מלכים ב, פרק י״ז, פסוק ד׳

Hoshea’s bold attempt to throw off the heavy yoke of Assyrian rule marks a fatal turning point, one that ultimately leads to the complete destruction of the Kingdom of Israel. The Assyrian king uncovers Hoshea's secret plot to rebel, which involves two calculated moves. First, Hoshea reaches out to the king of Egypt to secure military support, operating under the belief that Egypt is the only regional power capable of halting Assyria's aggressive expansion [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Emboldened by this newly formed alliance, Hoshea takes his second step: he abruptly stops paying the mandatory annual taxes to Assyria [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Once the rebellion is exposed, the Assyrian king moves swiftly to punish Hoshea, capturing him, preventing his return home, and confining him in prison [מצודות]. The exact circumstances and timing of this arrest are a matter of discussion. One perspective suggests that Hoshea was already visiting the Assyrian king when news of the betrayal broke, leading to his immediate detention on foreign soil [מצודת דוד]. A similar approach proposes that the Assyrian king specifically summoned Hoshea to his court for a trial. In this scenario, the foreign ruler acted as both prosecutor and judge, swiftly convicting and jailing the rebellious king [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. According to these interpretations, Hoshea was locked away before the Assyrian army even began its devastating three-year siege on the city of Samaria, which later culminated in the general exile of the Israelites [מלבי״ם].

Conversely, another viewpoint argues for a reversed timeline. In this account, the Assyrian king first laid siege to Samaria, capturing the city at the end of Hoshea's nine-year reign. It was only after this prolonged military campaign concluded that Hoshea was finally captured and thrown into prison [רלב״ג].