Hoshea son of Elah becomes the last king of Israel. After conspiring with Egypt and withholding tribute from Assyria, he is arrested by Shalmaneser V. The Assyrians besiege Samaria for three years and finally capture it in 722 BCE, deporting the population to Halah, Habor, the Gozan River, and the cities of the Medes. The narrator then delivers the longest theological explanation in the entire book of Kings: Israel fell because they sinned against the God who brought them out of Egypt, feared other gods, walked in the customs of the dispossessed nations, built high places, set up pillars and Asherah poles, burned incense, and served idols — despite repeated prophetic warnings. God removed them from his presence. The chapter concludes with the resettlement: the king of Assyria imports foreign populations into Samaria. When lions attack the settlers, the Assyrians send back a deported Israelite priest to teach them how to worship the local God. The result is a syncretistic religion — the new inhabitants fear the LORD but also serve their own gods.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
This is the theological center of gravity in Kings. After seventeen chapters of northern kingdom narrative — the steady drumbeat of 'he walked in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat who caused Israel to sin' — the narrator finally pauses the story to deliver his verdict. Verses 7-23 form the longest continuous editorial commentary in Kings, a sustained prosecutorial argument for why the exile was just. The structure is a covenant lawsuit: God delivered Israel from Egypt (the foundational act), Israel violated the covenant terms (the catalog of sins), God sent prophets to warn them (the appeal), Israel refused to listen (the verdict trigger), and God removed them from the land (the sentence). The narrator is not merely recording history; he is arguing a case. Every sentence in the indictment echoes Deuteronomy — this is Mosaic theology applied to historical catastrophe. The chapter's final section (vv. 24-41) on the syncretistic religion of the resettled Samaritans explains the origin of what will become the Samaritan question that persists into the New Testament period.
Translation Friction
The phrase vayyitgannev benei Yisrael devarim ('the children of Israel secretly did things,' v. 9) uses the rare hitpael of ganav ('to steal'), meaning they 'stole' or smuggled practices into their worship — acting with deliberate concealment. This is difficult to render without over-interpreting; we use 'secretly attributed to the LORD things that were not true.' The list of nations resettled in Samaria (v. 24) and their gods (vv. 30-31) presents names whose exact identifications remain debated. We transliterate them and provide what is known. The final theological statement — that the Samaritans 'feared the LORD and served their own gods' (v. 33) — presents a tension the narrator considers irreconcilable: dual allegiance is not worship but confusion.
Connections
The entire theological argument of vv. 7-23 is built on Deuteronomy: the exodus as foundational event (Deuteronomy 5:6), the prohibition of other gods (Deuteronomy 5:7), the warning against Canaanite practices (Deuteronomy 18:9-12), the sending of prophets (Deuteronomy 18:15-22), and the curse of exile for covenant violation (Deuteronomy 28:63-68). The phrase 'removed them from his presence' (v. 23) reverses the promise of God's presence with Israel throughout the wilderness and settlement narratives. The resettlement of foreign peoples in Samaria (v. 24) creates the historical foundation for the Samaritan community, whose tense relationship with Judah will surface in Ezra-Nehemiah and in Jesus' interaction with the Samaritan woman (John 4). The lion attacks on the new settlers (v. 25) echo the covenant curse of Leviticus 26:22: 'I will send wild animals against you.'
In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king in Samaria over Israel, and he reigned nine years.
KJV In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The accession formula for Israel's last king is stark. Hoshea's nine-year reign will end in catastrophe. His name (Hoshea, 'salvation') is bitterly ironic — the man named 'salvation' will preside over the destruction of the northern kingdom.
He did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD, though not to the degree of the kings of Israel who preceded him.
KJV And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel that were before him.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The qualifier raq lo kemalkei Yisrael ('only not like the kings of Israel') is a faint distinction — Hoshea is evil, but comparatively less so. This partial mitigation does not save him or his kingdom. The narrator acknowledges a degree of difference without granting approval. The judgment is still hara be-einei YHWH ('evil in the eyes of the LORD').
Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against him, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute.
KJV Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Shalmaneser V (reigned 727-722 BCE) succeeded Tiglath-pileser III. The phrase vayyehi lo Hoshea eved ('and Hoshea became his servant') indicates formal vassal status. The word minchah ('tribute, gift') in political contexts means regular tribute payments acknowledging overlordship. Israel is now a client state of Assyria.
But the king of Assyria discovered a conspiracy by Hoshea — he had sent envoys to So, king of Egypt, and had stopped paying the annual tribute to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria arrested him and locked him in prison.
KJV And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea: for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and brought no present to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The word qesher ('conspiracy, rebellion') is the political term for revolt against an overlord. So (So') king of Egypt is difficult to identify — possibly Osorkon IV of Tanis, or the Egyptian commander Sib'e mentioned in Assyrian records, or a corruption of Sais (the city). Hoshea's fatal miscalculation was seeking Egyptian alliance against Assyria — a strategy Isaiah repeatedly condemns (Isaiah 30:1-5, 31:1-3). The verb vayyya'atserahu ('and he seized/detained him') followed by vayyya'asrehu beit kele ('and he bound him in a prison house') indicates formal arrest and imprisonment.
The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years.
KJV Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase bekhol ha-arets ('throughout the entire land') indicates a comprehensive military campaign, not a targeted strike. The three-year siege of Samaria (approximately 725-722 BCE) was one of the longest in ancient Near Eastern history. The verb vayyatsar ('and he besieged') implies complete encirclement — cutting off food, water, and communication.
In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported Israel to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor — the river of Gozan — and in the cities of the Medes.
KJV In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
גָּלָהgalah
"deported"—to uncover, to reveal, to strip bare, to exile, to deport, to go into captivity
galah — the verb of exile carries the connotation of stripping and exposure. Israel is 'uncovered' — removed from the protective covering of the land, exposed to the nations. The same root describes the uncovering of nakedness in Leviticus 18, connecting exile to shame.
Translator Notes
This verse records the end of the northern kingdom of Israel — 722 BCE, approximately two hundred years after the division under Rehoboam. The verb vayyegel ('and he exiled') is from galah, the root that means both 'to exile' and 'to uncover, lay bare.' The deportation locations are in upper Mesopotamia and western Iran: Chalach (Halah) near Nineveh, Chavor (Habor) on the Gozan River (modern Khabur River in northeastern Syria), and the cities of the Medes in western Iran. The scattered placement was deliberate Assyrian policy — dispersing conquered populations prevented organized resistance.
This happened because the Israelites sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They feared other gods
KJV For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The theological explanation begins with ki — 'because.' Everything that follows is the reason for the exile. The narrator anchors the entire argument in the exodus: YHWH is identified as hamma'aleh otam me-erets Mitsrayim ('the one who brought them up from the land of Egypt'). The exodus is the foundational act of salvation that creates the obligation of exclusive loyalty. The phrase vayyir'u elohim acherim ('and they feared other gods') uses yare ('to fear, to revere') — the same verb used for proper worship of God. Fearing other gods is the primal covenant violation.
and followed the customs of the nations that the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites, and the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced.
KJV And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Two sources of corruption are identified: the chuqqot haggoyim ('statutes/customs of the nations') that God had driven out, and the practices introduced by malkei Yisrael ('the kings of Israel'). The verb horish ('to dispossess, to drive out') recalls the conquest — these nations were removed precisely because of their practices, and now Israel has adopted what destroyed others. The phrase asher asu ('which they made/did') at the end refers to the royal innovations — the calves, the high places, the Baal worship — that the kings imposed.
The Israelites secretly attributed to the LORD their God things that were not true about him. They built high places in every one of their towns, from the smallest watchtower outpost to the largest fortified city.
KJV And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb vaychapp'u is extremely rare — a hapax legomenon from the root chapa, meaning 'to cover, to conceal, to do secretly.' The Israelites were smuggling pagan meanings into their worship of the LORD, concealing foreign practices under Yahwistic language. The phrase devarim asher lo khen ('things that were not so/right') suggests false theological claims — attributing to God what was not from God.
The phrase mimmigdal notserim ad ir mivtsar ('from a watchtower of watchmen to a fortified city') is a merism — from the smallest inhabited outpost to the largest urban center, meaning everywhere without exception. No settlement was too small to have its own high place.
They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every leafy tree.
KJV And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The matstsevot ('standing stones, sacred pillars') were upright stone monuments associated with Canaanite worship. The asherim ('Asherah poles' or 'sacred trees') represented the goddess Asherah. The phrase al kol giv'ah gevohah vetachat kol ets ra'anan ('on every high hill and under every leafy tree') is the standard formula for the ubiquity of illicit worship — elevated sites for pillars, shaded groves for Asherah poles.
They burned incense at every high place, just as the nations had done — the ones the LORD had exiled before them. They did evil things that provoked the LORD.
KJV And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger;
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb vayyeqatteru ('and they burned incense') at the bamot ('high places') replicates exactly what the dispossessed nations had done. The phrase lehakh'is et YHWH ('to provoke the LORD') uses the hiphil of ka'as ('to anger, to provoke'). The narrator does not say they intended to anger God, but that the objective effect of their actions was provocation. The verb heglah ('he exiled') applied to the former nations foreshadows what will happen to Israel — the same verb, the same fate.
They served worthless idols, about which the LORD had told them, "You must not do this."
KJV For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The word gillulim ('idols') is a deliberately contemptuous term — probably derived from galal ('to roll') and related to gelal ('dung'). It means something like 'dung-pellets' or 'worthless round things.' The term is a favorite of Ezekiel, who uses it nearly forty times. The direct divine prohibition — lo ta'asu et haddavar hazzeh ('you shall not do this thing') — makes the violation inexcusable. They knew the command and violated it anyway.
The LORD warned Israel and Judah through every prophet and every seer: "Turn back from your evil ways. Keep my commandments and my statutes according to the entire the Law that I commanded your ancestors and that I sent to you through my servants the prophets."
KJV Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my hand of my servants the prophets.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
תּוֹרָהtorah
"the Law"—instruction, teaching, law, direction, guidance, the five books of Moses
torah (from yarah, 'to instruct, to point the way') — not merely 'law' in the legislative sense but comprehensive divine instruction. The narrator identifies the entire Mosaic covenant as the standard Israel violated.
Translator Notes
The verb vayyya'ad ('and he testified, warned, admonished') is a legal term — God formally placed Israel on notice. The warning went through kol nevi'ei kol chozeh ('every prophet, every seer') — two terms for prophetic figures, indicating comprehensive prophetic witness. The message is simple: shuvu middarkeikhem hara'im ('turn back from your evil ways') — the call to repentance. The standard is kekhol hattorah ('according to the entire Torah') — not part of it, not a reduced version, but the whole instruction given to the ancestors.
emunah (from aman, 'to be firm, reliable') — the root behind 'amen.' The ancestors' failure was not intellectual doubt but relational refusal: they would not lean their weight on God's reliability.
Translator Notes
The phrase vayyaqshu et orfam ('they stiffened their neck') is the classic image of the stubborn ox that will not respond to the yoke. The comparison ke-oref avotam ('like the neck of their ancestors') reaches back to the wilderness generation — the same qeshei oref ('stiff-necked') people of Exodus 32:9 and Deuteronomy 9:6. The verb he'eminu ('they trusted, believed') from the root aman — the refusal to trust God is the fundamental failure beneath all the specific sins.
They rejected his statutes and his covenant that he had made with their ancestors, and the warnings he had given them. They pursued emptiness and became empty themselves. They imitated the nations around them, the very nations the LORD had commanded them not to copy.
KJV And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them.
berit — the formal bond between God and Israel established at Sinai and renewed in Deuteronomy. Rejecting the berit is not breaking a rule but severing a relationship. The covenant they rejected was made with their ancestors (avotam), meaning this generation bears responsibility for a relationship they inherited.
hevel — literally 'a breath' or 'vapor,' used for anything that is transient, insubstantial, or futile. The theological point is transformative: pursuing hevel makes you hevel. Idol worship does not merely offend God; it hollows out the worshiper.
Translator Notes
The verb vayyim'asu ('they rejected') is a strong term — active, deliberate refusal, not passive drift. Three things are rejected: chuqqav ('his statutes'), berito ('his covenant'), and edvotav ('his testimonies/warnings'). The wordplay vayyyelkhu acharei hahevel vayyehbalu ('they pursued emptiness and became empty') is one of the most theologically dense phrases in Kings: hevel ('breath, vapor, emptiness') is the word Ecclesiastes uses for futility. They chased vapor and became vapor. You become what you worship.
They abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God. They made two cast metal calves for themselves, set up an Asherah pole, bowed down to the entire host of heaven, and served Baal.
KJV And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The catalog of sins escalates. The massekah shenayim agalim ('molten image — two calves') refers to Jeroboam's golden calves at Dan and Bethel (1 Kings 12:28-29), the foundational sin of the northern kingdom. The asherah is the cult object representing the goddess. The phrase kol tseva hashamayim ('the entire host of heaven') refers to astral worship — sun, moon, stars, and planetary deities. The Baal (haBa'al, 'the lord/master') is the Canaanite storm deity whose worship Elijah confronted on Mount Carmel. The progression moves from Israelite innovation (calves) to Canaanite nature religion (Asherah, Baal) to Mesopotamian astral worship (host of heaven) — a comprehensive catalog of available idolatries.
They made their sons and daughters pass through the fire. They practiced divination and read omens. They sold themselves to do what was evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him.
KJV And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The sins reach their apex: child sacrifice (he'eviru et-beneihem ve-et-benoteihem ba-esh — both sons and daughters), divination (qesamim), and sorcery (nachash, 'reading omens from signs'). The phrase vayyitmakkeru la'asot hara ('they sold themselves to do evil') uses the reflexive of makhar ('to sell') — they became slaves to evil by their own transaction. No one forced them; they sold themselves. The same verb will describe Ahab in 1 Kings 21:25.
The LORD became deeply angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. No one remained except the tribe of Judah alone.
KJV Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb vayyit'annaf ('he became angry') in the hitpael indicates intense, sustained anger. The phrase vayyesirem me-al panav ('he removed them from before his face/presence') is the sentence: exile is removal from the divine presence. The land was where God's face was turned toward Israel; exile is where his face is turned away. The survival of shevet Yehudah levaddo ('the tribe of Judah alone') is both a mercy and a warning — Judah is spared but now utterly alone.
Even Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God but followed the practices that Israel had introduced.
KJV Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The ominous parenthetical: gam Yehudah ('even Judah') did not guard God's commandments. The narrator interrupts the indictment of Israel to note that Judah is infected with the same disease. They walked bechuqqot Yisrael ('in the customs of Israel') — the northern kingdom's sins had spread south. This verse foreshadows Judah's own eventual exile, which the narrator knows is coming.
The LORD rejected the entire offspring of Israel, afflicted them, and handed them over to plunderers until he had thrown them out from his presence.
KJV And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb vayyim'as ('he rejected') echoes v. 15 where Israel rejected God's covenant — the verb is turned back on them. What they did to God's covenant, God now does to them. The phrase ad asher hishlikham mippanav ('until he threw them from before his face') is more violent than v. 18's 'removed' — hishliakh is 'to hurl, to throw away.' The progression from 'removed' to 'hurled away' intensifies the judgment language.
When Israel tore itself away from the house of David and made Jeroboam son of Nebat king, Jeroboam drove Israel away from following the LORD and caused them to commit a great sin.
KJV For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The narrator traces the disease to its origin: the division of the kingdom. The verb qara ('to tear, to rend') is the same word Ahijah used when he tore his garment into twelve pieces (1 Kings 11:30-31). Jeroboam is charged with two actions: vayyaddach ('he drove away, pushed away') Israel from following YHWH, and hecheti'am chata'ah gedolah ('he caused them to sin a great sin'). The 'great sin' is the establishment of the golden calves at Dan and Bethel — the institutional alternative to Jerusalem worship that corrupted every subsequent generation.
The Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam that he had committed. They did not turn away from them
KJV For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them;
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase lo saru mimennah ('they did not turn aside from it') uses the verb sur ('to turn aside, to depart') — the same verb used positively when kings 'do not turn aside' from the LORD's commands. Here it is inverted: they would not turn aside from Jeroboam's sin. The persistence is total — bekhol chattot Yarov'am ('in all the sins of Jeroboam') — no exception, no reform.
until the LORD removed Israel from his presence, just as he had spoken through all his servants the prophets. Israel was deported from their own soil to Assyria, where they remain to this day.
KJV Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
גָּלָהgalah
"deported"—to uncover, to reveal, to strip bare, to exile, to deport, to go into captivity
galah — the exile verb appears again at the theological climax. Israel is stripped from its soil, laid bare before the nations. The narrator's 'to this day' confirms the exile is permanent — there is no return narrative for the northern tribes.
Translator Notes
The theological summary reaches its conclusion: ad asher hesir YHWH et Yisrael me-al panav ('until the LORD removed Israel from before his face'). The exile is presented as both predicted (ka'asher dibber, 'just as he spoke') and executed — prophetic word became historical reality. The phrase vayyigel Yisrael me-al admato ('Israel was exiled from upon its soil') uses adamah ('soil, ground') rather than erets ('land'), emphasizing the agricultural, physical rootedness that exile tears up. They are pulled from the ground like uprooted plants.
The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the Israelites. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its towns.
KJV And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Assyrian population transfer policy: conquered peoples from various regions are relocated to fill the emptied cities of Samaria. Babylon (Bavel) is in southern Mesopotamia; Cuthah (Kutah) is near Babylon; Avva is uncertain but possibly in Syria; Hamath (Chamat) is in central Syria; Sepharvaim (Sefarvayim) may be Sippar in Mesopotamia. The phrase tachat benei Yisrael ('in place of the children of Israel') is blunt replacement language. The verb vayyirshu ('they took possession') is the same verb used for Israel's original taking of the land in Joshua — foreign nations now possess what Israel once conquered.
When they first settled there, they did not fear the LORD. So the LORD sent lions among them, and the lions were killing some of them.
KJV And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which slew some of them.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase lo yar'u et YHWH ('they did not fear the LORD') identifies the problem: the new inhabitants do not know or reverence the God of the land. The response — vayyeshallach YHWH bahem et ha-arayot ('the LORD sent lions among them') — treats the land as sacred territory that rejects uninstructed inhabitants. Lions were native to the region in antiquity and are associated with divine judgment (1 Kings 13:24, 20:36). The participial form horgim ('killing') indicates ongoing, repeated attacks — not a single incident but a persistent threat.
They reported to the king of Assyria: "The nations you deported and resettled in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land. He has sent lions among them, and the lions are killing them because they do not know the requirements of the God of the land."
KJV Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The settlers understand the situation through their own polytheistic framework: every land has its god, and the god of this land is angry because the proper rituals are not being performed. The phrase mishpat elohei ha-arets ('the requirement/custom of the God of the land') uses mishpat in its sense of 'established practice, customary right.' They see YHWH as a territorial deity whose protocols they need to learn — a fundamental misunderstanding that will shape the syncretistic religion described in the chapter's final verses.
The king of Assyria gave an order: "Send back one of the priests you deported from there. Let him go and live there and teach them the requirements of the God of the land."
KJV Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The Assyrian solution is pragmatic: send back a priest who knows the local deity's requirements. The verb yoreim ('let him teach them') is from yarah, the root of torah — teaching. But the teaching will be conducted within a polytheistic framework where YHWH is treated as one god among many. The singular 'one of the priests' (echad mehakohanim) means a single Israelite priest must instruct multiple foreign populations — an impossible task that guarantees syncretism.
So one of the priests who had been deported from Samaria came and settled in Bethel, and began teaching them how to fear the LORD.
KJV Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The returned priest settles in Beit-El ('House of God') — which is deeply ironic. Bethel was the site of one of Jeroboam's golden calves, the center of the northern kingdom's corrupted worship. A priest trained in Bethel's syncretistic traditions is now teaching foreigners 'how to fear the LORD.' The verb moreh ('teaching') is a participle from yarah — ongoing instruction. But what kind of instruction? The priest himself was trained in a compromised tradition.
But each nation continued making its own gods, and they placed them in the shrines at the high places that the Samaritans had built — each nation in the towns where they settled.
KJV Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase goy goy elohav ('nation by nation, its gods') — the repetition of goy emphasizes the multiplicity. Every group maintained its own deities alongside the instruction about YHWH. They installed these gods in beit habamot ('the houses/shrines of the high places') that the Shomronim ('Samaritans' — here the original Israelite inhabitants) had previously built. Israel's high places, originally built for syncretistic Yahwism, now serve as ready-made temples for foreign gods.
The people of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the people of Cuth made Nergal, and the people of Hamath made Ashima.
KJV And the men of Babylon made Succothbenoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The catalog of foreign deities begins. Sukkot Benot ('Booths of Daughters') is obscure — possibly a corruption of a Babylonian deity name (perhaps Sarpanitu or Zir-banitu, consort of Marduk). Nergal was the Mesopotamian god of the underworld and plague, well attested in Babylonian texts. Ashima is mentioned in Amos 8:14 and may be related to a Syrian deity. The narrator lists these names without explaining them — the foreignness itself makes the theological point.
The Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak. The Sepharvites immolated their children to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
KJV And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Nibhaz and Tartak are otherwise unknown deities — later Jewish tradition identified Nibhaz with a dog-shaped idol and Tartak with a donkey, but these identifications are speculative. The Sepharvites practice child sacrifice (sorefim et-beneihem ba-esh, 'burning their children in fire') to Adrammelech and Anammelech — the names contain the element melekh ('king'), common in Semitic divine names. The narrator places child sacrifice by foreign settlers in the same land where Israelite kings had already practiced it (v. 17, and 16:3), creating a grim continuity.
They also feared the LORD, and from among their own people they appointed priests for the high places, who officiated for them in the high place shrines.
KJV So they feared the LORD, and made unto them of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase vayyihyu yre'im et YHWH ('they were fearing the LORD') describes an addition, not a conversion. They added YHWH to their existing pantheon. The phrase miqqetsotam ('from their extremities/from among themselves') means they appointed priests from their own non-Levitical ranks — anyone could serve. This reproduces the original sin of Jeroboam, who appointed non-Levitical priests (1 Kings 12:31). The pattern perpetuates itself through different populations.
They feared the LORD, but they also served their own gods according to the custom of the nations from which they had been deported.
KJV They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The definitive statement of Samaritan syncretism: et YHWH hayu yre'im ve-et eloheihem hayu ovdim ('the LORD they were fearing, and their own gods they were serving'). The narrator treats these as irreconcilable — fearing the LORD demands exclusive allegiance (Deuteronomy 6:13-14). The dual worship is not a compromise or bridge between religions but a theological impossibility that the narrator records with controlled disapproval.
To this day they continue their former practices. They do not truly fear the LORD, and they do not follow the statutes, the ordinances, the Law, or the commandment that the LORD commanded the descendants of Jacob, whom he named Israel.
KJV Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
תּוֹרָהtorah
"the Law"—instruction, teaching, law, direction, guidance
torah — the comprehensive divine instruction that defines covenant life. The narrator stacks four legal terms (statutes, ordinances, Torah, commandment) to indicate that every dimension of covenant obligation has been violated.
Translator Notes
The narrator now contradicts v. 33 — or rather, clarifies it. In v. 33 they 'feared the LORD'; here he says einam yre'im et YHWH ('they do not fear the LORD'). The resolution: what they practice is not genuine fear of the LORD because it violates the exclusive covenant terms. The full covenant vocabulary is deployed: chuqqotam ('their statutes'), mishpetam ('their ordinances'), hattorah ('the Torah'), hammitsvah ('the commandment'). The reference to benei Ya'aqov asher sam shemo Yisrael ('the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel') reaches back to Genesis 32:28 — the name 'Israel' itself carries covenant identity.
The LORD had made a covenant with them and commanded them: "You must not fear other gods, or bow down to them, or serve them, or sacrifice to them.
KJV With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:
berit — the narrator recalls the Sinai covenant, the formal bond that created Israel's exclusive obligation to YHWH. The fourfold prohibition that follows is the covenant's most basic demand: no divided allegiance.
Translator Notes
The narrator now quotes the original covenant terms. The verb karat ('to cut') is the standard idiom for covenant-making — literally 'cutting a covenant,' referring to the ancient practice of cutting sacrificial animals as part of the ratification ceremony (Genesis 15:9-18). Four prohibitions cascade: lo tir'u ('do not fear'), lo tishtachavu ('do not bow down'), lo ta'avdum ('do not serve'), lo tizbchu ('do not sacrifice'). Each represents a deeper level of worship — from internal reverence to physical prostration to ongoing service to the ultimate act of offering sacrifice.
Rather, the LORD — who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm — him you must fear, to him you must bow down, and to him you must sacrifice.
KJV But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The positive command mirrors the negative: the same four verbs (fear, bow down, serve, sacrifice) are redirected exclusively to YHWH. The phrase bekoach gadol uvizro'a netuyah ('with great power and an outstretched arm') is classic Deuteronomic exodus language (Deuteronomy 4:34, 5:15, 26:8). The 'outstretched arm' (zero'a netuyah) is the image of God's power reaching into Egypt to extract Israel — military metaphor applied to divine action.
The statutes, the ordinances, the Law, and the commandment that he wrote for you — you must carefully observe them always. You must not fear other gods.
KJV And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
תּוֹרָהtorah
"the Law"—instruction, teaching, law, direction, guidance
torah — here specified as written (katav), identifying the Torah as a textual authority. The written character of the instruction means it cannot be edited, reinterpreted, or gradually forgotten — it exists as a permanent witness.
Translator Notes
The fourfold legal vocabulary returns: chuqqim ('statutes'), mishpatim ('ordinances'), torah, mitsvah ('commandment'). The phrase asher katav lakhem ('which he wrote for you') specifies written law — a clear reference to the Mosaic Torah as a written document. The phrase kol hayyamim ('all the days') means perpetually, without interruption or exception. The repetition of lo tir'u elohim acherim ('do not fear other gods') frames the covenant command as both the first and last word.
berit — the third appearance of the covenant term in this closing section, now paired with the warning against forgetting. The covenant is not merely a set of rules but a relationship that requires active remembering.
Translator Notes
The verb tishkachu ('you shall forget') from shakach ('to forget') reveals the deepest danger: not active rebellion but passive forgetting. The covenant can be lost not only through defiance but through amnesia. Memory is a covenant obligation. The phrase habberit asher karati ittekhem ('the covenant that I cut with you') places God's voice directly into the narrative — the first person karati ('I cut') is God speaking through the narrator's recollection of Sinai.
Rather, the LORD your God you must fear, and he will deliver you from the power of all your enemies."
KJV But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The promise attached to exclusive worship: vehu yatstsil etkhem miyyad kol oyeveikhem ('and he will rescue you from the hand of all your enemies'). The verb yatstsil (from natsal, 'to deliver, to snatch away') promises active divine protection. The irony is devastating in context: the nation that feared other gods was not delivered from its enemies but handed over to them. The promise was conditional, and the condition was not met.
But they did not listen. They continued their former practices.
KJV Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase velo shame'u ('but they did not listen') is the verdict that echoes throughout Kings. The Hebrew root shama ('to hear, to listen, to obey') means not merely auditory reception but responsive obedience. They heard the words but did not obey them. The phrase kemishpatam harishon ('according to their former custom') indicates no change — the recitation of covenant terms produced no effect.
So these nations feared the LORD while also serving their carved images. Their children and their grandchildren continue to do exactly as their ancestors did, to this day.
KJV So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The chapter's final verse is its theological epitaph. The impossible combination persists: yre'im et YHWH ve-et pesileihem hayu ovdim ('fearing the LORD and serving their carved images'). The word pesilim ('carved images') is the term from the second commandment (Exodus 20:4). The generational language — beneihem uvenei veneihem ('their children and their children's children') — indicates the syncretism has become hereditary, passed down as family religion. The phrase ad hayyom hazzeh ('to this day') marks this as a permanent condition at the time of the narrator's writing, explaining the religious situation in Samaria that will persist into the Second Temple period and beyond.