Isaiah · Chapter 37

1. When king Hezekiah heard it — The narrative continues, but the scene is shifted, and what occurs inside the walls of Jerusalem is brought to view. On hearing the report of his returned commissioners, the king Hezekiah acted his grief in the accustomed way — rending his garments and putting on a mourning garb of coarse linen. A deep sorrow is thus expressed; such as, in this extremity, he thought only Jehovah, whom he truly honoured and loved, could assuage. Went into the house of the Lord — Where, according to the prayer of Solomon, (1 Kings 8:29,) sincere prayer should be heard. As this was done publicly, it could not well fail of suitably affecting the people.

2, 3. He sent Eliakim… Shebna — Two of the previous commissioners, together with the elders of the priests, or heads of Levitical families, unto Isaiah, whose sacred teaching, as a great prophet in Jerusalem, was of vast weight with him. The kind of embassy to Isaiah is proof of this. The proof, too, of the king’s extreme sense of the need of divine help is the strong metaphor which closes his message to the prophet.

Verse 3. This is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy. What moral idea can we form of a conqueror? A man hailed, adored, and applauded by the world. History is full of his fame, and monuments are loaded with his glory. His ambition is without bounds: “he saith, I will cut off nations not a few.” And what idea must he have of the loss of his own army; the finest men of his nation, and fully equipped for war. Assuredly, he calculates the lives of men as merchants count their gold. And perishing in war, like Sennacherib and Rabshakeh, how must he live with the countless myriads of souls which he sent to the shades below? To say nothing of the anger of an avenging God, all the anguish which murdered multitudes can inflict on the spirit of a culprit, will await him in the shades of death. If the blasphemy of those men let loose on earth, and the reins launched to every lawless passion, horrified good men; what must the recoil of that blasphemy be among the damned?

When Isaiah saw the storm coming, for the seers had enlightened eyes, he blew the trumpet like a watchman, and cried, “He is come to Ajath, he is advanced to Migron. At Michmash he has laid up his carriages; they have crossed the river, they have encamped at Geba. Ramah, the soul of Gibeah, is fled. Lift up thy voice, oh daughter of Gallim; cause it to be heard to Laish. Oh poor Anathoth! Madmenah is removed. The inhabitants of Gebim assemble for flight.” Isaiah 10:28-31.

2, 3. He sent Eliakim… Shebna — Two of the previous commissioners, together with the elders of the priests, or heads of Levitical families, unto Isaiah, whose sacred teaching, as a great prophet in Jerusalem, was of vast weight with him. The kind of embassy to Isaiah is proof of this. The proof, too, of the king’s extreme sense of the need of divine help is the strong metaphor which closes his message to the prophet.

Ver. 4. It may be the Lord thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh. King Hezekiah took a wise course; he spread the letter of Sennacherib before the Lord, and pleaded the promises of divine protection. A fine example for us to follow. This was better than reliance on the bruised reed of Egypt.

4. It may be — Peradventure, possibly, perhaps. The Lord thy God will hear — Jehovah will not fail to inflict vengeance on the blasphemy poured on his name this day by Rabshakeh, in behalf of his master, Sennacherib. The king puts this timidly, as though he hardly dared to hope; yet he does, and opens the apodosis of the sentence with a wherefore, or therefore, lift up thy prayer, namely, to Heaven. The idea here is, not merely a mental prayer, but one of deep struggle, of importunity and strong utterance. For the remnant that is left — Namely, Jerusalem and its people. This city only had been prepared to resist invasion. All the villages round about were open to sack and overthrow.

Verse 6. Thus shall ye say] תאמרונ hk ko tomerun, “thus shall ye (explicitly, earnestly, and positively) say.” The paragogic ˆ nun deepens and increases the sense.

6, 7. Isaiah replies — He lives closer to God than his king assumes to; this is implied by the king himself in his appeal to him. Thus saith the Lord — Direct communion with Jehovah brings to the prophet a revelation favourable to the king’s hesitating hope in the case. All the braggadocio of Rabshakeh occasions no fear. Send a blast — Bring a spirit upon him; — some supernatural force that shall influence his thought and plans. He shall hear a rumour — Something that shall produce terror, and shall disgracefully scare him homeward, where his career shall end in his being murdered.

Verse 7. I will send a blast— “I will infuse a spirit into him”] “jwr wb ytwn nothen bo ruach never signifies any thing but putting a spirit into a person: this was pneuma deiliav, the spirit of deceit.”—Secker. “I will send a blast”—I do not think that Archbishop Secker has hit the true meaning of these words. I believe jwr ruach means here a pestilential wind, such as the Arabs call simoom, that instantly suffocates both man and beast; and is what is termed “the angel of the Lord,” God’s messenger of death to the Assyrians, Isaiah 37:36.

6, 7. Isaiah replies — He lives closer to God than his king assumes to; this is implied by the king himself in his appeal to him. Thus saith the Lord — Direct communion with Jehovah brings to the prophet a revelation favourable to the king’s hesitating hope in the case. All the braggadocio of Rabshakeh occasions no fear. Send a blast — Bring a spirit upon him; — some supernatural force that shall influence his thought and plans. He shall hear a rumour — Something that shall produce terror, and shall disgracefully scare him homeward, where his career shall end in his being murdered.

Verse 8. Rabshakeh returned] From Isaiah 36:2, we learn that the king of Assyria had sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem; now it is likely that Rabshakeh had besieged that place, and that the king of Assyria had taken his station before this city, and despatched Rabshakeh against Jerusalem. But, as in the verse above it is said, “he had departed from Lachish,” probably he had been obliged to raise the siege, and sat down before Libnah, which promised an easier conquest.

8, 9. Seeing no fruit of his commission, Rabshakeh returns to find Sennacherib, for some reason, not now at Lachish but invading Libnah, a city of the plain southwest of Jerusalem. It was assigned originally as a city of refuge and residence of the Levites. See Joshua 21:13. Only Rabshakeh is mentioned as going down, probably to report to Sennacherib, while the other officers and the great host, (see Isaiah 36:17,) doubtless remained encamped against Jerusalem. He heard say — The rumour or report, referred to in verse 7, of powerful preparations made by Tirhakah of Egypt to meet him. Respecting Egyptian monarchs at this time, the perplexities are not yet unravelled. But Tirhakah, one of the three constituting the twenty-fifth dynasty of Manetho, is the principal figure here against Sennacherib. (See RAWLINSON’S Monarchies, vol. ii, and GEORGE SMITH’S Assyrian Inscriptions, page 311.) On hearing this report, and before Hezekiah should hear of it, and so take advantage to hold out with increased courage, Sennacherib sends back to Hezekiah to surrender, in terms very like to the first message by Rabshakeh to the people on the wall.

Verse 9. He heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia] When he heard that Tirhakah king of Ethiopia had come out against him, then he sent that blasphemous manifesto which is contained in Isaiah 37:10-13, to terrify Hezekiah into submission. How much was this like, in words and spirit, to the manifesto sent to the Parisians by the late Duke of Brunswick, from the plains of Champaigne, in 1792, which was the forerunner of the mighty torrents of human blood which was shed in the French revolution! And what a blast of God fell upon him and his army-nearly like that which fell on the army of Sennacherib! He sent messengers— “He sent messengers again”] The word [mvyw vaiyishma, “and he heard,” which occurs the second time in this verse, is repeated by mistake from the beginning of the verse. It is omitted in an ancient MS. It is a mere tautology, and embarrasses the sense. The true reading instead of it is, bvyw veyesheb, “and he returned,” which the Septuagint read in this place, apestreye, and which is preserved in the other copy, 2 Kings 19:9: “He returned and sent,” that is, according to the Hebrew idiom, “he sent again.”

8, 9. Seeing no fruit of his commission, Rabshakeh returns to find Sennacherib, for some reason, not now at Lachish but invading Libnah, a city of the plain southwest of Jerusalem. It was assigned originally as a city of refuge and residence of the Levites. See Joshua 21:13. Only Rabshakeh is mentioned as going down, probably to report to Sennacherib, while the other officers and the great host, (see Isaiah 36:17,) doubtless remained encamped against Jerusalem. He heard say — The rumour or report, referred to in verse 7, of powerful preparations made by Tirhakah of Egypt to meet him. Respecting Egyptian monarchs at this time, the perplexities are not yet unravelled. But Tirhakah, one of the three constituting the twenty-fifth dynasty of Manetho, is the principal figure here against Sennacherib. (See RAWLINSON’S Monarchies, vol. ii, and GEORGE SMITH’S Assyrian Inscriptions, page 311.) On hearing this report, and before Hezekiah should hear of it, and so take advantage to hold out with increased courage, Sennacherib sends back to Hezekiah to surrender, in terms very like to the first message by Rabshakeh to the people on the wall.

10-13. Sennacherib, in his arrogance and ignorance, again insults the God of Israel by lowering him to the grade of the national gods around, and boasts of the great things his predecessors had done. Gozan — Situated on the Chaboras — the river Chebor of Ezekiel — which flows from the north into the Euphrates. Haran — Farther west than “Gozan.” From here Abram went to Canaan. Children of Eden — If by this is meant the tribe of Eden, (see Ezekiel 27:23,) situated on the border of Media, which is not unlikely, then a long curve of territory was made by Sennacherib to denote the extensiveness of Assyrian conquest. Nobody now knows where Hena or Ivah lay.

10-13. Sennacherib, in his arrogance and ignorance, again insults the God of Israel by lowering him to the grade of the national gods around, and boasts of the great things his predecessors had done. Gozan — Situated on the Chaboras — the river Chebor of Ezekiel — which flows from the north into the Euphrates. Haran — Farther west than “Gozan.” From here Abram went to Canaan. Children of Eden — If by this is meant the tribe of Eden, (see Ezekiel 27:23,) situated on the border of Media, which is not unlikely, then a long curve of territory was made by Sennacherib to denote the extensiveness of Assyrian conquest. Nobody now knows where Hena or Ivah lay.

Verse 12. As Gozan, and Haran] חרנ Charan: but הרנ Haran is the reading of four of Kennicott’s MSS. and one of Deuteronomy Rossi’s.

10-13. Sennacherib, in his arrogance and ignorance, again insults the God of Israel by lowering him to the grade of the national gods around, and boasts of the great things his predecessors had done. Gozan — Situated on the Chaboras — the river Chebor of Ezekiel — which flows from the north into the Euphrates. Haran — Farther west than “Gozan.” From here Abram went to Canaan. Children of Eden — If by this is meant the tribe of Eden, (see Ezekiel 27:23,) situated on the border of Media, which is not unlikely, then a long curve of territory was made by Sennacherib to denote the extensiveness of Assyrian conquest. Nobody now knows where Hena or Ivah lay.

10-13. Sennacherib, in his arrogance and ignorance, again insults the God of Israel by lowering him to the grade of the national gods around, and boasts of the great things his predecessors had done. Gozan — Situated on the Chaboras — the river Chebor of Ezekiel — which flows from the north into the Euphrates. Haran — Farther west than “Gozan.” From here Abram went to Canaan. Children of Eden — If by this is meant the tribe of Eden, (see Ezekiel 27:23,) situated on the border of Media, which is not unlikely, then a long curve of territory was made by Sennacherib to denote the extensiveness of Assyrian conquest. Nobody now knows where Hena or Ivah lay.

Verse 14. And read it— “And read them”] µarqyw vayikraem. So MS. Bodl. in this place; and so the other copy; instead of wharqyw vaiyikraehu, “and read IT.”

And spread it— “And spread them”] whcrpyw vaiyiphresehu. wh hu is upon a rasure in a MS., which probably was at first µ mem. The same mistake as in the foregoing note.

14-20. The insulting message above noted was in the form of a letter, which Hezekiah piously spread before the Lord in the temple — an act of prayer passing at length into vocal utterance, (verses 16-20,) recognising the unity, majesty, and supreme glory of the Infinite One, and asking help for the chosen nation. The argument of his prayer is this: “The Assyrians have certainly destroyed nations and their gods, because these gods were nothing but the work of men’s hands. But do Thou help, and show that Thou art the only Lord in the universe.”

What a prayer! and what an answer through Isaiah, Jehovah’s true prophet! The prayer had been offered at the most holy place — perhaps in it — unto Him who representatively dwelt between the cherubim by the fact of his glory, or Shechinah, hovering over the mercy seat. The answer was a revelation to Isaiah at his school residence in the city, and brought by one of his disciples to the king. The prayer and the answer have a sublimely official air.*

[* Because thou hast prayed concerning Sennacherib’s daring outrage upon Jehovah’s sacred name, this is the answer which he hath returned to thee. The virgin, the daughter of Zion — This is Jerusalem, looked at by the prophet, in her always intended and now actually, sacred and pure character as the seat of the true worship of God. Hath despised thee — It is absolutely safe from Sennacherib’s attacks, and is prepared to defy his ineffectual attempts, also to exult over his own prospective overthrow. “Shaking the head” is possibly a gesture of negation, in effect saying, “He has no power to hurt me.”]

Verse 15. Unto the Lord— “Before JEHOVAH”] That is, in the sanctuary. For la el, the Syriac, Chaldee, and the other copy, 2 Kings 19:15, read ynpl liphney, “before the face.”

14-20. The insulting message above noted was in the form of a letter, which Hezekiah piously spread before the Lord in the temple — an act of prayer passing at length into vocal utterance, (verses 16-20,) recognising the unity, majesty, and supreme glory of the Infinite One, and asking help for the chosen nation. The argument of his prayer is this: “The Assyrians have certainly destroyed nations and their gods, because these gods were nothing but the work of men’s hands. But do Thou help, and show that Thou art the only Lord in the universe.”

What a prayer! and what an answer through Isaiah, Jehovah’s true prophet! The prayer had been offered at the most holy place — perhaps in it — unto Him who representatively dwelt between the cherubim by the fact of his glory, or Shechinah, hovering over the mercy seat. The answer was a revelation to Isaiah at his school residence in the city, and brought by one of his disciples to the king. The prayer and the answer have a sublimely official air.*

[* Because thou hast prayed concerning Sennacherib’s daring outrage upon Jehovah’s sacred name, this is the answer which he hath returned to thee. The virgin, the daughter of Zion — This is Jerusalem, looked at by the prophet, in her always intended and now actually, sacred and pure character as the seat of the true worship of God. Hath despised thee — It is absolutely safe from Sennacherib’s attacks, and is prepared to defy his ineffectual attempts, also to exult over his own prospective overthrow. “Shaking the head” is possibly a gesture of negation, in effect saying, “He has no power to hurt me.”]

14-20. The insulting message above noted was in the form of a letter, which Hezekiah piously spread before the Lord in the temple — an act of prayer passing at length into vocal utterance, (verses 16-20,) recognising the unity, majesty, and supreme glory of the Infinite One, and asking help for the chosen nation. The argument of his prayer is this: “The Assyrians have certainly destroyed nations and their gods, because these gods were nothing but the work of men’s hands. But do Thou help, and show that Thou art the only Lord in the universe.”

What a prayer! and what an answer through Isaiah, Jehovah’s true prophet! The prayer had been offered at the most holy place — perhaps in it — unto Him who representatively dwelt between the cherubim by the fact of his glory, or Shechinah, hovering over the mercy seat. The answer was a revelation to Isaiah at his school residence in the city, and brought by one of his disciples to the king. The prayer and the answer have a sublimely official air.*

[* Because thou hast prayed concerning Sennacherib’s daring outrage upon Jehovah’s sacred name, this is the answer which he hath returned to thee. The virgin, the daughter of Zion — This is Jerusalem, looked at by the prophet, in her always intended and now actually, sacred and pure character as the seat of the true worship of God. Hath despised thee — It is absolutely safe from Sennacherib’s attacks, and is prepared to defy his ineffectual attempts, also to exult over his own prospective overthrow. “Shaking the head” is possibly a gesture of negation, in effect saying, “He has no power to hurt me.”]

14-20. The insulting message above noted was in the form of a letter, which Hezekiah piously spread before the Lord in the temple — an act of prayer passing at length into vocal utterance, (verses 16-20,) recognising the unity, majesty, and supreme glory of the Infinite One, and asking help for the chosen nation. The argument of his prayer is this: “The Assyrians have certainly destroyed nations and their gods, because these gods were nothing but the work of men’s hands. But do Thou help, and show that Thou art the only Lord in the universe.”

What a prayer! and what an answer through Isaiah, Jehovah’s true prophet! The prayer had been offered at the most holy place — perhaps in it — unto Him who representatively dwelt between the cherubim by the fact of his glory, or Shechinah, hovering over the mercy seat. The answer was a revelation to Isaiah at his school residence in the city, and brought by one of his disciples to the king. The prayer and the answer have a sublimely official air.*

[* Because thou hast prayed concerning Sennacherib’s daring outrage upon Jehovah’s sacred name, this is the answer which he hath returned to thee. The virgin, the daughter of Zion — This is Jerusalem, looked at by the prophet, in her always intended and now actually, sacred and pure character as the seat of the true worship of God. Hath despised thee — It is absolutely safe from Sennacherib’s attacks, and is prepared to defy his ineffectual attempts, also to exult over his own prospective overthrow. “Shaking the head” is possibly a gesture of negation, in effect saying, “He has no power to hurt me.”]

Verse 18. The nations] twxrah haratsoth, “the lands;” instead of this word, which destroys the sense, ten of Kennicott’s and five of Deuteronomy Rossi’s MSS. (one ancient) have here גוים goyim, “nations;” which is undoubtedly the true reading, being preserved also in the other copy; 2 Kings 19:17. Another MS. suggests another method of rectifying the sense in this place, by reading מלכם malcam, “their king,” instead of µxra artsam, “their land;” but it ought to be מלכיהם malcheyhem, “all the countries and their kings.”

14-20. The insulting message above noted was in the form of a letter, which Hezekiah piously spread before the Lord in the temple — an act of prayer passing at length into vocal utterance, (verses 16-20,) recognising the unity, majesty, and supreme glory of the Infinite One, and asking help for the chosen nation. The argument of his prayer is this: “The Assyrians have certainly destroyed nations and their gods, because these gods were nothing but the work of men’s hands. But do Thou help, and show that Thou art the only Lord in the universe.”

What a prayer! and what an answer through Isaiah, Jehovah’s true prophet! The prayer had been offered at the most holy place — perhaps in it — unto Him who representatively dwelt between the cherubim by the fact of his glory, or Shechinah, hovering over the mercy seat. The answer was a revelation to Isaiah at his school residence in the city, and brought by one of his disciples to the king. The prayer and the answer have a sublimely official air.*

[* Because thou hast prayed concerning Sennacherib’s daring outrage upon Jehovah’s sacred name, this is the answer which he hath returned to thee. The virgin, the daughter of Zion — This is Jerusalem, looked at by the prophet, in her always intended and now actually, sacred and pure character as the seat of the true worship of God. Hath despised thee — It is absolutely safe from Sennacherib’s attacks, and is prepared to defy his ineffectual attempts, also to exult over his own prospective overthrow. “Shaking the head” is possibly a gesture of negation, in effect saying, “He has no power to hurt me.”]

14-20. The insulting message above noted was in the form of a letter, which Hezekiah piously spread before the Lord in the temple — an act of prayer passing at length into vocal utterance, (verses 16-20,) recognising the unity, majesty, and supreme glory of the Infinite One, and asking help for the chosen nation. The argument of his prayer is this: “The Assyrians have certainly destroyed nations and their gods, because these gods were nothing but the work of men’s hands. But do Thou help, and show that Thou art the only Lord in the universe.”

What a prayer! and what an answer through Isaiah, Jehovah’s true prophet! The prayer had been offered at the most holy place — perhaps in it — unto Him who representatively dwelt between the cherubim by the fact of his glory, or Shechinah, hovering over the mercy seat. The answer was a revelation to Isaiah at his school residence in the city, and brought by one of his disciples to the king. The prayer and the answer have a sublimely official air.*

[* Because thou hast prayed concerning Sennacherib’s daring outrage upon Jehovah’s sacred name, this is the answer which he hath returned to thee. The virgin, the daughter of Zion — This is Jerusalem, looked at by the prophet, in her always intended and now actually, sacred and pure character as the seat of the true worship of God. Hath despised thee — It is absolutely safe from Sennacherib’s attacks, and is prepared to defy his ineffectual attempts, also to exult over his own prospective overthrow. “Shaking the head” is possibly a gesture of negation, in effect saying, “He has no power to hurt me.”]

Verse 20. Save us— “Save us, we beseech thee”] The supplicating particle, an na, is supplied here from eighteen MSS., three ancient, of Dr. Kennicott, and ten of Deuteronomy Rossi, and from the other copy; 2 Kings 19:19.

That thou art the Lord, even thou only— “That thou JEHOVAH art the only God.”] The word אלהים Elohim, “God,” is lost here in the Hebrew text, but preserved in the other copy; 2 Kings 19:19. The Syriac and Septuagint seem here to have had in their copies אלהים Elohim, instead of hwhy Yehovah.

14-20. The insulting message above noted was in the form of a letter, which Hezekiah piously spread before the Lord in the temple — an act of prayer passing at length into vocal utterance, (verses 16-20,) recognising the unity, majesty, and supreme glory of the Infinite One, and asking help for the chosen nation. The argument of his prayer is this: “The Assyrians have certainly destroyed nations and their gods, because these gods were nothing but the work of men’s hands. But do Thou help, and show that Thou art the only Lord in the universe.”

What a prayer! and what an answer through Isaiah, Jehovah’s true prophet! The prayer had been offered at the most holy place — perhaps in it — unto Him who representatively dwelt between the cherubim by the fact of his glory, or Shechinah, hovering over the mercy seat. The answer was a revelation to Isaiah at his school residence in the city, and brought by one of his disciples to the king. The prayer and the answer have a sublimely official air.*

[* Because thou hast prayed concerning Sennacherib’s daring outrage upon Jehovah’s sacred name, this is the answer which he hath returned to thee. The virgin, the daughter of Zion — This is Jerusalem, looked at by the prophet, in her always intended and now actually, sacred and pure character as the seat of the true worship of God. Hath despised thee — It is absolutely safe from Sennacherib’s attacks, and is prepared to defy his ineffectual attempts, also to exult over his own prospective overthrow. “Shaking the head” is possibly a gesture of negation, in effect saying, “He has no power to hurt me.”]

Verse 21. Then Isaiah—sent unto Hezekiah] The Syriac and Septuagint understand and render the verb passively, was sent.

Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib— “Thy prayer unto me concerning Sennacherib—I have heard”] שמעתי shamati; this word, necessary to the sense, is lost in this place out of the Hebrew text. One MS. of Dr. Kennicott’s and one of Deuteronomy Rossi’s have it written above the line in a later hand. The Septuagint and Syriac found it in their copies; and it is preserved in the other copy; 2 Kings 19:20.

Verse 23. Against the Holy One of Israel.] For la el, to, the other copy has l[ al, against, rather more properly.

23. Whom… blasphemed — Not a senseless idol, like the gods you boast of as being superior to Him, as you will soon know to your harm. Against whom… exalted thy voice — That is, by Rabshakeh’s speaking to the people on the walls, in a loud and confident tone. Lifted up thine eyes on high — Descriptive of the haughty and arrogant air assumed against the living and true God.

Verse 24. By thy servants— “By thy messengers”] The text has Ëydb[ abdeycha, thy servants; but the true reading seems to be Ëykalm malacheycha, thy messengers, as in the other copy, 2 Kings 19:23; and as the Septuagint and Syriac found it in their copies in this place. Reproached the Lord] ynda Adonai: but one of my MSS. has ynda hwhy Yehovah Adonai, Jehovah the Lord. This reading is not found, I think, in any other MS., but several have hwhy Yehovah for ynda Adonai. I will enter into the height of his border— “I will penetrate into his extreme retreats”] The text has מרום marom, the height which seems to have been taken by mistake from the line but one above. Two MSS. have here מלונ malon, the lodge or retreat; which is the word in the other copy, 2 Kings 19:23, and I think is the true reading. The forest of his Carmel.] The forest and his fruitful field; that is, I will possess myself of the whole country.

24. By thy servants hast thou — Thus Sennacherib is properly held responsible for the insult his servants had given at his command. The reasons seem good which consider Lebanon, here, with its accompanying figures, as referring to Jerusalem. The kingdoms above mentioned, with the kingdom of Israel, have all fallen by Assyrian power; now the kingdom of Judah and its capital shall go the same way. So Sennacherib thought and said.

Verse 25. Water— “Strange waters”] The word זרים zarim, strange, lost out of the Hebrew text in this place, is supplied from the other copy. A MS. supplies the word רבים rabbim, many, instead of it. With the sole of my feet] With my infantry.

All the rivers of the besieged places— “All the canals of fenced places.”] The principal cities of Egypt, the scene of his late exploits, were chiefly defended by deep moats, canals, or large lakes, made by labour and art, with which they were surrounded. See Harmer’s Observ. ii. p. 304. Claudian introduces Alaric boasting of his conquests in the same extravagant manner:—

“Subsidere nostris

Sub pedibus montes; arescere vidimus amnes.—

Fregi Alpes, galeisque Padum victricibus hausi.”

Deuteronomy Bello Getic. 526.

“The mountains have passed away under our feet; we have seen the rivers dried up. I have broken the Alps, and laden out the Po with our victorious helmets.”

Ver. 25. I have digged, and drunk [strange] waters. 2 Kings 19:24. In the sandy deserts, the cattle can smell water underground, and will thrust their noses into the sands. John Campbell’s Travels in South Africa. In like cases, the Assyrian armies must have dug wide pits, and obtained supplies of water.

25. Each verse along here shows a strophical character — parties speaking in turn. Sennacherib is now the speaker. Yes, indeed, I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet [steps of my feet] have I dried up all the streams of Egypt — The best views respecting the confusion of Hebrew tenses in this verse and the preceding, make good sense as follows: It is as if it were already done, that I have digged and drank water with my great army across the northern et-Tih desert to Egypt. My power is adequate to do it with the utmost ease. Likewise, as if already in Egypt, subduing all before me — it is as good as done — that with the step of foot of my whole army upon water tread mills I have completely exhausted all the Nile arms and canals of Egypt. Some favour is due to another sense, that of an hyperbole, in the last clause, namely, “The Nile was nothing but a puddle to him, which he could trample out with the sole of his foot.” — Delitzsch.

Verse 26. Lay waste defended cities into ruinous heaps— “Lay waste warlike nations; strong fenced cities.”] µyxn גלים gallim nitstsim. It is not easy to give a satisfactory account of these two words, which have greatly embarrassed all the interpreters, ancient and modern. For גלים gallim I read גוים goyim, as the Septuagint do in this place, eqnh. The word µyxn netsim the Vulgate renders in this place compugnantium; in the parallel place, 2 Kings 19:25, pugnantium; and the Septuagint macimwn, fighting, warlike. This rendering is as well authorized as any other that I know of; and, with the reading of the Septuagint, perfectly clears up the construction. See the margin on all the preceding verses.

26. Through the prophet God now speaks to Sennacherib. Hast thou not heard — Is it real ignorance on thy part, that Jehovah is the only true God, and has control of Assyria; that she is his instrument, the rod of his anger, (Isaiah 10:5, 15,) to lay waste peoples who submit not to warning and correction? Thou dost boast that it is all by thy command and might, but it is I, who long ago… have done it. (Isaiah 22:11.) Because I so ordered it, the people were of small power before thee. Of ancient times… I have formed it — The idea of overruling evil men and their acts is eternal with God. How the Eternal consists with the finite historical, or the absolute with the relative, is doubtless to be forever unknown to men.

Verse 27. Corn blasted] hmdv shedemah, parched: it does not appear that there is any good authority for this word. The true reading seems to be hpdv shedephah, blasted, as it is in six MSS. (two ancient) here, and in the other copy.

27. When, in the order of events, a greatly superior invader comes upon a weak people, the statement that the latter is of small power, literally, short of hand, unable to reach to an equality of fighting force, is very plain. The comparison, as… grass of the field… on the housetops… as corn blasted, etc., under the scorching sun — this adds essential force to the powerlessness of the invaded.

28. The expressions, thy abode… going out… coming in, are commonly agreed to mean all the actions of life. Psalm 139:2. These, Jehovah says

to the Assyrian general, he has always known.

Verse 29. Will I put my hook in thy nose] Et frænum meum: Jonathan vocem gtm metheg, interpretatus est זמם zemam, i.e., annulum, sive uncum, eumque ferreum, quem infigunt naribus camelæ: eoque trahitur, quoniam illa feris motibus agitur: et hoc est, quod discimus in Talmude; et camela cum annulo narium: scilicet, egreditur die sabbathi. “And my bridle: Jonathan interprets the word metheg by zemam, a ring, or that iron hook which they put in the nostrils of a camel to lead her about, check her in her restiveness, &c. And this is what we mean in the Talmud, when we say, And the camel with the ring of her nostrils shall go out on the Sabbath day.”—Jarchi in 2 Kings 19:28. Ponam circulum in naribus tuis. “I will put a ring in thy nostrils.”—Jerome. Just as at this day they put a ring into the nose of the bear, the buffalo, and other wild beasts, to lead them, and to govern them when they are unruly. Bulls are often ringed thus in several parts of England. The Hindoos compare a person who is the slave of his wife to a cow led by the ring in her nose.

Ver. 29. I will put my hook in thy nose, as rings are put in the nose of camels, bears, buffaloes, and unruly bulls.

29. Because thy rage — Thy violent carrying out of thine own will. This gives the hithpael sense of the word — a moving to and fro, an active insolence. Thy tumult — Arrogant self-confidence. Is come up into mine ears — Denoting good knowledge from hearing. Hook in thy nose — The figure of the nose-ring (Ezekiel 38:4) for leading wild, intractable animals, is applied to this untamed man, showing to what humiliations he is to be subjected. The Assyrian is to be led home like a wild beast, without having conquered either Jerusalem or Egypt.

30. The turn of discourse is now to Hezekiah. The main point in it is of a sign. Ye — Hezekiah and the remnant of the people that shall be left. Ye shall eat… such as groweth — The Assyrian depredations have prevented agriculture the last year. All that can be hoped for in the next year is from the spontaneous but scanty harvest derived from grain casually dropped in the previous season. The year following, or third year, the land will be altogether delivered from fear to cultivate to the fullest extent. The invaders will be clean gone, and the ever-to-be-preserved remnant will be here. Another view, possessing considerable weight, is, that this was the year previous to a jubilee, and consequently a sabbatic year. By law the land was to rest, no ploughing or sowing being allowed, consequently no reaping. The same law regulated also the next, or jubilee year. It may not, therefore, have been because of the ravages of the Assyrians, past or present, that the people were to eat, these two years, of such as should grow “of itself.” A somewhat curious calculation, confirmatory of the above suggestion, is given by the Speaker’s Commentary, as follows: “That the year 710 was sabbatical may be seen, 1) By reckoning backward from data supplied by Josephus, who makes the years B.C. 164, 136, 38, to be sabbatical. Now if we add 78+7 (or 546) to 164, we get 710. 2) By reckoning onward from the date of the first occupation of the land, B.C. 1444. For fifteen periods of 7+7 years amount to 735; and B.C. 710 is the 735th year from B.C. 1444. It follows, therefore, that the next year, B.C. 709, was a jubilee year.

31, 32. The remnant — Literally, the escaped: the context seems to imply these were few. House of Judah — In this invasion of Judah large numbers of the inhabitants perished. Though not mentioned, the pestilence had possibly begun its ravages. The remaining survivors are now to be undisturbed, to flourish and prosper, or, in the words of the prophet, to take root downward, and bear fruit upward. This with the prophet is a settled fact, — wrapped in the remnant is the Messianic kernel. He repeats it with emphasis to assure Hezekiah. The zeal of the Lord of hosts — His intense interest in behalf of Judah, will accomplish this. See Isaiah 9:7.

31, 32. The remnant — Literally, the escaped: the context seems to imply these were few. House of Judah — In this invasion of Judah large numbers of the inhabitants perished. Though not mentioned, the pestilence had possibly begun its ravages. The remaining survivors are now to be undisturbed, to flourish and prosper, or, in the words of the prophet, to take root downward, and bear fruit upward. This with the prophet is a settled fact, — wrapped in the remnant is the Messianic kernel. He repeats it with emphasis to assure Hezekiah. The zeal of the Lord of hosts — His intense interest in behalf of Judah, will accomplish this. See Isaiah 9:7.

33-36. Thus far strongly assuring Hezekiah, Isaiah here gives definite details of the grounds of this assurance. The king of Assyria… shall not come into this city… nor cast a bank — A familiar mode of describing an ancient siege. By the way that he came… shall he return — Without even an attack on Egypt, though that was the chief point of Sennacherib’s intended assault. He shall keep to the thoroughfare on the plains, over the pass of Megiddo, onward northeasterly, etc. This is said in pursuance of God’s plan, on that very night, (2 Kings 19:35,) to smite with death from plague or otherwise, one hundred and eighty-five thousand of this great army. The history of this event is so fragmentary that facts are wanting to decide where, how, in what proportions — whether united in one body again or still separated in parts — this army received this catastrophe.

33-36. Thus far strongly assuring Hezekiah, Isaiah here gives definite details of the grounds of this assurance. The king of Assyria… shall not come into this city… nor cast a bank — A familiar mode of describing an ancient siege. By the way that he came… shall he return — Without even an attack on Egypt, though that was the chief point of Sennacherib’s intended assault. He shall keep to the thoroughfare on the plains, over the pass of Megiddo, onward northeasterly, etc. This is said in pursuance of God’s plan, on that very night, (2 Kings 19:35,) to smite with death from plague or otherwise, one hundred and eighty-five thousand of this great army. The history of this event is so fragmentary that facts are wanting to decide where, how, in what proportions — whether united in one body again or still separated in parts — this army received this catastrophe.

33-36. Thus far strongly assuring Hezekiah, Isaiah here gives definite details of the grounds of this assurance. The king of Assyria… shall not come into this city… nor cast a bank — A familiar mode of describing an ancient siege. By the way that he came… shall he return — Without even an attack on Egypt, though that was the chief point of Sennacherib’s intended assault. He shall keep to the thoroughfare on the plains, over the pass of Megiddo, onward northeasterly, etc. This is said in pursuance of God’s plan, on that very night, (2 Kings 19:35,) to smite with death from plague or otherwise, one hundred and eighty-five thousand of this great army. The history of this event is so fragmentary that facts are wanting to decide where, how, in what proportions — whether united in one body again or still separated in parts — this army received this catastrophe.

Verse 36. Then the angel] Before “the angel,” the other copy, 2 Kings 19:35, adds “it came to pass the same night, that”— The Prophet Hosea, Hosea 1:7, has given a plain prediction of the miraculous deliverance of the kingdom of Judah:— “And to the house of Judah I will be tenderly merciful: And I will save them by JEHOVAH their God.

And I will not save them by the bow;

Nor by sword, nor by battle;

By horses, nor by horsemen.”—L.

Verse 36. Then the angel of the Lord went forth — When “Sennacherib, in his opprobrious message to Hezekiah and his subjects, not only inveighed against them, but blasphemously reviled even their God, bringing down the great God of Israel to the contemptible level of the gods of the nations, putting him to open defiance, and charging him with impotence to his face, it was time for the Lord to vindicate his honour, to assert his supremacy and power, and to make both parties sensible that he was ‘glorious in might, equally able to help and to cast down, to save and to destroy.’ Accordingly, this blasphemous tyrant had scarcely advanced to the holy city, before his forces were instantly broken, and he was obliged to retreat with shame and confusion.” By this tremendous act, Jehovah made it visible to all the nations, especially to the Jews, who had greatly apostatized from his worship and service, and strangely gone over to the heathen idolatry, changing their glory for that which did not profit, that he was a God, “mighty in strength, and excellent in power;” that he was truly what he had styled himself, The Lord of hosts; and that there was no other god that could deliver after this sort. — Dodd.

Ver. 36. Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand. Who would set the thorns and the briars in battle against Omnipotence? This stroke of the arm of heaven is six times recorded in the sacred writings; in the books of Kings and Chronicles as above; and three times in the Apocrypha. It is recorded by Herodotus, the father of Grecian history, in his second book.—Euterpe. The stalking pride of atheism can find no footing here. This Angel, according to the prophet Hosea, was Jehovah; the Angel, as in Genesis 22:16. 32:30. Isaiah 63:7, 16. His words are, To the house of Judah I will be tenderly merciful,

And I will save them by Jehovah their God:

And I will not save them by the bow,

Nor by the sword, nor by battle;

By horses, nor by horsemen.—Hosea 1:7.

Lowth’s Version.

33-36. Thus far strongly assuring Hezekiah, Isaiah here gives definite details of the grounds of this assurance. The king of Assyria… shall not come into this city… nor cast a bank — A familiar mode of describing an ancient siege. By the way that he came… shall he return — Without even an attack on Egypt, though that was the chief point of Sennacherib’s intended assault. He shall keep to the thoroughfare on the plains, over the pass of Megiddo, onward northeasterly, etc. This is said in pursuance of God’s plan, on that very night, (2 Kings 19:35,) to smite with death from plague or otherwise, one hundred and eighty-five thousand of this great army. The history of this event is so fragmentary that facts are wanting to decide where, how, in what proportions — whether united in one body again or still separated in parts — this army received this catastrophe.

Verses 37, 38. So Sennacherib departed, &c. — “The great king, the king of Assyria,” says Henry, “looks very little when he is thus forced to return, not only with shame, because he cannot accomplish what he had projected with so much assurance, but with fear and terror, lest the angel that had destroyed his army should destroy him; yet he is made to look less when his own sons, that should have guarded him, sacrificed him to his idol, whose protection he sought. God can quickly stop the breath of those who breathe out threatenings and slaughter against his people, and will do it when they have filled up the measure of their iniquity.” The Lord is known by the judgments which he executeth; known especially to be a God that resists the proud, and fails not to take speedy and exemplary vengeance on the insolent revilers of his Godhead, and the contemptuous blasphemers of his divine power and glory. We may observe, upon the whole of this wonderful story, that many very important ends were evidently answered by the war which God permitted the king of Assyria to make on Hezekiah, and the invasion of Judea, and by the remarkable issue of that calamity. Hereby, 1st, The Jews were chastised for their various idolatries and other sins, and many of them, no doubt, were humbled and brought to repentance. 2d, The faith of their pious king was tried, and, in consequence of the extraordinary deliverance granted him and his subjects, was greatly increased and confirmed in the power and faithfulness of God. 3d, The people of God were taught and encouraged in all their dangers and distresses to have recourse to him, their refuge and strength, their very present and never failing help in trouble. 4th, A demonstration was given, in the face of the whole world, of the almighty power of Jehovah, and of his superiority over all the gods of the heathen. And, lastly, by this signal vengeance taken on a proud and haughty blasphemer, mankind were given to know that the God of Israel, the only living and true God, was a holy and jealous, as well as a mighty God, who would not give his glory to another, nor suffer it to be insulted with impunity; and were warned of the consequences of reviling and blaspheming his glorious name.

37, 38. The same lack of facts leaves it uncertain how long Sennacherib survived his mortifying return to Nineveh. The book of Tobit, (i, 21,) Josephus, (Antiquities, 10:2, 2,) and Rawlinson, all clash. See RAWLINSON’S Ancient Monarchies, vol. ii, page 169, where he claims that Sennacherib lived seventeen years after his return, made other wars, and left his power and territories undiminished for his son and successor, Esarhaddon. In this case, it must be suspected that some other hand than Isaiah’s added these last verses. In any case, the snatches of history furnished by the monuments, as yet only throw the subject into confusion rather than give the light required to explain some facts and apparent dates here presented.

Verse 38. His sons smote him] What an awful punishment of his blasphemy! Who can harden his neck against God, and be successful? God does not lightly pass by blasphemy against himself, his government, his word, his Son, or his people. Let the profligate take care! ISAIAH

Verses 37, 38. So Sennacherib departed, &c. — “The great king, the king of Assyria,” says Henry, “looks very little when he is thus forced to return, not only with shame, because he cannot accomplish what he had projected with so much assurance, but with fear and terror, lest the angel that had destroyed his army should destroy him; yet he is made to look less when his own sons, that should have guarded him, sacrificed him to his idol, whose protection he sought. God can quickly stop the breath of those who breathe out threatenings and slaughter against his people, and will do it when they have filled up the measure of their iniquity.” The Lord is known by the judgments which he executeth; known especially to be a God that resists the proud, and fails not to take speedy and exemplary vengeance on the insolent revilers of his Godhead, and the contemptuous blasphemers of his divine power and glory. We may observe, upon the whole of this wonderful story, that many very important ends were evidently answered by the war which God permitted the king of Assyria to make on Hezekiah, and the invasion of Judea, and by the remarkable issue of that calamity. Hereby, 1st, The Jews were chastised for their various idolatries and other sins, and many of them, no doubt, were humbled and brought to repentance. 2d, The faith of their pious king was tried, and, in consequence of the extraordinary deliverance granted him and his subjects, was greatly increased and confirmed in the power and faithfulness of God. 3d, The people of God were taught and encouraged in all their dangers and distresses to have recourse to him, their refuge and strength, their very present and never failing help in trouble. 4th, A demonstration was given, in the face of the whole world, of the almighty power of Jehovah, and of his superiority over all the gods of the heathen. And, lastly, by this signal vengeance taken on a proud and haughty blasphemer, mankind were given to know that the God of Israel, the only living and true God, was a holy and jealous, as well as a mighty God, who would not give his glory to another, nor suffer it to be insulted with impunity; and were warned of the consequences of reviling and blaspheming his glorious name.

Ver. 38. Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword. In this war, God’s sword had two edges. It smote the nations of the west, and the Assyrians after they had wickedly done his strange work. Sennacherib, the greatest offender, received the most distinguished punishment. He who set Jehovah at defiance was deceived by his gods! He who thought to burn the temple of the Lord, perished in his own temple! His sins pursued him to the last retreats of conscience, and mercy spurned him from her bar.

37, 38. The same lack of facts leaves it uncertain how long Sennacherib survived his mortifying return to Nineveh. The book of Tobit, (i, 21,) Josephus, (Antiquities, 10:2, 2,) and Rawlinson, all clash. See RAWLINSON’S Ancient Monarchies, vol. ii, page 169, where he claims that Sennacherib lived seventeen years after his return, made other wars, and left his power and territories undiminished for his son and successor, Esarhaddon. In this case, it must be suspected that some other hand than Isaiah’s added these last verses. In any case, the snatches of history furnished by the monuments, as yet only throw the subject into confusion rather than give the light required to explain some facts and apparent dates here presented.