כּוּת

כּוּת

Cuth or Cuthah, a province of Assyria

Definition

כּוּת (Kûwth) refers to Cuth or Cuthah, a province and city in ancient Assyria. It is best known as the place of origin for a group of people whom the Assyrian king resettled in the northern kingdom of Israel after its conquest (2 Kings 17:24). These settlers, known as the 'people from Cuth,' later became part of the Samaritan population. The city of Cuthah was also a major cultic center for the Mesopotamian god Nergal, as referenced in 2 Kings 17:30, where the settlers made an idol of Nergal. Thus, the name denotes both a geographical location and the people associated with it, who played a role in the religious syncretism in Samaria.

Biblical Usage

The word is used exclusively in 2 Kings 17, in the context of the Assyrian exile and resettlement. It appears twice: first, to identify the origin of one group of foreign colonists brought into the depopulated region of Samaria (2 Kings 17:24). Second, it identifies these same people as those who worshiped the god Nergal (2 Kings 17:30). Its usage is strictly as a proper noun for a place and its inhabitants within this historical narrative.

Etymology

The Hebrew כּוּת (Kûwth) or its feminine form כּוּתָה (Kûwthâh) is explicitly noted as being of foreign origin. It is a direct borrowing from Akkadian, referring to the city of Kutha (or Cuthah), an ancient Sumerian and later Babylonian city located northeast of Babylon. There is no known Hebrew root; it is a transliteration of the foreign place-name into Hebrew characters.

Semantic Range

The mention of Cuth is theologically significant as it marks the origin of the Samaritans, a people with whom the Israelites had prolonged religious and ethnic tension (see John 4:9). Their introduction into the land was a direct result of divine judgment on Israel's idolatry (2 Kings 17:7-23). The subsequent worship of Nergal by the Cuthites illustrates the profound spiritual corruption and syncretism that filled the vacuum left by the exiled Israelites. Understanding this background enriches readings of the New Testament interactions with Samaritans, highlighting the historical consequences of covenant unfaithfulness. In its original context, Cuthah was a real, influential city in Mesopotamia, known as a chief cult center for the god Nergal, who was associated with the underworld, war, and pestilence. For the biblical author, mentioning Cuth was not just a geographical note but a powerful cultural shorthand for pagan idolatry and foreignness. The Israelite readers would have understood the settlers from Cuth as bringing a deeply entrenched, foreign religious system into the heart of the promised land. שׁוֹמְרוֹן (Shomron, H8111) — Refers to the region/capital of the northern kingdom where the Cuthites were settled; the people became known as Samaritans. אַשּׁוּר (Ashshuwr, H804) — The broader empire (Assyria) of which Cuth was a province.

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