Commentaries:
God was thorough. He just wiped them all out of the land of Canaan and sent them into the cities of the Medes and into Assyria—exiled. And in a way, they are still in exile. God has led them to the lands that He was holding for them.
The descendants of Israel who went into exile do not know that their homeland is back in Canaan. They have never gone back. That is a detail of how thorough God's exile of Israel was—they forgot everything. Just as He prophesied in Deuteronomy 28, the Israelites went into other lands and took gods of wood and stone and completely forgot their past.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
How to Survive Exile
Israel was defeated by Assyria even before Babylonian Empire arose to full strength, and it was taken captive to Assyria. But not long thereafter, they migrated, along with the Assyrians, settling eventually in central and northwest Europe. They began arriving and settling there long before Rome continued the Babylonish system. Another migration began when the Jews were defeated by Babylon and taken in captivity into Babylon.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Where Is the Beast? (Part Two)
Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing 2 Kings 17:18:
Genesis 12:1-3
Genesis 12:7
Genesis 13:14-16
Genesis 15:18-21
Genesis 17:6-8
Genesis 22:16-18
Genesis 26:3-5
Genesis 28:13-14
Genesis 35:11-12
Judges 2:11-15
Ecclesiastes 3:5
Isaiah 10:27-34
Amos 4:6-12