Isaiah 20:1
New International Version
In the year that the supreme commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it—

New Living Translation
In the year when King Sargon of Assyria sent his commander in chief to capture the Philistine city of Ashdod,

English Standard Version
In the year that the commander in chief, who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and captured it—

Berean Standard Bible
Before the year that the chief commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it,

King James Bible
In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;

New King James Version
In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it,

New American Standard Bible
In the year that the commander came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it,

NASB 1995
In the year that the commander came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it,

NASB 1977
In the year that the commander came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it,

Legacy Standard Bible
In the year that the commander came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it,

Amplified Bible
In the year that the Tartan [the Assyrian commander in chief] came to Ashdod [in Philistia], when Sargon king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it,

Christian Standard Bible
In the year that the chief commander, sent by King Sargon of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it—

Holman Christian Standard Bible
In the year that the chief commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it—

American Standard Version
In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod when Sargon sent away The King of Assyria and fought with Ashdod and defeated him

Brenton Septuagint Translation
In the year when Tanathan came to Azotus, when he was sent by Arna king of the Assyrians, and warred against Azotus, and took it;

Contemporary English Version
King Sargon of Assyria gave orders for his army commander to capture the city of Ashdod.

Douay-Rheims Bible
IN the year that Tharthan entered into Azotus, when Sargon the king of the Assyrians had sent him, and he had fought against Azotus, and had taken it:

English Revised Version
In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
In the year when King Sargon of Assyria sent his commander-in-chief to fight against Ashdod, he captured it.

Good News Translation
Under the orders of Emperor Sargon of Assyria, the commander-in-chief of the Assyrian army attacked the Philistine city of Ashdod.

International Standard Version
In the year that the supreme commander, sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to Ashdod, attacked it, and captured it—

JPS Tanakh 1917
In the year that Tartan came into Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it;

Literal Standard Version
In the year of the coming in of Tartan to Ashdod, when Sargon king of Asshur sends him, and he fights against Ashdod and captures it,

Majority Standard Bible
Before the year that the chief commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it,

New American Bible
In the year the general sent by Sargon, king of Assyria, came to Ashdod, fought against it, and captured it—

NET Bible
The LORD revealed the following message during the year in which King Sargon of Assyria sent his commanding general to Ashdod, and he fought against it and captured it.

New Revised Standard Version
In the year that the commander-in-chief, who was sent by King Sargon of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and took it—

New Heart English Bible
In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it;

Webster's Bible Translation
In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;

World English Bible
In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it;

Young's Literal Translation
In the year of the coming in of Tartan to Ashdod, when Sargon king of Asshur sendeth him, and he fighteth against Ashdod, and captureth it,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
A Sign Against Egypt and Cush
1Before the year that the chief commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it, 2the LORD had already spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and the sandals from your feet.” And Isaiah did so, walking around naked and barefoot.…

Cross References
Joshua 11:22
No Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites; only in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod did any survive.

1 Samuel 5:1
After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod,

2 Kings 18:17
Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer's Field.

Jeremiah 25:20
all the mixed tribes; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines: Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;


Treasury of Scripture

In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;

Tartan.

2 Kings 18:17
And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field.

Ashdod

1 Samuel 6:17
And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;

Jeremiah 25:20
And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,

Amos 1:8
And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord GOD.

and took

Jeremiah 25:29,30
For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts…

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Isaiah 20
1. A type prefiguring the shameful captivity of Egypt and Ethiopia.














XX.

(1) In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod.--Better, the Tartan. The word was an official title borne by the generalissimo of the Assyrian armies, who was next in authority to the king. He may, or may not, have been the same with the officer of the same rank who appears in 2Kings 18:17 as sent by Sennacherib to Jerusalem.

When Sargon the king of Assyria sent him.--Much light has been thrown by the Assyrian inscriptions on the events connected with this king. Prior to that discovery, there was no trace of his name to be found elsewhere than in this passage, and his very existence had been called in question. As it is, he comes before us as one of the greatest of Assyrian monarchs. He succeeded Shalmaneser VI,, the conqueror of Israel, in B.C. 721, at first as guardian and co-regent of his son Samdan-Malik, and afterwards in his own name. His reign lasted till B.C. 704, when he was succeeded by Sennacherib. Long inscriptions, giving the annals of his reign, were found by M. Botta at Khorsabad, and have been interpreted by M. Oppert (Records of the Past, vii. 21, 9:1, 11:17, 27, 33) and others.

And fought against Ashdod.--The occasion of the campaign is related by Sargon in the annals just mentioned as happening in his eleventh year. Azuri, the king of Ashdod, refused to pay tribute, and revolted. Sargon deposed him, and placed his brother Akhismit, on the throne. The people, in their turn, rose against Akhismit, and chose Yaman as their king. Sargon then marched against the city, took it, and carried off its gods and its treasures as booty (Records of the Past, vii. 40). These events naturally excited the minds of Hezekiah and his counsellors, and led them to look to an alliance with Egypt as their best protection.

Verses 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 ( B.C. 713) and in his eleventh year ( B.C. 711). 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, appointed another, and then proceeded, in conjunction with Philistia, Judah, Edom, and Moab, to call in the aid of the Egyptians and Ethiopians. Isaiah's mission on this occasion was to discourage Judaea from joining Ashdod and her allies in this appeal. He was instructed to prophesy that Assyria would shortly inflict a severe defeat on the two African powers, and carry into captivity large numbers of both nations. The prophecy seems to have had its accomplishment about twelve years later, when Sennacherib defeated the combined forces of Egypt and Ethiopia at Eltekeh, near Ekron (G. Smith, 'Eponym Canon,' p. 133). Verse 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. When Sargon the King of Assyria sent him. The present passage furnished almost the sole trace of the existence of this monarch - one of the greatest of Assyria's sovereigns - until about the middle of the present century, when the exploration of the Assyrian ruins, and the decipherment of the Assyrian inscriptions, presented him to us in the most distinct and vivid way, as king, conqueror, and builder. He was the founder of the last and greatest of the Assyrian dynasties, the successor of the biblical Shalmaneser, and the father of Sennacherib. He reigned from B.C. 722 to B.C. 705. He was the captor of Samaria; he defeated the forces of Egypt; he warred on Susiana, Media, Armenia, Asia Minor, Cyprus; and he conquered and held in subjection Babylon. He built the great city explored by M. Botta, near Khorsabad, which is sometimes called "the French Nineveh." It is now found that Ptolemy's 'Canon' contains his name under the form of Arkeanus, and that Yacut's 'Geography' mentions his great city under the form of Sarghun. But these facts were unsuspected until the recent explorations in Mesopotamia, and Isaiah's mention of him alone gave him a place in history. And fought against Ashdod, and took it. Ashdod was the strongest of the Philistine cities, and one of the most ancient (Joshua 15:47). Its name is probably derived from a root meaning "strength." We hear of its having stood on one occasion a siege of twenty-nine years (Herod., 2:157). It is now known as Esdud. When Ashdod is first mentioned in the Assyrian inscriptions it is tributary to Sargon, having probably submitted to him in s c. 720, alter the battle of Raphia. It soon, however, revolts and reclaims its independence. In B.C. 713 the Assyrians proceed against it; and its capture is implied by the facts that the Assyrians depose its king, and install, one of his brothers as monarch in his room (comp. 2 Kings 23:34).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Before the year
בִּשְׁנַ֨ת (biš·naṯ)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 8141: A year

that the chief commander,
תַרְתָּן֙ (ṯar·tān)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 8661: General, commander (title of an Assyrian general)

sent
בִּשְׁלֹ֣ח (biš·lōḥ)
Preposition-b | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

by Sargon
סַֽרְג֖וֹן (sar·ḡō·wn)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 5623: Sargon -- a king of Assyr

king
מֶ֣לֶךְ (me·leḵ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

of Assyria,
אַשּׁ֑וּר (’aš·šūr)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 804: Ashshur

came
בֹּ֤א (bō)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

to Ashdod
אַשְׁדּ֔וֹדָה (’aš·dō·w·ḏāh)
Noun - proper - feminine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 795: Ashdod -- a city of the Philistines

and attacked
וַיִּלָּ֥חֶם (way·yil·lā·ḥem)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3898: To feed on, to consume, to battle

and captured it,
וַֽיִּלְכְּדָֽהּ׃ (way·yil·kə·ḏāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 3920: To catch, to capture, occupy, to choose, to cohere


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 20:1 In the year that Tartan came (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 19:25
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