Bible Strands
2 Kings 17:18
So the LORD was very angry with Israel, and He removed them from His presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records God's judgment on the northern kingdom immediately after detailing their idolatry and covenant violations. This statement follows the account of Israel's provocation through child sacrifice and divination in 2 Kings 17:17.
The words — וַ/יִּתְאַנַּ֨ף (va/yit'anaḇ) translates to "and He was angry," while מֵ/עַ֣ל פָּנָ֑י/ו (me'al panav) literally means "from His face." These phrases describe a concrete divine withdrawal of presence and protective favor.
The thread — The pattern of divine anger and removal from His presence aligns with the covenant warnings in Deuteronomy 32:21 and the earlier promise in 1 Kings 11:13 to preserve Judah. The narrative also connects to the political and spiritual division documented in 1 Kings 12:20.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that sustained covenant rebellion produces the actual loss of divine presence. It demands that the reader recognize Judah's survival does not indicate exemption from the standards outlined in 2 Kings 17:19.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 11:13 Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom away from him. I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”
- 1 Kings 12:20 When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David.
- Deuteronomy 32:21 They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation without understanding.
- 1 Kings 11:32 But one tribe will remain for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
- 1 Kings 11:36 I will give one tribe to his son, so that My servant David will always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put My Name.
- Hosea 11:12 Ephraim surrounds Me with lies, the house of Israel with deceit; but Judah still walks with God and is faithful to the Holy One.
- 2 Kings 23:27 For the LORD had said, “I will remove Judah from My sight, just as I removed Israel. I will reject this city Jerusalem, which I chose, and the temple of which I said, ‘My Name shall be there.’”
- Hosea 9:3 They will not remain in the land of the LORD; Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria.
- Deuteronomy 29:20 The LORD will never be willing to forgive him. Instead, His anger and jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse written in this book will fall upon him. The LORD will blot out his name from under heaven
- Joshua 23:13 know for sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become for you a snare and a trap, a scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the LORD your God has given you.