August 10, 2022
Shalmaneser V was the second of three Assyrian kings to attack the Northern Tribes (Kingdom of Israel) 732 - 722 BC. He succeeded his father, Tiglath-Pileser III (sometimes called "Pul" in the Bible).
He reigned only five years, 727 - 722 BC, before he died under mysterious circumstances. A younger brother, Sargon II, succeeded him. Historians note that since "Sargon" means "the faithful king" or "the legitimate king", Sargon II must have usurped the throne, as no legitimate king would feel the need to give himself such a name.
Historians are divided as to whether Samaria, the capital of the Kingdom of Israel, was conquered twice, first by Shalmaneser V and then again by Sargon II, or once in which Sargon finished off what Shalmaneser V started.
2 Kings 17 credits Shalmaneser V as having conquered Samaria. In Assyrian records, Sargon II claims, "I besieged and conquered Samaria and led away as booty 27,290 inhabitants of it." Either way, God used Assyria to punish the Kingdom of Israel by wiping it out and bringing non-Israelites to settle where the Northern Kingdom once was.
The intermingling of these non-Israelites with the remnant of Israelites would lead to the creation of the Samaritan people. These half-Israelite, half-non-Israelites were despised by the Jews in subsequent centuries down to the time of Jesus.
Samaritans figure prominently in the Parable of the Good Samaritan and in John 4, when Jesus talks to the Samaritan woman.
Assyrians had a well-known fondness for lions in their sculptures, notably the colossal statues that guarded the palace and temple entrances, and the reliefs depicting their slaughter by a later Assyrian king, Ashurbanipal, (Osnapper in NASB, ESV). He reigned 669 - 631 BC, and was mentioned in Ezra 4:10.
Ishtar, a goddess whom the Assyrians associated with war and physical love, was also the goddess of rain and thunderstorms. Her symbol was the lion and her thunder was its roar.
The prophet Nahum prophesied against Assyria, condemning it for its wickedness. In Nahum 2:11-12, he mocks the nation: "Where now is the lions’ den, the place where they fed their young, where the lion and lioness went, and the cubs, with nothing to fear? The lion killed enough for his cubs and strangled the prey for his mate, filling his lairs with the kill and his dens with the prey."
This Assyrian lion measuring weight was used to ensure fair trade and was made during the reign of Shalmaneser V: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1848-1104-67 Google Street View:
