Hena
“Uncertain; possibly "the lowland"”
Summary
Hena was a city of Mesopotamia conquered by the Assyrians, mentioned by Rabshakeh among cities whose gods could not deliver them, probably to be identified with modern Anah on the Euphrates.
☩Assyrian Conquest
Hena is mentioned alongside Sepharvaim and Ivah as a city overthrown by Sennacherib before his invasion of Judah. Rabshakeh taunted Hezekiah by asking where the gods of these cities were when Assyria conquered them—arguing that Judah's God could fare no better. This rhetorical strategy backfired when God miraculously delivered Jerusalem.
☩Identification
Hena is commonly identified with modern Anah on the Euphrates, a town still existing amid gardens rich in dates, citrons, oranges, and pomegranates. Assyrian inscriptions mention a town called Anat on an island in the Euphrates below its junction with the Khabur River, and this appears in Greek as Anatho. The town sits partly on islands in the river, with ruins on both banks.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Hena," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IV (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.George Morrish, "Hena," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Hena," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).