Sepharvaim is a city mentioned in the Old Testament, primarily in the context of the Assyrian conquests and the resettlement policies of the Assyrian Empire. The name "Sepharvaim" is often associated with the region of Mesopotamia, though its exact location remains uncertain. It is referenced in several biblical passages, providing insight into its historical and theological significance.

Biblical References:

1. 2 Kings 17:24 · "Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its towns."

In this passage, Sepharvaim is mentioned as one of the places from which the Assyrian king brought people to repopulate the cities of Samaria after the deportation of the Israelites. This was part of the Assyrian strategy to prevent rebellion by mixing populations and diluting national identities.

2. 2 Kings 17:31 · "The Sepharvites burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim."

Here, the religious practices of the Sepharvites are described, highlighting their worship of deities such as Adrammelech and Anammelech. The text notes their practice of child sacrifice, which was abhorrent to the Israelites and contrary to the worship of Yahweh.

3. 2 Kings 18:34 and 19:13 · These passages are part of the narrative concerning King Hezekiah of Judah and the Assyrian king Sennacherib. The Assyrian envoy Rabshakeh questions the power of the gods of various nations, including Sepharvaim, to deliver them from Assyrian conquest: "Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand?" (2 Kings 18:34). Similarly, in 2 Kings 19:13, the rhetorical question is repeated to emphasize the futility of relying on these gods.

4. Isaiah 36:19 and 37:13 · These verses parallel the account in 2 Kings, where the Assyrian challenge to the power of local deities, including those of Sepharvaim, is reiterated. The passages underscore the theme of Yahweh's supremacy over all gods and nations.

Historical and Theological Context:

Sepharvaim's mention in the context of Assyrian resettlement policies reflects the broader historical backdrop of the Assyrian Empire's expansion and its impact on the ancient Near East. The Assyrians were known for their military prowess and administrative strategies, which included the relocation of conquered peoples to prevent uprisings and to integrate diverse cultures into their empire.

Theologically, the references to Sepharvaim and its gods serve to contrast the powerlessness of pagan deities with the sovereignty of the God of Israel. The biblical narrative consistently portrays Yahweh as the one true God, capable of delivering His people and executing His divine will, in contrast to the impotent gods of the nations.

Sepharvaim's inclusion in the biblical text also serves as a reminder of the consequences of idolatry and the importance of faithfulness to the covenant with Yahweh. The practices of the Sepharvites, particularly child sacrifice, are depicted as detestable and serve as a warning against adopting the religious customs of surrounding nations.

In summary, Sepharvaim is a significant location in the biblical narrative, representing both the historical realities of Assyrian dominance and the theological themes of divine sovereignty and the dangers of idolatry.Sepharvaim

the two books; the two scribes

Sepharvaim

(the two Sipparas) is mentioned by Sennacherib in his letter to Hezekiah as a city whose king had been unable to resist the Assyrians. (2 Kings 19:13; Isaiah 37:13) comp. 2Kin 18:34 It is identified with the famous town of Sippara., on the Euphrates above Babylon, which was near the site of the modern Mosaib. The dual form indicates that there were two Sipparas, one on either side of the river. Berosus celled Sippara "a city of the sun;" and in the inscriptions it bears the same title, being called Tsipar sha Shamas , or "Sippara of the Sun" --the sun being the chief object of worship there. Comp. (2 Kings 17:31)

Sepharvaim

When Shalmaneser king of Assyria carried away Israel from Samaria to beyond the Euphrates, he sent people in their stead into Palestine, among whom were the Sepharvaim, 2 Kings 17:24,31. That Sepharvaim was a small district under its own king, is apparent from 2 Kings 19:13; Isaiah 37:13. It may, with most probability, be assigned to Mesopotamia, because it is named along with other places in that region, and because Ptolemy mentions a city of a similar name, Sipphara, as the most southern of Mesopotamia.

Taken by Sargon, king of Assyria (2 Kings 17:24; 18:34; 19:13; Isaiah 37:13). It was a double city, and received the common name Sepharvaim, i.e., "the two Sipparas," or "the two booktowns." The Sippara on the east bank of the Euphrates is now called Abu-Habba; that on the other bank was Accad, the old capital of Sargon I., where he established a great library. (see SARGON.) The recent discovery of cuneiform inscriptions at Tel el-Amarna in Egypt, consisting of official despatches to Pharaoh Amenophis IV. and his predecessor from their agents in Palestine, proves that in the century before the Exodus an active literary intercourse was carried on between these nations, and that the medium of the correspondence was the Babylonian language and script. (see KIRJATH-SEPHER.) SEPHARVAIM

sef-ar-va'-im, se-far-va'-im (cepharwayim: Sephpharouaim, Seppharoudim, Seppharoun, Seppharoumain, Eppharouaim, Sepphareim, the first two being the forms in manuscripts Alexandrinus and Vaticanus respectively, of the passages in Kings, and the last two in Isaiah):

1. Formerly Identified with the Two Babylonian Sippars:

This city, mentioned in 2 Kings 17:24; 2 Kings 18:34; 2 Kings 19:13 Isaiah 36:19; Isaiah 37:13, is generally identified with the Sip(p)ar of the Assyrians-Babylonian inscriptions (Zimbir in Sumerian), on the Euphrates, about 16 miles Southwest of Bagdad. It was one of the two great seats of the worship of the Babylonian sun-god Samas, and also of the goddesses Ishtar and Anunit, and seems to have had two principal districts, Sippar of Samas, and Sippar of Anunit, which, if the identification were correct, would account for the dual termination -ayim, in Hebrew. This site is the modern 'Abu-Habbah, which was first excavated by the late Hormuzd Rassam in 1881, and has furnished an enormous number of inscriptions, some of them of the highest importance.

2. Difficulties of That Identification:

Besides the fact that the deities of the two cities, Sippar and Sepharvaim, are not the same, it is to be noted that in 2 Kings 19:13 the king of Sepharvaim is referred to, and, as far as is known, the Babylonian Sippar never had a king of its own, nor had Akkad, with which it is in part identified, for at least 1,200 years before Sennacherib. The fact that Babylon and Cuthah head the list of cities mentioned is no indication that Sepharvaim was a Babylonian town-the composition of the list, indeed, points the other way, for the name comes after Ava and Hamath, implying that it lay in Syria.

3. Another Suggestion:

Joseph Halevy therefore suggests (ZA, II, 401;) that it should be identified with the Sibraim of Ezekiel 47:16, between Damascus and Hamath (the dual implying a frontier town), and the same as the Sabara'in of the Babylonian Chronicle, there referred to as having been captured by Shalmaneser. As, however, Sabara'in may be read Samara'in, it is more likely to have been the Hebrew Shomeron (Samaria), as pointed out by Fried. Delitzsch.

LITERATURE.

See Schrader, The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the Old Testament, I, 71 f; Kittel on K; Dillmann-Kittel on Isaiah, at the place; HDB, under the word

T. G. Pinches

5616. Sepharvi -- inhab. of Sepharvaim
... inhab. of Sepharvaim. Transliteration: Sepharvi Phonetic Spelling: (sef-ar-vee')
Short Definition: Sepharvites. ... of Sepharvaim NASB Word Usage Sepharvites (1). ...
/hebrew/5616.htm - 6k

5617. Sepharvayim -- a city conquered by the king of Assyr.
... Transliteration: Sepharvayim or Sepharim Phonetic Spelling: (sef-ar-vah'-yim) Short
Definition: Sepharvaim. ... NASB Word Usage Sephar-vaim (1), Sepharvaim (5). ...
/hebrew/5617.htm - 6k

Deliverance from Assyria
... Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of
Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? ...
/.../white/the story of prophets and kings/chapter 30 deliverance from assyria.htm

Babylonia and Assyria
... of Babylon were Kish (El-Hymar) and Kutha (Tel-Ibrahim); somewhat to the north of
it, and on the banks of the Euphrates, was Sippara or Sepharvaim, whose temple ...
/.../early israel and the surrounding nations/chapter vi babylonia and assyria.htm

We Arrive Now at a Branch of Our Subject Upon which the Lord's ...
... Haddan, of whom it is said, "And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and
from Cutthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/the antichrist/we arrive now at a.htm

The Woman of Samaria
... idolatry, and made gods of their own, and some of them even burnt their children
in the fire, to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim, from which ...
/.../kingsley/town and country sermons/sermon xxvi the woman of.htm

Mongrel Religion
... If the Sepharvites had stopped at Sepharvaim they would never have thought of fearing
Jehovah; if the men of Babylon had continued to live in Babylon they ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 27 1881/mongrel religion.htm

Order and Argument in Prayer
... It is full of blasphemy, will that help him? "Where are the gods of Arphad and
Sepharvaim? Where are the gods of the cities which I have overthrown? ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 12 1866/order and argument in prayer.htm

Sennacherib (705-681 BC )
... Where is the King of Hamath, and the King of Arpad, and the King of the city of
Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?" Hezekiah, having received this letter of ...
/.../chapter isennacherib 705-681 b c.htm

Tiglath-Pileser iii. And the Organisation of the Assyrian Empire ...
History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 7. <. ...
/.../chapter iitiglath-pileser iii and the.htm

Sepharvaim (6 Occurrences)
... It was a double city, and received the common name Sepharvaim, ie, "the two Sipparas,"
or "the two booktowns." The Sippara on the east bank of the Euphrates is ...
/s/sepharvaim.htm - 12k

Ivvah (3 Occurrences)
... Ivvah was a city apparently conquered by the Assyrians, and is mentioned by them,
in the verses quoted, with Hamath and Arpad, Sepharvaim and Hena. ...
/i/ivvah.htm - 9k

Anammelech (1 Occurrence)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary One of the gods worshipped by the people of
Sepharvaim, who colonized Samaria (2 Kings 17:31). The name ...
/a/anammelech.htm - 9k

Ivah (3 Occurrences)
... It lay on the Euphrates, between Sepharvaim and Henah, and is supposed by some to
have been the Ahava of Ezra (8:15). Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. IVAH. ...
/i/ivah.htm - 7k

Arpad (6 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 18:34 Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? Where are the gods of
Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah? ... Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? ...
/a/arpad.htm - 10k

Sepharva'im (4 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 18:34 Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of
Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah? ... where are the gods of Sepharvaim? ...
/s/sepharva'im.htm - 7k

Adrammelech (3 Occurrences)
... (1.) An idol; a form of the sun-god worshipped by the inhabitants of Sepharvaim
(2 Kings 17:31), and brought by the Sepharvite colonists into Samaria. ...
/a/adrammelech.htm - 8k

Arphad (2 Occurrences)
... where are the gods of Sepharvaim? ... Isaiah 37:13 Where is the king of Hamath, and the
king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? ...
/a/arphad.htm - 8k

Sephar-va'im (2 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 17:24 And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah,
and from Avva, and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities ...
/s/sephar-va'im.htm - 7k

Sephar-vaim (1 Occurrence)
Sephar-vaim. Sepharvaim, Sephar-vaim. Sepharva'im . Multi-Version Concordance ...
(See NAS). Sepharvaim, Sephar-vaim. Sepharva'im . Reference Bible.
/s/sephar-vaim.htm - 6k

What happened to the lost tribes of Israel? | GotQuestions.org

Who were the Samaritans? | GotQuestions.org

Who was Sennacherib in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

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