Awa
Identification and Location
Awa, also known as Avva or Ivvah, was a province conquered by the Assyrian Empire. Its people were among those transplanted into the cities of Samaria by King Shalmaneser V of Assyria after he conquered the northern kingdom of Israel around 722 BC (2 Kings 17:24). The exact location of Awa remains debated among scholars, though it was likely situated in Mesopotamia or Syria. It is probably the same place referred to as Ivvah in 2 Kings 18:34 and 19:13, and in Isaiah 37:13, where Assyrian officials boast about the gods of conquered territories being powerless before Assyria's might.
The Assyrian Resettlement Policy
The resettlement of Awa's people into Samaria was part of a deliberate Assyrian imperial strategy. After conquering a territory, the Assyrians would deport the native population and replace them with peoples from other conquered regions. This policy served multiple purposes: it broke the power of local resistance, disrupted cultural identity, and made future rebellions far less likely. According to 2 Kings 17:24, people from Babylon, Cuthah, Awa, Hamath, and Sepharvaim were brought to occupy the cities of Samaria in place of the exiled Israelites.
Religious Syncretism in Samaria
The people of Awa brought their own religious traditions with them to Samaria. Second Kings 17:29-31 describes how each national group set up its own gods in the high places that the Israelites had built. When lions began attacking the settlers, the Assyrian king sent back an Israelite priest to teach the newcomers how to worship the God of the land (2 Kings 17:25-28). The result was a religious mixture in which the new inhabitants feared the Lord but also served their own gods (2 Kings 17:33). This syncretism became a defining characteristic of Samaritan religion and a source of deep tension between Samaritans and Jews that persisted into the New Testament era (John 4:9, 20).
Awa in Assyrian Boasting
The references to Ivvah (likely the same as Awa) in 2 Kings 18:34 and Isaiah 37:13 appear in the context of the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem under Sennacherib. The Assyrian field commander Rabshakeh taunted King Hezekiah by listing the nations whose gods had failed to save them from Assyria: "Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?" This rhetorical challenge was meant to undermine Judah's confidence in their God. However, God answered through the prophet Isaiah, and Sennacherib's army was miraculously defeated (2 Kings 19:35).
Theological Lessons
The story of Awa and the other resettled peoples carries powerful theological lessons. It demonstrates the consequences of unfaithfulness, as Israel's exile created a vacuum filled by foreign gods. It also illustrates the futility of false gods, since Awa's deities could not protect their own people from Assyrian conquest. Most significantly, when Assyria used the defeat of nations like Awa as evidence against the God of Israel, the Lord proved His supreme sovereignty by delivering Jerusalem in spectacular fashion.
Biblical Context
Awa appears in 2 Kings 17:24 as one of the provinces whose people were resettled in Samaria after Israel's exile. It is likely the same as Ivvah mentioned in 2 Kings 18:34, 19:13, and Isaiah 37:13, where Assyrian officials cite its conquest as proof of their power. The broader narrative addresses the religious corruption that followed the Assyrian resettlement.
Theological Significance
Awa's story illustrates the consequences of Israel's unfaithfulness (exile and replacement by foreign peoples), the futility of false gods (Awa's gods could not save them from Assyria), and God's supreme sovereignty (demonstrated when He defeated Assyria despite their boasting). The resulting religious syncretism in Samaria serves as a warning against mixing worship of the true God with idolatry.
Historical Background
The Assyrian Empire practiced mass deportation and resettlement as imperial policy from the 9th to 7th centuries BC. Cuneiform records confirm these population transfers. The fall of Samaria in 722 BC under Shalmaneser V (completed by Sargon II) is well attested in both biblical and Assyrian sources. The mixed population that resulted became the ancestors of the Samaritans known in the New Testament.