But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the Samaria had made; every nation in the cities in which they lived — despite the priest's instruction, the replacement populations continued manufacturing their own gods (אֱלֹהִים, *Elohim*) and placing them in the high places established by the Israelites. The phrase "every nation still made gods of its own" indicates each population group maintained its own religious identity while nominally adopting Yahwistic worship. This represents the syncretism that characterizes the later Samaritan community: a blended religious identity combining Yahwism with foreign deities.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

Publish a note on this verse