1 Now it came to pass in the third H7969 year H8141 of Hoshea H1954 son H1121 of Elah H425 king H4428 of Israel, H3478 that Hezekiah H2396 the son H1121 of Ahaz H271 king H4428 of Judah H3063 began to reign. H4427
2 Twenty H6242 and five H2568 years H8141 old H1121 was he when he began to reign; H4427 and he reigned H4427 twenty H6242 and nine H8672 years H8141 in Jerusalem. H3389 His mother's H517 name H8034 also was Abi, H21 the daughter H1323 of Zachariah. H2148
3 And he did H6213 that which was right H3477 in the sight H5869 of the LORD, H3068 according to all that David H1732 his father H1 did. H6213
4 He removed H5493 the high places, H1116 and brake H7665 the images, H4676 and cut down H3772 the groves, H842 and brake in pieces H3807 the brasen H5178 serpent H5175 that Moses H4872 had made: H6213 for unto those days H3117 the children H1121 of Israel H3478 did burn incense H6999 to it: and he called H7121 it Nehushtan. H5180
5 He trusted H982 in the LORD H3068 God H430 of Israel; H3478 so that after H310 him was none like him among all the kings H4428 of Judah, H3063 nor any that were before H6440 him.
6 For he clave H1692 to the LORD, H3068 and departed H5493 not from following H310 him, but kept H8104 his commandments, H4687 which the LORD H3068 commanded H6680 Moses. H4872
7 And the LORD H3068 was with him; and he prospered H7919 whithersoever he went forth: H3318 and he rebelled H4775 against the king H4428 of Assyria, H804 and served H5647 him not.
8 He smote H5221 the Philistines, H6430 even unto Gaza, H5804 and the borders H1366 thereof, from the tower H4026 of the watchmen H5341 to the fenced H4013 city. H5892
9 And it came to pass in the fourth H7243 year H8141 of king H4428 Hezekiah, H2396 which was the seventh H7637 year H8141 of Hoshea H1954 son H1121 of Elah H425 king H4428 of Israel, H3478 that Shalmaneser H8022 king H4428 of Assyria H804 came up H5927 against Samaria, H8111 and besieged H6696 it.
10 And at the end H7097 of three H7969 years H8141 they took H3920 it: even in the sixth H8337 year H8141 of Hezekiah, H2396 that is the ninth H8672 year H8141 of Hoshea H1954 king H4428 of Israel, H3478 Samaria H8111 was taken. H3920
11 And the king H4428 of Assyria H804 did carry away H1540 Israel H3478 unto Assyria, H804 and put H5148 them in Halah H2477 and in Habor H2249 by the river H5104 of Gozan, H1470 and in the cities H5892 of the Medes: H4074
12 Because they obeyed H8085 not the voice H6963 of the LORD H3068 their God, H430 but transgressed H5674 his covenant, H1285 and all that Moses H4872 the servant H5650 of the LORD H3068 commanded, H6680 and would not hear H8085 them, nor do H6213 them.
13 Now in the fourteenth H702 H6240 year H8141 of king H4428 Hezekiah H2396 did Sennacherib H5576 king H4428 of Assyria H804 come up H5927 against all the fenced H1219 cities H5892 of Judah, H3063 and took H8610 them.
14 And Hezekiah H2396 king H4428 of Judah H3063 sent H7971 to the king H4428 of Assyria H804 to Lachish, H3923 saying, H559 I have offended; H2398 return H7725 from me: that which thou puttest H5414 on me will I bear. H5375 And the king H4428 of Assyria H804 appointed H7760 unto Hezekiah H2396 king H4428 of Judah H3063 three H7969 hundred H3967 talents H3603 of silver H3701 and thirty H7970 talents H3603 of gold. H2091
15 And Hezekiah H2396 gave H5414 him all the silver H3701 that was found H4672 in the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068 and in the treasures H214 of the king's H4428 house. H1004
16 At that time H6256 did Hezekiah H2396 cut off H7112 the gold from the doors H1817 of the temple H1964 of the LORD, H3068 and from the pillars H547 which Hezekiah H2396 king H4428 of Judah H3063 had overlaid, H6823 and gave H5414 it to the king H4428 of Assyria. H804
17 And the king H4428 of Assyria H804 sent H7971 Tartan H8661 and Rabsaris H7249 and Rabshakeh H7262 from Lachish H3923 to king H4428 Hezekiah H2396 with a great H3515 host H2426 against Jerusalem. H3389 And they went up H5927 and came H935 to Jerusalem. H3389 And when they were come up, H5927 they came H935 and stood H5975 by the conduit H8585 of the upper H5945 pool, H1295 which is in the highway H4546 of the fuller's H3526 field. H7704
18 And when they had called H7121 to the king, H4428 there came out H3318 to them Eliakim H471 the son H1121 of Hilkiah, H2518 which was over the household, H1004 and Shebna H7644 the scribe, H5608 and Joah H3098 the son H1121 of Asaph H623 the recorder. H2142
19 And Rabshakeh H7262 said H559 unto them, Speak H559 ye now to Hezekiah, H2396 Thus saith H559 the great H1419 king, H4428 the king H4428 of Assyria, H804 What confidence H986 is this wherein thou trustest? H982
20 Thou sayest, H559 (but they are but vain H8193 words,) H1697 I have counsel H6098 and strength H1369 for the war. H4421 Now on whom dost thou trust, H982 that thou rebellest H4775 against me?
21 Now, behold, thou trustest H982 upon the staff H4938 of this bruised H7533 reed, H7070 even upon Egypt, H4714 on which if a man H376 lean, H5564 it will go H935 into his hand, H3709 and pierce H5344 it: so is Pharaoh H6547 king H4428 of Egypt H4714 unto all that trust H982 on him.
22 But if ye say H559 unto me, We trust H982 in the LORD H3068 our God: H430 is not that he, whose high places H1116 and whose altars H4196 Hezekiah H2396 hath taken away, H5493 and hath said H559 to Judah H3063 and Jerusalem, H3389 Ye shall worship H7812 before H6440 this altar H4196 in Jerusalem? H3389
23 Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges H6148 to my lord H113 the king H4428 of Assyria, H804 and I will deliver H5414 thee two thousand H505 horses, H5483 if thou be able H3201 on thy part to set H5414 riders H7392 upon them.
24 How then wilt thou turn away H7725 the face H6440 of one H259 captain H6346 of the least H6996 of my master's H113 servants, H5650 and put thy trust H982 on Egypt H4714 for chariots H7393 and for horsemen? H6571
25 Am I now come up H5927 without H1107 the LORD H3068 against this place H4725 to destroy H7843 it? The LORD H3068 said H559 to me, Go up H5927 against this land, H776 and destroy H7843 it.
26 Then said H559 Eliakim H471 the son H1121 of Hilkiah, H2518 and Shebna, H7644 and Joah, H3098 unto Rabshakeh, H7262 Speak, H1696 I pray thee, to thy servants H5650 in the Syrian language; H762 for we understand H8085 it: and talk H1696 not with us in the Jews' language H3066 in the ears H241 of the people H5971 that are on the wall. H2346
27 But Rabshakeh H7262 said H559 unto them, Hath my master H113 sent H7971 me to thy master, H113 and to thee, to speak H1696 these words? H1697 hath he not sent me to the men H582 which sit H3427 on the wall, H2346 that they may eat H398 their own dung, H6675 H2755 and drink H8354 their own piss H4325 H7272 H7890 with you?
28 Then Rabshakeh H7262 stood H5975 and cried H7121 with a loud H1419 voice H6963 in the Jews' language, H3066 and spake, H1696 saying, H559 Hear H8085 the word H1697 of the great H1419 king, H4428 the king H4428 of Assyria: H804
29 Thus saith H559 the king, H4428 Let not Hezekiah H2396 deceive H5377 you: for he shall not be able H3201 to deliver H5337 you out of his hand: H3027
30 Neither let Hezekiah H2396 make you trust H982 in the LORD, H3068 saying, H559 The LORD H3068 will surely H5337 deliver H5337 us, and this city H5892 shall not be delivered H5414 into the hand H3027 of the king H4428 of Assyria. H804
31 Hearken H8085 not to Hezekiah: H2396 for thus saith H559 the king H4428 of Assyria, H804 Make H6213 an agreement with me by a present, H1293 and come out H3318 to me, and then eat H398 ye every man H376 of his own vine, H1612 and every one H376 of his fig tree, H8384 and drink H8354 ye every one H376 the waters H4325 of his cistern: H953
32 Until I come H935 and take you away H3947 to a land H776 like your own land, H776 a land H776 of corn H1715 and wine, H8492 a land H776 of bread H3899 and vineyards, H3754 a land H776 of oil H3323 olive H2132 and of honey, H1706 that ye may live, H2421 and not die: H4191 and hearken H8085 not unto Hezekiah, H2396 when he persuadeth H5496 you, saying, H559 The LORD H3068 will deliver H5337 us.
33 Hath any H376 of the gods H430 of the nations H1471 delivered H5337 at all H5337 his land H776 out of the hand H3027 of the king H4428 of Assyria? H804
34 Where are the gods H430 of Hamath, H2574 and of Arpad? H774 where are the gods H430 of Sepharvaim, H5617 Hena, H2012 and Ivah? H5755 have they delivered H5337 Samaria H8111 out of mine hand? H3027
35 Who are they among all the gods H430 of the countries, H776 that have delivered H5337 their country H776 out of mine hand, H3027 that the LORD H3068 should deliver H5337 Jerusalem H3389 out of mine hand? H3027
36 But the people H5971 held their peace, H2790 and answered H6030 him not a word: H1697 for the king's H4428 commandment H4687 was, saying, H559 Answer H6030 him not.
37 Then came H935 Eliakim H471 the son H1121 of Hilkiah, H2518 which was over the household, H1004 and Shebna H7644 the scribe, H5608 and Joah H3098 the son H1121 of Asaph H623 the recorder, H2142 to Hezekiah H2396 with their clothes H899 rent, H7167 and told H5046 him the words H1697 of Rabshakeh. H7262
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 2 Kings 18
Commentary on 2 Kings 18 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 18
2Ki 18:1-3. Hezekiah's Good Reign.
1, 2. Hezekiah … began to reign. Twenty and five years old—According to this statement (compare 2Ki 16:2), he must have been born when his father Ahaz was no more than eleven years old. Paternity at an age so early is not unprecedented in the warm climates of the south, where the human frame is matured sooner than in our northern regions. But the case admits of solution in a different way. It was customary for the later kings of Israel to assume their son and heir into partnership in the government during their lives; and as Hezekiah began to reign in the third year of Hoshea (2Ki 18:1), and Hoshea in the twelfth year of Ahaz (2Ki 17:1), it is evident that Hezekiah began to reign in the fourteenth year of Ahaz his father, and so reigned two or three years before his father's death. So that, at the beginning of his reign in conjunction with his father, he might be only twenty-two or twenty-three, and Ahaz a few years older than the common calculation makes him. Or the case may be solved thus: As the ancient writers, in the computation of time, take notice of the year they mention, whether finished or newly begun, so Ahaz might be near twenty-one years old at the beginning of his reign, and near seventeen years older at his death; while, on the other hand, Hezekiah, when he began to reign, might be just entering into his twenty-fifth year, and so Ahaz would be near fourteen years old when his son Hezekiah was born—no uncommon age for a young man to become a father in southern latitudes [Patrick].
2Ki 18:4-37. He Destroys Idolatry.
4. He removed the high places and brake the images, &c.—The methods adopted by this good king for extirpating idolatry, and accomplishing a thorough reformation in religion, are fully detailed (2Ch 20:3; 31:19). But they are indicated very briefly, and in a sort of passing allusion.
brake in pieces the brazen serpent—The preservation of this remarkable relic of antiquity (Nu 21:5-10) might, like the pot of manna and Aaron's rod, have remained an interesting and instructive monument of the divine goodness and mercy to the Israelites in the wilderness: and it must have required the exercise of no small courage and resolution to destroy it. But in the progress of degeneracy it had become an object of idolatrous worship and as the interests of true religion rendered its demolition necessary, Hezekiah, by taking this bold step, consulted both the glory of God and the good of his country.
unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it—It is not to be supposed that this superstitious reverence had been paid to it ever since the time of Moses, for such idolatry would not have been tolerated either by David or by Solomon in the early part of his reign, by Asa or Jehoshaphat had they been aware of such a folly. But the probability is, that the introduction of this superstition does not date earlier than the time when the family of Ahab, by their alliance with the throne of Judah, exercised a pernicious influence in paving the way for all kinds of idolatry. It is possible, however, as some think, that its origin may have arisen out of a misapprehension of Moses' language (Nu 21:8). Serpent-worship, how revolting soever it may appear, was an extensively diffused form of idolatry; and it would obtain an easier reception in Israel because many of the neighboring nations, such as the Egyptians and Phœnicians, adored idol gods in the form of serpents as the emblems of health and immortality.
5, 6. He trusted in the Lord God of Israel—without invoking the aid or purchasing the succor of foreign auxiliaries like Asa (1Ki 15:18, 19) and Ahaz (2Ki 16:17; Isa 7:1-25).
so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah—Of course David and Solomon are excepted, they having had the sovereignty of the whole country. In the petty kingdom of Judah, Josiah alone had a similar testimony borne to him (2Ki 23:25). But even he was surpassed by Hezekiah, who set about a national reformation at the beginning of his reign, which Josiah did not. The pious character and the excellent course of Hezekiah was prompted, among other secondary influences, by a sense of the calamities his father's wicked career had brought on the country, as well as by the counsels of Isaiah.
7, 8. he rebelled against the king of Assyria—that is, the yearly tribute his father had stipulated to pay, he, with imprudent haste, withdrew. Pursuing the policy of a truly theocratic sovereign, he was, through the divine blessing which rested on his government, raised to a position of great public and national strength. Shalmaneser had withdrawn from Palestine, being engaged perhaps in a war with Tyre, or probably he was dead. Assuming, consequently, that full independent sovereignty which God had settled on the house of David, he both shook off the Assyrian yoke, and, by an energetic movement against the Philistines, recovered from that people the territory which they had taken from his father Ahaz (2Ch 28:18).
13. Sennacherib—the son and successor of Shalmaneser.
all the fenced cities of Judah—not absolutely all of them; for, besides the capital, some strong fortresses held out against the invader (2Ki 18:17; 2Ki 19:8). The following account of Sennacherib's invasion of Judah and the remarkable destruction of his army, is repeated almost verbatim in 2Ch 32:1-33 and Isa 36:1-37:38. The expedition seems to have been directed against Egypt, the conquest of which was long a leading object of ambition with the Assyrian monarchs. But the invasion of Judah necessarily preceded, that country being the key to Egypt, the highway through which the conquerors from Upper Asia had to pass. Judah had also at this time formed a league of mutual defense with Egypt (2Ki 18:24). Moreover, it was now laid completely open by the transplantation of Israel to Assyria. Overrunning Palestine, Sennacherib laid siege to the fortress of Lachish, which lay seven Roman miles from Eleutheropolis, and therefore southwest of Jerusalem on the way to Egypt [Robinson]. Among the interesting illustrations of sacred history furnished by the recent Assyrian excavations, is a series of bas-reliefs, representing the siege of a town, which the inscription on the sculpture shows to be Lachish, and the figure of a king, whose name is given, on the same inscription, as Sennacherib. The legend, sculptured over the head of the king, runs thus: "Sennacherib, the mighty king, king of the country of Assyria, sitting on the throne of judgment before the city of Lachish [Lakhisha], I give permission for its slaughter" [Nineveh and Babylon]. This minute confirmation of the truth of the Bible narrative is given not only by the name Lachish, which is contained in the inscription, but from the physiognomy of the captives brought before the king, which is unmistakably Jewish.
14-16. Hezekiah … sent to Lachish, saying, … that which thou puttest on me will I bear—Disappointed in his expectations of aid from Egypt, and feeling himself unable to resist so mighty a conqueror who was menacing Jerusalem itself, Hezekiah made his submission. The payment of 300 talents of silver, and 30 talents of gold—£351,000—brought a temporary respite; but, in raising the imposed tribute, he was obliged not only to drain all the treasures of the palace and the temple, but even to strip the doors and pillars of the sacred edifice of the gold that adorned them.
2Ki 18:17-37. Sennacherib Besieges Jerusalem.
17. king of Assyria sent Tartan—general (Isa 20:1).
Rab-saris—chief of the eunuchs.
Rab-shakeh—chief cupbearer. These were the great officers employed in delivering Sennacherib's insulting message to Hezekiah. On the walls of the palace of Sennacherib, at Khorsabad, certain figures have been identified with the officers of that sovereign mentioned in Scripture. In particular, the figures, Rab-shakeh, Rab-saris, and Tartan, appear as full-length portraits of the persons holding those offices in the reign of Sennacherib. Probably they represent the very individuals sent on this embassy.
with a great host to Jerusalem—Engaged in a campaign of three years in Egypt, Sennacherib was forced by the king of Ethiopia to retreat, and discharging his rage against Jerusalem, he sent an immense army to summon it to surrender. (See on 2Ch 32:30).
the conduit of the upper pool—the conduit which went from the reservoir of the Upper Gihon (Birket et Mamilla) to the lower pool, the Birket es Sultan.
the highway of the fuller's field—the public road which passed by that district, which had been assigned them for carrying on their business without the city, on account of the unpleasant smell [Keil].
18. when they had called to the king—Hezekiah did not make a personal appearance, but commissioned his three principal ministers to meet the Assyrian deputies at a conference outside the city walls.
Eliakim—lately promoted to be master of the royal household (Isa 22:20).
Shebna—removed for his pride and presumption (Isa 22:15) from that office, though still royal secretary.
Joah … the recorder—that is, the keeper of the chronicles, an important office in Eastern countries.
19. Rab-shakeh said—The insolent tone he assumed appears surprising. But this boasting [2Ki 18:19-25], both as to matter and manner, his highly colored picture of his master's powers and resources, and the impossibility of Hezekiah making any effective resistance, heightened by all the arguments and figures which an Oriental imagination could suggest, has been paralleled in all, except the blasphemy, by other messages of defiance sent on similar occasions in the history of the East.
27. that they may eat, &c.—This was designed to show the dreadful extremities to which, in the threatened siege, the people of Jerusalem would be reduced.