2nd Kings Chapter 19 verse 12 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 12. - Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed? The Assyrian kings always speak of all their predecessors as their ancestors. In point of fact, Sennacherib bad had only one "father" among the previous kings, viz. Sargon. As Gozan (see the comment on 2 Kings 17:6). It is uncertain at what time Gozan was finally conquered and absorbed. It was frequently overrun by the Assyrians from the reign of Tiglath-pileser I. (about B.C. 1100); but it was probably not absorbed until about B.C. 809. The Prefect of Gozan first appears in the list of Assyrian Eponyms in B.C. 794. And Haran. "Haran" is generally admitted to be the city of Terah (Genesis 11:32), and indeed there is no rival claimant of the name. Its position was in the western part of the Gauzanitis region, on the Belik, about lat. 36° 50' N. It was probably conquered by Assyria about the same time as Gozan. And Reseph. A town called "Razappa," probably "Rezeph," appears in the Assyrian inscriptions from an early date. It is thought to have been in the near vicinity of Haran, but had been conquered and absorbed as early as B.C. 818. Whether it is identical with the Resapha of Ptolemy ('Geograph.,' 5:15) is doubtful. And the children of Eden. Probably the inhabitants of a city called "Bit-Adini" in the Assyrian inscriptions, which was on the Middle Euphrates, not far from Carchemish, on the left bank ('Records of the Past,' vol. 3. pp. 69, 71, etc.). This place was conquered by Asshur-nazir-pal, about B.C. 877. Which were in Thelasar. "Thelasar" is probably the Hebrew equivalent of "Tel-Asshur," "the hill or fort of Asshur," which may have been the Assyrian name of Bit-Adini, or of a city dependent on it. Asshur-nazir-pal gave Assyrian names to several cities on the Middle Euphrates (see 'Records of the Past,' vol. 3. p. 55, line 48; p. 69, line 50).

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(12) My fathers.--Sargon his father founded the dynasty; but he speaks of his predecessors generally as his "fathers."Gozan.--2Kings 17:6.Haran.--Also a west Aramean town, mentioned by Tiglath Pileser I. (circ. 1120 B.C. ) Shalmaneser II. speaks of its conquest. It had a famous sanctuary of the moon god Sin. (See Genesis 11:31.)Rezeph.--The Assyrian Racappa, a town of Mesopotamia, often mentioned in the inscriptions.The children of Eden.--Schrader identifies this community with Bit-Adini ("the house of Eden"), often mentioned by Assurnacirpal and Shalmaneser II. The latter records his defeat of Ahuni, "son of Eden," a phrase which exactly corresponds to "the children (sons) of Eden" here. It lay on both banks of the middle Euphrates, between the present Balis and Birejik.Thelasar.--Heb., T?lassar, the Assyrian Tul-Assuri ("Mound of Assur"). More than one place bore the name.