מלכים ב, פרק י״ט, פסוק י״ב

The Assyrian empire projected an image of unstoppable military dominance, using the ruins of conquered lands as proof of their supreme power. A sharp rhetorical challenge is directed at the defenders, highlighting the utter helplessness of the gods of the nations in the face of the Assyrian army. The taunt questions whether the gods of these various nations ever actually managed to save their people from total destruction [מצודת דוד].

To prove this claim, the Assyrian argument lists several specific locations that had already fallen. Geographically and historically, these nations were all situated close to Assyria. They had been successfully conquered and devastated in earlier generations by Shalmaneser and the kings who ruled before him [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Even the mention of Eden in this context is not a reference to the biblical garden, but rather identifies another specific country that suffered the same fate and fell to the Assyrian conquest [רש״י].