| 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 |
In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria marched against all the fortified cities of Judea and seized them. |
וַיְהִי בְּאַרְבַּע עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה לַמֶּלֶךְ חִזְקִיָּהוּ עָלָה סַנְחֵרִיב מֶלֶךְ־אַשּׁוּר עַל כָּל־עָרֵי יְהוּדָה הַבְּצֻרוֹת וַיִּתְפְּשֵׂם ׃ |
| 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 |
And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he took up a position by the aqueduct of the Upper Reservoir, on the road to the Laundry Plaza. |
וַיִּשְׁלַח מֶלֶךְ־אַשּׁוּר אֶת־רַב־שָׁקֵה מִלָּכִישׁ יְרוּשָׁלְַמָה אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ חִזְקִיָּהוּ בְּחֵיל כָּבֵד וַיַּעֲמֹד בִּתְעָלַת הַבְּרֵכָה הָעֶלְיוֹנָה בִּמְסִלַּת שְׂדֵה כוֹבֵס ׃ |
| 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 |
And Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, overseer of the palace, Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the record keeper, went out to him. |
וַיֵּצֵא אֵלָיו אֶלְיָקִים בֶּן־חִלְקִיָּהוּ אֲשֶׁר עַל־הַבָּיִת וְשֶׁבְנָא הַסֹּפֵר וְיוֹאָח בֶּן־אָסָף הַמַּזְכִּיר ׃ |
| 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 |
And Rabshakeh said to them, Please tell Hezekiah, Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what grounds do you behave with such confidence? |
וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם רַב־שָׁקֵה אִמְרוּ־נָא אֶל־חִזְקִיָּהוּ כֹּה־אָמַר הַמֶּלֶךְ הַגָּדוֹל מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר מָה הַבִּטָּחוֹן הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר בָּטָחְתָּ ׃ |
| 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 |
Do you suppose that in war mere words are sufficient tactics or show of strength? In whom have you put your trust, that you have rebelled against me? |
אָמַרְתִּי אַךְ־דְּבַר־שְׂפָתַיִם עֵצָה וּגְבוּרָה לַמִּלְחָמָה עַתָּה עַל־מִי בָטַחְתָּ כִּי מָרַדְתָּ בִּי ׃ |
| 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 is clear you depend on the support of Egypt, that splintered reed which enters and pierces the palm of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him! |
הִנֵּה בָטַחְתָּ עַל־מִשְׁעֶנֶת הַקָּנֶה הָרָצוּץ הַזֶּה עַל־מִצְרַיִם אֲשֶׁר יִסָּמֵךְ אִישׁ עָלָיו וּבָא בְכַפּוֹ וּנְקָבָהּ כֵּן פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶךְ־מִצְרַיִם לְכָל־הַבֹּטְחִים עָלָיו ׃ |
| 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 |
But if you tell me, We rely on Jehovah our God, is he not the one whose shrines and altars Hezekiah abolished, telling Judea and Jerusalem to worship only at this altar? |
וְכִי־תֹאמַר אֵלַי אֶל־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ בָּטָחְנוּ הֲלוֹא־הוּא אֲשֶׁר הֵסִיר חִזְקִיָּהוּ אֶת־בָּמֹתָיו וְאֶת־מִזְבְּחֹתָיו וַיֹּאמֶר לִיהוּדָה וְלִירוּשָׁלִַם לִפְנֵי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ הַזֶּה תִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ ׃ |
| 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 |
Come now, wager with my lord the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able to put riders on them. |
וְעַתָּה הִתְעָרֶב נָא אֶת־אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר וְאֶתְּנָה לְךָ אַלְפַּיִם סוּסִים אִם־תּוּכַל לָתֶת לְךָ רֹכְבִים עֲלֵיהֶם ׃ |
| 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 |
How then shall you repulse even one of the least of my lord’s servants, depending as you do on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? |
וְאֵיךְ תָּשִׁיב אֵת פְּנֵי פַחַת אַחַד עַבְדֵי אֲדֹנִי הַקְטַנִּים וַתִּבְטַח לְךָ עַל־מִצְרַיִם לְרֶכֶב וּלְפָרָשִׁים ׃ |
| 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 |
Moreover, could I have marched against this land and destroyed it without Jehovah? For Jehovah told me to come against this land and destroy it. |
וְעַתָּה הֲמִבַּלְעֲדֵי יְהוָה עָלִיתִי עַל־הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת לְהַשְׁחִיתָהּ יְהוָה אָמַר אֵלַי עֲלֵה אֶל־הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת וְהַשְׁחִיתָהּ ׃ |
| 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 |
Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah said to Rabshakeh, please speak to your servants in Aramaic, which we understand. Do not speak to us in Judean in the ears of the people who are on the wall. |
וַיֹּאמֶר אֶלְיָקִים וְשֶׁבְנָא וְיוֹאָח אֶל־רַב־שָׁקֵה דַּבֶּר־נָא אֶל־עֲבָדֶיךָ אֲרָמִית כִּי שֹׁמְעִים אֲנָחְנוּ וְאַל־תְּדַבֵּר אֵלֵינוּ יְהוּדִית בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם אֲשֶׁר עַל־הַחוֹמָה ׃ |
| 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 |
But Rabshakeh replied, Did my lord send me to say these things to you and to your lord and not to the men sitting on the wall, who with you are to eat their own dung and drink their own urine? |
וַיֹּאמֶר רַב־שָׁקֵה הַאֶל אֲדֹנֶיךָ וְאֵלֶיךָ שְׁלָחַנִי אֲדֹנִי לְדַבֵּר אֶת־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה הֲלֹא עַל־הָאֲנָשִׁים הַיֹּשְׁבִים עַל־הַחוֹמָה לֶאֱכֹל אֶת־חֹרָאיהָם (צוֹאָתָם) וְלִשְׁתּוֹת אֶת־שֵׁיֵנַיְֵהֶם (מֵימֵי רַגְלֵיהֶם) עִמָּכֶם ׃ |
| 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 |
Then Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in Judean, Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! |
וַיַּעֲמֹד רַב־שָׁקֵה וַיִּקְרָא בְקוֹל־גָּדוֹל יְהוּדִית וַיֹּאמֶר שִׁמְעוּ אֶת־דִּבְרֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ הַגָּדוֹל מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר ׃ |
| Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you. |
14 |
Thus says the king: Do not let Hezekiah delude you! He cannot deliver you. |
כֹּה אָמַר הַמֶּלֶךְ אַל־יַשִּׁא לָכֶם חִזְקִיָּהוּ כִּי לֹא־יוּכַל לְהַצִּיל אֶתְכֶם ׃ |
| 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 |
Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in Jehovah by saying, Jehovah will surely save us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. |
וְאַל־יַבְטַח אֶתְכֶם חִזְקִיָּהוּ אֶל־יְהוָה לֵאמֹר הַצֵּל יַצִּילֵנוּ יְהוָה לֹא תִנָּתֵן הָעִיר הַזֹּאת בְּיַד מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר ׃ |
| 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 |
Do not listen to Hezekiah! Thus says the king of Assyria: Make peace with me by coming out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and his own fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, |
אַל־תִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶל־חִזְקִיָּהוּ {ס} כִּי כֹה אָמַר הַמֶּלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר עֲשׂוּ־אִתִּי בְרָכָה וּצְאוּ אֵלַי וְאִכְלוּ אִישׁ־גַּפְנוֹ וְאִישׁ תְּאֵנָתוֹ וּשְׁתוּ אִישׁ מֵי־בוֹרוֹ ׃ |
| 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. |
17 |
until I come back and take you to a land like your own, a land of grain and wine, a land of grain fields and vineyards. |
עַד־בֹּאִי וְלָקַחְתִּי אֶתְכֶם אֶל־אֶרֶץ כְּאַרְצְכֶם אֶרֶץ דָּגָן וְתִירוֹשׁ אֶרֶץ לֶחֶם וּכְרָמִים ׃ |
| 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? |
18 |
Beware, lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, Jehovah will save us. Were any gods of the nations able to save their lands out of the hand of the king of Assyria? |
פֶּן־יַסִּית אֶתְכֶם חִזְקִיָּהוּ לֵאמֹר יְהוָה יַצִּילֵנוּ הַהִצִּילוּ אֱלֹהֵי הַגּוֹיִם אִישׁ אֶת־אַרְצוֹ מִיַּד מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר ׃ |
| Where are the Gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the Gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? |
19 |
Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Did they deliver Samaria out of my hand? |
אַיֵּה אֱלֹהֵי חֲמָת וְאַרְפָּד אַיֵּה אֱלֹהֵי סְפַרְוָיִם וְכִי־הִצִּילוּ אֶת־שֹׁמְרוֹן מִיָּדִי ׃ |
| 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 |
Who of all the gods of those countries saved his land from my hand, that Jehovah should save Jerusalem from my hand? |
מִי בְּכָל־אֱלֹהֵי הָאֲרָצוֹת הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר־הִצִּילוּ אֶת־אַרְצָם מִיָּדִי כִּי־יַצִּיל יְהוָה אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַם מִיָּדִי ׃ |
| But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not. |
21 |
But they remained silent, replying nothing, for the king had commanded them not to answer him. |
וַיַּחֲרִישׁוּ וְלֹא־עָנוּ אֹתוֹ דָּבָר כִּי־מִצְוַת הַמֶּלֶךְ הִיא לֵאמֹר לֹא תַעֲנֻהוּ ׃ |
| 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 |
Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, overseer of the palace, Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the record keeper, went to Hezekiah with their clothes rent and reported to him the things Rabshakeh had said. |
וַיָּבֹא אֶלְיָקִים בֶּן־חִלְקִיָּהוּ אֲשֶׁר־עַל־הַבַּיִת וְשֶׁבְנָא הַסּוֹפֵר וְיוֹאָח בֶּן־אָסָף הַמַּזְכִּיר אֶל־חִזְקִיָּהוּ קְרוּעֵי בְגָדִים וַיַּגִּידוּ לוֹ אֵת דִּבְרֵי רַב־שָׁקֵה ׃ |
Apocalyptic Commentary
Isaiah 36
Historically, the Assyrian kings Tiglath Pileser III (747-727 B.C.), Shalmaneser V (726-722 B.C.), and Sargon II (721-705 B.C.) preceded Sennacherib (704-681 B.C.) in their conquests of Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine. Sennacherib’s invasion of Israel’s southern kingdom of Judah marked another wave of ancient Assyrian campaigns, which, under Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal, Sennacherib’s son and grandson, ultimately swept into Egypt. The “fourteenth year of King Hezekiah” (701 B.C.) occurs forty-one years after Isaiah’s vision of Jehovah in the temple and Isaiah’s calling as a prophet (Isaiah 6).
Isaiah had predicted Judea’s invasion a generation earlier when King Ahaz and his people proved disloyal to Jehovah their God: “My Lord will cause to come up over them the great and mighty waters of the River—the king of Assyria in all his glory. He will rise up over all his channels and overflow all his banks. He will sweep into Judea [like] a flood and, passing through, reach the very neck; his outspread wings will span the breadth of your land, O Immanuel” (Isaiah 8:7-8; cf. 7:10-20). As the prophesied Immanuel from a historical standpoint, King Hezekiah inherits this generational covenant curse.
From an end-time perspective, the parallel units of Part II of Isaiah’s Seven-Part Structure (Isaiah 6-8; 36-40) contrast the two Davidic kings Ahaz and Hezekiah and their peoples in how they respond to two similar tests—the threat of an Assyrian invasion of the Promised Land. Whereas Ahaz proves disloyal to Jehovah and Ahaz’ people prove disloyal to Ahaz when faced with their Assyrian threat (2 Kings 16:7-8; Isaiah 7:2, 10-13; 8:6), his son Hezekiah proves loyal to Jehovah and Hezekiah’s people prove loyal to Hezekiah when faced with theirs (2 Kings 18:1-7; Isaiah 36:21; 37:14-20; 38:1-3).
By creating a single, end-time context for the entire Book of Isaiah (without depreciating what happened historically), Isaiah’s Seven-Part Structure transforms these events into an allegory of the end-time. The synchronous nature of Isaiah’s Seven-Part Structure, in other words, determines that two Davidic kings—contemporaries in an end-time setting—respond in opposite ways to an essentially similar Assyrian threat. Each king serves as the exemplar of his people, one of reneging on his loyalty to Jehovah and capitulating to the king of Assyria, the other of maintaining strict loyalty to Jehovah.
While Jerusalem isn’t among the cities of Judea that Sennacherib captures, he does send his commander Rabshakeh with 185,000 men to Jerusalem to demand the city’s surrender. Meanwhile, Sennacherib himself lays siege to the fortress city of Lachish and destroys it. The place where Rabshakeh takes up his position turns out to be where Isaiah had earlier predicted that very outcome to King Ahaz: “Then Jehovah said to Isaiah, ‘Go out and meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-Jashub, at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Reservoir, on the road to the Laundry Plaza’” (Isaiah 7:3; cf. 7:14-25).
King Hezekiah’s delegation to Rabshakeh consists of the trusted inner circle of his court. Rabshakeh commences his communique from Sennacherib with the same introductory words the Hebrew prophets use when representing Jehovah according to ancient Near Eastern custom: “Thus says . . .” The title “great king” defines Sennacherib’s role as a king of kings and lord of lords—that is, as emperor over the local kings of his empire who serve as his vassals or subordinates. Rabshakeh’s overbearing attitude in his speech that follows (vv 4-10) reflects the arrogance of ancient Assyrian conquerors.
King Ahaz’ repudiation of his vassalship to Jehovah under the terms of the Davidic Covenant in favor of vassalship to the king of Assyria (2 Kings 16:7) his son Hezekiah now reverses (2 Kings 18:7). Although no evidence exists that Hezekiah calls for Egypt’s help against Assyria, the Cushite (Ethiopian) dynasty then in power in Egypt, apprised of Sennacherib’s plans to invade Egypt, meets Assyria’s threat to its territory (cf. Isaiah 37:9). Rabshakeh’s caricature of Egypt and its pharaoh as “that splintered reed” reflects Egypt’s history of reneging on its political commitments toward other nations.
To Rabshakeh, the more shrines and altars at which people worship, the more chances for the gods to come to their aid. He sees Hezekiah’s purifying the ecclesiastical establishment of his day as a bad thing for the people of Judah, whereas to Hezekiah his doing so eliminates the alien forms of idolatry that tainted his people’s worship of Jehovah (2 Kings 18:4). The words “this altar” refer to the Jerusalem temple, which contains the altar on which the priests offer sacrifice (Isaiah 1:11; 6:6). In an end-time context, “Judea” and “Jerusalem” function as codenames of Jehovah’s people living in that day.
Attempting to wear down the will of Hezekiah’s people in Jerusalem so that they will surrender, Rabshakeh denigrates every means of support they may be trusting in to protect them. While some indeed relied on Egypt’s chariots and horsemen (Isaiah 30:2; 31:1), those who rely on Jehovah are never disappointed: “As a lion or a young lion growls over the prey when the shepherds muster in full force against him, and is not dismayed at the sound of their voice nor daunted by their numbers, so shall Jehovah of Hosts be when he descends to wage war upon Mount Zion and upon its heights” (Isaiah 31:4).
By presuming to speak on behalf of Jehovah, the God of Israel, and by claiming his authority, Rabshakeh indeed “scorns the living God” (Isaiah 37:4): “Whom have you mocked and ridiculed? Against who have you raised your voice, lifting your eyes to high heaven? Against the Holy One of Israel!” (Isaiah 37:23). While it is true that Assyria’s invasion of Judea is a consequence of his people’s transgressions, Jehovah is nevertheless able to bring good out of evil by delivering those who trust in him. Through such means he manifests his power in the eyes of his people and of his people’s enemies alike.
By speaking to the king’s representatives in the local dialect, Rabshakeh attempts to put fear into the hearts of the people. His reference to their eating their own dung and drinking their own urine alludes to Assyria’s plan to lay siege to the city if its occupants don’t surrender. Starving them out would present an easy victory. King Hezekiah, however, has his own plan of dealing with the alien threat. He knows that—according to the terms of the Davidic Covenant—so long as he keeps Jehovah’s law and the people keep Hezekiah’s law, Jehovah is bound by the terms of his covenant to protect them.
By now addressing Hezekiah’s people directly, Rabshakeh insults the king’s delegation and repudiates the king’s authority. He additionally challenges Israel’s God Jehovah as being unable to deliver his people, portraying Hezekiah as a deceiver for affirming that he can deliver them. What distinguishes Jehovah’s covenant people from other nations, however, is their long history of divine deliverance even when outnumbered and outmatched by the enemy: “In the God of my salvation I will trust without fear; for Jehovah was my strength and my song when he became my salvation” (Isaiah 12:2).
Rabshakeh reveals Assyria’s policy of removing captive peoples from their native soil and replacing them with others whom they conquer so as to destroy their patriotism and ties to the land. When the Assyrians took Israel’s ten northern tribes captive, for example, they relocated them “in Halah and in Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes” (2 Kings 17:6). They then brought peoples from other regions—“from Babylon and Cuthah, from Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim”—to occupy Samaria (2 Kings 17:24). These new peoples later became known as the “Samaritans” (cf. John 4:3-42).
From Rabshakeh’s perspective, Jehovah is no different than the gods of the nations Assyria has already conquered that were unable to deliver their lands from Assyria’s hand—the king of Assyria. The ten-tribed Northern Kingdom of Israel, which spurned the worship of Jehovah in favor of idols, proved no exception to Assyria’s conquests and to its removal from Samaria, its homeland (2 Kings 17:7-17). From Hezekiah’s perspective, however, the gods of the nations “are no gods, but mere works of men’s hands,” whereas Israel’s God Jehovah “made the heavens and the earth” (Isaiah 37:16, 19).
Unlike the people of King Ahaz, who proved disloyal to their king (Isaiah 8:6, 12), Hezekiah’s people—both the king’s representatives and the people listening on the walls—observe strictly the king’s command. Like their king, they too seem to understand Jehovah’s formula for obtaining divine protection under the terms of the Davidic Covenant—that if the people keep the king’s law and the king keeps Jehovah’s law, Jehovah will protect them. Hezekiah’s emissaries don’t just report back to the king, however. They also show their outrage at Rabshakeh’s blasphemy by rending their garments.