2 Kings 17:5

2Ki 17:5 Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.

Ver. 5. Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land.] Like an overflowing flood; having first seized upon the country of the Moabites, that he might leave nothing behind him that might be to his prejudice, Ar and Kirharaseth being destroyed, as had been foretold three years before. See Isa 16:1-14 cum notis Tremellii.

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 17:5-6. Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land — And made himself master of it, treating the Israelites as traitors rather than as fair enemies, and punishing them with the sword of justice. And went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years — During which time it held out, but doubtless endured a great deal of misery, though this be not particularly recorded. At length the royal city was taken, and the king made a prisoner, shut up, and bound. This was in the ninth year of the reign of Hoshea, at which time Israel was carried away captive into Assyria — There, we have reason to think, after some time, they were so mingled with the nations, that they were lost, and the name of Israel was no more in remembrance. They that forgot God were themselves forgotten, and they that studied to be like the nations were buried among them; and they that would not serve God in their own land, were made to serve their enemies in a strange land. Thus ended Israel as a nation, and the prophecy of Hoshea was fulfilled: they became Lo-ammi, not a people, and Lo- ruhamah, unpitied. Now Canaan spewed them out. When we read of their entry into Canaan under Hoshea the son of Nun, who would have thought that such would be their exit under Hoshea the son of Elah? Thus Rome’s glory in Augustus sunk many ages after in Augustulus; yet we find St. James writing to the twelve tribes scattered abroad, (Jas 1:1,) and Paul speaks of the twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, Act 26:7 : so that, though we never read of the return of those that were carried captive, nor have any ground to believe that they still remain a distinct body in some remote corner of the world, yet a remnant of them did escape, and will remain, till all Israel be saved.

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

17:5-6 the king of Assyria: Although sources identify Samaria’s conqueror as Shalmaneser V of Assyria (726–722 BC), Sargon II (who ruled Assyria 721–705 BC) claimed that he captured the city. Perhaps Sargon was the field commander when Samaria fell and then became king when Shalmaneser died during the year of the siege. • invaded the entire land: Assyrian military strategy was to devastate the territory surrounding an enemy’s primary city before launching a final attack. • The ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign was 722 BC. • the people . . . were exiled: The Assyrians practiced deportation in order to defuse future rebellions. Sargon also brought other people to Israel to form a mixed population (17:24-25). • Halah was situated northeast of Nineveh in Assyria. • The Habor River is a tributary of the Euphrates River in northwestern Assyria. • Gozan was located on the Habor River northeast of Haran (Gen 12:4). Assyrian documents from the area list personal names that are clearly Israelite, perhaps reflecting the deportation of the people of Samaria.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 5. Besieged it three years.] It must have been well fortified, well provisioned, and well defended, to have held out so long.

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

(5) Then (and) the king of Assyria came up . . . and besieged it three years.—Sargon states that he took Samaria (Samerίna) in his first year. Shalmaneser therefore had besieged the city some two years before his death.

The brief narrative before us does not discriminate between the respective shares of the two Assyrian sovereigns in the overthrow of the kingdom of Israel, but it is noticeable that it does not say that Shalmaneser “besieged Samaria three years,” and “took Samaria.” (Comp. 2Ki_18:11.)

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

5. throughout all the land] It seems to have been the usual plan of invaders to overrun the places more easily conquerable before they assailed the chief stronghold.

besieged it three years] Samaria from its position on a hill and from the pains bestowed on its building must have been a city of considerable strength for those days. It seems from the records that the city was not taken by the Assyrians during the reign of Shalmaneser, but in the beginning of the reign of Sargon his successor. See Smith, Assyrian Canon, p. 201. In view of this statement the language of the Bible is very remarkable. At the beginning of this chapter the movements are ascribed to Shalmaneser, but in verse 6 it is only said ‘the king of Assyria took Samaria’. And when the subject is mentioned again 2Ki_18:9-10, though stating that ‘Shalmaneser came up against Samaria and besieged it’, he continues ‘and at the end of three years they took it’, thus, though apparently quite undesignedly, giving support to the chronology which is established by the monuments. See note there.

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 came up throughout all the land,.... Of Israel, there being none to oppose his march; Hoshea not daring to come out, and meet him and fight him:

and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years; so long the city held out against him, see Kg2 18:9.

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

All the land - The second invasion of Shalmaneser (723 B.C., his fifth year), is here contrasted with the first, as extending to the whole country, whereas the first had afflicted only a part.

Three years - From the fourth to the sixth of Hezekiah, and from the seventh to the ninth of Heshea; two years, therefore, according to our reckoning, but three, according to that of the Hebrews. This was a long time for so small a place to resist the Assyrians but Samaria was favorably situated on a steep hill; probably Sabaco made some attempts to relieve his vassal; the war with Tyre must have distracted Shalmaneser; and there is reason to believe that before the capture was effected a revolt had broken out at Nineveh which must have claimed Shalmaneser’s chief attention, though it did not induce him to abandon his enterprise.

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

5. Came up throughout all the land — He overran all the country, subduing all the smaller towns, apparently as a measure preliminary to the final siege of the capital.

Besieged it three years — The length of this siege evidences the strength of Samaria, and the desperate resistance of its people. “It is remarkable,” says Ewald, “how strong a resemblance the fall of Samaria bears to the first and second destructions of Jerusalem, in the heroic resistance of its inhabitants.” The horrors of this siege may be inferred from Isa_28:1-4; Hos_10:14; Hos_13:16; Amo_6:9-14.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then the King of Assyria rather, and the King of Assyriacame up throughout all the land i.e. , with an army that spread itself at once over the whole land, that came to conquer, not merely to strike a blow, and obtain submission, as on the former occasion (see ver. 3, and the comment)and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. From some time in Hoshea"s seventh year (2Ki_18:9) to some time in his ninth. (2Ki_18:10) According to the Hebrew mode of reckoning, parts of years are counted as years; and thus the siege need not have lasted much over a year, though it may have been extended to nearly three years. In either case, there was ample time for Shabak to have brought up his forces, had he been so minded; and his failure to do so, or in any way to succor his ally, showed how little reliance was to be placed on Egyptian promises. (comp. 2Ki_18:21)

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