Isa 36:19 | NETfull | STEP | Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria from my power?

Isaiah 36:19

19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? ^{▼▼ The rhetorical questions in v. 19a suggest the answer, “Nowhere, they seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”} Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria ^{▼▼ For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.} from my power? ^{▼▼ Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 18, 20).}