2 Kings 17:33

They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
feared	יְרֵאִ֑ים ye.re.'Im	H3373	fearing · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
LORD	יְהוָ֖ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
served	עֹֽבְדִ֔ים 'oe.Dim	H5647	to work (in any sense) · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
gods	אֱלֹֽהֵיהֶם֙ 'e.lo.hei.Hem	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
manner	כְּמִשְׁפַּט֙ ke.mish.Pat	H4941	properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
nations	הַגּוֹיִ֔ם ha.go.Yim	H1471	a foreign nation · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
away	הִגְל֥וּ hig.Lu	H1540	to denude (especially in a disgraceful sense) · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person common plural

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

2 Kings 17:41 So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children’s children: as did their fathers,…
Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the othe…
1 Kings 18:21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then foll…
Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Y…
Zephaniah 1:5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham;
Hosea 10:2 Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 17:24–end

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 Assyria. I. Concerning the Assyrians that were brought into the land of Israel we are here told, 1. That they possessed Samaria and dwelt in the cities thereof, Kg2 17:24. It is common for lands to change thei…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 17:31

Nibhaz--under that of a dog--that Egyptian form of animal-worship having prevailed in ancient Syria, as is evident from the image of a large dog at the mouth of the Nahr-el-Kelb, or Dog river. Tartak--According to the rabbis, it was in the form of an ass, but others understand it as a planet of ill-omen, probably Saturn. Adrammelech--supposed by some to be the same as Molech, and in Assyrian mythology to stand for the sun. It was worshipped in the form of a mule--others maintain in that of a peacock. Anammelech--worshipped in the form of a hare; others say in that of a goat.

Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 17:33

They feared the Lord, and served their own gods - They did not relinquish their own idolatry but incorporated the worship of the true God with that of their idols. They were afraid of Jehovah, who had sent lions among them; and therefore they offered him a sort of worship that he might not thus afflict them: but they served other gods, devoted themselves affectionately to them, because their worship was such as gratified their grossest passions, and most sinful propensities.

John Gill on 2 Kings 17:33

They feared the Lord, and served their own gods,.... Worshipped both: after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence; the Israelites, whom they had carried captive from Samaria; they worshipped the Lord in their idols, as they did, who pretended to worship God in the calves; so they worshipped the supreme God in and by their idols, and made use of them as mediators with him.

The Church Fathers

How then did the Samaritans "know not" what they worshiped? Because they thought that God was local and partial; so at least they served Him, and so they sent to the Persians, and reported that "the God of this place is wroth with us," in this respect forming no higher opinion of Him than of their idols. Wherefore they continued to serve both Him and devils, joining things which ought not to be joined. The Jews, on the contrary, were free from this supposition, at least the greater part of them, and knew that He was God of the world. Therefore He saith, "Ye worship ye know not what; we know what we worship."
— John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 33.1

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Calf — Calves were commonly made use of in sacrifices, and are therefore frequently mentioned in Scripture. The “fatted calf” was regarded as the choicest of animal food; it was frequently also offered as a…
Judgments · .Into the hands of the Assyrians — .Into the hands of the Assyrians
Samaria · of Assyria — of Assyria

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

2 Kings 17:33

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 17:24–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 17:31

Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 17:33

John Gill on 2 Kings 17:33

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

2 Kings 17:33

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 17:24–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 17:31

Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 17:33

John Gill on 2 Kings 17:33

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Kings 17:24–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Kings 17:32-34

Rashi on 2 Kings 17:33