2 Raja-raja 17:27-28

17:27 So the king of Assyria ordered, “Take back one of the priests whom you ¹  deported from there. He must settle there and teach them the requirements of the God of the land.” ²  17:28 So one of the priests whom they had deported from Samaria went back and settled in Bethel. ³  He taught them how to worship ⁴  the Lord.

2 Raja-raja 17:1

Hoshea’s Reign over Israel

17:1 In the twelfth year of King Ahaz’s reign over Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria ⁵  for nine years.

2 Raja-raja 1:9

1:9 The king ⁶  sent a captain and his fifty soldiers ⁷  to retrieve Elijah. ⁸  The captain ⁹  went up to him, while he was sitting on the top of a hill. ¹⁰  He told him, “Prophet, ¹¹  the king says, ‘Come down!’”

2 Raja-raja 1:2

1:2 Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria ¹²  and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders, ¹³  “Go, ask ¹⁴  Baal Zebub, ¹⁵  the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.”

2 Raja-raja 1:1

Elijah Confronts the King and His Commanders

1:1 After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel. ¹⁶ 

Ezra 7:25

7:25 “Now you, Ezra, in keeping with the wisdom of your God which you possess, ¹⁷  appoint judges ¹⁸  and court officials who can arbitrate cases on behalf of all the people who are in Trans-Euphrates who know the laws of your God. Those who do not know this law should be taught.

[17:27]  ¹ 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.

[17:27]  ² 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.

[17:28]  ³ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[17:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “fear.”

[17:1]  ⁵ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[1:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “officer of fifty and his fifty.”

[1:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “to him.”

[1:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the captain) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:9]  ¹⁰ sn The prophet Elijah’s position on the top of the hill symbolizes his superiority to the king and his messengers.

[1:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 10, 11, 12, 13).

[1:2]  ¹² map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “and he sent messengers and said to them.”

[1:2]  ¹⁴ tn That is, “seek an oracle from.”

[1:2]  ¹⁵ sn Apparently Baal Zebub refers to a local manifestation of the god Baal at the Philistine city of Ekron. The name appears to mean “Lord of the Flies,” but it may be a deliberate scribal corruption of Baal Zebul, “Baal, the Prince,” a title known from the Ugaritic texts. For further discussion and bibliography, see HALOT 261 s.v. זְבוּב בַּעַל and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 25.

[1:1]  ¹⁶ sn This statement may fit better with the final paragraph of 1 Kgs 22.

[7:25]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “in your hand.”

[7:25]  ¹⁸ tc For the MT reading שָׁפְטִין (shoftim, “judges”) the LXX uses the noun γραμματεῖς (grammatei", “scribes”).