The Meaning of Isaiah 37:37 Explained

Isaiah 37:37

KJV: So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

YLT: And journey, and go, and turn back doth Sennacherib king of Asshur, and dwelleth in Nineveh.

Darby: And Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and abode at Nineveh.

ASV: So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

So Sennacherib  king  of Assyria  departed,  and went  and returned,  and dwelt  at Nineveh. 

What does Isaiah 37:37 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Sennacherib, the great "king of Assyria" (cf. Isaiah 36:4; Isaiah 36:13), then returned to Assyria, having lost a large part of his army, and having heard a rumor about the advancing Ethiopian ruler ( Isaiah 37:7-9). He lived in Nineveh for20 years before his death, and he conducted other military campaigns, but none in Palestine.

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 37

1  Hezekiah mourning, sends to Isaiah to pray for them
6  Isaiah comforts them
8  Sennacherib, going to encounter Tirhakah, sends a blasphemous letter to Hezekiah
14  Hezekiah's prayer
21  Isaiah's prophecy of the destruction of Sennacherib, and the good of Zion
36  An angel slays the Assyrians
37  Sennacherib is slain at Nineveh by his own sons

What do the individual words in Isaiah 37:37 mean?

So departed and went away and returned [home] Sennacherib king of Assyria and remained at Nineveh
וַיִּסַּ֣ע וַיֵּ֔לֶךְ וַיָּ֖שָׁב סַנְחֵרִ֣יב מֶֽלֶךְ־ אַשּׁ֑וּר וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב בְּנִֽינְוֵֽה

וַיִּסַּ֣ע  So  departed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָסַע  
Sense: to pull out, pull up, set out, journey, remove, set forward, depart.
וַיֵּ֔לֶךְ  and  went  away 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
וַיָּ֖שָׁב  and  returned  [home] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
סַנְחֵרִ֣יב  Sennacherib 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: סַנְחֵרִיב  
Sense: son of Sargon, father of Esarhaddon, and king of Assyria from 705–68 BC; attacked Judah during the reign of king Hezekiah and Judah was delivered when in response to the prayer of Hezekiah an angel smote 85,000 Assyrian soldiers.
מֶֽלֶךְ־  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
אַשּׁ֑וּר  of  Assyria 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אַשּׁוּר  
Sense: the second son of Shem, eponymous ancestor of the Assyrians.
וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב  and  remained 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
בְּנִֽינְוֵֽה  at  Nineveh 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: נִינְוֵה  
Sense: capital of the ancient kingdom of Assyria; located on the east bank of the Tigris river, 550 miles (880 km) from its mouth and 250 miles (400 km) north of Babylon.