2 Kings 17:29

THEY "FEARED" JEHOVAH AND SERVED THEIR OWN GODS

"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. And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, and the men of Avva made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burnt their children to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. So they feared Jehovah, and made unto them from among themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. They feared Jehovah, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away."

This type of "fearing Jehovah" was, of course, without any genuine value whatever, and yet there remained among some of the poorer classes of the Israelites who had not been deported but left in Samaria a residual knowledge of Jehovah, based upon the Samaritan Pentateuch, and that accounts for the reception of Jesus Christ by Samaria (Luke 4). These people mingled racially with the new population, and were thoroughly hated and despised by the Jews.

The various gods which the people are said to have made were:

"Succoth-benoth" (2 Kings 17:30). "This means `booths (houses) of daughters,' either houses of prostitution, or shrines to which were carried images of female deities."[14]

"Cuth made Nergal" (2 Kings 17:30). "This deity was the Babylonian lord of the underworld; he was the equivalent of the Roman god Mars."[15]

"The men of Hamath made Ashima" (2 Kings 17:30). This deity is mentioned only here and is "unknown outside of the O.T."[16]

"The Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak (2 Kings 17:31). "These two names are totally unknown, and the words themselves are uncertain. Jewish tradition says that one of these deities was worshipped under the image of a dog's head, and the other under the guise of an ass. However, the Jews were notoriously abusive when they referred to heathen gods."[17]

"The Sepharvites burnt their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech" (2 Kings 17:31). Both of these deities were related in some way to Molek, as indicated by the final two syllables in each name. This horrible worship was especially strong in Carthage.