Isaiah 10:9

“[Is] not Calno as Carchemish? &c.] Jarchi’s note is, “as the children of Carchemish are princes and rulers, so are the children of Calno;” as if this was giving an instance of the grandeur of his subjects; but much better is the Targum, “as Carchemish is subdued before me, shall not Calno be so?” as I or my ancestors have conquered the one, it is as easy for me to conquer the other; or as sure as the one is subject to me, so sure shall the other be; for Carchemish was a city belonging to the Assyrians, situated upon the river Euphrates, (<143520>2 Chronicles 35:20 <244602>Jeremiah 46:2) called by Ammianusf180 Circusium; the Syriac version calls it Barchemosh; and Calno is the same with…”

“Is not . . . as--Was there any one of these cities able to withstand me? Not one. So Rab-shakeh vaunts (Isa 36:19). Calno--Calneh, built by Nimrod (Gen 10:10), once his capital, on the Tigris. Carchemish--Circesium, on the Euphrates. Taken afterwards by Necho, king of Egypt; and retaken by Nebuchadnezzar: by the Euphrates (Jer 46:2). Hamath--in Syria, north of Canaan (Gen 10:18). Taken by Assyria about 753 B.C. From it colonists were planted by Assyria in Samaria. Arpad--near Hamath. Samaria--now overthrown. Damascus-- (Isa 17:1, Isa 17:3).”

“Is not Calno as Carchemish? - The meaning of this confident boasting is, that none of the cities and nations against which be had directed his arms, had been able to resist him. All had fallen before him; and all were alike prostrate at his feet. Carchemish had been unable to resist him, and Calno had shared the same fate. Arpad had fallen before him, and Hamath in like manner had been subdued. The words which are used here are the same nearly that Rabshakeh used when he was sent by Sennacherib to insult Hezekiah and the Jews; Isaiah 36:19; 2 Kings 18:34. “Calno” was a city in the land of Shinar, and was probably the city built by Nimrod, called in Genesis 10:10, “Calneh,” and at one time…”

“Is not - Have not I conquered one place as well as another, the stronger as well as the weaker? Samaria - Or, shall not Samaria be as Damascus? Shall I not take that, as I have done this city? Isaiah 10:10”

“10:9 We destroyed: By 717 BC, the regions to the north of Judah were firmly in Assyrian hands. Calno, in northern Syria (referred to as Calneh in Amos 6:2), fell to the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III in 738 BC. Carchemish, on the Euphrates River, was taken by King Sargon II in 717 BC. Hamath, on the Orontes River, was subjugated in 738 and 720 BC. Arpad was located south of Calno. Damascus and Samaria, the capitals of Syria and Israel, were taken in 732 and 722 BC, respectively (Isa 7:8; 8:4).”

“Calno: Amo 6:1, Amo 6:2, Calneh Carchemish: Ch2 35:20; Jer 46:2 Hamath: Isa 36:19, Isa 37:13; Sa2 8:9; Kg2 17:24; Jer 49:23 Samaria: Isa 7:8, Isa 17:3; Kg2 16:9, Kg2 17:5, Kg2 17:6, Kg2 18:9, Kg2 18:10 Isaiah 10:10”