Isaiah 10:8

Isa 10:8 For he saith, [Are] not my princes altogether kings?

Ver. 8. For he saith.] Sennacherib saith. See Isa 36:9; Isa 36:15; Isa 36:18; Isa 36:20; Isa 37:10; Isa 37:13; Isa 37:24-25. A great part of this whole book of Isaiah concerneth Sennacherib.

Are not my princes altogether kings?] Behold a right Pyrgopolynices, {a} whenas he was set to work by God, exalting himself both against God and man. And saith not the Pope the same when he claims to be Dominus feudi? lord paramount in spirituals and temporals; and when, in creating his cardinals, he useth these words, Estote confratres nostri, et principes mundi, Be ye fellow brethren to us and princes of the world? The Assyrian styled himself king of kings, and accounted his commanders equals to Hezekiah. {Isa 36:9} So Cardinal Bellarmine held himself King James’s mate.

{a} Perhaps he had made some of his chief commanders kings. Our Henry VI crowned Henry Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, King of the Isle of Wight.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Isa 10:8-10. For he saith, Are not my princes, &c. — Are they not equal for power, and wealth, and glory, to the kings of other nations, though they be my subjects and servants? Is not Calno as Carchemish? — Have I not conquered one place as well as another, the stronger as well as the weaker? Have I not from time to time added new conquests to the old? None of those cities, against which he had turned his arms, had been able to resist him; but he had subjugated them all. Calno, Carchemish, Hamath, and Arpad, were cities of Syria and Israel, which this mighty monarch had subdued. Is not Samaria — Or, Shall not Samaria be, as Damascus? — Shall I not take that as I have done this city? For although Damascus, possibly, was not yet taken by the Assyrians, yet the prophet speaks of it as actually taken, because these words are prophetically delivered, and supposed to be uttered by the king of Assyria, at or about the time of the siege of Samaria, when Damascus was taken. As my hand hath found — Hath taken, as this word is often used, the kingdoms of the idols — Which worshipped their own idols, and vainly imagined that they could protect them from my power. He calls the gods of the nations, not excepting Jerusalem, idols, by way of contempt, because none of them could deliver their people out of his hands, and because he judged them to be but petty gods, far inferior to the sun, which was the god of the Assyrians. Whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem — Namely, in reputation and power. Which blasphemy of his proceeded from his deep ignorance of the true God.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vauntings of the Assyrians. Illustrated by the self-laudatory inscriptions of Assyria deciphered by HINCKS.

princes . . . kings--Eastern satraps and governors of provinces often had the title and diadem of kings. Hence the title, "King of kings," implying the greatness of Him who was over them (Eze 26:7; Ezr 7:12).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(8) Are not my princes altogether kings?—So Tiglath-pileser names the twenty-three kings (Ahaz and Pekah among them) who came to do homage and pay tribute at Damascus (Records of the Past, v. 5-26).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. Are not my officers altogether kings?] Many of them really were subjugated kings (2Ki_25:28), and any one of them excelled in dignity the petty sovereigns of the independent states (see ch. Isa_36:9). The title “King of Kings” (Eze_26:7) was already assumed by Assyrian monarchs.

8–11. The first speech of the Assyrian.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For he saith, are not my princes altogether kings? Meaning either the kings which he had conquered, which were become his princes and subjects; or rather, such were the greatness and glory of his nobles, that they were equal in their riches and dominions to kings, and so were able to furnish him with men and money for such an expedition he had in his heart to undertake, even to conquer and subdue all the nations of the earth: and this he said either to his people, boasting of his grandeur; or in his heart, as Kimchi observes, to encourage himself; or rather more openly before others, in order to discourage and inject terror into the nations he meant to destroy, and particularly the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

For he saith, are not my princes altogether kings? Meaning either the kings which he had conquered, which were become his princes and subjects; or rather, such were the greatness and glory of his nobles, that they were equal in their riches and dominions to kings, and so were able to furnish him with men and money for such an expedition he had in his heart to undertake, even to conquer and subdue all the nations of the earth: and this he said either to his people, boasting of his grandeur; or in his heart, as Kimchi observes, to encourage himself; or rather more openly before others, in order to discourage and inject terror into the nations he meant to destroy, and particularly the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Isaiah 10:9

isa 10:9

isa 10:9

isa 10:9Is not Calno as Carchemish?.... 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, Ch2 35:20 called by Ammianus (k) Circusium; the Syriac version calls it Barchemosh; and Calno is the same with Calneh in the land of Shinar, a city built by Nimrod, Gen 10:10 in the Septuagint version it is called Chalane, and it is added,

"where the tower was built;''

from whence the country, called by Pliny (l) Chalonitis, had its name, the chief city of which was Ctesiphon, thought to be the same with Calneh.

Is not Hamath as Arphad? Hamath and Arphad were both cities conquered by the Assyrians; see Kg2 18:34 and are both mentioned along with Damascus, Jer 49:23.

Is not Samaria as Damascus? Damascus was the metropolis of Syria, and was taken by the Assyrians; and Samaria was the metropolis of Ephraim, or the ten tribes; see Isa 7:8 and was as easy to be taken as Damascus was. The Targum is,

"as Arphad is delivered into my hands, shall not Hamath be so? As I have done to Damascus, so will I do to Samaria.''

(k) L. 23. c. 5. p. 360. (l) Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 26. and 27.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

For he saith - This verse, and the subsequent verses to Isa 10:11, contain the vaunting of the king of Assyria, and the descriptions of his own confidence of success.

Are not my princes altogether kings? - This is a confident boast of his “own” might and power. His own dominion was so great that even his princes were endowed with the ordinary power and “regalia” of kings. The word “princes,” may here refer either to those of his own family and court - to the satraps and officers of power in his army, or around his throne: or more probably, it may refer to the subordinate governors whom he had set over the provinces which he had conquered. ‘Are they not clothed with royal power and majesty? Are they not of equal splendor with the other monarchs at the earth?’ How great, then, must have been his “own” rank and glory to be placed “over” such illustrious sovereigns! It will be recollected, that a common title which oriental monarchs give themselves, is that of King of kings; see Eze 26:7; Dan 2:37; Ezr 7:12. The oriental princes are still distinguished for their sounding titles, and particularly for their claiming dominion over all other princes, and the supremacy over all other earthly powers.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Equal for power, and wealth, and glory to the kings of other nations, though my subjects and servants.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. For he saith — He fully exhibits what his spirit is — absolutely that of worldly ambition.

My princes — Satraps, vicegerents, generals. Are they not equal to the greatest of kings elsewhere? Assyria, Babylonia, and Persia were great empires, consisting of great numbers of provinces far and near, over which were placed governors called satraps.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Are not my princes altogether kings? One mark of the superiority of Assyria to other countries was to be seen in the fact that her king had not mere officers, but vassal kings under him. Hence the title "king of kings" assumed by so many Assyrian monarchs. While conquered territories were by degrees and to a certain extent absorbed into the empire and placed under prefects (see the "Eponym Canon"), an outer zone of more loosely organized dependencies was always maintained by the Assyrians; and these dependencies continued ordinarily to be administered by their native monarchs (see "Ancient Monarchies," vol. 2. pp. 524-526). These are the "princes" who were "altogether kings."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Kings - Equal for power and wealth, and glory, to the kings of other nations.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

This verse introduces the proof and illustration of his selfishness and pride. For he will say (or giving it a descriptive form, he says) are not my princes altogether kings, or at the same time kings, mere princes with respect to me, but kings as to all the world besides? By exalting his tributary princes or the nobles of his court, he magnifies himself the more. The oriental monarchs, both in ancient and modern times, have affected the title of Great King (Isa 36:4; Hos 8:10) and King of kings (Eze 26:7; Dan 2:37).

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah (1846–1847; New York: Scribner, 1870–1878) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For he says Therefore, his heart is haughty.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

He will say in his heart. Behold my officers, etc. Those who formerly were officers, have now, through me, become rulers over nations.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.