2 Kings 17:31

_AND THE AVITES MADE NIBHAZ AND TARTAK, AND THE SEPHARVITES BURNT THEIR CHILDREN IN FIRE TO ADRAMMELECH AND ANAMMELECH, THE GODS OF SEPHARVAIM._ 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, was in the form of an ass; but others understand it as a planet of ill-omen,; probably Saturn. ADRAMMELECH - the 'fire king,' or, it may be, 'the royal arranger,' 'the arranger and benefactor.' The sun-god is not unfrequently mentioned in the Assyrian inscriptions. Although no temple was specially reared to the sun, that deity appears to have been worshipped in Assyria under three different forms-as 'the rising sun,' 'the meridian sun,' and 'the setting sun.' The male and female powers of the sun, whose worship at Shepha...

24-41 The terror of the Almighty will sometimes produce a forced or feigned submission in unconverted men; like those brought from different countries to inhabit Israel. But such will form unworthy thoughts of God, will expect to please him by outward forms, and will vainly try to reconcile his service with the love of the world and the indulgence of their lusts. May that fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, possess our hearts, and influence our conduct, that we may be ready for every change. Wordly settlements are uncertain; we know not whither we may be driven before we die, and we must soon leave the world; but the righteous hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken from him....

Verse 31. _THE AVITES MADE NIBHAZ_] This was supposed to be the same as the _Anubis_ of the Egyptians; and was in form partly of a _dog_, and partly of a _man_. A very ancient image of this kind now lies before me: it is cut out of stone, about _seven_ inches high; has the _body, legs_, and _arms_, of a _man_; the _head_ and _feet_ of a _dog_; the _thighs_ and _legs_ covered with _scales_; the _head_ crowned with a _tiara_; the _arms_ crossed upon the breasts, with the fingers clenched. The figure stands upright, and the belly is very protuberant. See below. 2 Kings 17:41. _AND TARTAK_] This is supposed by some to be another name of the same idol; _Jarchi_ says it was in the shape of an _ass_. Some think these were the representations of the _sun_ in his cha

Nibhaz and Tartak are either gods of whom no other notice has come down to us, or intentional corruptions of the Babylonian names Nebo and Tir, the great god of Borsippa, who was the tutelar deity of so many Babylonian kings. The Jews, in their scorn and contempt of polytheism, occasionally and purposely altered, by way of derision, the names of the pagan deities. Anammelech is possibly an instance of the same contemptuous play upon words. Adrammelech, “the glorious king,” signifies the sun. The Assyrian inscriptions commonly designate Tsipar, or Sepharvaim 2 Kings 17:24, “Sippara of the Sun.” The title “Adrammelech” has not yet been found in the inscriptions hitherto; but it would plainly be a fitting epithet of the great luminary. The sun-god of the Babylonians, Shamas, was united at Sippara

EXPOSITION 2 KINGS 17:1 THE REIGN OF HOSHEA OVER ISRAEL. DESTRUCTION OF THE ISRAELITE KINGDOM, AND THE GROUNDS OF IT RE-PEOPLING OF THE KINGDOM BY ASSYRIAN COLONISTS. 2 KINGS 17:1 REIGN OF HOSHEA. Hoshea, the last King of Israel, had a short reign of nine years only, during two of which

AND THE AVITES MADE NIBHAZ AND TARTAK,.... The former of which is represented by the Jews in the shape of a dog, deriving the word from "nabach", to bark, as if it was the same with the Anubis Latrator of Virgil b, an Egyptian deity; though that is said c to have its name from NOeb, which in the Egyptian language signifies "gold", the statutes of it being made of gold; and the latter in the form of an ass, for what reason I cannot say; but the first word, according to Hillerus d, signifies, "the remote one seeth", that is, the sun, which beholds all things; and Tartak is a chain, and may denote the fixed stars chained as it were in their places; or the satellites of the planets, chained to their orbs: AND THE SEPHARVITES BURNT THEIR CHILDREN IN FIRE TO ADRAMMELECH AND TO ANAMMELECH THE GODS OF SEPHARVAIM; which were the same with Moloch; which may be concluded, partly from the worship p...

2 Kings 17:23. _So was Israel carried away out of their own hand to Assyria this day. And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof._ It was a part of the tactics of the Assyrian empire to take people away from their original location and colonize them in other places to shift them to another land; so that while the Israelites were taken to Babylon, numbers of those who had lived round about Babylon were brought to live in the Samaritan province, in order that nationalities might thus be broken down and patriotism might expire, thus making it easier for the Assyrian tyrant to govern the land....

7. ASSYRIA CONQUERS ISRAEL AND THE CAPTIVITY CHAPTER 17 _ 1. Hoshea, Israel's last king (2 Kings 17:1)_ 2. Shalmaneser imprisons Hoshea (2 Kings 17:3) 3. Israel carried into captivity (2 Kings 17:5) 4. Retrospect and Israel's sins (2 Kings 17:7) 5. The colonization of Samaria (2 Kings 17:24) Israel's last king was Hoshea. His name means “deliverance.” It indicates what might have been had he and the people repented of their sins. The record of his character is brief. “And he did that which was

THE ORIGIN OF THE SAMARITANS. This is a somewhat mixed account. 2 Kings 17:24 describes the settlement of the land with captives from other parts of the Assyrian empire, and the sending of a priest to teach them the manner of the God of the country. Next, 2 Kings 17:29 relates that the new settlers not only feared (_i.e._ worshipped) Yahweh, but also served their own gods. Finally (2 Kings 17:34) there is a general statement regarding the sin of Israel. This has no connexion with what precedes, nor does it in any way describe the Samaritan religion. It is perhaps nothing more than a new description of the sins for which Israel and Judah were carried away captive....

BURNT. burnt up. See App-43....