2 Kings 17:2

2 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, yet not like the kings of Israel who 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 ) .


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 King Ahaz of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over Israel; he reigned nine years.
2 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, yet not like the kings of Israel who were before him.
3 King Shalmaneser of Assyria came up against him; Hoshea became his vassal, and paid him tribute.
4 But the king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to King So of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year; therefore the king of Assyria confined him and imprisoned him.
5 Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land and came to Samaria; for three years he besieged it.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.