And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
What does 2 Kings 17:31 mean?
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.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside 2 Kings 17:29-33 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on 2 Kings 17:31
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.
Key words
- nabach
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nabach. (b) Aeneid. l. 6. So Ovid. Metamorph. l. 9. Fab. 12. ver. 689. (c) Jablonski apud Michael. Obs.
- nabach
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nabach. (b) Aeneid. l. 6. So Ovid. Metamorph. l. 9. Fab. 12. ver. 689. (c) Jablonski apud Michael. Obs.
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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Glossary
- Sepharvaim Place
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Biblical settlement. Modern identification: between Damascus and Hamath.
- Adrammelech Person
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Adar the king. (1. ) An idol; a form of the sun-god worshipped by the inhabitants of Sepharvaim ( 2 Kings 17:31 ), and brought by the Sepharvite colonists into Samaria.
- Anammelech People
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One of the gods worshipped by the people of Sepharvaim, who colonized Samaria ( 2 Kings 17:31 ). The name means “Anu is king. ” It was a female deity representing the moon, as Adrammelech.