Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.
What does 2 Kings 17:5 mean?
When the measure of sin is filled up, the Lord will forbear no longer. The inhabitants of Samaria must have endured great affliction.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside its immediate passage and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on 2 Kings 17:5
All the land - The second invasion of Shalmaneser (723 B. C., his fifth year), is here contrasted with the first, as extending to the whole country, whereas the first had afflicted only a part. Three years - From the fourth to the sixth of Hezekiah, and from the seventh to the ninth of Heshea; two years, therefore, according to our reckoning, but three, according to that of the Hebrews.
Key words
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Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land,.
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Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land,.
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Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land,.
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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