2 Kings 17

The seventeenth chapter of 2 Kings records the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel. The preceding chapter, 2 Kings 16, tells how Ahaz, king of Judah, relied on Assyria.

Outline

• Verses 1–2: In the twelfth year of Ahaz, king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah becomes king in Samaria and reigns nine years. Hoshea does evil, though not to the extent of the kings before him.
• Verses 3–6: Hoshea pays tribute to Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, but then sends messengers to So, king of Egypt, and stops paying tribute. For this he is imprisoned. Assyria besieges Samaria for three years and captures it in Hoshea's ninth year, carrying the Israelites away to Halah, to Habor by the river of Gozan, and to the cities of the Medes.
• Verses 7–23: The chapter explains the reasons for the kingdom's fall. It lists the high places and Asherah poles, the two calf images, the worship of Baal, the practice of making children pass through the fire, the refusal to heed the prophets' warnings, and the failure to depart from the sins of Jeroboam. It adds that Judah also walked in the same way.
• Verses 24–33: The king of Assyria brings people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim to settle in the cities of Samaria. When lions kill some of them, he sends one of the captive priests to Bethel to teach them how to fear the LORD. Yet each nation fears the LORD while also serving its own gods.
• Verses 34–41: The chapter recalls the covenant command not to fear other gods and concludes that the people continue in their former customs to this day.

Key Verses

• 2 Kings 17:6: "In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria" marks the end of the northern kingdom of Israel.
• 2 Kings 17:13: "Turn ye from your evil ways" shows that repeated warnings came through the prophets before the kingdom's fall.
• 2 Kings 17:33: "They feared the LORD, and served their own gods" is frequently cited as an illustration of syncretistic faith.

People and Places

• Hoshea is the last king of the northern kingdom of Israel. He is a different person from the prophet Hosea.
• Shalmaneser is the Assyrian king who attacked Samaria.
• So is the king of Egypt from whom Hoshea sought help. Scholars disagree about whom the name refers to.
• Jeroboam is the first king of the northern kingdom; verse 21 recalls him in connection with the division of the kingdom.
• Samaria is the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel.
• Halah, Habor by the river of Gozan, and the cities of the Medes are the places to which the Israelite captives were deported.
• Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim are the places of origin of the people resettled in Samaria. The names of the gods they worshiped (Succothbenoth, Nergal, Ashima, and others) appear in verses 30–31.

Points for Reflection

• The fall of Samaria is commonly dated to around 722 BC. Assyrian records, however, state that Sargon II, Shalmaneser's successor, captured Samaria. Scholars therefore differ over the identity of the "king of Assyria" in verse 6.
• Verses 24–41 have been read as explaining the origin of the Samaritans of the New Testament era. Jewish tradition is said to have called them "Cutheans," whereas the Samaritans themselves have claimed descent from the tribes of the northern kingdom.
• This conflict forms the background of the New Testament account of the Samaritan woman (John 4:20–23) and of the parable of the Good Samaritan.

In the Korean Church

• Verses 33 and 41 are used as sermon texts warning against a faith that serves God while also relying on other things.