The Meaning of 2 Kings 17:24 Explained

2 Kings 17:24

KJV: 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.

YLT: And the king of Asshur bringeth in from Babylon and from Cutha, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and causeth them to dwell in the cities of Samaria instead of the sons of Israel, and they possess Samaria, and dwell in its cities;

Darby: And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and made them dwell in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in its cities.

ASV: And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath and 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does 2 Kings 17:24 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Kings 17:13-26 - The End Of Stiff-Necked Disobedience
There are three leading counts in this terrible indictment against Judah and Israel: (1) idolatry; (2) the ignoring of the Law; and (3) disregard of the many warnings brought them by prophets and seers. And all were aggravated by the fact that they sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt. How greatly the complexion of our sins is deepened, when we remember the anguish by which we have been redeemed!
Interwoven with the black catalogue of sin are golden threads of tender love, 2 Kings 17:13. But note the remarkable expression of 2 Kings 17:15, that we resemble the objects we adore, Psalms 115:8. Israel, as we have seen, was never restored. Those that returned to Judah with Ezra were for the most part Jews. Yet many Hebrews became believers in Christ, and were added to the Church at Pentecost and afterward, 1 Peter 1:1-2. Paul gives us a far horizon in Romans 11:25-27; and who can tell, in these days when the Turkish Empire is trembling to its foundations, whether we are not very near that hour of the restoration of Israel and the restitution of all things! [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Kings 17

1  Hoshea the Last King of Israel
3  Being subdued by Shalmaneser, he conspires against him with So, king of Egypt
5  Samaria for sinning is led into captivity
24  The strange nations transplanted into Samaria make a mixture of religions

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 17:24 mean?

And brought [people] the king of Assyria from Babylon and Cuthah and Ava and Hamath and from Sepharvaim and placed [them] in the cities of Samaria instead of the sons of Israel And they took possession - of Samaria and dwelt in its cities
וַיָּבֵ֣א מֶֽלֶךְ־ אַשּׁ֡וּר מִבָּבֶ֡ל וּ֠מִכּוּ֠תָה וּמֵעַוָּ֤א וּמֵֽחֲמָת֙ וּסְפַרְוַ֔יִם וַיֹּ֙שֶׁב֙ בְּעָרֵ֣י שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹן תַּ֖חַת בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַיִּֽרְשׁוּ֙ אֶת־ שֹׁ֣מְר֔וֹן וַיֵּֽשְׁב֖וּ בְּעָרֶֽיהָ

וַיָּבֵ֣א  And  brought  [people] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
מֶֽלֶךְ־  the  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
אַשּׁ֡וּר  of  Assyria 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אַשּׁוּר  
Sense: the second son of Shem, eponymous ancestor of the Assyrians.
מִבָּבֶ֡ל  from  Babylon 
Parse: Preposition-m, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בָּבֶל  
Sense: Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates.
וּ֠מִכּוּ֠תָה  and  Cuthah 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m, Proper Noun, feminine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: כּוּת 
Sense: a place from which king Sargon of Assyria imported colonists into Israel; probably a location approx 20 (32 km) miles northeast of Babylon.
וּמֵעַוָּ֤א  and  Ava 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: עַוָּא 
Sense: a city conquered by the Assyrians.
וּמֵֽחֲמָת֙  and  Hamath 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֲמָת 
Sense: the principle city of upper Syria in the valley of the Orontes.
וּסְפַרְוַ֔יִם  and  from  Sepharvaim 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: סְפַרְוַיִם  
Sense: a city in Syria conquered by the king of Assyria.
וַיֹּ֙שֶׁב֙  and  placed  [them] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
בְּעָרֵ֣י  in  the  cities 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹן  of  Samaria 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שֹׁמְרֹון  
Sense: the region of northern Palestine associated with the northern kingdom of the 0 tribes of Israel which split from the kingdom after the death of Solomon during the reign of his son Rehoboam and were ruled by Jeroboam.
תַּ֖חַת  instead 
Parse: Preposition
Root: מִתְחָה 
Sense: the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas.
בְּנֵ֣י  of  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
וַיִּֽרְשׁוּ֙  And  they  took  possession 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: יָרַשׁ  
Sense: to seize, dispossess, take possession off, inherit, disinherit, occupy, impoverish, be an heir.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
שֹׁ֣מְר֔וֹן  of  Samaria 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שֹׁמְרֹון  
Sense: the region of northern Palestine associated with the northern kingdom of the 0 tribes of Israel which split from the kingdom after the death of Solomon during the reign of his son Rehoboam and were ruled by Jeroboam.
וַיֵּֽשְׁב֖וּ  and  dwelt 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
בְּעָרֶֽיהָ  in  its  cities 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.