Discovery Box2 Kings 17:7
Context17:7 This happened because the Israelites sinned against the Lord their God, who brought them up from the land of Egypt and freed them from the power of 1 Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped 2 other gods;
2 Kings 17:9
Context17:9 The Israelites said things about the Lord their God that were not right. 3 They built high places in all their cities, from the watchtower to the fortress. 4
2 Kings 17:16
Context17:16 They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God; they made two metal calves and an Asherah pole, bowed down to all the stars in the sky, 5 and worshiped 6 Baal.
2 Kings 18:12
Context18:12 This happened because they did not obey 7 the Lord their God and broke his agreement with them. 8 They did not pay attention to and obey all that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded. 9
[17:7] 1 tn Heb “and from under the hand of.” The words “freed them” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:9] 3 tn The meaning of the verb וַיְחַפְּאוּ (vayÿkhappÿ’u), translated here “said,” is uncertain. Some relate it to the verbal root חָפַה (khafah), “to cover,” and translate “they did it in secret” (see BDB 341 s.v. חָפָא). However, the pagan practices specified in the following sentences were hardly done in secret. Others propose a meaning “ascribe, impute,” which makes good contextual sense but has little etymological support (see HALOT 339 s.v. חפא). In this case Israel claimed that the
[17:9] 4 sn That is, from the city’s perimeter to the central citadel.
[17:16] 5 tn The phrase כָל צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם (khol tsÿva’ hashamayim), traditionally translated “all the host of heaven,” refers to the heavenly lights, including stars and planets. In 1 Kgs 22:19 these heavenly bodies are pictured as members of the Lord’s royal court or assembly, but many other texts view them as the illegitimate objects of pagan and Israelite worship.
[18:12] 7 tn Heb “listen to the voice of.”
[18:12] 8 tn Heb “his covenant.”
[18:12] 9 tn Heb “all that Moses, the
