Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land, and came to Samaria, and besieged it three years — Shalmaneser's invasion and three-year siege of Samaria (צַר עַל־שׁוֹמְרוֹן שָׁלוֹשׁ שָׁנִים, *tzar al-Shomron shalosh shanim*) represents the culmination of Assyrian expansionism and Israel's complete subjugation. The three-year duration indicates Jerusalem's walls' strength comparable to Samaria's: even the Assyrian machine requires sustained siege to breach fortifications. Yet Samaria's ultimate fall is assured; the three-year siege merely postpones the inevitable. This protracted siege demonstrates both Samaria's defenses and Assyria's inexorable will to conquest.

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