The Story of the Fall of Samaria in the Bible

A three-year siege ends, a capital falls, and ten tribes are marched out of their own country. It is the end of the northern kingdom of Israel, and it never comes back.

What makes this chapter unusual is that the writer stops telling the story halfway through and spends twenty verses explaining why. The siege gets two verses. The reason gets the rest of the chapter.

The Story of the Fall of Samaria

Hoshea was the last king of Israel. He had been paying tribute to Shalmaneser king of Assyria, and then he stopped, and sent messengers to So king of Egypt instead. The king of Assyria found the conspiracy, shut him up, and bound him in prison.

Then the Assyrian army came up throughout all the land and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

At that point the account stops. For so it was, the writer says, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt. They had feared other gods and walked in the statutes of the heathen.

The charge is detailed. They built high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. They set up images and groves in every high hill and under every green tree. They made two calves and a grove, worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. They caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments.

And there had been warning. Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes. The reply is one of the bleakest lines in the book: notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God.

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. The chapter closes the way it began, plainly: so was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.

What the Story of the Fall of Samaria Teaches Us

The collapse is dated to one year, but the chapter refuses to treat it as one year’s problem. The list of practices goes back generations, and so does the list of warnings. What fell in the ninth year of Hoshea had been coming apart for a long time in ways nobody had to notice.

The phrase that carries the chapter is they would not hear. It is not that no prophet came, or that the message was unclear. Warning after warning arrived and was simply declined, which is a harder thing to read than outright rebellion.

There is also a quiet warning shot aimed at the reader. Verse 19 adds that Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. The southern kingdom is watching its neighbor be deported and copying it anyway. Six chapters later the same thing happens to them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Keep going: Take the Fall of Samaria quiz →  ·  Watch more Bible story videos →

{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@graph”: [
{
“@type”: “VideoObject”,
“name”: “The Fall of Samaria: They Would Not Hear (2 Kings 17)”,
“description”: “Assyria besieges Samaria for three years and carries the northern kingdom of Israel away, and 2 Kings 17 stops the narrative to explain exactly why it happened.”,
“thumbnailUrl”: “https://i.ytimg.com/vi/S3YhxcdfhMw/hqdefault.jpg”,
“uploadDate”: “2026-09-09”,
“contentUrl”: “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3YhxcdfhMw”,
“embedUrl”: “https://www.youtube.com/embed/S3YhxcdfhMw”
},
{
“@type”: “FAQPage”,
“mainEntity”: [{“@type”: “Question”, “name”: “What happened at the fall of Samaria?”, “acceptedAnswer”: {“@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “The king of Assyria besieged Samaria for three years, took the city in the ninth year of Hoshea, and carried Israel away into Assyria, settling them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan and in the cities of the Medes.”}}, {“@type”: “Question”, “name”: “Who was the last king of Israel?”, “acceptedAnswer”: {“@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “Hoshea the son of Elah. He had been a servant of Shalmaneser king of Assyria and paying him presents, but he sent messengers to So king of Egypt and stopped paying, and the king of Assyria imprisoned him.”}}, {“@type”: “Question”, “name”: “Why did the northern kingdom fall?”, “acceptedAnswer”: {“@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “2 Kings 17 gives the reason at length: Israel had feared other gods, built high places in all their cities, set up images and groves, worshipped the host of heaven and served Baal, and would not hear the prophets who told them to turn from their evil ways.”}}, {“@type”: “Question”, “name”: “How long did the siege of Samaria last?”, “acceptedAnswer”: {“@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “Three years. The Assyrian army came up throughout all the land, went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years before the city was taken.”}}, {“@type”: “Question”, “name”: “Which tribe was left after Israel was carried away?”, “acceptedAnswer”: {“@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “The text says there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. It then adds that Judah also kept not the commandments of the LORD, and walked in the statutes Israel had made.”}}]
}
]
}