I. Name
Tartak is one of two gods (the other Nibhaz) worshipped by the Avvites whom the Assyrians settled in Samaria, some time after the city’s fall (2 Kgs. 17.24, 2 Kgs. 31). A god by this name is unknown in extra-biblical sources. In addition, the location of Avva is uncertain.
II. Identity
Two identifications of Tartak, both problematic, have been suggested. The first associates the Avvites with Elam. Avva is taken to be identical with the town Ama on the Uqnu River on the Babylonian-Elamite border, occupied by Aramean tribes (Zadok 1976…