Isaiah 37:13 kjv
Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?
Isaiah 37:13 nkjv
Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?' "
Isaiah 37:13 niv
Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?"
Isaiah 37:13 esv
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 nlt
What happened to the king of Hamath and the king of Arpad? What happened to the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?"
Isaiah 37 13 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isa 36:18-20 | "...let not Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD by saying, 'The LORD will surely deliver us.' Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land..." | Immediate context; Sennacherib's similar challenge to Judah's faith. |
| Isa 37:11-12 | "...all the lands which the kings of Assyria have destroyed..." | Directly precedes our verse, establishing the context of Assyrian conquest. |
| Isa 37:23 | "Whom have you taunted and reviled? Against whom have you raised your voice... against the Holy One of Israel!" | God's response to Assyrian blasphemy, emphasizing His uniqueness. |
| 2 Ki 18:33-35 | "Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?...Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad?..." | Parallel account in Kings, same rhetoric, identical cities listed. |
| 2 Ki 19:12-13 | "...Did the gods of the nations deliver them, which my fathers have destroyed...where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad..." | Hezekiah's prayer quotes Sennacherib's very words back to God. |
| Ps 33:10 | "The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He frustrates the plans of the peoples." | God's ultimate sovereignty over nations' plans. |
| Ps 115:3-7 | "Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases...Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands." | Contrast between the true God and powerless idols/false gods. |
| Jer 10:11-12 | "...The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth...He made the earth by His power..." | Emphasizes the transient nature of false gods vs. God the Creator. |
| Hab 1:6 | "For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings that are not their own." | God sometimes uses wicked nations as instruments of judgment. |
| Ps 76:12 | "He cuts off the spirit of princes; He is to be feared by the kings of the earth." | God's power over earthly rulers and their might. |
| Ps 46:1 | "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." | Contrast to Sennacherib's message, affirming God's protection for His people. |
| Ps 135:5-6 | "For I know that the LORD is great and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps." | God's absolute sovereignty, transcending any perceived power of idols. |
| Isa 10:12 | "When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughty looks." | God's coming judgment on Assyria for its pride. |
| Dan 4:37 | "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are right and His ways are just; and those who walk in pride He is able to humble." | God's ability to humble proud kings (Nebuchadnezzar's later understanding). |
| Joel 2:27 | "Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else." | God's declaration of His unique presence and identity as Israel's only God. |
| Isa 31:1 | "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots...but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD!" | Warning against trusting in human or foreign power instead of God. |
| Acts 17:24 | "The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man." | Affirms God's transcendence beyond any localized or humanly contained power. |
| Lk 1:52 | "He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate." | Echoes the theme of God humbling the proud and powerful. |
| 1 Cor 1:27 | "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong." | Illustrates God's reversal of worldly power dynamics. |
| Rom 1:21-23 | "For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God...and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man..." | Consequences of turning away from the true God to idolatry. |
| Exod 15:11 | "Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?" | Israel's foundational song proclaiming God's uniqueness and supremacy over all "gods". |
| Rev 19:16 | "On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords." | Jesus' ultimate triumph and supreme authority over all earthly kings. |
Isaiah 37 verses
Isaiah 37 13 Meaning
Isaiah 37:13 relays a taunt from the Assyrian King Sennacherib, delivered through his Rabshakeh, to King Hezekiah and the people of Judah. It is a rhetorical question designed to instill fear and demonstrate the supposed futility of resisting Assyrian power. By listing previously conquered cities and their absent kings, Sennacherib asserts that the God of Judah is no more capable of saving Jerusalem than the gods of those fallen cities were of saving their own rulers. The underlying message is that Judah should not trust in their God or any alliance, as their fate will be the same as these mighty, now vanquished, cities and their leaders.
Isaiah 37 13 Context
This verse is embedded in the narrative of Sennacherib's invasion of Judah, specifically during his siege of Jerusalem around 701 BCE. King Hezekiah had earlier rebelled against Assyria and sought an alliance with Egypt, incurring Sennacherib's wrath. The Assyrian king's army systematically conquered fortified cities of Judah before laying siege to Jerusalem. The immediate context of Isaiah 37 is the Rabshakeh, Sennacherib's field commander, addressing the people of Jerusalem and King Hezekiah's officials, urging them to surrender. His speech is filled with military boasting, psychological warfare, and blasphemous comparisons, implying that Judah's God, the Lord, is just another regional deity unable to protect His people from the superior might of Assyria. This verse specifically lists cities that Assyria had already decisively conquered, challenging Judah to believe their God could do any better.
Isaiah 37 13 Word analysis
- Where is (איה - 'ay-yeh): A rhetorical question, not seeking information but emphasizing absence and the complete downfall of those being asked about. It highlights a tragic void, signaling their utter defeat and powerlessness.
- the king (מֶלֶךְ - melek): Refers to a sovereign ruler. In the context, these kings represent the independent authority, military power, and spiritual protection (via their city's gods) of their respective cities or states. Their disappearance underscores Assyria's triumph over not just their people, but their very leadership and governing structure.
- of Hamath (חֲמָת - Ḥamath): A prominent Syrian city-state, known for its strategic location and once powerful kingdom. Its fall to Assyria (likely Tiglath-Pileser III or Sargon II, pre-dating Sennacherib's campaign against Judah) was a major defeat for northern Syria. The inclusion signals a vast reach of Assyrian dominance.
- and the king of Arpad (אַשַׁמַת - 'Arpad): Another significant Syrian city, a traditional ally or sometimes rival of Hamath. Its conquest by Assyria around 740 BCE by Tiglath-Pileser III was well-known, solidifying Assyrian control over the northern Levant. Grouping it with Hamath strengthens the rhetorical impact.
- and the king of the city of Sepharvaim (סְפַרְוַיִם - Sepharvayim): An unidentified city, possibly in northern Syria or Mesopotamia, noted for being an area from which Assyrian colonists were brought to Samaria after its fall (2 Ki 17:24). The name signifies another foreign conquest by Assyria, whose gods were evidently no match for the Assyrian military machine. The term 'city of' emphasizes it as a known, distinct urban center.
- Hena (הֵנַע - He-na‘): Another city whose precise location is debated, often linked to places in Mesopotamia or northern Syria. Like the others, its inclusion points to a specific Assyrian conquest, though perhaps less renowned than Hamath or Arpad to the broader public, reinforcing the thoroughness of Assyrian campaigns.
- and Ivah (וְעִוָּה - w-Ivvah): Also spelled ‘Avvah (2 Ki 17:24) or 'Awwa, this city, too, has an uncertain location but is consistently listed among the conquered cities in Assyrian records and the Bible. It further extends the geographical scope of Assyrian dominion and serves to magnify their military prowess.
- "Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?" This entire phrase functions as a litany of fallen powers. It’s a classic ancient Near Eastern psychological tactic used to project overwhelming strength and instill dread. The repetitive "and the king of" structure builds a cumulative effect, demonstrating that no king, no city, and by extension, no god, could withstand Assyria. This direct challenge targeted Judah’s trust in Yahweh, positing Him as just another localized deity like those who failed to protect Hamath or Arpad. The answer, implied, is "They are gone, overthrown, their power ended," thereby suggesting the inevitable fate for Judah and its King.
Isaiah 37 13 Bonus section
The list of cities—Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah—represents the depth and breadth of Assyrian conquests, spanning different geographical regions in Syria and Mesopotamia. Each name would have conjured memories of significant past battles and the crushing defeats inflicted by Assyrian forces. The deliberate repetition of "the king of" followed by specific locations emphasizes that it was not just a city, but its entire leadership and governing structure, and implicitly its patron deity, that had been overthrown. The rhetorical question demands no answer because the devastating reality of these conquests was widely known, serving as an intimidating historical precedent meant to undermine the resolve of Jerusalem. This forms a direct polemic against the idea that any god could save a people from the "gods" (or military might) of Assyria, thus directly challenging Yahweh's unique power and role as Israel's deliverer.
Isaiah 37 13 Commentary
Isaiah 37:13 stands as a pivotal moment of rhetorical combat in Sennacherib's psychological war against Judah. It's not a mere list of cities, but a calculated and menacing boast, illustrating the Assyrian policy of total subjugation—kings disappear, gods are shown impotent, and independent cities cease to exist. This taunt aims to crush any hope Hezekiah or the people of Jerusalem might place in the Lord, framing God as just another powerless deity among the gods of the vanquished nations. Sennacherib leverages past victories to prophesy future ones, creating a chilling sense of inevitability. Yet, within the divine narrative, this blatant blasphemy and arrogance of human power directly sets up the dramatic divine intervention where God would decisively humble the boastful Assyrian king, revealing His unmatched sovereignty. This serves as a stark warning against pride and against trusting in worldly power over the living God.