Isaiah 10:9

9 I conquered the cities of Calno and Carchemish, the cities of Hamath and Arpad. I conquered Samaria and Damascus.

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.''

FOOTNOTES:

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

Isaiah 10:9 In-Context

7 But the Assyrian emperor has his own violent plans in mind. He is determined to destroy many nations.
8 He boasts, "Every one of my commanders is a king!
9 I conquered the cities of Calno and Carchemish, the cities of Hamath and Arpad. I conquered Samaria and Damascus.
10 I reached out to punish those kingdoms that worship idols, idols more numerous than those of Jerusalem and Samaria.
11 I have destroyed Samaria and all its idols, and I will do the same to Jerusalem and the images that are worshiped there."
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.