2 Kings 17:27

2Ki 17:27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.

Ver. 27. Carry thither one of the priests.] One of Jeroboam’s priests, for want of a better. Docendi munus suscipit quisquis ad sacerdotium accedit. An unteaching priest is a monster. {2Ch 15:3}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ki 17:27. Then the king of Assyria commanded, Carry thither one of the priests — That is, one of the chief priests, with others under his inspection and direction, as may be gathered from the following words, where it is said of the same person or persons, Let them go, &c, and then, Let him teach, &c. — Nor is it probable that one priest could suffice for the instruction of the inhabitants of so many and distant districts.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That is, how to worship him: thus the wicked rather than to lose their commodities will change to all religions.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 27. Carry thither one of the priests] Imperfect as this teaching was, it, in the end, overthrew the idolatry of these people, so that soon after the Babylonish captivity they were found to be as free from idolatry as the Jews themselves, and continue so to the present day. But they are now nearly annihilated: the small remains of them is found at Naplouse and Jaffa; they are about thirty families; and men, women, and children, amount to about two hundred persons! They have a synagogue, which they regularly attend every Sabbath; and they go thither clothed in white robes. The reader may find much curious information relative to this people, in a Memoire sur L'Etat actuel des Samaritains, by Baron Sylvestre de Sacy, 8vo., Paris, 1812.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(27) Carry.—Cause to go.

Let them go and dwell.—To be corrected after the Syriac and Vulg.: let him go and dwell.

Ye brought.—Ye carried away.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27. one of the priests whom ye brought from thence] The Assyrian king takes what he would believe to be the best step towards remedying the mischief. A priest of the Israelitish worship was clearly the right person to be sent. No doubt all the priests were among the population that had been carried away. Hence the few Israelites left behind would not be regarded as capable of instructing the new colonists. For among the heathen, ‘the manner’, i.e. the ceremonial and particular observances in performing worship, was the matter of highest import. The less spiritual the worship, the more it tends to lay weight on the ‘manner’ and mode of the worship. Hence the magnificence so usual in idolatrous countries. The LXX. does not represent the words ‘one of the priests’.

let them go] The priest would not be expected to go alone. For such services as the king of Assyria had in his thoughts the person ministering must be attended by a body of minor people to add grandeur to the ceremonies.

and let him teach] The priest would naturally be the teacher. Hence we can see the reason of the change of number in the pronouns in this clause and the last.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying,.... Gave the following orders and directions:

carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; for they carried away all the people of every class, civil and religious:

and let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land; it is in the plural number, "let them go", &c. (o); there might be more priests than one ordered, or, however, others, to attend and assist him in his work; the Jews say (p), two were sent to circumcise them, and teach them the book of the law; and they give their names, Dosthai, or Dosithaeus, and Zachariah; and Josephus (q) says, the people desired that priests might be sent to them of the captives.

(o) "eant et sedeant", Montanus. (p) Pirke Eliezer, c. 38. (q) Antiqu. l. 9. c. 14. sect. 3.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Carry one of the priests ...; let them go and dwell there, and let him teach - The double change of number is curious; but rise text needs no emendation. The priest would require to be accompanied by assistants, who would “go and dwell,” but would not be qualified to “teach.” The arcana of the worship would be known to none excepting the priests who had ministered at the two national sanctuaries of Dan and Bethel.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Let him. Hebrew, Chaldean, Septuagint, "them go." Probably more went; but one was of superior dignity. He might have been priest of the golden calves, as none of the priests of Jerusalem had yet been taken. Hence he taught the Cutheans to join the worship of God with that of idols. Some think that no part of the Scripture was used among them, till the building of the temple by Sanballat, on Mount Garizim: (Le Quien, Antiquite. v. 13.) but this is extremely improbable. How should he pretend to teach the law without the books of Moses? (Haydock) --- The Samaritans have retained the Pentateuch in the Phœnician character, while the Jews have insensibly adopted the Chaldee, during their captivity. On some occasions, these people have boasted of their descent from the patriarchs, John iv. 12., and 20. But in times of danger, they have confessed their true origin. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] ix. fin., and xii. 5.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

One of the priests, i.e. one of the chief of the priests, with others, to be under his inspection and direction, as may be gathered from the following words; where it is said of the same person, or persons,

let them go, & c., and then,

let him teach, & c. Nor is it probable that one priest could suffice for the instruction of the inhabitants of so many and distant parts.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Then the King of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence. It does not appear that this was a suggestion of the colonists. Either it was the king"s own idea, or that of one of his advisers. The priests, who ministered at the two national sanctuaries those of Dan and Bethel had, as important personages, been all carried off. Though a "remnant" of Israel was left in the land, (2Ch_34:9) they were probably of the baser sort, (2Ki_25:12) or at any rate could not be trusted to know the details and intricacies of the Samaritan ritual. Thus it was necessary to send back a priest. And let them go and dwell there. We should have expected, "Let him go;" but the writer assumes that the priest would have an entourage, assistant-ministers and servants, and so says, "Let them go;" but immediately afterwards, And let him teach since he alone would be competentthem the manner of the God of the land.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Take one of the priests there whom you brought from there

"Take a priest who came from Samaria back there"

let him teach them

"let the Samaritan priest teach the people who are living there now"

translationWords

priest

Bethel

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.