Bible Strands
Isaiah 36:19
Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Assyrian commander addresses Jerusalem’s defenders and Hezekiah’s representatives during the siege, demanding proof of divine intervention. He positions himself as the active conqueror who has already neutralized the protection of other nations.
The words — אַיֵּ֞ה ('ai.Yeh) literally means "where?" and is repeated to stress absence. אֱלֹהֵ֤י ('e.lo.Hei) translates to "gods of," directly naming the deities associated with the captured cities.
The thread — Hamath and Arpad appear in Isaiah 10:9 and Jeremiah 49:23 as examples of conquered territories. Numbers 34:8 lists Hamath as the northern boundary of the Promised Land.
Why it lands — The text requires a factual evaluation of whether any deity has successfully prevented a nation from falling to Assyria. It compels the reader to weigh claimed divine power against recorded military outcomes.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
Cross-references
- Isaiah 10:9 “Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus?
- Jeremiah 49:23 Concerning Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, for they have heard a bad report; they are agitated like the sea; their anxiety cannot be calmed.
- Numbers 34:8 and from Mount Hor to Lebo-hamath, then extend to Zedad,
- 2 Samuel 8:9 When King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer,
- 2 Kings 17:5 Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land, marched up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years.
- 2 Kings 17:24 Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its towns.
- Isaiah 37:11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries, devoting them to destruction. Will you then be spared?
- 2 Kings 18:10 And at the end of three years, the Assyrians captured it. So Samaria was captured in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel.