2 Kings 17:2

2 And he did evil before the Lord, but not as the kings of Israel, that were before him.

2 Kings 17:2 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 17:2

And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, but
not as the kings of Israel that were before him.
] He did not worship Baal, as some of them had done; and he could not worship the calves, as all of them had, for they were carried away by the Assyrians in the former captivities, as the Jews ^F19 say; and who also observe ^F20, that he removed the garrisons set on the borders of the land to watch the Israelites, that they might not go up to Jerusalem; and this being done on the fifteenth of Ab, that day was afterwards observed as a festival on that account; and they further remark ^F21, that the captivity of the ten tribes was in the reign of this king, who was better than the rest, to show that it was not barely the sins of the kings on whom the Israelites would cast the blame, that they were carried captives, but their own, according to ( Hosea 5:3 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 Seder Olam Rabba, c. 22.
F20 T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 88. Kimchi in loc.
F21 Seder Olam Raba, ut supra. (c. 22.)

2 Kings 17:2 In-Context

1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz, king of Judah, Hoshea, the son of Elah, reigned in Samaria upon Israel nine years. (In the twelfth year of Ahaz, the king of Judah, Hoshea, the son of Elah, began to reign in Samaria upon Israel, and he reigned for nine years.)

2 And he did evil before the Lord, but not as the kings of Israel, that were before him.

3 Shalmaneser, king of Assyrians, went up against Hoshea, and Hoshea was made (a) servant to him, and yielded tributes to him (and paid him taxes).

4 And when the king of Assyrians had perceived, that Hoshea enforced to rebel, and (that he) had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, that he should not give tributes to the king of Assyrians, as he was wont (to do) by all years, the king of Assyrians besieged him, and sent him bound into prison. (And when the king of Assyria had perceived that Hoshea endeavoured to rebel, for he had sent messengers to So, the king of Egypt, asking for help, and thereafter paid no taxes to the king of Assyria, as he had done before by all years, the king of Assyria besieged him, and bound him, and put him in prison.)

5 And Shalmaneser went through[out] all the land, and he went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.