The Burden of Damascus

[seanD]

Curious as to what the preterist view is about that passage in Isaiah 17. Fulfilled or not not yet fulfilled? I put that here because one could argue that it has eschatological inferences.

[Littlejoe]

Pretty much fulfilled in ~732 b.c. (Which would have most likely been in Isaiah's lifetime)

Tiglath-Pileser III accordingly "marched against Damascus, defeated and put king Rezin to death, and besieged the city itself". Leaving part of his army to continue the siege, he advanced, ravaging with fire and sword the provinces east of the Jordan (Nabatea, Moab and Edom), Philistia, and Samaria; and in 732 BC he took the chief Aramean state of Damascus, deporting many of its inhabitants and the Jewish inhabitants of Samaria to Assyria.

source

If you read the whole prophesy, you see that God (through Isaiah) said he would leave a remanant to rebuild it. But it was under a different ruler after that...and would be so for a very long time.

Is. 17:6 ESV

Gleanings will be left in it,
as when an olive tree is beaten—
two or three berries
in the top of the highest bough,
four or five
on the branches of a fruit tree,
declares the Lord God of Israel

[seanD]

Inhabitants of the city were taken into captivity, but I don't recall any records recording that the city itself was destroyed. Not saying it doesn't exist, but not to my knowledge. I'd like to see any citations to that.

[Littlejoe]

This site says it was destroyed, by Babylon and the Assyrians.

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Damascus

King Ahaz of Judah, however, summoned the aid of the Assyrians; and the new policy finally led to the conquest of Damascus by an Assyrian army under Tiglath-Pileser III, who captured and destroyed the city in 732 B.C.E

I'm not an expert on Damascan history, so, I can't speak authoritatively, but it only took a minute using Google...