Assyrian Resettlement and Mixed Worship

Assyria settles peoples in former Israelite territory; the new population combines fear of the LORD with continuing worship of other gods. The northern kingdom falls to Assyria, but the narrator refuses to explain the catastrophe as mere geopolitics. A long inspired interpretation traces exile to covenant rebellion, rejected prophets, idolatry, and imitation of the nations; the later resettlement of Samaria begins a complicated history that should not be reduced to a one-line origin story for the Samaritans.