Why does the account say Israel is carried away, and what continues in Samaria after a priest teaches there?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

The account traces Israel’s removal to its sins and refusal to hear the Lord’s warnings. After other nations settle in Samaria and a returned priest teaches them to worship the Lord, they still serve their own gods, and their children and grandchildren continue as their fathers did.

Chapter breakdown

In the twelfth year of Achaz, king of Juda, Osee, son of Ela, reigns in Samaria over Israel for nine years.

Challoner’s note says Osee began to reign before this, but was not in quiet possession of the kingdom until the twelfth year of Achaz. The note supplies this distinction separately from the verse’s dating.

Osee does evil before the Lord, but not as the kings of Israel before him. Salmanasar, king of the Assyrians, comes against him, and Osee becomes his servant and pays tribute. The Assyrian king finds that Osee, trying to rebel, has sent messengers to Sua, king of Egypt, so that he might not pay the tribute he had paid every year. He besieges Osee, binds him and puts him in prison.

The Assyrian king goes through all the land and, going up to Samaria, besieges it for three years. In the ninth year of Osee he takes Samaria and carries Israel away to Assyria. He places them in Hala and Habor, by the river of Gozan, in the cities of the Medes.

The account explains that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt from under Pharao, king of Egypt. They worship strange gods and follow the ways of the nations the Lord had destroyed before them and of Israel’s kings, who had done in like manner. They offend the Lord with things that are not right, building high places in all their cities, from the watchmen’s tower to the fenced city. They make statues and groves on every high hill and under every shady tree. They burn incense on altars there as the nations removed from before them had done, and do wicked things that provoke the Lord. They worship abominations which the Lord had commanded them not to worship.

The Lord testifies to Israel and Juda through all the prophets and seers. He tells them to return from their wicked ways and keep his precepts and ceremonies according to all the law he commanded their fathers and sent through his servants the prophets. They do not listen. They harden their necks like their fathers, who would not obey the Lord their God. They reject his ordinances, his covenant with their fathers and the testimonies he gave against them. They follow vanities and act vainly, following the nations around them although the Lord had commanded them not to do as those nations did.

They forsake all the Lord their God’s precepts. They make two molten calves and groves, adore all the host of heaven and serve Baal. They consecrate their sons and daughters through fire, give themselves to divinations and soothsayings, and give themselves over to evil before the Lord to provoke him. The Lord becomes very angry with Israel and removes them from his sight, leaving only the tribe of Juda. Yet Juda itself does not keep the Lord their God’s commandments: it follows the errors Israel had committed.

The Lord casts off all the seed of Israel, afflicts them and gives them into the hands of spoilers until he casts them away from his face. The account traces this from the time Israel was torn from the house of David and made Jeroboam, son of Nabat, its king. Jeroboam separates Israel from the Lord and makes them commit a great sin. The children of Israel walk in all his sins and do not depart from them until the Lord removes Israel from his face, as he had spoken through all his servants the prophets. Israel is carried from its land to Assyria, where it remains up to the account’s present time.

The Assyrian king brings people from Babylon, Cutha, Avah, Emath and Sepharvaim and places them in Samaria’s cities instead of the children of Israel. They possess Samaria and live in its cities. When they first begin to live there, they do not fear the Lord; the Lord sends lions among them, which kill them. A report to the Assyrian king says the nations he removed and settled in Samaria do not know the ordinances of the God of the land. It says the Lord has sent lions which kill them because they do not know the manner of the God of the land.

The Assyrian king commands that one of the priests taken captive from there be carried back, go and live with the people, and teach them the ordinances of the God of the land. One of the priests taken captive from Samaria comes to live in Bethel and teaches them how they should worship the Lord.

Every nation makes its own gods and puts them in the temples of the high places the Samaritans had made, each nation in the cities where it lives. The men of Babylon make Sochothbenoth; the Cuthites make Nergel; the men of Emath make Asima. The Hevites make Nebahaz and Tharthac. Those of Sepharvaim burn their children in fire to Adramelech and Anamelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.

Nevertheless they worship the Lord. They make priests of the high places from the lowest of the people and place them in the high-place temples. When they worship the Lord, they also serve their own gods according to the customs of the nations from which they were brought to Samaria.

The account then says they follow the old manner up to its present time: they do not fear the Lord or keep his ceremonies, judgments, law and commandment given to the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel. The Lord made a covenant with them and charged them not to fear strange gods, adore them, worship them or sacrifice to them.

They are to fear and adore the Lord their God and sacrifice to him, for he brought them out of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm. They must always observe the ceremonies, judgments, law and commandment he wrote for them, and must not fear strange gods. They must not forget his covenant or worship strange gods. The charge tells them to fear the Lord their God, and says he will deliver them from the hands of all their enemies.

They do not listen to these commands but follow their old custom. The chapter closes by saying these nations fear the Lord yet also serve their idols. Their children and grandchildren do as their fathers did, up to the account’s present time. Thus the account’s statements about worshipping or fearing the Lord stand alongside its statement that they do not fear him or keep his commands; both descriptions are retained.

The story inside

The fall of Samaria is told first through named rulers and actions. Osee pays tribute to Salmanasar, then sends messengers to Sua in an effort to rebel and avoid the yearly payment. The Assyrian king’s discovery leads to Osee’s siege, binding and imprisonment. He goes through all the land, besieges Samaria for three years, takes it in Osee’s ninth year and carries Israel to the named places in Assyria and the cities of the Medes. The account then gives its own reason for Israel’s removal: the people forsook the Lord who brought them from Egypt, followed forbidden examples, built high places and worshipped other gods. Warnings reached both Israel and Juda through all the prophets and seers, but the people rejected the law, covenant and testimonies. Their continued sins include the two molten calves, the heavenly host, Baal, sons and daughters consecrated through fire, divinations and soothsayings. Juda remains when Israel is removed, but Juda also follows Israel’s errors. The account traces Israel’s sins back to Jeroboam son of Nabat and says exile continues to its present time. The Assyrian king next settles five named peoples in Samaria. Lions kill among them, and a report about their ignorance of the God of the land prompts his command to return a captive priest. That priest teaches in Bethel. Each nation still makes its own gods, with the account naming the people and gods and the burning of Sepharvaim’s children. Priests come from the lowest of the people, and worship of the Lord accompanies service of their own gods. The account repeats the covenant’s commands and the promise tied to fearing the Lord, then says the commands were not heard. Its final words extend the same practices to children and grandchildren. The priest’s teaching is an actual event; the chapter does not report that it stopped the lions or ended the other worship.

Lessons worth keeping

1
The chapter explains removal through both the Assyrian actions and Israel’s conduct. The messenger plan brings imprisonment; the three-year siege ends with Samaria’s capture and removal. The account then traces Israel’s sins and refusal to hear all the prophets and seers. These are the stated connections, and the continuing exile is described as lasting to the account’s present time.
2
The tribe that remains is also held to account. After the Lord’s anger removes Israel and leaves only Juda, the next verse says Juda fails to keep his commands and follows Israel’s errors. The exception names who remains; it does not give Juda a clean record. The earlier warnings likewise address both Israel and Juda.
3
The returned priest teaches, but the people’s own gods remain. Each named nation puts gods in the high-place temples, while the account also describes worship of the Lord. Its repeated covenant charge forbids fear, adoration, worship and sacrifice to strange gods and requires obedience to the Lord. The people do not listen, and children and grandchildren continue the old practices. Teaching and continued disobedience both belong to this account.

Test your recall

Why does the Assyrian king imprison Osee, how does the account connect Israel’s removal to rejected warnings, and what does the report about lions cause the king to command before the continued worship of other gods is described?

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 39969–39977
4 Kings Chapter 17 The reign of Osee. The Israelites for their sins are carried into captivity: other inhabitants are sent to Samaria, who make a mixture of religion. 17:1. In the twelfth year of Achaz king of Juda, Osee the son of Ela reigned in Samaria, over Israel, nine years.
Lines 39978–39981
In the twelfth year of Achaz king of Juda.... He began to reign before: but was not in quiet possession of the kingdom to the twelfth year of Achaz.
Lines 39982–39992
17:2. And he did evil before the Lord: but not as the kings of Israel that had been before him. 17:3. Against him came up Salmanasar, king of the Assyrians; and Osee became his servant, and paid him tribute. 17:4. And when the king of the Assyrians found that Osee, endeavouring to rebel, had sent messengers to Sua, the king of Egypt, that he might not pay tribute to the king of the Assyrians, as he had done every year, he besieged him, bound him, and cast him into prison.
Lines 39993–39999
17:5. And he went through all the land: and going up to Samaria, he besieged it three years. 17:6. And in the ninth year of Osee, the king of the Assyrians took Samaria, and carried Israel away to Assyria: and he placed them in Hala, and Habor, by the river of Gozan, in the cities of the Medes.
Lines 40000–40021
17:7. For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord, their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharao, king of Egypt; and they worshipped strange gods. 17:8. And they walked according to the way of the nations which the Lord had destroyed in the sight of the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel: because they had done in like manner. 17:9. And the children of Israel offended the Lord, their God, with things that were not right: and built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. 17:10. And they made them statues and groves on every high hill, and under every shady tree: 17:11. And they burnt incense there upon altars, after the manner of the nations which the Lord had removed from their face: and they did wicked things, provoking the Lord. 17:12. And they worshipped abominations, concerning which the Lord had commanded them that they should not do this thing.
Lines 40022–40036
17:13. And the Lord testified to them in Israel, and in Juda, by the hand of all the prophets and seers, saying: Return from your wicked ways, and keep my precepts, and ceremonies, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers: and as I have sent to you in the hand of my servants the prophets. 17:14. And they hearkened not, but hardened their necks like to the neck of their fathers, who would not obey the Lord, their God. 17:15. And they rejected his ordinances, and the covenant that he made with their fathers, and the testimonies which he testified against them: and they followed vanities, and acted vainly: and they followed the nations that were round about them, concerning which the Lord had commanded them that they should not do as they did.
Lines 40037–40051
17:16. And they forsook all the precepts of the Lord, their God: and made to themselves two molten calves, and groves, and adored all the host of heaven: and they served Baal, 17:17. And consecrated their sons, and their daughters, through fire: and they gave themselves to divinations, and soothsayings: and they delivered themselves up to do evil before the Lord, to provoke him. 17:18. And the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from his sight, and there remained only the tribe of Juda. 17:19. But neither did Juda itself keep the commandments of the Lord, their God: but they walked in the errors of Israel, which they had wrought.
Lines 40052–40066
17:20. And the Lord cast off all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, till he cast them away from his face: 17:21. Even from that time, when Israel was rent from the house of David, and made Jeroboam, son of Nabat, their king: for Jeroboam separated Israel from the Lord, and made them commit a great sin. 17:22. And the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam, which he had done: and they departed not from them, 17:23. Till the Lord removed Israel from his face, as he had spoken in the hand of all his servants, the prophets: and Israel was carried away out of their land to Assyria, unto this day.
Lines 40067–40080
17:24. And the king of the Assyrians brought people from Babylon, and from Cutha, and from Avah, and from Emath, 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. 17:25. And when they began to dwell there, they feared not the Lord: and the Lord sent lions among them, which killed them. 17:26. And it was told the king of the Assyrians, and it was said: The nations which thou hast removed, and made to dwell in the cities of Samaria, know not the ordinances of the God of the land: and the Lord hath sent lions among them: and behold they kill them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.
Lines 40081–40089
17:27. And the king of the Assyrians commanded, saying: Carry thither one of the priests whom you brought from thence captive, and let him go, and dwell with them: and let him teach them the ordinances of the God of the land. 17:28. So one of the priests, who had been carried away captive from Samaria, came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should worship the Lord.
Lines 40090–40100
17:29. And every nation made gods of their own and put them in the temples of the high places, which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities where they dwelt. 17:30. For the men of Babylon made Sochothbenoth: and the Cuthites made Nergel: and the men of Emath made Asima. 17:31. And the Hevites made Nebahaz, and Tharthac. And they that were of Sepharvaim burnt their children in fire, to Adramelech and Anamelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
Lines 40101–40108
17:32. And nevertheless they worshipped the Lord. And they made to themselves, of the lowest of the people, priests of the high places, and they placed them in the temples of the high places. 17:33. And when they worshipped the Lord, they served also their own gods, according to the custom of the nations out of which they were brought to Samaria:
Lines 40109–40117
17:34. Unto this day they follow the old manner: they fear not the Lord, neither do they keep his ceremonies, and judgments, and law, and the commandment, which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he surnamed Israel: 17:35. With whom he made a covenant, and charged them, saying: You shall not fear strange gods, nor shall you adore them, nor worship them, nor sacrifice to them.
Lines 40118–40131
17:36. But the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, with great power, and a stretched out arm, him shall you fear, and him shall you adore, and to him shall you sacrifice. 17:37. And the ceremonies, and judgments, and law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, you shall observe to do them always: and you shall not fear strange gods. 17:38. And the covenant that he made with you, you shall not forget: neither shall ye worship strange gods, 17:39. But fear the Lord, your God, and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.
Lines 40132–40139
17:40. But they did not hearken to them, but did according to their old custom. 17:41. So these nations feared the Lord, but nevertheless served also their idols: their children also, and grandchildren, as their fathers did, so do they unto this day.