This passage describes an act of religious apostasy on the part of the king of Judah.

In 732 B.C. Tiglath Pileser captured Damascus and completely subdued Syria. 2 Kings 15: 29 describes the next move of the Assyrian king; he gained much greater control of the northern territory of Israel, taking a number of cities and deporting many of the people to Assyria. Pekah's attempted resistance to Assyria had failed.