2 Kings17

The chapter details the final fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. King Hoshea's rebellion against Assyria led to Samaria's three-year siege and Israel's subsequent captivity. This judgment was a direct consequence of Israel's persistent idolatry and rejection of the LORD's commandments, despite prophetic warnings. New inhabitants were then settled in Samaria, who developed a syncretistic religion, fearing the LORD while also serving their own gods.

The Fall of Samaria and the End of Israel

1
It was in the twelfth year of Achaz king of Y'hudah that Hoshea the son of Elah began his reign over Isra'el in Shomron; he ruled for nine years. ​
2
He did what was evil from ADONAI's perspective, although he wasn't as bad as the kings of Isra'el who had preceded him. ​
3
Shalman'eser king of Ashur advanced against Hoshea, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. ​
4
But the king of Ashur found that Hoshea was conspiring [against him] - he had sent messengers to So the king of Egypt and not paid his tribute to the king of Ashur, as he had previously done every year. For this the king of Ashur imprisoned him, putting him in chains. ​
5
Then the king of Ashur invaded all the land, advanced on Shomron and put it under siege for three years.
6
In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Ashur captured Shomron. He carried Isra'el away captive to Ashur, resettling them in Halach, in Havor on the Gozan River and in the cities of the Medes. ​

The Theological Reason for Israel's Exile

7
This came about because the people of Isra'el had sinned against ADONAI their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, out from under the domination of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They feared other gods ​
8
and lived by the customs of the nations that ADONAI had expelled ahead of the people of Isra'el and by those of the kings of Isra'el.
9
The people of Isra'el secretly did things that were not right, according to ADONAI their God. They built high places for themselves wherever they lived, from the watchtower to the fortified city. ​
10
They set up standing-stones and sacred poles for themselves on any high hill and under any green tree.
11
Then they would make offerings on all the high places, like the nations ADONAI had expelled ahead of them, and would do wicked things to provoke the anger of ADONAI;
12
moreover, they served idols, something ADONAI had expressly told them not to do.
13
ADONAI had warned Isra'el and Y'hudah in advance through every prophet and seer, "Turn from your evil ways; and obey my mitzvot and regulations, in accordance with the entire Torah which I ordered your ancestors to keep and which I sent to you through my servants the prophets." ​
14
Nevertheless, they refused to listen but made themselves as stubborn as their ancestors, who did not put their trust in ADONAI their God.
15
Thus they rejected his laws; his covenant, which he had made with their ancestors; and the solemn warnings he had given them. Instead they pursued worthless things and became worthless themselves, imitating the nations around them, whom ADONAI had ordered them not to emulate. ​
16
They abandoned all the mitzvot of ADONAI their God. They made cast metal images for themselves, two calves. They made an asherah. They worshipped the whole army of heaven. They served Ba'al. ​
17
They had their sons and daughters pass through fire [as a sacrifice]. They used divination and magic spells. And they gave themselves over to do what was evil from ADONAI's perspective, thereby provoking him; ​
18
so that ADONAI, by now very angry with Isra'el, removed them from his sight. None was left except the tribe of Y'hudah alone. ​
19
(However, neither did Y'hudah obey the mitzvot of ADONAI their God; rather they lived according to the customs of Isra'el.) ​
20
Yes, ADONAI came to despise all the descendants of Isra'el. He caused them trouble and handed them over to plunderers, until finally he threw them out of his sight.
21
He tore Isra'el away from the house of David. They made Yarov'am the son of N'vat king; and Yarov'am drew Isra'el away from following ADONAI and made them commit a great sin. ​
22
The people of Isra'el followed the example of all the sins that Yarov'am had committed and did not turn away from them,
23
until ADONAI removed Isra'el out of his sight, as he had said he would through all his servants the prophets. Thus Isra'el was carried away captive from their own land to Ashur, and it remains so to this day.

Foreign Settlers and Syncretistic Worship

24
The king of Ashur brought people from Bavel, Kutah, 'Ava, Hamat and S'farvayim and settled them in the cities of Shomron in place of the people of Isra'el; they took possession of Shomron and lived in its cities. ​
25
When they first came to live there, they did not fear ADONAI. Therefore ADONAI sent lions among them, which killed some of them. ​
26
So they said to the king of Ashur, "The nations you carried away and settled in the cities of Shomron are not familiar with the rules for worshipping the God of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them; and they are there, killing them; because they're not familiar with the rules for worshipping the God of the land."
27
In response, the king of Ashur gave this order: "Take back one of the cohanim you brought from there. Have him go and live there, and have him teach them the rules for worshipping the God of the land."
28
So one of the cohanim they had carried away captive from Shomron came and lived in Beit-El, and he taught them how they should fear ADONAI. ​
29
Nevertheless, every nation made gods of their own and put them in the temples on the high places which the Shomronim had made, every nation in the cities where they lived.
30
Thus the people from Bavel made Sukkot-B'not, those from Kutah made Nergal, those from Hamat made Ashima,
31
the 'Avim made Nivchaz and Tartak, and the S'farvim burned up their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adramelekh and 'Anamelekh the gods of S'farvayim. ​
32
So they feared ADONAI, while at the same time they appointed for themselves priests from among themselves to preside at the high places, and they would sacrifice for them in the temples on the high places.
33
They both feared ADONAI and served their own gods in the manner customary among the nations from which they had been taken away. ​
34
To this day they continue to follow their former [pagan] customs. They do not fear ADONAI. They do not follow the regulations, rulings, Torah or mitzvah which ADONAI ordered the descendants of Ya'akov, to whom he gave the name Isra'el, ​
35
with whom ADONAI had made a covenant and charged them, "Do not fear other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them.
36
On the contrary, you are to fear ADONAI, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm. Worship him, and sacrifice to him. ​
37
You are to observe forever the laws, rulings, Torah and mitzvah which he wrote for you. You are not to fear other gods,
38
and you are not to forget the covenant I made with you. No, you must not fear other gods
39
but must fear ADONAI your God; then he will rescue you from the power of all your enemies."
40
However, they didn't listen, but followed their old [pagan] practices.
41
So these nations mixed fearing ADONAI with serving their carved idols; likewise their children; and to this day, their descendants do the same as their ancestors did. ​

Study Notes for 2 Kings 17

Verse 1

Hoshea was the last king of the Northern Kingdom (Israel). His reign was marked by political instability and increasing subservience to the rising power of Assyria.

Verse 2

Hoshea’s evil was relative; he was likely less aggressive in promoting Baalism than kings like Ahab, perhaps due to Assyrian dominance limiting internal religious policy, but he still failed to worship Yahweh exclusively.

Verse 3

Shalmaneser V (727–722 BCE) initiated the final campaign against Israel. The requirement of 'presents' (tribute) indicates Israel’s status as a vassal state to the Assyrian Empire.

Verse 4

Seeking alliance with Egypt (likely Pharaoh Osorkon IV, referred to here as So) and withholding tribute constituted high treason against Assyria, an act often condemned by prophets like Isaiah.

Verse 6

The conquest occurred in 722 BCE. While Shalmaneser V began the siege, his successor Sargon II often claimed credit for the capture and subsequent deportation, which was a standard Assyrian strategy to prevent future rebellion.

Verse 7

This verse marks a crucial shift from historical narrative to theological interpretation. The exile is explicitly framed as divine judgment for covenant violation, specifically forgetting the deliverance from Egypt.

Verse 9

The 'high places' (Bamot) were unauthorized worship sites, often mixing Yahweh worship with Canaanite fertility rites, which were spread throughout the land, symbolizing pervasive apostasy.

Verse 13

This emphasizes God’s justice and patience; judgment was not arbitrary but followed repeated, clear warnings delivered through generations of prophets calling Israel back to the Mosaic Law.

Verse 15

To 'follow vanity and become vain' links the worship of worthless idols (vanity) directly to the moral and spiritual emptiness (becoming vain) of the worshiper, illustrating the corrupting power of idolatry.

Verse 16

The mention of the 'two calves' explicitly recalls the foundational sin initiated by Jeroboam I at Bethel and Dan (1 Kings 12), justifying the removal of his dynasty’s kingdom.

Verse 17

Causing children to pass through the fire refers to child sacrifice, associated with the god Molech, representing the most severe form of religious apostasy and moral depravity.

Verse 18

This verse underlines the completeness of the judgment on the Northern Kingdom. Only the Southern Kingdom (Judah) remained, though Judah’s own faithfulness was also precarious (v. 19).

Verse 19

The historian includes this warning about Judah to show that the principles of divine judgment are universal, foreshadowing Judah’s own eventual exile (586 BCE) if they continued in the sins of Israel.

Verse 21

The political schism initiated by Jeroboam I (931 BCE) is identified here as the foundational theological sin that led the entire Northern Kingdom into persistent idolatry and eventual destruction.

Verse 24

The Assyrian policy of deporting conquered populations and replacing them with foreign settlers led to a mixed, non-Israelite population in the central region, which eventually became known as Samaria.

Verse 25

The text interprets the attack by lions as divine judgment for the foreigners' failure to acknowledge Yahweh, the 'God of the land,' according to common ancient Near Eastern belief that local deities controlled their territories.

Verse 28

The returned priest settles in Bethel, a site historically associated with unauthorized Yahwistic worship (Jeroboam's calves). This compromise ensured that the instruction given was already corrupted and syncretistic.

Verse 31

The Sepharvites practiced child sacrifice, a horrific pagan ritual similar to that practiced by the former Israelites (v. 17), highlighting the persistent evil that continued in the land.

Verse 33

This verse defines syncretism: they 'feared the LORD' (acknowledged Yahweh as a powerful local deity) but simultaneously 'served their own gods,' violating the core command of exclusive worship.

Verse 34

'Unto this day' provides a chronological marker, indicating that the mixed religious practices persisted into the time of writing, explaining the complex origins of the later Samaritans.

Verse 36

The historian contrasts the fear of foreign gods with the proper fear and worship owed exclusively to Yahweh, the God who demonstrated singular power through the Exodus deliverance.

Verse 41

This final summary confirms that the syncretistic religion established by the settlers became hereditary, continuing the pattern of compromised and mixed worship that Yahweh had condemned in Israel itself.

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