They continued worshiping lifeless idols instead of seeking and serving the true living God.
But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived. (2 Kings 17:29)
In this verse, 2 Kings describes how the foreign peoples—brought into the region of Samaria by the king of Assyria—continued to worship their own deities instead of wholly turning to the God of Israel. When it says “every nation still made gods of its own” (v.29), it highlights that these groups persisted in following the idols and religious practices of their homelands. Samaria, once part of the northern kingdom of Israel, became a place where many cultures intermingled. Geographically, Samaria was located between Galilee to the north and Judea to the south, in the central hill country of what is today northern West Bank. This strategic position made it a crossroads of trade and cultural exchange. Despite being the region where notable figures such as several kings of Israel reigned (from around 930 BC to 722 BC, when it fell to the Assyrians), Samaria lost its unity in defending Israel’s worship of the one true God, reflecting the tragic drift into idol worship.
The text also shows the tragic result of Israel’s disobedience. After the fall of the northern kingdom to Assyria in 722 BC, the Assyrians repopulated Samaria with people from diverse regions, which intensified the mixture of religious customs. The phrase “put them in the houses of the high places” (v.29) testifies to their usage of altars and sanctuary sites previously erected within the land. This practice stands in stark contrast to the biblical command to worship the LORD alone—leading to a religious patchwork that violated the worship forms God had decreed. The Samaritans of this era, therefore, were left in a period of syncretism, attempting to blend segments of the worship of the God of Israel with the practices of foreign gods. The intermingling of religions continued for centuries, influencing cultural and historical conflicts that we see later in the Gospels when Jesus passes through Samaria and interacts with the Samaritan people (John 4:7-10).
From a broader biblical perspective, placing multiple gods in “high places” is reminiscent of earlier admonitions in Scripture where Israel is repeatedly warned against idolatry (Deuteronomy 6:14). The historical account reveals how the northern kingdom’s slide into polytheism resulted in spiritual decay and eventual judgment. The verse suggests a stark lesson that human attempts to combine devotion to the God of Israel with other idols quickly lead to compromise and confusion. Ultimately, this passage points forward to the hope in the New Testament, where Jesus breaks down these barriers of mixed worship by calling all nations to worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:23).
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2 Kings 17:29 meaning
But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived. (2 Kings 17:29)
In this verse, 2 Kings describes how the foreign peoples—brought into the region of Samaria by the king of Assyria—continued to worship their own deities instead of wholly turning to the God of Israel. When it says “every nation still made gods of its own” (v.29), it highlights that these groups persisted in following the idols and religious practices of their homelands. Samaria, once part of the northern kingdom of Israel, became a place where many cultures intermingled. Geographically, Samaria was located between Galilee to the north and Judea to the south, in the central hill country of what is today northern West Bank. This strategic position made it a crossroads of trade and cultural exchange. Despite being the region where notable figures such as several kings of Israel reigned (from around 930 BC to 722 BC, when it fell to the Assyrians), Samaria lost its unity in defending Israel’s worship of the one true God, reflecting the tragic drift into idol worship.
The text also shows the tragic result of Israel’s disobedience. After the fall of the northern kingdom to Assyria in 722 BC, the Assyrians repopulated Samaria with people from diverse regions, which intensified the mixture of religious customs. The phrase “put them in the houses of the high places” (v.29) testifies to their usage of altars and sanctuary sites previously erected within the land. This practice stands in stark contrast to the biblical command to worship the LORD alone—leading to a religious patchwork that violated the worship forms God had decreed. The Samaritans of this era, therefore, were left in a period of syncretism, attempting to blend segments of the worship of the God of Israel with the practices of foreign gods. The intermingling of religions continued for centuries, influencing cultural and historical conflicts that we see later in the Gospels when Jesus passes through Samaria and interacts with the Samaritan people (John 4:7-10).
From a broader biblical perspective, placing multiple gods in “high places” is reminiscent of earlier admonitions in Scripture where Israel is repeatedly warned against idolatry (Deuteronomy 6:14). The historical account reveals how the northern kingdom’s slide into polytheism resulted in spiritual decay and eventual judgment. The verse suggests a stark lesson that human attempts to combine devotion to the God of Israel with other idols quickly lead to compromise and confusion. Ultimately, this passage points forward to the hope in the New Testament, where Jesus breaks down these barriers of mixed worship by calling all nations to worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:23).