Hebrew word · H8407

תִּגְלַת פִּלְאֶ֫סֶר

tilegat

Tiglath-pileser

The Hebrew rendering of Akkadian Tukultī-apil-Ešarra, 'My trust is the son of Esharra' (the son being the god Ninurta, Esharra being a temple). Here it means Tiglath-pileser III, king of Assyria 745–727 BC.

Appears 12 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 2Ki.15.19

§ Tiglath-pileser or Tilgath-pilneser = "thou will uncover the wonderful bond"

an Assyrian king who attacked Samaria or northern kingdom of Israel in the reign of Pekah

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Kings 15:29

Range of meaning

The Hebrew rendering of Akkadian Tukultī-apil-Ešarra, 'My trust is the son of Esharra' (the son being the god Ninurta, Esharra being a temple). Here it means Tiglath-pileser III, king of Assyria 745–727 BC. Chronicles spells it Tilgath-pilneser (1 Chr 5:6, 26; 2 Chr 28:20), and 2 Kings 15:19 calls him 'Pul' (Babylonian Pulu).

Against the English

English versions transliterate the name consistently. What English cannot show is how familiar this name is from outside the Bible: it is one of the best-documented foreign kings in the Old Testament.

Used elsewhere in the period

His annals and 'summary inscriptions' from Kalhu (Nimrud), edited by Tadmor and by Tadmor and Yamada (RINAP 1), record campaigns to the west in 734–732 BC. They mention Israel as Bit-Humria ('House of Omri'). They say that Paqaḫa (Pekah) was overthrown, that the king installed A-u-si-ʾ (Hoshea) over Israel, and that the people were carried off to Assyria. A damaged line names Gal'aza (probably Gilead) and Abilakka (probably Abel-beth-maacah) as 'on the border of the House of Omri'. Menahem's earlier tribute (2 Kings 15:19–20) also appears in his records.

Where it appears

2 Kings · 6

  1. 2 Kings 15:29 תִּגְלַ֣ת פִּלְאֶסֶר֮ Tiglath-, pileser

    In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people as captives to Assyria.

    Here: First half of the Hebrew form of the Assyrian name Tukultī-apil-Ešarra, Tiglath-pileser III (reigned 745–727 BC).

  2. 2 Kings 16:7 תִּ֠גְלַת פְּלֶ֤סֶר Tiglath-, pileser

    So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are rising up against me.”

    Here: First part of the Hebrew form of the Akkadian name Tukultī-apil-Ešarra, 'My trust is in the heir of Esharra', meaning the god Ninurta.

  3. 2 Kings 16:10 תִּגְלַ֨ת פִּלְאֶ֤סֶר Tiglath-, pileser

    Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. On seeing the altar in Damascus, King Ahaz sent Uriah the priest a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction.

1 Chronicles · 4

  1. 1 Chronicles 5:6 תִּלְּגַ֥ת פִּלְנְאֶ֖סֶר Tiglath-, pileser

    and Beerah his son, whom Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria carried into exile. Beerah was a leader of the Reubenites.

  2. 1 Chronicles 5:26 תִּלְּגַ֤ת פִּלְנֶ֙סֶר֙ Tiglath-, pileser

    So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria) to take the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. And he brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan, where they remain to this day.

    Here: First half of the Assyrian name Tukultī-apil-Ešarra. Chronicles spells it Tilgath, swapping letters compared with Kings' Tiglath.

2 Chronicles · 2

  1. 2 Chronicles 28:20 תִּלְּגַ֥ת פִּלְנְאֶ֖סֶר Tiglath-, pileser

    Then Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came to Ahaz but afflicted him rather than strengthening him.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.