The people of Babylon made Succoth Benoth; the people of Cuthah made Nergal; the people of Hamath made Ashima — the detailed enumeration of foreign gods—Succoth Benoth, Nergal, Ashima—indicates that each population group brought its national deities with them. These gods, placed in Samarian high places, represent the syncretic religious landscape that emerged from the population transfer. Nergal (the Mesopotamian god of plague and the underworld) is particularly notable given the lion attacks just described.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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