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orichalcum at 02:42pm on 11/02/20092 Kings 17:23-34 (New American Standard Bible)
So Israel was carried away into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day. The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon and from Cuthah and from Avva and from Hamath and Sephar-vaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. So they possessed Samaria and lived in its cities.
At the beginning of their living there, they did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them which killed some of them.
So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, "The nations whom you have carried away into exile in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the god of the land; so he has sent lions among them, and behold, they kill them because they do not know the custom of the god of the land."
Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, "Take there one of the priests whom you carried away into exile and let him go and live there; and let him teach them the custom of the god of the land."
28 So one of the priests whom they had carried away into exile from Samaria came and lived at Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.
29But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the houses of the high places which the people of Samaria had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived. The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech the gods of Sepharvaim.
32They also feared the LORD and appointed from among themselves priests of the high places, who acted for them in the houses of the high places.
33They feared the LORD and served their own gods according to the custom of the nations from among whom they had been carried away into exile.
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So what's really neat here is that the Assyrians and their new involuntary colonists in Israel feel a need to worship the "local God," out of fear of lions. But what develops is not pure Jewish monotheism but a syncretism - worship of the Lord along with continued traditional polytheist practices. Most other places in the Hebrew Bible, God is specifically thought of as a God of a specific people or believers; here, there is a suggestion that He has a connection to a place even when the original believers have all left.
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radar !
thoughtful
(no subject)
Second, it is certainly an established Jewish principle that Gd has a special connection to the land of Israel. I don't know my bible well enough to know when it became standard belief, but in my Jewish education I was taught that Gd has a male and female part, with the female part being associated with the land and the male part being associated with His people. (Now I'm terribly afraid I've switched them--I haven't thought about this for a long time.) One reason among many for Zionism is to reunite His people with His land and make his spirit whole again. I guess all I'm saying is that I was certainly raised that Gd's special connection to the land of Israel, per se, is standard generic Jewish belief. But I don't know when that first appears.
Personally, what I find interesting about the passage is that, after the King of Assyria enforces diaspora upon the Jews, he is still willing to bring a priest back to further Jewish practice in Israel. Why would he do such a thing? Was he personally visited by a lion?
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Regarding the earlier point - it's not that I disagree that the Lord has a special connection to Israel the land - although I find that problematic from a modern political perspective, as it's been used to justify the settlements. What I find surprising in this passage is the idea that foreigners moving to Israel are expected to follow the Lord. That the Lord might attack foreigners moving in, sure - but that they could stop the lions by worshiping Him in a polytheistic sort of way - that is interesting.
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