Texts · 6 · Jehu and Elisha
Fifty shekels a head
King Menahem, a usurper, raised a massive tribute for Assyria by taxing every man of means fifty shekels of silver.
Buying an empire's sponsorship.
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The Bible presents this as Israel's first encounter with Assyria, though tribute had begun under Jehu, a fact that didn't fit its portrait.
Bible reference: 2 Kings 15:19–20
Source: Why the Bible Began, pp. 93–94
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