Where are the kings of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?'" Where areThis phrase is a rhetorical question posed by the Assyrian envoy, Rabshakeh, to challenge the faith of the people of Judah. It implies the absence or defeat of these kings, suggesting that they were unable to withstand the might of Assyria. In the Hebrew context, this question is meant to instill fear and doubt, emphasizing the perceived invincibility of the Assyrian empire. Historically, it reflects the common practice of ancient Near Eastern empires to boast of their conquests to intimidate other nations. the king of Hamath
Hamath was a significant city-state located in modern-day Syria. It was known for its strategic location and wealth. The mention of its king highlights the extent of Assyrian conquests, as Hamath was a formidable power in its own right. Archaeological findings, such as inscriptions and artifacts, confirm the historical existence and eventual subjugation of Hamath by Assyria, underscoring the historical accuracy of the biblical narrative. the king of Arpad
Arpad was another city-state in northern Syria, often mentioned in Assyrian records as a target of their military campaigns. The reference to its king serves to remind the people of Judah of the futility of resisting Assyria, as even Arpad, with its strong fortifications, fell. This historical context illustrates the relentless expansion of the Assyrian empire and the pressure it exerted on surrounding nations. the king of the city of Sepharvaim
Sepharvaim is believed to be a city located in Mesopotamia, though its exact location remains uncertain. The mention of its king further emphasizes the widespread reach of Assyrian dominance. In the biblical narrative, Sepharvaim is often associated with idolatry, and its defeat serves as a warning against relying on false gods. This highlights the biblical theme of the sovereignty of the God of Israel over all nations and deities. Hena
Hena is a city whose precise location and historical details are largely unknown, though it is mentioned alongside other conquered cities. Its inclusion in this list serves to amplify the message of Assyrian supremacy. Theologically, it underscores the idea that no earthly power can ultimately stand against the will of God, as demonstrated later in the chapter when God delivers Judah from Assyria. and Ivvah
Ivvah, like Hena, is a city with limited historical information available. Its mention, however, contributes to the cumulative effect of the Assyrian envoy's message, which is to portray Assyria as an unstoppable force. From a scriptural perspective, the eventual downfall of Assyria, despite its conquests, serves as a reminder of the transient nature of human power and the enduring faithfulness of God to His people. Persons / Places / Events 1. Kings of Hamath and ArpadThese were rulers of cities in Syria, which were conquered by the Assyrian Empire. Their mention highlights the Assyrian threat and the fate of those who opposed them. 2. SepharvaimA city whose people were exiled by the Assyrians. It represents the power and reach of the Assyrian Empire during this period. 3. Hena and IvvahLesser-known cities or regions that were also conquered by the Assyrians. Their mention serves to emphasize the completeness of Assyrian dominance. 4. Assyrian EmpireThe dominant power during this time, known for its military might and conquests, including the siege of Jerusalem. 5. HezekiahThe king of Judah during this time, who is faced with the threat of the Assyrian army and seeks God's intervention. Teaching Points God's Sovereignty Over NationsDespite the apparent power of the Assyrian Empire, God remains sovereign. This reminds us that no earthly power can thwart God's ultimate plans. The Futility of IdolatryThe conquered cities likely relied on their gods for protection, yet they fell. This serves as a reminder of the futility of idolatry and the importance of trusting in the one true God. Faith in Times of CrisisHezekiah's response to the Assyrian threat was to seek God in prayer. In our own crises, we should turn to God, trusting in His power and provision. Historical Context as a Faith BuilderUnderstanding the historical context of biblical events can strengthen our faith, showing how God has acted in history and continues to act today. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the fate of the cities mentioned in 2 Kings 19:13 serve as a warning against relying on worldly powers or idols? 2. In what ways can we see God's sovereignty at work in the events described in 2 Kings 19:13, and how does this apply to our current world situation? 3. How does Hezekiah's response to the Assyrian threat challenge us to respond to our own crises today? 4. What parallels can we draw between the historical context of 2 Kings 19:13 and the challenges faced by Christians in the modern world? 5. How can the themes of God's sovereignty and faithfulness in 2 Kings 19:13 encourage us in our personal walk with God? Connections to Other Scriptures Isaiah 37:13This verse is a parallel account of the same event, providing additional context and emphasizing the prophetic perspective on the Assyrian threat. 2 Kings 18:34This verse lists the same cities, highlighting the Assyrian king's taunt and his attempt to undermine the faith of the people of Judah in their God. Psalm 46This psalm speaks of God as a refuge and strength, a theme relevant to Hezekiah's reliance on God in the face of Assyrian threats. People Adrammelech, Amoz, Assyrians, David, Eliakim, Esarhaddon, Haran, Hezekiah, Isaiah, Rabshakeh, Sennacherib, Sharezer, Shebna, TirhakahPlaces Ararat, Arpad, Assyria, Cush, Egypt, Gozan, Hamath, Haran, Hena, Ivvah, Jerusalem, Lachish, Lebanon, Libnah, Mount Zion, Nineveh, Rezeph, Sepharvaim, Telassar, Tigris-Euphrates Region, ZionTopics Arpad, Hamath, Hena, Ivah, Ivvah, Sepharvaim, Sepharva'im, TownDictionary of Bible Themes 2 Kings 19:11-13 5776 achievement Library 'He Uttered his Voice, the Earth Melted'
'Then Isaiah the son of Amos sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. 21. This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. 22. Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureThe Invasion of the Assyrians
(Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, Morning.) 2 Kings xix. 15-19. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the Lord, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their …
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons Whether Charity Requires that we Should Love Our Enemies?
Objection 1: It would seem that charity does not require us to love our enemies. For Augustine says (Enchiridion lxxiii) that "this great good," namely, the love of our enemies, is "not so universal in its application, as the object of our petition when we say: Forgive us our trespasses." Now no one is forgiven sin without he have charity, because, according to Prov. 10:12, "charity covereth all sins." Therefore charity does not require that we should love our enemies. Objection 2: Further, charity …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica The Sinner Arraigned and Convicted.
1. Conviction of guilt necessary.--2. A charge of rebellion against God advanced.--3. Where it is shown--that all men are born under God's law.--4. That no man hath perfectly kept it.--5. An appeal to the reader's conscience on this head, that he hath not.--6. That to have broken it, is an evil inexpressibly great.--7. Illustrated by a more particular view of the aggravations of this guilt, arising--from knowledge.--8. From divine favors received.--9. From convictions of conscience overborne.--10. …
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul The Power of Assyria at Its Zenith; Esarhaddon and Assur-Bani-Pal
The Medes and Cimmerians: Lydia--The conquest of Egypt, of Arabia, and of Elam. As we have already seen, Sennacherib reigned for eight years after his triumph; eight years of tranquillity at home, and of peace with all his neighbours abroad. If we examine the contemporary monuments or the documents of a later period, and attempt to glean from them some details concerning the close of his career, we find that there is a complete absence of any record of national movement on the part of either Elam, …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8 The Golden Eagle is Cut to Pieces. Herod's Barbarity when He was Ready to Die. He Attempts to Kill Himself. He Commands Antipater to be Slain.
1. Now Herod's distemper became more and more severe to him, and this because these his disorders fell upon him in his old age, and when he was in a melancholy condition; for he was already seventy years of age, and had been brought by the calamities that happened to him about his children, whereby he had no pleasure in life, even when he was in health; the grief also that Antipater was still alive aggravated his disease, whom he resolved to put to death now not at random, but as soon as he should …
Flavius Josephus—The Wars of the Jews or History of the Destruction of Jerusalem A Discourse of the House and Forest of Lebanon
OF THE HOUSE OF THE FOREST OF LEBANON. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. That part of Palestine in which the celebrated mountains of Lebanon are situated, is the border country adjoining Syria, having Sidon for its seaport, and Land, nearly adjoining the city of Damascus, on the north. This metropolitan city of Syria, and capital of the kingdom of Damascus, was strongly fortified; and during the border conflicts it served as a cover to the Assyrian army. Bunyan, with great reason, supposes that, to keep …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 It is Strange that These Delightful Promises Affect us Coldly...
It is strange that these delightful promises affect us coldly, or scarcely at all, so that the generality of men prefer to wander up and down, forsaking the fountain of living waters, and hewing out to themselves broken cisterns, rather than embrace the divine liberality voluntarily offered to them (Jer. 2:13). "The name of the Lord," says Solomon, "is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." (Pr. 18:10) Joel, after predicting the fearful disaster which was at hand, subjoins the …
John Calvin—Of Prayer--A Perpetual Exercise of Faith Scriptural Types.
1. The material world is full of analogies adapted to the illustration of spiritual things. No teacher ever drew from this inexhaustible storehouse such a rich variety of examples as our Saviour. His disciples are the salt of the earth, the light of the world, and a city set on a hill. From the ravens which God feeds and the lilies which God clothes, he teaches the unreasonableness of worldly anxiety. The kingdom of heaven is like seed sown in different soils, like a field of wheat and tares …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible Letter xxviii (Circa A. D. 1130) to the Abbots Assembled at Soissons
To the Abbots Assembled at Soissons [45] Bernard urges the abbots zealously to perform the duty for which they had met. He recommends to them a great desire of spiritual progress, and begs them not to be delayed in their work if lukewarm and lax persons should perhaps murmur. To the Reverend Abbots met in the name of the Lord in Chapter at Soissons, brother Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, the servant of their Holiness, health and prayer that they may see, establish, and observe the things which are …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux A Living Book
[Illustration: (drop cap T) Symbol of "Asshur", the principal Assyrian idol.] There is only one Book that never grows old. For thousands of years men have been writing books. Most books are forgotten soon after they are written; a few of the best and wisest are remembered for a time. But all at last grow old; new discoveries are made; new ideas arise; the old books are out of date; their usefulness is at an end. Students are the only people who still care to read them. The nations to which the …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making The First Commandment
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' Exod 20: 3. Why is the commandment in the second person singular, Thou? Why does not God say, You shall have no other gods? Because the commandment concerns every one, and God would have each one take it as spoken to him by name. Though we are forward to take privileges to ourselves, yet we are apt to shift off duties from ourselves to others; therefore the commandment is in the second person, Thou and Thou, that every one may know that it is spoken to him, …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments The Prophet Amos.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. It will not be necessary to extend our preliminary remarks on the prophet Amos, since on the main point--viz., the circumstances under which he appeared as a prophet--the introduction to the prophecies of Hosea may be regarded as having been written for those of Amos also. For, according to the inscription, they belong to the same period at which Hosea's prophetic ministry began, viz., the latter part of the reign of Jeroboam II., and after Uzziah had ascended the …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Kings
The book[1] of Kings is strikingly unlike any modern historical narrative. Its comparative brevity, its curious perspective, and-with some brilliant exceptions--its relative monotony, are obvious to the most cursory perusal, and to understand these things is, in large measure, to understand the book. It covers a period of no less than four centuries. Beginning with the death of David and the accession of Solomon (1 Kings i., ii.) it traverses his reign with considerable fulness (1 Kings iii.-xi.), …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links 2 Kings 19:13 NIV2 Kings 19:13 NLT2 Kings 19:13 ESV2 Kings 19:13 NASB2 Kings 19:13 KJV
2 Kings 19:13 Commentaries
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