17:24 The king of Assyria brought foreigners 10 from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the cities of Samaria 11 in place of the Israelites. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.
1 tn Heb “there was great anger against Israel.”
2 tn Heb “they departed from him.”
3 tn Heb “they ate and drank.”
4 tn Heb “and they hid [it].”
5 tn Heb “and they took from there.”
5 tn Heb “It is the word of the
7 tc Some prefer to read “the king of Edom” and “for Edom” here. The names Syria (Heb “Aram,” אֲרָם, ’aram) and Edom (אֱדֹם, ’edom) are easily confused in the Hebrew consonantal script.
8 tn Heb “from Elat.”
9 tc The consonantal text (Kethib), supported by many medieval Hebrew
9 tn The object is supplied in the translation.
10 sn In vv. 24-29 Samaria stands for the entire northern kingdom of Israel.
11 tc The second plural subject may refer to the leaders of the Assyrian army. However, some prefer to read “whom I deported,” changing the verb to a first person singular form with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix. This reading has some support from Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic witnesses.
12 tc Heb “and let them go and let them live there, and let him teach them the requirements of the God of the land.” The two plural verbs seem inconsistent with the preceding and following contexts, where only one priest is sent back to Samaria. The singular has the support of Greek, Syriac, and Latin witnesses.