So the king of Assyria was told, 'The people whom you have deported and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the god of the land; therefore he has sent lions among them; they are killing them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land' — the interpretation of the lion attacks is remarkable: they result from the people's failure to worship "the god of the land" (אֱלֹהֵי הָאָרֶץ, *Elohei ha-aretz*). This conceptualization—that the land itself has a deity whose worship is required—reflects both Yahwist theology (the land belongs to the LORD) and ancient Near Eastern geographical religion (each land has its patron deity). The failure to observe this land's religious requirements brings divine punishment. This theological interpretation of the lion attacks as punishment for failing to worship the land's deity suggests that the replacement populations understood their plight in religious terms.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

Publish a note on this verse