Isaiah 20:1

In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it; In the reign of Sargon (722 BC - 715 BC), the successor of Shalmaneser, an Assyrian invasion of Egypt took place. Its success is here foretold; and hence a party among the Jews are warned of the folly of their "expectation" of aid from Egypt or Ethiopia. At a later period (Isaiah 18:1), when Tirhakah of Ethiopia was their ally, the Ethiopians are treated as friends, to whom God announces the overthrow of the common Assyrian foe, Sennacherib. Egypt and Ethiopia in this chapter (Isaiah 20:3) are represented as allied together, the result, no doubt, of fear of the common foe. Previously they had been at strife ...

1._In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod. _In the preceding chapter Isaiah prophesied about the calamity which threatened Egypt, and at the same time promised to it the mercy of God. He now introduces the same subject, and shews that Israel will be put to shame by this chastisement of the Egyptians, because they placed their confidence in Egypt. He now joins Ethiopia, which makes it probable that the Ethiopians were leagued with the Egyptians, as I have formerly remarked, and as we shall see again at the thirty-seventh chapter. First, we must observe the time of this prediction. It was when the Jews were pressed hard by necessity to resort, even against their will, to foreign nations for assistance. Sacred history informs us (2 Kings 18:17) that _Tartan _was one of Sennacherib’s captains, which constrains us to acknowledge that this _Sargon _was Sennacherib, who had

CHAPTER XX _The Prophet Isaiah a sign to Egypt and Cush or Ethiopia, that_ _the captives and exiles of these countries shall be indignantly_ _treated by the king of Assyria_, 1-6. NOTES ON CHAP. XX Tartan besieged Ashdod or Azotus, which probably belonged at this time to Hezekiah's dominions; see 2 Kings 18:8. The people expected to be relieved by the Cushites of Arabia and by the Egyptians. Isaiah was ordered to go uncovered, that is, without his upper garment, the rough mantle commonly worn by the prophets, (see Zechariah 13:4,) probably three days to show that within three years the town should be taken,

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. 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, following.) It sustained many sieges, and was regarded as an important place in respect to Palestine, and also to Egypt. It was taken by Tartan, and remained in the possession of the Assyrians until it was besi

EXPOSITION ISAIAH 20:1 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 capture. Egypt and Ethiopia were at the time united under one head, Shabak, or Shabatok; and the inhabitants of Ashdod looked to this quarter for deliverance from the Assyrian power. Shortly after the first capture, they revolted, deposed the king whom Sargon had set over them,

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, 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 have more names than one. Jerom says he had seven; the Jewish Rabbins h eight; though some think a predecessor of his is meant, Shalmaneser; and others his son Esarhaddon, who in the Apocrypha: "And there passed not five and fifty days, before two of his sons killed him, and they fled into the mountains of Ararath; and

CHAPTER 20 The Near-Punishment of Egypt by Assyria 1. _Isaiah walks naked and barefooted (Isaiah 20:1)_ 2. _The meaning of his action (Isaiah 20:3)_ 3. _Egypt punished by Assyria (Isaiah 20:4) _ A strong party in Jerusalem looked to Egypt for help from the threatening Assyrian invasion. This prophecy shows the utter hopelessness of expecting help from Egypt. The victory of Assyria over Egypt is predicted....

ISAIAH 20. THE SIGN OF EGYPT'S OVERTHROW. The year in which the Assyrian Tartan, or commander-in-chief, came to Ashdod was 711. This city had been in negotiation with Egypt against Assyria, and so too had Judah, Moab, and Edom. Isaiah had protested against this policy by the sign here recorded. To show the futility of trusting in Egypt and Ethiopia he put off his outer garment, and for three years walked stripped and barefoot like a captive, symbolising the fate that was coming on these lands. Ashdod was quickly captured, many of its inhabitants were taken to Assyria and their place supplied by other exiles, as had been the case with Samaria. We do not know how Judah was treated. The desperate measures taken by Isaiah, and the summary punishment of Ashdod, may have kept Judah from open rebellion. Isaiah 20:2 seems to represent the command to walk in captive's dress as given to Isaiah in...

TARTAN.. title. commander in-chief. SARGON. Never once named by classic writers, and in Scripture only here....

_Tartan_ In Assyrian _Turtanu_, the official title of the "chief of the staff." Cf. 2 Kings 18:17. _Sargon_ (Assyr. Sarrukin) the only mention of this now familiar name in the O.T. For long it was supposed to be a second name of either Shalmaneser or Sennacherib (see Tob 1:15), but the conjecture of a few scholars that he would prove to be an intermediate king has been amply verified by the progress of Assyriology; and Sargon is now one of the best known, as he was one of the most vigorous, of Assyrian monarchs. He reigned from 722 705....