Isaiah 10:9

9 Whether not as Carchemish, so Calno; and as Arpad, so Hamath? whether not as Damascus, so Samaria?

Isaiah 10:9 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 10:9

[Is] not Calno as Carchemish?
&c.] Jarchi's note is,

``as the children of Carchemish are princes and rulers, so are the children of Calno;''

as if this was giving an instance of the grandeur of his subjects; but much better is the Targum,

``as Carchemish is subdued before me, shall not Calno be so?''

as I or my ancestors have conquered the one, it is as easy for me to conquer the other; or as sure as the one is subject to me, so sure shall the other be; for Carchemish was a city belonging to the Assyrians, situated upon the river Euphrates, ( 2 Chronicles 35:20 ) ( Jeremiah 46:2 ) called by Ammianus ^F11 Circusium; the Syriac version calls it Barchemosh; and Calno is the same with Calneh in the land of Shinar, a city built by Nimrod, ( Genesis 10:10 ) ( Amos 6:2 ) in the Septuagint version it is called Chalane, and it is added,

``where the tower was built;''

from whence the country, called by Pliny ^F12 Chalonitis, had its name, the chief city of which was Ctesiphon, thought to be the same with Calneh. [Is] not Hamath as Arphad?
Hamath and Arphad were both cities conquered by the Assyrians; see ( 2 Kings 18:34 ) and are both mentioned along with Damascus, ( Jeremiah 49:23 ) . [Is] not Samaria as Damascus?
Damascus was the metropolis of Syria, and was taken by the Assyrians; and Samaria was the metropolis of Ephraim, or the ten tribes; see ( Isaiah 7:8 Isaiah 7:9 ) and was as easy to be taken as Damascus was. The Targum is,

``as Arphad is delivered into my hands, shall not Hamath be so? As I have done to Damascus, so will I do to Samaria.''

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FOOTNOTES:

F11 L. 23. c. 5. p. 360.
F12 Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 26. and 27.

Isaiah 10:9 In-Context

7 Forsooth he shall not deem so, and his heart shall not guess so, but his heart shall be for to all-break, and to the slaying of many folks. (But he shall not stop there, and his heart shall not be content with only them, but his heart, or his plans, shall be to altogether break, and to kill, many nations.)

8 For he shall say, Whether my princes be not kings (al)together? (For he shall say, Shall not all my princes, or all my leaders, be kings?)

9 Whether not as Carchemish, so Calno; and as Arpad, so Hamath? whether not as Damascus, so Samaria?

10 As mine hand found the realms of idol(s), so and the simulacra of them of Jerusalem and of Samaria. (As my hands found the kingdoms that be full of idols, so now also the idols of those who be in Jerusalem and Samaria.)

11 Whether not as I did to Samaria, and to the idols thereof, so I shall do to Jerusalem, and to the simulacra thereof? (Whether not as I did to Samaria, and to their idols, so now I shall also do to Jerusalem, and their idols?)