What is the meaning of 2 Kings 17:31? The Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak “...the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak...” (2 Kings 17:31a) • Avvites were one of the peoples the king of Assyria resettled in Israel after the northern tribes were exiled (2 Kings 17:24). • Rather than seek the LORD, they formed or brought with them two idols—Nibhaz and Tartak—continuing the same kind of idolatry God had repeatedly warned His people to avoid (Exodus 20:3-5; Deuteronomy 12:29-31). • This reveals how quickly foreign worship can infiltrate when God’s Word is ignored, echoing the earlier pattern in Judges 2:11-13. • The narrative underscores that any worship created by human imagination rather than divine revelation is false, powerless, and offensive to God (Jeremiah 10:3-5; Psalm 115:4-8). The Sepharvites burned their children in the fire “...and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire...” (2 Kings 17:31b) • Sepharvites, another group transplanted into Samaria, practiced child sacrifice, the darkest form of pagan devotion (Leviticus 18:21; Deuteronomy 12:31). • Such sacrifice was one reason God drove out Canaan’s original inhabitants (Leviticus 18:24-25). Now that same wickedness re-enters the land through imported settlers. • Scripture states this practice “never entered” God’s mind as an acceptable act (Jeremiah 7:31), highlighting the vast moral gulf between the LORD and pagan deities. • The intensity of this evil explains the seriousness of God’s judgment on all forms of idolatry (2 Kings 17:18; Romans 1:24-32). To Adrammelech and Anammelech “...to Adrammelech and Anammelech...” (2 Kings 17:31c) • These two idols were the specific recipients of the Sepharvites’ sacrifices. Like Molech in other regions (2 Kings 23:10), they demanded the ultimate price—children. • Idols are often presented as benign cultural artifacts, yet Scripture reveals a demonic reality behind them (1 Corinthians 10:19-20; Deuteronomy 32:17). • This detail reminds us that false gods may have different names, but their nature is uniformly destructive (John 10:10a). The gods of Sepharvaim “...the gods of Sepharvaim.” (2 Kings 17:31d) • The plural “gods” highlights the polytheism of the Sepharvites, the exact opposite of Israel’s confession: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). • By recording the specific practices of each group (2 Kings 17:30-31), Scripture contrasts the empty multiplicity of idols with the singular sovereignty of the LORD (Isaiah 45:5-7). • God’s response later in the chapter—sending lions and a priest to teach “the manner of the God of the land” (2 Kings 17:25-28)—shows His desire for exclusive worship even among foreigners. summary 2 Kings 17:31 exposes the depravity of imported idolatry in Samaria: the Avvites fashioned powerless idols (Nibhaz, Tartak), while the Sepharvites practiced child sacrifice to Adrammelech and Anammelech, “gods of Sepharvaim.” The verse underscores the lethal fruit of turning from the one true God, contrasts human-invented religion with divine revelation, and warns believers against any compromise. True worship belongs to the LORD alone, whose commandments bring life and whose holiness tolerates no rival. |
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