Read & Study the Bible Online - Bible Portal
Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 17:24-41

Never was land lost, we say, for want of an heir. When the children of Israel were dispossessed, and turned out of Canaan, the king of Assyria soon transplanted thither the supernumeraries of his own country, such as it could well spare, who should be servants to him and masters to the Israelites that remained; and here we have an account of these new inhabitants, whose story is related here that we may take our leave of Samaria, as also of the Israelites that were carried captive into... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 17:24

And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon ,.... Which was at this time under the dominion of the king of Assyria; though in a little time after this it revolted, and had a king of its own, 2 Kings 20:12 , this king of Assyria was either Shalmaneser, who carried Israel captive, or it may be rather his son Esarhaddon, see Ezra 4:2 , and from Cuthah ; which, according to Josephus F11 Antiqu. l. 9. c. 14. sect. 1. , was a city in Persia, where was a river of the same name;... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 17:25

And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the Lord ,.... Did not serve him in any manner, but their idols only, which they brought with them; whereas it was usual with Heathens to serve the gods of the country, as they reputed them, where they came, along with their own; but even this those men did not do: therefore the Lord sent lions among them ; even into their cities, into which lions sometimes came F12 Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 9. c. 44. Plin.... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Kings 17:24

The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon - He removed one people entirely, and substituted others in their place; and this he did to cut off all occasion for mutiny or insurrection; for the people being removed from their own land, had no object worthy of attention to contend for, and no patrimony in the land of their captivity to induce them to hazard any opposition to their oppressors. By men from Babylon, we may understand some cities of Babylonia then under the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Kings 17:25

The Lord sent lions among them - The land being deprived of its inhabitants, wild beasts would necessarily increase, even without any supernatural intervention; and this the superstitious new comers supposed to be a plague sent upon them, because they did not know how to worship him who was the God of the land; for they thought, like other heathens that every district had its own tutelary deity. Yet it is likely that God did send lions as a scourge on this bad people. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 17:1-41

THE REIGN OF HOSHEA OVER ISRAEL . DESTRUCTION OF THE ISRAELITE KINGDOM , AND THE GROUNDS OF IT RE - PEOPLING OF THE KINGDOM BY ASSYRIAN COLONISTS . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 17:24

And the King of Assyria brought men from Babylon. It has been supposed, in connection with Ezra 4:2 , that no colonists were introduced into the country till the time of Esarhaddon, who began to reign in B.C. 681. But this, which would be intrinsically most improbable (for when did a king forego his tribute from a fertile country for forty-one years?), is contradicted by a statement of Sargon, that he placed colonists there in B.C. 715. These were not necessarily the first; and, on the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 17:24-41

Re-peopling of the kingdom of Israel by Assyrian colonists , and formation of a mixed religion . The writer, before dismissing the subject of the Israelite kingdom, proceeds to inform us of certain results of the conquest. Having removed the bulk of the native inhabitants, the Assyrians did not allow the country to lie waste, but proceeded to replace the population which they had carried off by settlers from other localities ( 2 Kings 17:24 ). These settlers were, after a short time,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 17:24-41

The absurdity and uselessness of a mixed religion. Syncretism has been at all times a form which religion is apt to assume in mixed communities. Theoretically, religions are antithetic, exclusive, mutually repulsive. Practically, where they coexist, they tend to give and take, to approximate one to the other, to drop differences, to blend together into an apparent, if not a real, union. Christianity had at first those who would sit in an idol-temple, and partake of idol-sacrifices ( 1... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 17:24-41

Samaria and its religion. I. ITS EARLY GODLESSNESS . The land of Samaria was now deprived of its Israelitish inhabitants. The King of Assyria colonized it with heathen immigrants. "At the beginning of their dwelling there, they feared not the Lord." What a mistake to go anywhere without taking God's presence with us! How many journeys are undertaken, how many a business is entered on, without ever a word of prayer being offered to God! How many a home life is commenced without a... read more

Group of Brands