In Tirzah, Menahem learned that Shallum had assassinated King Zechariah. Menahem gathered his troops and marched toward Samaria.
ripped open all the pregnant women: This horrible wartime atrocity was also recorded in Assyrian and Babylonian texts. This act is also linked to King Hazael of Aram (2 Kings 8:12). See also Hosea 10:14; 13:16; Amos 1:13.