1.
Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them.
1. fourteenth—the third of
Sennacherib's reign. His ultimate object was Egypt, Hezekiah's ally.
Hence he, with the great body of his army (), advanced towards the Egyptian frontier, in southwest
Palestine, and did not approach Jerusalem.
2.
And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field.
2. Rab-shakeh—In , Tartan and Rab-saris are joined with him. Rab-shakeh was
probably the chief leader; Rab is a title of authority,
"chief-cup-bearer."
Lachish—a frontier town
southwest of Jerusalem, in Judah; represented as a great fortified
city in a hilly and fruitful country in the Koyunjik bas-reliefs, now
in the British Museum; also, its name is found on a slab over a
figure of Sennacherib on his throne.
upper pool—the side on
which the Assyrians would approach Jerusalem coming from the
southwest (see on Isaiah 7:3).
3.
Then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah's son, which was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph's son, the recorder.
3. Eliakim—successor to
Shebna, who had been "over the household," that is, chief
minister of the king; in , this was foretold.
scribe—secretary,
recorder—literally, "one who reminds"; a remembrancer to
keep the king informed on important facts, and to act as
historiographer. In 2 Kings 18:18,
the additional fact is given that the Assyrian envoys "called to
the king," in consequence of which Eliakim, &c., "came
out to them."
4.
And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?
4. great king—the usual title
of the Persian and Assyrian kings, as they had many subordinate
princes or kings under them over provinces ().
5.
I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?
5. counsel—Egypt was famed for
its wisdom.
6.
Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.
6. It was a similar alliance
with So (that is, Sabacho, or else Sevechus), the Ethiopian king of
Egypt, which provoked the Assyrian to invade and destroy Israel, the
northern kingdom, under Hoshea.
7.
But if thou say to me, We trust in the LORD our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar?
7. The Assyrian mistakes
Hezekiah's religious reforms whereby he took away the high places
(2 Kings 18:4) as directed against
Jehovah. Some of the high places may have been dedicated to
Jehovah, but worshipped under the form of an image in
violation of the second commandment: the "brazen serpent,"
also (broken in pieces by Hezekiah, and called Nehushtan, "a
piece of brass," because it was worshipped by Israel) was
originally set up by God's command. Hence the Assyrian's
allegation has a specious color: you cannot look for help from
Jehovah, for your king has "taken away His altars."
to Jerusalem— (Deuteronomy 12:5;
Deuteronomy 12:11; John 4:20).
8.
Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
8. give pledges—a taunting
challenge. Only give the guarantee that you can supply as many
as two thousand riders, and I will give thee two thousand horses. But
seeing that you have not even this small number (see on ), how can you stand against the hosts of Assyrian cavalry?
The Jews tried to supply their weakness in this "arm" from
Egypt (Isaiah 31:1).
9.
How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
9. captain—a governor under a
satrap; even he commands more horsemen than this.
10.
And am I now come up without the LORD against this land to destroy it? the LORD said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.
10. A boastful inference from
the past successes of Assyria, designed to influence the Jews to
surrender; their own principles bound them to yield to
Jehovah's will. He may have heard from partisans in Judah what Isaiah
had foretold (Isaiah 10:5; Isaiah 10:6).
11.
Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews' language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.
11. Syrian—rather, "Aramean":
the language spoken north and east of Palestine, and understood by
the Assyrians as belonging to the same family of languages as their
own: nearly akin to Hebrew also, though not intelligible to
the multitude (compare ). "Aram" means a "high land," and
includes parts of Assyria as well as Syria.
Jews' language—The men
of Judah since the disruption of Israel, claimed the Hebrew as
their own peculiarly, as if they were now the only true
representatives of the whole Hebrew twelve tribes.
ears of . . . people on . . .
wall—The interview is within hearing distance of the city. The
people crowd on the wall, curious to hear the Assyrian message. The
Jewish rulers fear that it will terrify the people and therefore beg
Rab-shakeh to speak Aramean.
12.
But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?
12. Is it to thy master
and thee that I am sent? Nay, it is to the men on the wall,
to let them know (so far am I from wishing them not to hear,
as you would wish), that unless they surrender, they shall be
reduced to the direst extremities of famine in the siege (, explains the word here), namely, to eat their own
excrements: or, connecting, "that they may eat," c., with
"sit upon the wall" who, as they hold the wall, are
knowingly exposing themselves to the direst extremities [MAURER].
Isaiah, as a faithful historian, records the filthy and blasphemous
language of the Assyrians to mark aright the true character of the
attack on Jerusalem.
13.
Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.
13. Rab-shakeh speaks louder and
plainer than ever to the men on the wall.
14.
Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you.
15.
Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
15. The foes of God's people
cannot succeed against them, unless they can shake their trust in Him
(compare Isaiah 36:10).
16.
Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;
16. agreement . . . by . . .
present—rather, "make peace with me";
literally, "blessing" so called from the mutual
congratulations attending the ratification of peace. So
Chaldee. Or else, "Do homage to me"
[HORSLEY].
come out—surrender to
me; then you may remain in quiet possession of your lands till my
return from Egypt, when I will lead you away to a land fruitful as
your own. Rab-shakeh tries to soften, in the eyes of the Jews, the
well-known Assyrian policy of weakening the vanquished by deporting
them to other lands (Genesis 47:21;
2 Kings 17:6).
17.
Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
18.
Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
19.
Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
19. Hamath . . . Arphad—(See
on Isaiah 36:1).
Sepharvaim—literally,
"the two scribes"; now Sipphara, on the east of Euphrates,
above Babylon. It was a just retribution (Proverbs 1:31;
Jeremiah 2:19). Israel worshipped the
gods of Sepharvaim, and so colonists of Sepharvaim were planted in
the land of Israel (thenceforth called Samaria) by the Assyrian
conqueror (2 Kings 17:24; compare
2 Kings 18:34).
Samaria—Shalmaneser
began the siege against Hoshea, because of his conspiring with So of
Egypt (2 Kings 17:4). Sargon
finished it; and, in his palace at Khorsabad, he has mentioned the
number of Israelites carried captive—27,280 [G. V. SMITH].
20.
Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
20. (Compare Isaiah 10:11;
2 Chronicles 32:19). Here he contradicts
his own assertion (Isaiah 36:10),
that he had "come up against the land with the Lord."
Liars need good memories. He classes Jehovah with the idols of the
other lands; nay, thinks Him inferior in proportion as Judah, under
His tutelage, was less than the lands under the tutelage of the
idols.
21.
But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
21. not a word—so as not to
enter into a war of words with the blasphemer (Exodus 14:14;
Judges 1:9).
22.
Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
22. clothes rent—in grief and
horror at the blasphemy ().