For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.
What does 2 Kings 17:12 mean?
Though the destruction of the kingdom of the ten tribes was but briefly related, it is in these verses largely commented upon, and the reasons of it given.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside 2 Kings 17:12-13 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on 2 Kings 17:12
For they served idols,.... Baalim, as the Targum; dunghill gods, as the word signifies, as they are often called in Scripture; and Sterculius was one of the names of Saturn, an Heathen deity, which he had, as is supposed, by his finding out the method of making land fruitful with dung (i): whereof the Lord said unto them, ye shall not do this thing; see Exodus 20:3 . (i) Vid. Macrob. l. 1. c. 7. Lactant. de fals. Relig. l. 1. c. 20.
Key words
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For they served idols,.
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For they served idols,.
Context in 2 Kings 17
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2 Kings 17 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as decline of Judah. Second Kings follows the ministries of Elijah and Elisha, recounts the decline of both kingdoms, and ends with Jerusalem’s fall and a faint glimmer of Davidic continuity. Read this chapter with the wider themes of prophetic witness, judgment, and exile in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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