2Ki 17 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for 2Kgs 17:1-23: 17:1-23 The report of the northern kingdom’s fall proceeds in two major sections: (1) events in the reign of Israel’s final king, Hoshea, and the circumstances that brought about the capture of Samaria and the deportation of Israel’s citizens (17:1-6 ); (2) the reasons for Israel’s collapse and conquest by Assyria—Israel’s many sins (17:7-17 ) that merited God’s judgment (17:18-20 ) and the great sin of Jeroboam I, who laid the foundation for Israel’s rampant apostasy (17:21-23 ). 17:1 Hoshea ... began to rule over Israel in 732 BC . • Hoshea’s reign is listed as beginning in “the twentieth year of Jotham” (15:30 ) and in the twelfth year of King Ahaz’s reign in Judah. Ahaz apparently co-reigned with Jotham from about 743 BC , when he was twelve years old, but Ahaz’s official regnal years were calculated from 731 BC (16:2 ). Thus the references to Ahaz’s reign are in harmony.

Summary for 2Kgs 17:1-23: 17:1-23 ^a The report of the northern kingdom’s fall proceeds in two major sections: (1) events in the reign of Israel’s final king, Hoshea, and the circumstances that brought about the capture of Samaria and the deportation of Israel’s citizens (17:1-6 ^b); (2) the reasons for Israel’s collapse and conquest by Assyria—Israel’s many sins (17:7-17 ^c) that merited God’s judgment (17:18-20 ^d) and the great sin of Jeroboam I, who laid the foundation for Israel’s rampant apostasy (17:21-23 ^e). 17:1 ^f Hoshea ... began to rule over Israel in 732 BC.

• Hoshea’s reign is listed as beginning in “the twentieth year of Jotham” (15:30 ^g) and in the twelfth year of King Ahaz’s reign in Judah. Ahaz apparently co-reigned with Jotham from about 743 BC, when he was twelve years old, but Ahaz’s official regnal years were calculated from 731 BC (16:2 ^h). Thus the references to Ahaz’s reign are in harmony.
17:2 ⁱ Hoshea’s evil deeds were not to the same extent as his forebears, though what this means exactly is not explained.
Summary for 2Kgs 17:3-4: 17:3-4 ^j King Shalmaneser V succeeded his father Tiglath-pileser III in 726 BC. Hoshea may have reasoned that this leadership change would allow Israel to become independent of Assyrian vassalage. But his withholding of the annual tribute simply invited Shalmaneser’s reprisal.

• by asking King So of Egypt: Some scholars understand the name So as an abbreviation of Pharaoh Osorkon IV (730–715 BC). Others equate So with Pharaoh Piankhy (747–716 BC), viewing the biblical name So as a Hebraic rendering of one of the names in Piankhy’s titulary. Still others suggest that So refers to the city of Sais, the capital of Pharaoh Tefnakht (727–720 BC). Whatever the identity of this king, it is clear that Hoshea’s hope for help from Egypt was misplaced.
Summary for 2Kgs 17:5-6: 17:5-6 ^k the king of Assyria: Although sources identify Samaria’s conqueror as Shalmaneser V of Assyria (726–722 BC), Sargon II (who ruled Assyria 721–705 BC) claimed that he captured the city. Perhaps Sargon was the field commander when Samaria fell and then became king when Shalmaneser died during the year of the siege.

• invaded the entire land: Assyrian military strategy was to devastate the territory surrounding an enemy’s primary city before launching a final attack.

• The ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign was 722 BC.

• the people ... were exiled: The Assyrians practiced deportation in order to defuse future rebellions. Sargon also brought other people to Israel to form a mixed population (17:24-25 ^l).

• Halah was situated northeast of Nineveh in Assyria.

• The Habor River is a tributary of the Euphrates River in northwestern Assyria.

• Gozan was located on the Habor River northeast of Haran (Gen 12:4 ^m). Assyrian documents from the area list personal names that are clearly Israelite, perhaps reflecting the deportation of the people of Samaria.
17:7 ⁿ sinned against the Lord ... who had brought them ... out of Egypt: Israel’s demise was due to the people’s persistent sin of infidelity. Rather than remaining true to their Redeemer, the Israelites worshiped other gods.

• Israel’s redemption out of Egypt is a theme repeated throughout the Old Testament, appearing in the poetic literature (Exod 15:1-18 ^o; Pss 77:13-20 ^p; 105:26-45 ^q; 106:7-12 ^r; 114:1-8 ^s; Hab 3:3-15 ^t), the prophets (Isa 63:11-14 ^u; Jer 2:1-8 ^v; 32:21-23 ^w; Ezek 20:10-12 ^x; Mic 6:4 ^y), and the historical literature (Josh 3:5 ^z; 4:14 ^aa, 18-24 ^ab; 1 Sam 12:6 ^ac).
Summary for 2Kgs 17:8-13: 17:8-13 ^ad The catalog of Israel’s sins includes numerous pagan rites and practices. Whether done in the open or secretly, God was aware of them all. Many were even initiated by Israel’s kings who built pagan shrines, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles and emulated heathen sacrifices and idolatry (10:29 ^ae; 15:18 ^af, 28 ^ag; 1 Kgs 12:28-33 ^ah; 15:34 ^ai; 16:30-33 ^aj). All levels of Israelite society, royalty and commoner alike, persisted in such sins despite denunciation and warning by God’s prophets, which included the writings of Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, and Micah.
17:11 ^ak arousing the Lord’s anger: When God becomes angry, he is not vindictive or bad tempered. Instead, human evil angers him because people have rebelled against God and done evil to one another. God responds to human evil with his justice in dealing with sin and evil (see also 13:3 ^al; 17:17-18 ^am; 21:6 ^an; 22:13 ^ao, 17 ^ap; 23:26-27 ^aq; 24:20 ^ar; Rom 3:23 ^as; 6:23 ^at; 14:10 ^au; 2 Cor 5:10 ^av; Col 3:6 ^aw; 1 Jn 1:8-10 ^ax).
Summary for 2Kgs 17:14-15: 17:14-15 ^ay Like their ancestors (Deut 10:16 ^az; 1 Sam 12:6-9 ^ba; Ps 106:28 ^bb), the Israelites persisted in their infidelity to the Lord (Isa 65:6-7 ^bc; Amos 2:4 ^bd; see Acts 7:51-53 ^be).
Summary for 2Kgs 17:16-17: 17:16-17 ^bf all the commands of the Lord: The narrator lists specific examples of Israel’s disobedience: the two calves made from metal erected at Dan and Bethel (1 Kgs 12:28-30 ^bg), the Canaanite fertility symbol known as an Asherah pole (2 Kgs 13:6 ^bh; 17:10 ^bi; 1 Kgs 14:23 ^bj; 16:33 ^bk; Mic 5:14 ^bl), the persistent worship of Baal (1 Kgs 16:31-33 ^bm; Hos 2:13 ^bn; 13:1 ^bo), and the detestable Molech rites (2 Kgs 16:3 ^bp; Ps 106:37 ^bq).
Summary for 2Kgs 17:18-20: 17:18-20 ^br the Lord was very angry: God’s wrath is his righteous response to evil that demands his justice.

• even the people of Judah refused to obey the commands of the Lord: This remark foreshadows the eventual fall of the southern kingdom as well (25:1-21 ^bs).
Summary for 2Kgs 17:21-23: 17:21-23 ^bt All of Israel’s evil and disobedience were connected to the sins of Jeroboam I (1 Kgs 12:26-33 ^bu).
Summary for 2Kgs 17:24-41: 17:24-41 ^bv The writer appends information concerning later events in Israel, including the repopulation of the land with foreigners and the syncretistic worship that developed among the mixed population. 17:24 ^bw Not only were the Israelites exiled to other places held by the Assyrians (17:6 ^bx), but groups of people were sent to settle in Israel. By mixing diverse peoples, the Assyrians hoped to have better control of the resulting population and transfer their loyalties to Assyria.

• Samaria became the official name of the new Assyrian province.
Summary for 2Kgs 17:26-31: 17:26-31 ^by The king of Assyria was Sargon II (721–705 BC).

• the God of the land ... has sent lions: Religious belief in the ancient Near East held that the tranquility and success of a land was strongly identified with its god and the rites associated with his worship.

• One of the priests ... returned to Bethel, though his instruction in how to worship the Lord was doubtless influenced by the religion of Jeroboam I and mixed with paganism.

• The foreigners also continued to worship their own gods. They simply added the worship of Israel’s God to the worship of their own gods. Most of the false gods mentioned here are unknown. Their names may have been altered by Jewish scribes.

• Nergal was the Mesopotamian god of the underworld. Nibhaz and Tartak were probably Elamite deities.
Summary for 2Kgs 17:32-34: 17:32-34 ^bz worshiped the Lord, but ... continued to follow their own gods: Hebrew faith, already blended with the religion of Jeroboam I, was now mixed with many different foreign religious customs. Genuine worship of the Lord virtually disappeared. Only a handful of faithful Israelites remained to respond to Hezekiah’s later invitation to come to Judah for the Passover celebration (2 Chr 30:10-19 ^ca).
Summary for 2Kgs 17:35-39: 17:35-39 ^cb According to Israel’s covenant with the Lord (Exod 20:5 ^cc; Deut 6:4-15 ^cd), Israel was to worship only the Lord. He alone could provide true redemption and rescue them from all ... enemies.
Summary for 2Kgs 17:40-41: 17:40-41 ^ce worshiped the Lord ... worshiped their idols: The reconstituted Samaritan religion was thoroughly syncretistic (an eclectic combination of religions), perhaps explaining why Samaritans were later regarded with suspicion and disdain (see Neh 4:1-2 ^cf; 10:28-31 ^cg; John 4:7-9 ^ch).