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2 Kings 17:1

in 2 Kings 17

In the twelfth year of the reign of Ahaz over Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria nine years.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel, and reigned nine years.

KJV

In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years.

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This verse in 2 Kings 17

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

It was two years before Hoshea was acknowledged king of Israel, that is, in the fourth of Ahaz, and twentieth of Jotham. In the twelfth year of Ahaz his reign began to be tranquil and prosperous [CALMET].

This site's exposition

Hoshea son of Elah

on 2 Kings 17:1-2

Hoshea reigns as the last king of the northern throne. The historian allows him one comparative mercy: he did evil, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him. The judgment falls anyway, because national sin can reach a point where a milder king no longer turns it back.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

To reign - He usurped the kingdom in Ahaz's fourth year; but either was not owned as king, by the generality of the people; or was not accepted and established in his kingdom, 'till Ahaz's twelfth year.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Whether by the king of Assyria, or by the king of Judah, or by some of his own people, does not appear, but it seems so long he was kept out of the throne he aimed at. Justly were his bad practices thus chastised, and the word of the prophet was thus fulfilled ( Hos. x.

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In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

In the twelfth year - Compare 2Ki 15:30 note. The history of the kingdom of Israel is in this chapter brought to a close.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

In the twelfth year of Achaz, etc. It is impossible to say that Hoshei'a became king in the twelfth year of Achaz, because in the fourth year of Achaz, he assassinated Pekach and reigned in his place, 1 See above,:30.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on II Kings 17:1:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

15 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • בִּשְׁנַת֙in year

    bishnatH8141 →877 times

  • שְׁתֵּ֣יםtwo [plus]

    sheteimH8147 →768 times

  • עֶשְׂרֵ֔הten

    ʾesrehH6240 →338 times

  • לְאָחָ֖זof Ahaz

    leachazH271 →42 times

  • מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • יְהוּדָ֑הJudah

    yehudahH3063 →819 times

  • מָ֠לַךְhe became king

    malakhH4427 →348 times

  • הוֹשֵׁ֨עַHoshea

    hoshea'H1954 →16 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • אֵלָ֧הElah

    ʾelahH425 →16 times

  • בְשֹׁמְר֛וֹןin Samaria

    veshomeronH8111 →109 times

  • עַל־over

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • תֵּ֥שַׁעnine

    tesha'H8672 →58 times

  • שָׁנִֽים׃years

    shanimH8141 →877 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

2 in all, six open

The walk

5 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    2 Kings 15:30

    Then Hoshea son of Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah. In the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah, Hoshea attacked Pekah, killed him, and reigned in his place.

    it leads to

    • 2 Kings 15:10

      Then Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah, struck him down and killed him in front of the people, and reigned in his place.

    • Hosea 10:7

      Samaria will be carried off with her king like a twig on the surface of the water.

    • 2 Chronicles 28:4–6

      And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

    • 2 Kings 15:32–33

      In the second year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah over Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah became king of Judah.

    • Hosea 10:15

      Thus it will be done to you, O Bethel, because of your great wickedness. When the day dawns, the king of Israel will be utterly cut off.

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Kings

Foreign Nations Are Slain by Lions in Samaria — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Foreign Nations Are Slain by Lions in Samaria — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
2 Kings: the study guide →Read 2 Kings 17 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Kings 17 →