Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 10:9

[Is] not Calno as Carchemish? [is] not Hamath as Arpad? [is] not Samaria as Damascus?

9. The six cities are enumerated in geographical order from north to south, the first of each pair being, however, nearer to Jerusalem than the second. (1) The site of Carchemish (Ass. Gargamsh) was identified by Mr G. Smith with the ruins of Jerabs on the right bank of the Euphrates. As a great centre of the Hittite confederacy it had been frequently subdued by Assyrian kings, and was ultimately incorporated in the Empire by Sargon in 717. (2) Calno is probably Kullani, a city near Arpad, captured by Tiglath-pileser III. about 738. It is probably identical with the Calneh mentioned in Amo 6:2; but quite distinct from the Babylonian Calnh of Gen 10:10. (3) Arpad (now Tell Erfd, about 15 miles north of Aleppo) was taken about 740 by Tiglath-pileser. (4) Hamath ( Hamah, on the Orontes, about half way between Carchemish and Damascus) was taken by Tiglath-pileser in 738 and again by Sargon in 720. (5) Damascus fell about 732 and (6) Samaria in 722.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Is not Calno as Carchemish? – The meaning of this confident boasting is, that none of the cities and nations against which be had directed his arms, had been able to resist him. All had fallen before him; and all were alike prostrate at his feet. Carchemish had been unable to resist him, and Calno had shared the same fate. Arpad had fallen before him, and Hamath in like manner had been subdued. The words which are used here are the same nearly that Rabshakeh used when he was sent by Sennacherib to insult Hezekiah and the Jews; Isa 36:19; 2Ki 18:34. Calno was a city in the land of Shinar, and was probably the city built by Nimrod, called in Gen 10:10, Calneh, and at one time the capital of his empire. It is mentioned by Ezekiel, Eze 27:23. According to the Targums, Jerome, Eusebius, and others, Calno or Calneh, was the same city as Ctesiphon, a large city on the bank of the Tigris, and opposite to Selcucia. – Gesenius and Calmet.

Carchemish – This was a city on the Euphrates, belonging to Assyria. It was taken by Necho, king of Egypt, and re-taken by Nebuchadnezzar in the fourth year of Jehoiachin, king of Judah; 2Ki 23:29. Probably it is the same city as Cercusium, or Kirkisia, which is situated in the angle formed by the junction of the Chebar and the Euphrates; compare Jer 46:2; 2Ch 25:20.

Hamath – This was a celebrated city of Syria. It is referred to in Gen 10:18, as the seat of one of the tribes of Canaan. It is often mentioned as the northern limit of Canaan. in its widest extent; Num 13:21; Jos 13:5; Jdg 3:3. The Assyrians became masters of this city about 753 years before Christ; 2Ki 17:24. Burckhardt mentions this city as situated on both sides of the river Orontes. The town is at present of considerable extent, and contains about 30,000 inhabitants. There are four bridges over the Orontes, in the town. The trade of the town now is with the Arabs, who buy here their tent-furniture, and their clothes. This city was visited by Eli Smith, in 1834. It lies, says he, on the narrow valley of the Asy; and is so nearly concealed by the high banks, that one sees little of it until he actually comes up to the gates: see Robinsons Bib. Researches, vol. iii. App. pp. 176, 177.

Arpad – This city was not far from Hamath, and is called by the Greeks Epiphania; 2Ki 18:34.

Samaria – The capital of Israel, or Ephraim. From the mention of this place, it is evident that this prophecy was written after Samaria had been destroyed; see the notes at Isa 7:9; Isa 28:1.

As Damascus – The capital of Syria; see the note at Isa 7:9, and the Analysis of Isa 17:1-14. The Septuagint has varied in their translation here considerably from the Hebrew. They render these verses, And he saith, Have I not taken the region beyond Babylon, and Chalane, where the tower was built? and I have taken Arabia, and Damascus, and Samaria. The main idea, however – the boast of the king of Assyria, is retained.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Is not Calno as Carchemish? have not I conquered one place as well as another, the stronger as well as the weaker? Have I not from time to time added new conquests to the old? Calno seems to be the same with Calneh, Gen 10:10; Amo 6:2, a great and strong city. Carchemish was a city upon Euphrates, of which 2Ch 35:20; Jer 46:2.

Is not Hamath as Arpad? Hamath was an eminent city of Syria, not far from Euphrates, called Hemath, or Hamath the great, Amo 6:2; of which see 2Ki 14:28; 17:24; Jer 49:23. Arpad seems to have been an obscure place, not being elsewhere named. Is not that as soon conquered as this?

Is not Samaria as Damascus? or, shall not Samaria be as Damascus? Shall I not take that as I have done this city? For although Damascus possibly was not yet taken by the Assyrian, yet the prophet speaks of it as actually taken, because these words are prophetically delivered, and supposed to be uttered by the king of Assyria at or about the siege of Samaria, when Damascus was taken.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

9. Is not . . . asWas thereany one of these cities able to withstand me? Not one. So Rab-shakehvaunts (Isa 36:19).

CalnoCalneh, built byNimrod (Ge 10:10), once hiscapital, on the Tigris.

CarchemishCircesium,on the Euphrates. Taken afterwards by Necho, king of Egypt; andretaken by Nebuchadnezzar: by the Euphrates (Jer46:2).

Hamathin Syria, northof Canaan (Ge 10:18). Taken byAssyria about 753 B.C.From it colonists were planted by Assyria in Samaria.

Arpadnear Hamath.

Samarianow overthrown.

Damascus (Isa 17:1;Isa 17:3).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

[Is] not Calno as Carchemish?…. 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, 2Ch 35:20 called by Ammianus k Circusium; the Syriac version calls it Barchemosh; and Calno is the same with Calneh in the land of Shinar, a city built by Nimrod, Ge 10:10 in the Septuagint version it is called Chalane, and it is added,

“where the tower was built;”

from whence the country, called by Pliny l 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 2Ki 18:34 and are both mentioned along with Damascus, Jer 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 Isa 7:8 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.”

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

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

9. Is not Calno as Carchemish? Here he mentions by name certain cities, though others think that they were countries; but it is more probable that they were cities, or some fortified places. “Shall it not happen,” says he, “to those places which I have not yet subdued as it has happened to others that opposed me?” He therefore compares Calno, Arpad, and Samaria, which he afterwards subdued, to Carchemish, Hamath, and Damascus, which he had formerly subdued, and says that those will not be stronger than these. Thus wicked men are wont to boast and talk proudly of their former actions, so as to imagine that they will break through every obstruction, and that nothing can stand in the way of their plans and exertions, and even think that they will accomplish everything without the will or knowledge of God.

When we read this history, let us learn that we ought not to be proud of having been strong, or of having succeeded to our wish; for he who hath exalted us will be able to cast us down. And if he reproves the Assyrian for that haughtiness, how much more ought they to be reproved who ascribe to themselves the praise of righteousness and holiness, as if they could be regenerated by their own power; for it cannot be doubted that they rob God of his honor, and claim for themselves what belongs to him!

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(9) Is not Calno as Carchemish?The six names obviously pointed to more recent conquests in which Sargon and his predecessors had exulted. One after another they had fallen. Could Judah hope to escape? (1) Calno, the Calneh of Gen. 10:10, Amo. 6:2. That prophet had held up its fate in vain as a warning to Samaria. It has been identified by Kay with Ctesiphon on the east bank of the Tigris, by Lenormant (Manual, i. 80) with Ur of the Chaldees and with the ruins known now as the Mugheir, by Rawlinson (Five Great Monarchies, i. 20) with Nipur. The Assyrian form, Kil-Anu, means the house or temple of Anu, an Assyrian deity). Sennacherib (Lenormant i. 398), speaks of having reconquered it after a Chaldean revolt, and sold its inhabitants as slaves. The LXX. version, which instead of naming Carchemish, gives Calan, where the tower was built, seems to imply a tradition identifying that city with the Tower of Babel of Gen. 11:4. (2) Carchemish. Few cities of the ancient world occupied a more prominent position than this. Its name has been explained as meaning the Tower of Chemosh, and so bears witness to the widespread cultus of the deity whom we meet with in Biblical history as the abomination of the Moabites (1Ki. 11:7). It has been commonly identified with the Circesium of Greek historians, but the inscriptions found by Mr. George Smith at Tarabolos (the Hierapolis of the Greeks) on the banks of the Euphrates, at its junction with the Kyabur, prove that this is the true representative of the great commercial city of the old Hittite kings (Times, Aug. 23, 1876). Its importance is shown by the frequent occurrence of the name, in its Egyptian form of Karakumusha, in the record of Egyptian kings. Thothmes I. (circa B.C. 1600) conquered it, and, as a result of his campaign, strengthened the forces of Egypt with the chariots and horses for which it was afterwards conspicuous (Lenormant, Manual, 1 p. 229). Thothmes III. built a fortress there to guard the passage of the Euphrates (ibid. 1 p. 232), the ruins of which, with Egyptian inscriptions and works of Egyptian manufacture, have recently been found there (ibid. 1 p.,263). It revolted against Ramses II. (the Sesostris of the Greeks), with the Hittites and Phnicians, and other nations, but was subdued by him in the expedition in which the victorious issue is recorded on the monument on the Nahr-el-Kelb near Beyrt. Shalmaneser IV. (contemporary with Ahab) records that he demolished and burnt it (ibid. 1 p. 380). Tiglath-pileser II., the king to whom Ahaz paid tribute, received tribute from its king in B.C. 742 (ibid. 1 p. 389). The last two victories are probably referred to in the boast now before us. At a later period it was conspicuous for the great defeat of Pharaoh Nechos army by Nebuchadnezzar (see notes on Jer. 46:2). Its commercial importance is indicated by the fact that the mana (Heb., manah) of Carchemish appears in numerous cuneiform inscriptions as the standard weight of the time, just as that of Troyes, in the commerce of the Middle Ages, is shown by the survival of the name in the Troy weight of our arithmetic books (Records of the Past, vii. 114).

Is not Hamath as Arpad?(1) Hamath on the Orontes, the capital of an Araman kingdom, was prominent in the history of the East. Under its kings Toi and Joram it paid tribute to David (2Sa. 8:9-10). It fell under the power of Jeroboam II. of Israel (2Ki. 14:25). In conjunction with Damascus it revolted against Shalmaneser IV., and was subdued by him (Lenormants Manual, 1 p. 380). Its king was first among the tributary princes under Tiglath-pileser II. after having joined with Pekah and Rezin in their revolt (ibid. 1 p. 389). Lastly, to come to the date of the present prophecy, it again revolted, in conjunction, as before, with Damascus and Samaria, and was again subdued by Sargon (ibid. 1 p. 393). (2) Of the early history of Arpad we know less, but it appears as having sustained a three years siege from the forces of Tiglath-pileser II. It joined Hamath in its revolt against Sargon, and was again, as this verse implies, subdued by him. It is always united in the Old Testament with Hamath (Isa. 36:19; Isa. 37:13). Under the name of Erfad it is still traceable about nine miles from Aleppo (Lenormant, 1 pp. 389, 393).

Is not Samaria as Damascus?These cities, which under Rezin and Remaliah had, as we have seen (Isaiah 7) revolted against Tiglath-pileser, and the latter of which had sought to strengthen itself by an alliance with the Egyptian king So, or Sabaco (2Ki. 17:4), of the Ethiopian dynasty, against Shalmaneser IV., close for the present the list of Sargons conquests.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

9. Is not Calno as Carchemish Rawlinson puts Calno, or Calneh, sixty miles southeast by east from Babylon. Carchemish, he thinks, is not the classical Circesium, but lay higher up the Euphrates.

Hamath Arpad Both were in Syria; the former is the present Hamah on the Orontes; the latter is not now identified, but it lay probably near Hamath. See Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible.

Samaria as Damascus Both capitals, one of Israel, the other of Syria. The latter was the first to be taken, hence the comparison. All these were easy to take by such an overgrown power. The very question, “Is not Samaria as Damascus?” (that is, is it not as easy to take?) implies the former as yet untaken; hence the time is yet within the reign of Ahaz.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Isa 10:9 [Is] not Calno as Carchemish? [is] not Hamath as Arpad? [is] not Samaria as Damascus?

Ver. 9. Is not Calno as Carchemish? ] Here in a vaunt he reckoneth up six royal cities vanquished by himself and his ancestors; and boasteth how with a wet finger, as we say, he had taken in all the country between Nineveh and Jerusalem. Of the destruction of Calno and Hamath, see Amo 6:2 .

Is not Hamath. ] Afterwards called Antiochia.

As Arpad? ] Hear how this proud braggard:

“ Proiecit ampullas et sesquipedalia verba! ”

Is not Samaria as Damascus? ] Have not I subdued them both pari fortitudine et felicitate?

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)