Samaria’s king shall perish like a splinter on the face of the waters. The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. Thorn and thistle shall grow up on their altars. They shall say to the mountains, Cover us, and to the hills, Fall on us. Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel; there they have continued. Shall not war overtake them in Gibeah? I will come against the wayward people to punish them; and nations shall be gathered against them when they are punished for their double iniquity. (Hosea 10: 7-10)

My best guess is that Hosea was active between about 780BC-740BC from the long and prosperous rule of Jeroboam II, through the brief reigns of Zechariah, Shallum, and Menahem, and perhaps lived to see Kings Pekahiah and Pekah ascend the throne. I do not perceive he was living in 722BC when the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom.

After about six months on the throne Zechariah, son of Jeroboam, was assassinated by Shallum. Barely a month later, Shallum was killed by Menahem. During the ten year reign of Menahem (most of the 740s) a resurgent Assyria emerged. In 745BC Tiglath-Pileser III seized the Assyrian throne and began a very successful eighteen year reign.

In the 730s conflict between King Pekah of Israel and King Ahaz of Judah provided Tiglath-Pileser an easy excuse to intimidate both Israel and Judah. In 732BC the northern region of Israel was annexed by Assyria. An initial deportation of Israelite elites occurred during this period, at least ten years before the extermination of an independent Israel by Tiglath-Pileser's son.

The "king shall perish as a splinter on the face of the waters." Another translation offers, "The king is silenced and is like foam on the surface of the water." Certainly all of these proud men - from the totally obscure Zechariah to the "very successful" Tiglath-Pileser - seem like little more than foam to us. They were each agents of enormous turmoil. But from this distance, it is not clear what they substantively accomplished.

I am sure that ten psalms of King David have had more long-lasting consequence than the conquests, constructions, and conspiracies of Tiglath-Pileser. What is real? What is unreal? What criteria can we apply? Hosea would argue that our relationship with God is the only reality that matters.

To the left is Tiglath-Pileser III also known as Tukulti-Apil-Esarra also known as Pul or Pulu. He is generally recognized as one of the most successful military commanders in world history and implemented significant administrative reforms within the Neo-Assyrian Empire.