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Isaiah 20:1

ESV 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—
NIV In the year that the supreme commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it--
NASB 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,
CSB In the year that the chief commander, sent by King Sargon of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it--
NLT In the year when King Sargon of Assyria sent his commander in chief to capture the Philistine city of Ashdod,
KJV In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;

What does Isaiah 20:1 mean?

Chapter 20 finishes Isaiah's oracle from the Lord against Egypt (Isaiah 19:1). The prophet sets the events of this passage at a specific time in the world's history. This moment was when Sargon, king of Assyria, sent his commander to defeat the rebellious Philistine city of Ashdod. This figure is referred to using the Hebrew word tartān', which seems to be a title rather than a proper name (2 Kings 18:17).

Modern scholars locate this event in the year 711 BC. This data comes from two other sources that back up Isaiah's reference of this battle. One source is the Assyrian Annals of Sargon II; those detail the history of Assyria from the emperor's perspective. Sargon ruled Assyria from 722–705 BC. His annals report this campaign against Ashdod were between 712–711 BC. In addition, fragments of a similar inscribed pillar were found in Ashdod in 1963 that also hail Sargon's victory at this same time.

Apparently, the king of Ashdod had made some kind of alliance with Egypt for mutual support against Assyria. When Ashdod made this agreement, they stopped paying tribute to the Assyrians. When the Assyrians came to attack Ashdod, the Egyptians did not help. The Egyptians even turned over the king of Ashdod to the Assyrians when he tried to find asylum in Egypt after his defeat.

The Lord's continuing point to His people is that they should not put their hope and trust in other nations. Those nations cannot save them from the Assyrians. Ashdod looked to other nations for protection, and that turned out negatively for them. Instead, the Lord wants His people to trust Him, and Him alone, to protect them from their powerful enemies.
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