Isaiah 37:13

13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?"

Isaiah 37:13 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 37:13

Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the
king of the city of Sepharvaim
The same, as some think, with the gods or idols of those places, (See Gill on Isaiah 36:19); though it may be the princes that ruled over those cities are meant, who were either slain, or become tributary to the king of Assyria. It is added, Henah and Ivah:
which some take to be the names of the gods or kings of Sepharvaim; but rather, since Sepharvaim is of the dual number, it was a double city, the river Euphrates passing between them; and these, as Musculus conjectures, were the names of them; or it may be, these were distinct cities from that, but what or where they were is not certain. Ptolemy makes mention of a place called Ingine, near Gausanitis or Gozan, supposed to be Henah; though others rather think it to be Ange, which he places in Arabia F9, which I think is not so probable. Ivah perhaps is the same with Avah, in ( 2 Kings 17:24 ) . The Targum does not take them for names or places, but translates them,

``hath he not removed them, and carried them captive?''
and so Jarchi's note is,
``the king of Assyria hath moved and overthrown them, and destroyed them, and removed them out of their place;''
referring to the other cities.
FOOTNOTES:

F9 Geograph. l. 6. c. 7.

Isaiah 37:13 In-Context

11 See, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, destroying them utterly. Shall you be delivered?
12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my predecessors destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?
13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?"
14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; then Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord.
15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying:
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.