| Sepharva'im. (the two Sipparas). Sepharvaim is mentioned, by Sennacherib, in his letter to Hezekiah, as a city whose king had been unable to resist the Assyrians. 2Ki 19:13; Isaiah 37:13. Compare 2 Kings 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. Compare 2Ki 17:31." Smith's Bible Dictionary or |