01_Dubovský_321_346 28/10/14 10:32 Pagina 340 340 PETER DUBOVSKÝ hem’s payment and other tributes must have drained the wealth of Israel, broken the economic power of Israel, and financially ruined the Northern Kingdom 41. Menahem is thus portrayed as the oppo- site of Solomon. The money flowed into Israel under Solomon, but under Menahem money flowed out of Israel 42. Moreover, drawing on the wallets of 72,000 nobles must have severely undermined Menahem’s popularity. Ironically by receiving this money, the As- syrians were able to form an army which then could easily attack Samaria and later on become the basis of Rab-Shakeh’s boasting (2 Kgs 18,19-26). VIII. Israel’s wrong international policy The deterioration of the Northern Kingdom is fitted into the nar- rative about two Judahite kings — Azariah and Jotham, which cre- ates the narrative frame for the central part of chapter 15 (see above). By analyzing this narrative frame we can point out another cause of the downfall of the Northern Kingdom encoded in the rhet- oric of 2 Kings 15 — its wrong international policy. The narrative frame constituted by the accounts of two Judean kings is characterized above all by solidity. In contrast to five Is- raelite kings who reigned for a total of 32 years and 6 months, the Southern Kingdom is characterized by dynastic stability: two Judean kings reigned for a total of 68 years. No conspiracy or revolt took place during the reigns of Azariah and Jotham, whereas four coups d’état took place during the reign of five Israelite kings. An- other element of stability can be derived from an assessment of both kings: they did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, marred in both cases only by a less-than-full approval by God, whereas all five Israelite kings did what was wrong in the eyes of the Lord 43. Thus, the image of serenity and of a long-lasting Davidic dynasty, even though facing its own problems, constitutes the essential fea- 41 If these conclusions are combined with 2 Kgs 17,4, then the reader learns that besides this huge payment the Israelites had to pay annual tributes to the Assyrians. 42 W. BRUEGGEMANN, 1 & 2 Kings (Macon, GA 2000) 455. 43 LONG, 2 Kings, 172.