In the ninth year of Hoshea: As in the dating of the beginning of a king’s reign (compare verse 1), this does not refer to the age of Hoshea, but to the ninth year of his rule over Israel (722 B.C.).

At this point in history, the king of Assyria probably does not refer to Shalmaneser V, but to his brother Sargon II, who followed him. Historical information from non-biblical sources has helped scholars to determine this. It would therefore be a mistake to substitute the name of Shalmaneser at this point. But since the identification of this king as Sargon II is not completely certain and since he is not mentioned elsewhere in this account, the use of this name should be limited to a footnote (so Good News Translation).

Carried the Israelites away: For the idea of deportation, or sending into exile, which is referred to here, see 2 Kgs 15.29. Ancient Assyrian texts indicate that 27,290 people were taken into exile by Sargon II.

Placed them: Others may say “located them.” In some languages a causative verb form may be most natural here, such as “caused them to settle” or “made them establish residence.”

Classifier terms should almost certainly be added to the proper names Halah, Habor and Gozan. The name Halah most likely refers to Halahhu, the name of both a town and a district northeast of Nineveh, although in the Septuagint, Halah and Habor are both considered to be rivers. The precise location of Halah is uncertain. The second geographical term Habor refers to a river that flows into the Euphrates River. The third term Gozan probably refers to a city-state through which the Habor River flowed. It was located in northern Mesopotamia. Gozan has been identified with the modern-day city Tell Halaf on the border of Turkey and Syria.

And in the cities of the Medes: In addition to the city of Halah and the area near the Habor River, other Israelite exiles were forced to settle in some of the cities in Media, a country east of Assyria. Instead of saying in the cities of the Medes, some may prefer “in the towns of Media” (Revised English Bible) or “in some of the towns of Media.”

The meaning of the last part of this verse is clearly translated by Contemporary English Version as follows:

• He forced some of them to live in the town of Halah, others to live near the Habor River in the territory of Gozan, and still others to live in towns where the Median people lived.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .