to say that the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it 3 years. There is reason to believe that, as the siege of Samaria was proceeding, Shalmaneser retired to Nineveh and died, for, when the city was taken in 722 B.C., it is Sargon who claims, in his copious annals, to have captured it and carried its inhabitants into captivity. It is just possible that Shalman (Hosea 10:14) is a contraction for Shalmaneser, but the identity of Shalman and of Beth-arbel named in the same passage is not sufficiently made out. LITERATURE. Schrader, COT, I, 258;; McCurdy, HPM, I, 387;. T. Nicol

Multi-Version Concordance Shalmaneser (3 Occurrences) 2 Kings 17:3 Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and brought him tribute. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV) 2 Kings 17:4 The king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison. (See NIV) 2 Kings 18:9 It happened in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)