Assyria

How Nave’s arranged it

• An empire founded by NimrodGenesis 10:8–12Micah 5:6
• It extended from east of the TigrisGenesis 2:14Genesis 10:11
• Possibly to EgyptGenesis 25:18
• Its armies invade the land of Israel under Pul2 Kings 15:191 Chronicles 5:26
• Tiglath2 Kings 15:291 Chronicles 5:61 Chronicles 5:26
• Shalmaneser2 Kings 17:3–62 Kings 17:24–272 Kings 18:9–12Jeremiah 50:17
• Sennacherib2 Kings 18:13–372 Kings 192 Chronicles 32Isaiah 36Isaiah 37
• Army of, destroyed by the angel of the LordIsaiah 37:36
• Alliances with, sought by Judah and IsraelHosea 5:13
• Israelites subject toLamentations 5:6
• Israelites carried captive into2 Kings 17:3–23
• Jews carried captive to2 Kings 242 Kings 252 Chronicles 36:5–21

The passages, in Bible order (48)

The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 16 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.

1. Genesis 2:14

   The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it runs along the east side of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

   ›Commentary on Genesis 2:142 voices

   “The fourth river is the Euphrates, which means in Latin "fecundity and abundance of fruits." It presents a symbol of justice, the nourishment of every soul. No virtue produces more abundant benefits than equity or justice, which is more concerned with others than with itself, neglecting its own advantages and preferring the common good. Many derive Euphrates from the Greek apo tou euphrainesthai, that is, from a "feeling of gladness," because the human race rejoices in nothing more than it does in justice and equity.

   “The name of the third river is Hiddekel,.... A river which ran by Shushan in Persia, and retained its name in the times of Daniel, Dan 10:4 where it is called the great river; and it seems it bears the same name now among the Persians; at least it did an hundred and fifty years ago, when Rauwolff (m) travelled in those parts.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 2:14→

   Verse page →Original language →

2. Genesis 10:8–12

   Cush was the father of Nimrod, who began to be a mighty one on the earth.

   ›Commentary on Genesis 10:8–121 voice

   “Nimrod - Of this person little is known, as he is not mentioned except here and in 1Ch 1:10, which is evidently a copy of the text in Genesis. He is called a mighty hunter before the Lord; and from Gen 10:10, we learn that he founded a kingdom which included the cities Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Though the words are not definite, it is very likely he was a very bad man.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 10:8–12→

   Verse page →Original language →

3. Genesis 10:11

   From that land he went forth into Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah,

   ›Commentary on Genesis 10:112 voices

   “(Verse 11) From that land came Assur, and he built Nineveh and the city of Rehoboth. From this land of the Assyrians, the empire sprouted, founded by Ninus, son of Belus, and it is a great city which the Hebrews call Nineveh. The entire prophecy of Jonah pertains to its destruction or repentance. And when it says 'Nineveh and the city of Rehoboth,' we should not think that there are two cities, but because Rehoboth means streets, it should be read as 'And he built Nineveh, and the streets of the city.'

   “Out of that land went forth Asshur - The marginal reading is to be preferred here. He - Nimrod, went out into Assyria and built Nineveh; and hence Assyria is called the land of Nimrod, Mic 5:6. Thus did this mighty hunter extend his dominions in every possible way. The city of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, is supposed to have had its name from Ninus, the son of Nimrod; but probably Ninus and Nimrod are the same person.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 10:11→

   Verse page →Original language →

4. Genesis 25:18

   Ishmael’s descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which is near the border of Egypt as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.

   ›Commentary on Genesis 25:181 voice

   “They dwelt from Havilah unto Shur - The descendants of Ishmael possessed all that country which extends from east to west, from Havilah on the Euphrates, near its junction with the Tigris, to the desert of Shur eastward of Egypt; and which extends along the isthmus of Suez, which separates the Red Sea from the Mediterranean. As thou goest toward Assyria - “These words,” says Calmet, “may refer either to Egypt, to Shur, or to Havilah. The desert of Shur is on the road from Egypt to Assyria in traversing Arabia Petraea, and in passing by the country of Havilah.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 25:18→

   Verse page →Original language →

5. 2 Kings 15:19

   Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver in order to gain his support and strengthen his own grip on the kingdom.

   ›Commentary on 2 Kings 15:191 voice

   “This is the first distinct mention which we find in Scripture of Assyria as an aggressive power. From the native monuments we learn that she had been for above a century pushing her conquests beyond the Euphrates, and seeking to reduce under her dominion the entire tract between that river and Egypt. Jehu had paid tribute. Some - arguing from the use of the phrase “confirmed the kingdom” (here, and in 2Ki 14:5) - think that Jehoahaz had acknowledged Assyrian suzerainty, and consented that her monarchs should receive their investiture from the hands of the Ninevite king.

   Everything gathered on 2 Kings 15:19→

   Verse page →Original language →

6. 2 Kings 15:29

   In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people as captives to Assyria.

   ›Commentary on 2 Kings 15:292 voices

   “Tiglath-Pileser is the first among the Assyrian monarchs of Scripture whom we can certainly identify with a king mentioned in the monuments. According to the Assyrian Dr. he reigned from 745 B.C. to 727 B.C.; and the monuments show us this energetic and powerful prince (though, probably, an usurper), building and repairing palaces, levying armies, and carrying on successful wars against Merodach-Baladan in Babylonia, Rezin at Damascus, Hiram at; Tyre, the Medes, the Armenians, the natives of Northern Mesopotamia, and the Arabs who bordered upon Egypt.

   “Nothing does more towards the making of a nation an easy prey to a common enemy than intestine broils and contests for the sovereignty. Happy the land where that is settled. This was the condition of Israel just before they were quite ruined and carried away captive, for that was in the ninth year of Hoshea, the last of these usurpers.

   Everything gathered on 2 Kings 15:29→

   Verse page →Original language →

7. 2 Kings 17:3–6

   Shalmaneser king of Assyria attacked him, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute.

   ›Commentary on 2 Kings 17:3–62 voices

   “Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria,.... Which some take to be the same with Tiglathpileser, see 1Ch 5:26 but he rather seems to be his son; his name was to be found, as Josephus (w) relates, in the archives of the Tyrians, against whom he had an expedition; his name is Salmanassar in Metasthenes (x), who says he reigned seventeen years: and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents, to depart from him; he became tributary to him, and agreed to pay him a yearly tax. (w) Antiqu. l. 9. c. 14. sect.

   “Of Shalmaneser, the successor of Tiglath-pileser in the Assyrian Canon, we know little from Assyrian sources, since his records have been mutilated by his successors, the Sargonids, who were of a wholly different family. The archives of Tyre mention him as contemporary with, and warring against, a Tyrian king named Elulaeus. The expedition, referred to here, was probably in the first year of Shalmaneser (727 B.C.). Its main object was the reduction of Phoenicia, which had re-asserted its independence, but (except Tyre) was once more completely reduced.

   Everything gathered on 2 Kings 17:3–6→

   Verse page →Original language →

8. 2 Kings 17:24–27

   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.

   ›Commentary on 2 Kings 17:24–272 voices

   “The Hebrews, however, call a guard somer, and thus they also hand on in their tradition that the Samaritans first received this name because the king of the Assyrians sent them to be guards of the land of Israel after the captivity, that is, that other Israel besides Judah, which was taken captive into Assyria because of their many sins.

   “The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon - He removed one people entirely, and substituted others in their place; and this he did to cut off all occasion for mutiny or insurrection; for the people being removed from their own land, had no object worthy of attention to contend for, and no patrimony in the land of their captivity to induce them to hazard any opposition to their oppressors.

   Everything gathered on 2 Kings 17:24–27→

   Verse page →Original language →

9. 2 Kings 18:9–12

   In the fourth year of Hezekiah’s reign, which was the seventh year of the reign of Hoshea son of Elah over Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and besieged it.

   ›Commentary on 2 Kings 18:9–121 voice

   “These verses repeat the account given in the marginal reference. The extreme importance of the event may account for the double insertion.

   Everything gathered on 2 Kings 18:9–12→

   Verse page →Original language →

10. 2 Kings 18:13–37

    In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked and captured all the fortified cities of Judah.

    ›Commentary on 2 Kings 18:13–372 voices

    “In the fourteenth year - This note of time, which places the invasion of Sennacherib eight years only after the capture of Samaria, is hopelessly at variance with the Assyrian dates for the two events, the first of which falls into the first of Sargon, and the second into the fourth of Sennacherib, twenty-one years later. We have therefore to choose between an entire rejection of the Assyrian chronological data, and an emendation of the present passage. Of the emendations proposed the simplest is to remove the note of time altogether, regarding it as having crept in from the margin.

    “The king of Assyria took all or most of the fenced cities of Judah, the frontier-towns and the garrisons, and then all the rest fell into his hands of course. The confusion which the country was put into by this invasion is described by the prophet, Isa. x.

    Everything gathered on 2 Kings 18:13–37→

    Verse page →Original language →

11. 2 Kings 19:1

    On hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.

    ›Commentary on 2 Kings 19:11 voice

    “Hezekiah, like his officers, probably rent his clothes on account of Rab-shakeh’s blasphemies: and he put on sackcloth in self-humiliation and in grief. The only hope left was in Yahweh, for Egypt could not be trusted to effect anything of importance. Rab-shakeh’s boldness had told upon Hezekiah. He was dispirited and dejected. He perhaps began to doubt whether he had done right in yielding to the bolder counsels of Eliakim and Isaiah. He had not lost his faith in God; but his faith was being severely tried. He wisely went and strove by prayer to strengthen it.

    Everything gathered on 2 Kings 19:1→

    Verse page →Original language →

12. 2 Kings 23:29

    At the end of Josiah’s reign, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt marched up to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went out to confront him, but Neco faced him and killed him at Megiddo.

    ›Commentary on 2 Kings 23:292 voices

    “Nobody must think that anything was detracted to the celerity of death because of one's merits. Enoch was kidnapped, lest malice might spoil his heart, and Josiah, who celebrated the Passover of the Lord in the eighteenth year of his reign in such a manner that he overcame in piousness all the previous kings, did not survive longer through the merits of his faith. No, rather, because grievous destruction threatened the Jewish people, the just king was taken away beforehand.

    “Pharaoh-Nechoh - This king is well known to us both from profane historians, and from the Egyptian monuments. He succeeded his father Psammetichus (Psamatik) in the year 610 B.C., and was king of Egypt for 16 years. He was an enlightened and enterprising monarch. The great expedition here mentioned was an attempt to detach from the newly-formed Babylonian empire the important tract of country extending from Egypt to the Euphrates at Carchemish.

    Everything gathered on 2 Kings 23:29→

    Verse page →Original language →

13. 2 Kings 24:1

    During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded. So Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, until he turned and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.

    ›Commentary on 2 Kings 24:12 voices

    Necessarily, too, the Lord gives us this admonition, to say in our prayer, "And lead us not into temptation." In this part it is shown that the adversary has no power against us, unless God has previously permitted it, in order that all our fear and devotion and obedience may be turned to God, since in temptations nothing evil is permitted, unless the power is granted by him. Scripture proves this when it says, "Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came against Jerusalem and assaulted it, and the Lord gave it into his hand."

    “In his days - i. e., 605 B.C., which was the third completed Dan 1:1, and fourth commencing Jer 25:1, year of Jehoiakim. Nebuchadnezzar - or Nebuchadrezzar, which is closer to the original, Nabu-kudurri-uzur. This name, like most Babylonian names, is made up of three elements, Nebo, the well-known god Isa 46:1, kudur, of doubtful signification (perhaps “crown” perhaps “landmark”), and uzur “protects.” Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabopolassar, and second monarch of the Babylonian empire, ascended the throne, 604 B.C., and reigned 43 years, dying 561 B.C.

    Everything gathered on 2 Kings 24:1→

    Verse page →Original language →

14. 2 Kings 25:1

    So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army. They encamped outside the city and built a siege wall all around it.

    ›Commentary on 2 Kings 25:12 voices

    “What think you of Nebuchadnezzar? Have you not heard from Scripture that he was bloodthirsty, fierce, with the disposition of a lion? Have you not heard that he disinterred the kings? Have you not heard that he brought the people away into captivity? Have you not heard that he put the king's sons to the sword before Zedekiah's eyes and then blinded him? Have you not heard that he shattered the cherubim?

    “And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign,.... Of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah. From hence to the end of 2Ki 25:7, the account exactly agrees with Jer 52:4.

    Everything gathered on 2 Kings 25:1→

    Verse page →Original language →

15. 1 Chronicles 5:6

    and Beerah his son, whom Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria carried into exile.

    ›Commentary on 1 Chronicles 5:61 voice

    “Beerah his son - After their separation from the house of David the ten tribes continued to have princes of the tribes; and this continued till the time that Tiglath-pileser carried them captives into Assyria. At that time Beerah was their prince or chief; and with him this species of dominion or precedency terminated. According to the Targum, Beerah was the same as Baruch the prophet.

    Everything gathered on 1 Chronicles 5:6→

    Verse page →Original language →

16. 1 Chronicles 5:26

    So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria) to take the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. And he brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan, where they remain to this day.

    ›Commentary on 1 Chronicles 5:261 voice

    “Tilgath-pilneser - Many MSS. have תגלת Tiglath instead of תלגת Tilgath. The Syriac, the Septuagint, and the Chaldee, have the same reading as in 2Ki 15:29, etc. Brought them unto Halah - See the notes on 2Ki 17:6 (note), and 2Ki 18:11 (note), for many particulars of these wars, and consequent captivity. It is a pity that some method were not found out to harmonize the books of Kings with the books of Chronicles, that the variations might be seen at one view.

    Everything gathered on 1 Chronicles 5:26→

    Verse page →Original language →