The prophecy may have been received around the time of the Syro-Ephraimite war (734–732 BC), when Aram and Israel attacked Judah to try and force the king to join a coalition against Assyria. This history is described in 2 Kings 15:37 and 2 Kings 16:5–8. However, King Ahaz of Judah asked for help from the Assyrian king, Tiglath-Pileser. As a result, Israel and Aram were defeated. A while later, the ten tribes of the northern kingdom were taken into exile (2 Kings 17:5–6).
1 An oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins.