Isaiah 20:1-21:17 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-6

God here, as King of nations, brings a sore calamity upon Egypt and Ethiopia, but, as King of saints, brings good to his people out of it. Observe, I. The date of this prophecy. It was in the year that Ashdod, a strong city of the Philistines (but which some think was lately recovered from them by Hezekiah, when he smote the Philistines even unto Gaza, 2 Kgs. 18:8), was besieged and taken by an army of the Assyrians. It is uncertain what year of Hezekiah that was, but the event was so... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 20:1

In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod ,.... Or Azotus, as the Septuagint here call it; and which is its name in the New Testament; see Gill on Acts 8:40 . This Tartan, or whom the Septuagint names Tanathan, and the Arabic version Tathan, was one of Sennacherib's generals, 2 Kings 18:17 , (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him) ; to the above place to besiege it. This Sargon is generally thought to be the same with Sennacherib, since Tartan was one of his generals, who might... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:1

In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod ; rather, a tartan . The word was not a proper name, but a title of office, equivalent to surena among the Parthians, and signifying "commander-in-chief." The tartan held the second position in the empire. Isaiah has been accused of having confounded together the two sieges of Ashdod (Cheyne); but if one was conducted by the tartan, and the other by Sargon in person, his words would distinguish as perfectly as possible which siege he meant. ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-3

Unpleasant service. It may always remain uncertain whether Isaiah went stripped and barefoot for three whole years or for a shorter period. Two things, however, are quite certain, viz. that for some time, longer or shorter, this servant of Jehovah (verse 3) went about Jerusalem in that humiliating condition, and that he would have unhesitatingly done this all the time if God had required him to do so. Many suggestions have been made on the subject, but it does not occur to any one to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-4

Foolish trust rebuked by a strange sign. Few things are so difficult as to bring men to rely wholly and solely upon God. The circumstances of the time were these. Humanly speaking, Judaea lay absolutely at the mercy of Assyria. There was no existing power or combination of powers that could successfully contend at the time against the vast bodies of well-armed and well-disciplined soldiers which a king of Assyria could bring into the field. Nothing could prolong Jewish independence for more... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-6

A PROPHECY AGAINST EGYPT AND ETHIOPIA . The Assyrian inscriptions enable us to date this prophecy with a near approach to exactness. Ashdod was besieged by an Assyrian army twice in the reign of Sargon—in his ninth year and in his eleventh year. On the former occasion it is probable that the arms of a general (Tartan) were employed; on the latter it is nearly certain that Sargon made the expedition in person. The capture of Ashdod, here mentioned, is consequently the first... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-6

The prophet as a sign. I. THE HISTORICAL CIRCUMSTANCES . The illusion of Egyptian unity had passed away again. The country was broken up under the rule of a number of petty kings, of whom Shabak, or So, or Seve ( 2 Kings 17:4 ), was one. Negotiations seem to have been begun between Judah and Egypt, probably as a resource against the Assyrian. Ashdod was laid siege to by the Assyrians about B.C. 713-711, and the inhabitants carried off captives. And Judah's name appears in the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 20:1

In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod - Tartan was one of the generals of Sennacherib. Ashdod, called by the Greeks Azotus, was a seaport on the Mediterranean, between Askelon and Ekron, and not far from Gaza (Reland’s “Palestine,” iii.) It was one of the five cities of the Philistines, assigned to the tribe of Judah, but never conquered by them Joshua 13:8; Joshua 15:46-47. The temple of Dagon stood here; and here the ark of God was brought after the fatal battle of Eben-ezer (1 Samuel 5:1,... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 20:1

Isaiah 20:1. In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod Namely, to besiege it. Tartan is mentioned ( 2Ki 18:17 ) as one of the generals of Sennacherib, who is generally supposed to be here meant by Sargon, which was probably one of the seven names by which Jerome, on this place, says he was called. Ashdod, or Azotus, was an eminent and strong city, formerly belonging to the Philistines, in the utmost part of the land of Canaan toward Egypt. Afterward, according to Herodotus, it held out... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-6

Further warning against alliances (20:1-6)Previous messages have shown Hezekiah the uselessness of forming alliances with Philistia, Ethiopia or Egypt for the purpose of fighting against Assyria (see 14:28-32; 18:1-6; 19:1-15). To emphasize the point afresh, Isaiah acts a message for everybody to see. He dresses himself as a prisoner of war, to show the people of Judah what will happen to them if they enter foreign alliances instead of trusting God for victory over Assyria. After three years... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-6

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 20:1

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:1

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-3

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-4

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-6

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-6

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 20:1

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 20:1

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 20:1-6

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