2 Kings 17:34

Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(34-41) THE RELIGIOUS STATE OF THE MIXED POPULATION OF SAMARIA IN THE TIME OF THE EDITOR.

(34) They do after the former manners.—They still keep up the religious customs of the first colonists.

They fear not the Lord.—They fear Him not in the sense of a right fear; they do not honour Him in the way He has prescribed in the Torah. The LXX. omits both nots in this verse.

After their statutes, or after their ordinances.—The writer here thinks of the remnant of the Ten Tribes who amalgamated with the new settlers (2Kings 23:19; 2Chronicles 34:6; 2Chronicles 34:9; 2Chronicles 34:33; John 4:12).

Ordinances.—Heb., ordinance, or judgment.

Or after the law and commandment.—This pair of terms is exegetical of the preceding pair. Probably, however, the original reading was, “after the statutes, and after the ordinances,” as in 2Kings 17:37, where the same four terms recur. Then the sense will simply be, that the Samaritans contemporary with the writer do not worship Jehovah according to the Torah.

Benson Commentary

2 Kings 17:34. Unto this day, &c. — That is, till the time when this book was written, and long after, about three hundred years in all, till the time of Alexander the Great, when Manasseh, brother to Jaddus the high-priest of the Jews, having married the daughter of Sanballat, governor of the Samaritans, went over to them, and, obtaining leave of Alexander to build a temple on mount Gerizim, drew over many of the Jews to him, and prevailed with the Samaritans to cast away their idols, and to worship the God of Israel only. Yet their worship was mixed with so much superstition, that our Lord tells them they knew not what they worshipped. They do after the former manners — As the Israelites, before their captivity, (2 Kings 17:33,) gave these nations an ill example, in serving the Lord and Baal together; so these nations both worshipped the God of Israel, and those other gods. But, adds the historian, they feared not the Lord — Their pretended fear of him, and serving him together with their idols, was not worthy of the name of piety, or the fear of the Lord: nor would God accept such a mongrel religion and false worship as they offered to him. Neither do they after their statutes — God’s law delivered to the Israelites, and to them as their inheritance, Psalm 119:111. This is alleged as an evidence that they did not fear the Lord, whatsoever they pretended, because they lived in the constant breach of his statutes. Which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel — A name signifying Jacob’s special interest in God, and power with him, which was given to him, not only for himself, but for his posterity also, whom God frequently honoured with that name. And by this great favour he aggravates the sin, both of the Israelites, and of those nations planted in their land, who professed to learn their way of worshipping God, and to imitate it.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

17:24-41 The terror of the Almighty will sometimes produce a forced or feigned submission in unconverted men; like those brought from different countries to inhabit Israel. But such will form unworthy thoughts of God, will expect to please him by outward forms, and will vainly try to reconcile his service with the love of the world and the indulgence of their lusts. May that fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, possess our hearts, and influence our conduct, that we may be ready for every change. Wordly settlements are uncertain; we know not whither we may be driven before we die, and we must soon leave the world; but the righteous hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken from him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

They fear not the Lord - The new-comers in one sense feared Yahweh 2 Kings 17:33, 2 Kings 17:41. They acknowledged His name, admitted Him among their gods, and kept up His worship at the high place at Bethel according to the rites instituted by Jeroboam 2 Kings 17:28. But in another sense they did not fear Him. To acknowledge Yahweh together with other gods is not really to acknowledge Him at all.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

34. Unto this day—the time of the Babylonian exile, when this book was composed. Their religion was a strange medley or compound of the service of God and the service of idols. Such was the first settlement of the people, afterwards called Samaritans, who were sent from Assyria to colonize the land, when the kingdom of Israel, after having continued three hundred fifty-six years, was overthrown.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Unto this day they do; either,

1. The Samaritans, whose religion he hath hitherto been describing, and to the description whereof he returns, 2 Kings 17:41. So the following verses are a digression, wherein he designs only to take an occasion to compare them with the Israelites, and to aggravate the sins of the Israelites above theirs, which he doth, 2 Kings 17:35, &c., and then returns to the former description, 2 Kings 17:41. Or rather,

2. The Israelites, who are the principal subjects of this whole discourse; and of whom he unquestionably speaks, 2 Kings 17:35, and thence to 2 Kings 17:41, of whom also the last words of 2 Kings 17:33 are to be understood; and from thence he takes an occasion to return to his main business, to relate and aggravate the sins of Israel, and thereby to justify his severe proceedings against them to all the world. So the sense of the place is this, As the Israelites before their captivity gave these nations an ill example, in serving the Lord and Baal together; so, or after their former manner, they do unto this day, in the land of their captivity. They fear not the Lord; though they pretended to fear and serve both the Lord and idols, yet in truth they did not, and do not fear or worship the Lord, but their own calves, or other vain inventions; and God will not accept that mongrel and false worship, which they pretend to give to the true God. Or this may intimate that the Israelites were worse than their successors, because these feared the Lord and idols too; but they did quite cast off the fear and worship of God in their captivity, and wholly degenerate into heathenish idolatry. Their statutes, i.e. God’s law delivered to their fathers, and to them, as their inheritance, Psalm 119:111. This is alleged as an evidence that they did not fear the Lord, whatsoever they pretended because they lived in the constant breach of his statutes. The children of Jacob, i.e. themselves; the noun put for the pronoun; which is usual among the Hebrews. Israel; a name signifying his special interest in God, and power with him, which was given to him, not only for himself, but for his posterity also, whom God frequently honours with that name. And by this great favour he aggravates their sin.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Unto this day they do after the former manners,.... Which may be understood either of the new colonies in Samaria doing after the former customs in their own land, or after the customs of the idolatrous Israelites; or of the Israelites in captivity continuing in their idolatry, not being in the least reformed by their troubles; or of such of them as were left in the land, who repented not of their idolatries, nor reformed from them:

they fear not the Lord; did not worship him, at least not alone, and much less in a spiritual manner, with reverence and godly fear:

neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; that is, they did not observe the statutes and ordinances of the law given on Mount Sinai respecting religious worship, to act according to them.

Geneva Study Bible

Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after {s} their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;

(s) He means by this the Israelites to whom God had given his commandments.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

34. they fear not the Lord] i.e. This worship of Jehovah, merely because they regard Him as the local deity of the land, is no worship at all. God will not be served from policy. There need be no difficulty in understanding the words here in contrast to ‘they feared the Lord’ in verses 32, 33, 41. These latter express what the new colonists thought they were doing, and what they also thought to be enough. This verse expresses what the writer knew to be the truth as God regarded the service.

neither do they after their statutes] ‘Their’ refers by anticipation to ‘the children of Jacob’, who are mentioned at the close of the verse.

after the law and commandment] As the preposition is twice expressed in Hebrew, R.V. has or after the commandment.

whom he named Israel] See Genesis 32:28.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 34. - Unto this day - i.e., the time at which Kings was written (about B.C. 580-560) - they do after the former manners - that is, they maintain the mixed religion, which they set up on the coming of the Samaritan priest from Assyria a hundred and fifty or sixty years previously - they fear not the Lord. This statement seems directly opposed to the thrice-repeated one (vers. 32, 33, 41), "They feared the Lord;" but the apparent contradiction is easily reconciled. The new immigrants "feared Jehovah" in a certain sense, i.e. externally. They admitted him into their pantheon, and had ritual observances in his honor. But they did not really fear him in their hearts. Had they done so, they would have inquired what were his laws, statutes, and ordinances, and would have set themselves to obey them. This they did not think of doing. Neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances - either the "statutes" and "ordinances" are regarded as having become de jure "theirs" by their occupation of the Holy Land, or "their" refers by anticipation to "the children of Jacob" towards the close of the verse - or after the Law - rather, and after the Law - and commandment which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel (see Genesis 32:28). 2 Kings 17:34

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

This mixed cultus, composed of the worship of idols and the worship of Jehovah, they retained till the time when the books of the Kings were written. "Unto this day they do after the former customs." הראשׁנים המּשׁפּטים can only be the religious usages and ordinances which were introduced at the settlement of the new inhabitants, and which are described in 2 Kings 17:28-33. The prophetic historian observes still further, that "they fear not Jehovah, and do not according to their statutes and their rights, nor according to the law and commandment which the Lord had laid down for the sons of Jacob, to whom He gave the name of Israel" (see 1 Kings 18:31), i.e., according to the Mosaic law. חקּתם and משׁפּטם "their statutes and their right," stands in antithesis to והמּצוה התּורה which Jehovah gave to the children of Israel. If, then, the clause, "they do not according to their statutes and their right," is not to contain a glaring contradiction to the previous assertion, "unto this day they do after their first (former) rights," we must understand by וּמשׁפּטם חקּתם the statutes and the right of the ten tribes, i.e., the worship of Jehovah under the symbols of the calves, and must explain the inexactness of the expression "their statutes and their right" from the fact that the historian was thinking of the Israelites who had been left behind in the land, or of the remnant of the Israelitish population that had become mixed up with the heathen settlers (2 Kings 23:19-20; 2 Chronicles 34:6, 2 Chronicles 34:9, 2 Chronicles 34:33). The meaning of the verse is therefore evidently the following: The inhabitants of Samaria retain to this day the cultus composed of the worship of idols and of Jehovah under the form of an image, and do not worship Jehovah either after the manner of the ten tribes or according to the precepts of the Mosaic law. Their worship is an amalgamation of the Jehovah image-worship and of heathen idolatry (cf. 2 Kings 17:41). - To indicate the character of this worship still more clearly, and hold it up as a complete breach of the covenant and as utter apostasy from Jehovah, the historian describes still more fully, in 2 Kings 17:35-39, how earnestly and emphatically the people of Israel had been prohibited from worshipping other gods, and urged to worship Jehovah alone, who had redeemed Israel out of Egypt and exalted it into His own nation. For 2 Kings 17:35 compare Exodus 20:5; for 2 Kings 17:36, the exposition of 2 Kings 17:7, also Exodus 32:11; Exodus 6:6; Exodus 20:23; Deuteronomy 4:34; Deuteronomy 5:15, etc. In 2 Kings 17:37 the committal of the thorah to writing is presupposed. For 2 Kings 17:39, see Deuteronomy 13:5; Deuteronomy 23:15, etc.