Isaiah 36:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?

NIV: Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand?

NASB: Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And when have they saved Samaria from my hand?

CSB: Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they rescued Samaria from my power?

NLT: What happened to the gods of Hamath and Arpad? And what about the gods of Sepharvaim? Did any god rescue Samaria from my power?

KJV: Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?

NKJV: Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand?

Sennacherib's skillful messenger (Isaha 36:1–3) has gone ahead of his army to Jerusalem. His goal is not bargaining but rather eroding the courage of those inside Jerusalem's walls. He has come to convince the people that their cause is hopeless. Their future is very grim. If they must, the Assyrians will lay siege to the city—and when it breaks, everyone will either be killed to taken immediately into exile. Sennacherib's has no doubt of the outcome. Yet he prefers not to waste time and troops if it can be avoided.

The messenger has been shouting his propaganda in the language of the people over the wall and into the city for all who will hear. He has warned the people once more not to trust any promises from King Hezekiah that the Lord will save them from the Assyrians. After all, none of the gods of any of the nations the Assyrians have conquered were able to save them (Isaiah 36:18).

Assyria's spokesman drives home his point by giving recent examples. Hamath and Arpad were apparently cities well known to those in Judah. Hamath was in modern-day Syria, far north of Damascus, and Sennacherib's father Sargon II had re-conquered the city after it dared to rebel against Assyria. Arpad was even further north than Hamath. The location of Sepharvaim is unknown to current scholars. In all cases, though, the people of Jerusalem would have known of the cities and their local gods, and that they had fallen to these invaders.

Finally, Sennacherib's messenger brings up Samaria, the capital of the northern ten tribes of Israel. In theory, Judah's kinsman in Israel worshiped the same God they did. But the Rabshakeh asks only if the gods of the Samaritans delivered them out of the hands of the Assyrians. This reveals once more that the people of the northern ten tribes were worshiping foreign gods and idols to the extent that outsiders did not even realize they claimed the Lord as their own God.

Isaiah 36:11–22 records psychological warfare from the commander of the Assyrian army. He shouts in the local dialect so everyone can experience terror. The speech promises horrors of siege and death unless the people surrender now. The Assyrian notes that no other nation's gods have stopped this invasion. Nor has any supernatural force protected the territories of Israel and Judah. Jerusalem seems to have no earthly hope, and Hezekiah's messengers wisely say nothing before returning to the city in grief.

Sennacherib and the Assyrian army conquer all of Judah except for Jerusalem. There, a remnant of the people waits inside the walls. Sennacherib sends a messenger to meet with Hezekiah's officials. The messenger taunts Hezekiah, mocking their attempts at alliances as well as their faith in God. This commander, also called "the Rabshakeh" calls out in the local Hebrew language so everyone will understand. He offers life and prosperity to those who surrender now. In his opinion, none of the gods of any of the nations the Assyrians have defeated were able to stop them. So why will the Lord God of Israel be any different?

Isaiah 36 shifts from poetic prophecies to the historical account of an Assyrian army's threats against Judah. Sennacherib's army conquers everything in Judah other except for Jerusalem. An Assyrian messenger taunts the people and tells them that no gods have stopped Assyria yet, so they shouldn't trust in Judah's God, either. Diplomats return to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem with this news. Hezekiah will seek help from Isaiah, pray to God, and receive a spectacular miraculous rescue (Isaiah 37).

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).