Isaiah 8:4

8:4 for before the child knows how to cry out, ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria ¹  will be carried off by the king of Assyria.” ² 

Isaiah 17:1-3

The Lord Will Judge Damascus

17:1 Here is a message about Damascus:

“Look, Damascus is no longer a city,

it is a heap of ruins!

17:2 The cities of Aroer are abandoned. ³ 

They will be used for herds,

which will lie down there in peace. ⁴ 

17:3 Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim,

and Damascus will lose its kingdom. ⁵ 

The survivors in Syria

will end up like the splendor of the Israelites,”

says the Lord who commands armies.

Isaiah 17:2

17:2 The cities of Aroer are abandoned. ⁶ 

They will be used for herds,

which will lie down there in peace. ⁷ 

Isaiah 17:5

17:5 It will be as when one gathers the grain harvest,

and his hand gleans the ear of grain.

It will be like one gathering the ears of grain

in the Valley of Rephaim.

Ezra 4:2

4:2 they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders ⁸  and said to them, “Let us help you build, ⁹  for like you we seek your God and we have been sacrificing to him ¹⁰  from the time ¹¹  of King Esarhaddon ¹²  of Assyria, who brought us here.” ¹³ 

[8:4]  ¹ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[8:4]  ² sn The child’s name foreshadows what will happen to Judah’s enemies; when their defeat takes place, the child will be a reminder that God predicted the event and brought it to pass. As such the child will be a reminder of God’s protective presence with his people.

[17:2]  ³ tn Three cities are known by this name in the OT: (1) an Aroer located near the Arnon, (2) an Aroer in Ammon, and (3) an Aroer of Judah. (See BDB 792-93 s.v. עֲרֹעֵר, and HALOT 883 s.v. II עֲרוֹעֵר.) There is no mention of an Aroer in Syrian territory. For this reason some want to emend the text here to עֲזֻבוֹת עָרַיהָ עֲדֵי עַד (’azuvot ’arayha ’adey ’ad, “her cities are permanently abandoned”). However, Aroer near the Arnon was taken by Israel and later conquered by the Syrians. (See Josh 12:2; 13:9, 16; Judg 11:26; 2 Kgs 10:33). This oracle pertains to Israel as well as Syria (note v. 3), so it is possible that this is a reference to Israelite and/or Syrian losses in Transjordan.

[17:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and they lie down and there is no one scaring [them].”

[17:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “and kingship from Damascus”; cf. NASB “And sovereignty from Damascus.”

[17:2]  ⁶ tn Three cities are known by this name in the OT: (1) an Aroer located near the Arnon, (2) an Aroer in Ammon, and (3) an Aroer of Judah. (See BDB 792-93 s.v. עֲרֹעֵר, and HALOT 883 s.v. II עֲרוֹעֵר.) There is no mention of an Aroer in Syrian territory. For this reason some want to emend the text here to עֲזֻבוֹת עָרַיהָ עֲדֵי עַד (’azuvot ’arayha ’adey ’ad, “her cities are permanently abandoned”). However, Aroer near the Arnon was taken by Israel and later conquered by the Syrians. (See Josh 12:2; 13:9, 16; Judg 11:26; 2 Kgs 10:33). This oracle pertains to Israel as well as Syria (note v. 3), so it is possible that this is a reference to Israelite and/or Syrian losses in Transjordan.

[17:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “and they lie down and there is no one scaring [them].”

[4:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.” So also in v. 3.

[4:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “Let us build with you.”

[4:2]  ¹⁰ tc The translation reads with the Qere, a Qumran MS, the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Arabic version וְלוֹ (vÿlo, “and him”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, וְלֹא (vÿlo’, “and not”).

[4:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “days.”

[4:2]  ¹² sn Esarhaddon was king of Assyria ca. 681-669 b.c.

[4:2]  ¹³ sn The Assyrian policy had been to resettle Samaria with peoples from other areas (cf. 2 Kgs 17:24-34). These immigrants acknowledged Yahweh as well as other deities in some cases. The Jews who returned from the Exile regarded them with suspicion and were not hospitable to their offer of help in rebuilding the temple.