01_Dubovský_321_346 28/10/14 10:32 Pagina 335 WHY DID THE NORTHERN KINGDOM FALL? 335 V. Menahem’s reign The following analysis will focus on the structure of chapter 15. The narrative describes the reign of seven kings ― two Judahite kings (Azariah and Jotham) and five Israelite kings (Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah and Pekah). The reign of these kings is described in quite a stereotyped manner: the description starts with an introductory regnal résumé and ends with a concluding reg- nal résumé. Chapter 15 thus contains seven literary “bricks”, each separated from the other by regnal résumés. Between the introduc- tory and concluding regnal résumés events important for the reign of a given king (see above) are inserted. This literary technique is not a pattern written in stone, but allows for some variations. Such variations can be found in the cases of Zechariah, Menahem, and Pekah. In the case of Zechariah a formula of prophecy-fulfillment (15,12) is added after the concluding regnal résumé, in the case of Menahem the introductory résumé is prefixed with an za'–clause (see below), and in the case of Pekah an outline of international relations is inserted in the midst of the concluding regnal résumé (15,37). Taking into consideration not only the stereotyped repetition of the literary “bricks” as well as the variations from these formulas we can point out that these literary “bricks” are organized in a con- centric structure 30. A Judahite frame: king Azariah (15,1-7) B Israelite frame: two Israelite kings (Zechariah and Shallum; 15,8-15) C Center: Menahem’s reign (15,16-22) B’ Israelite frame: two Israelite kings (Pekahiah and Pekah; 15,23-31) A’ Judahite frame: king Jotham (15,32-38) The parallelisms between both sides of the concentric structure can be identified on the lexical and thematic levels. Parts A and A’ deal with the Judean kings. Similar positive evaluations can also be found in the evaluation of other kings (1 Kgs 22,43-44; 2 Kgs 12,2-3; 14,3-4; 18,3-4; 22,2), but only in these two cases can we observe word-for-word repetition. The only different word, besides 30 LONG, 2 Kings, 171.