Nibhaz

The name of a god worshiped by displaced Avvites after they were forcibly resettled in Samaria by the Assyrians in 722 BC. They brought the worship of this idol, as well as that of Tartak, with them at that time (2 Kgs 17:31). Although purported to be of Mesopotamian origin, this is not likely because the worshipers were Syrian. The word Nibhaz may be a Hebrew corruption of “altar” and hence a reference to a deified altar that was the object of worship.