2 Kings 19

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2 Kings 19

1 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.

2 And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.

3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

4 It may be the Lord thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left.

5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

6 And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.

7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

8 So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.

9 And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against thee: he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying,

10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered?

12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Thelasar?

13 Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?

14 And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.

15 And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.

16 Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.

17 Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands,

18 And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.

19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only.

20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.

21 This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.

22 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.

23 By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel.

24 I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places.

25 Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps.

26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the house tops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up.

27 But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me.

28 Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.

29 And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof.

30 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.

31 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this.

32 Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.

33 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord.

34 For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

37 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.

Notes

Cross Reference

Commentary

Archaeological Evidence

[35] By and large the biblical and Assyrian accounts harmonize on many core events. Crucially, both accounts agree that Sennacherib did conquer Lachish, and overran almost all of Judah but not Jerusalem. The Jewish historian, Josephus, writing in the 1st century C.E., later connected the dots:

“When Senacheirimos returned to Jerusalem from his war with Egypt, he found there the force under Rapsakes in danger from a plague, for God had visited a pestilential sickness upon his army, and on the first night of the siege one hundred and eighty-five thousand men had perished with their commanders and officers” - Jospehus, Ja. 10.17.21

Also, from Herodotus:

“During the night a horde of field mice gnawed quivers and their bows and the handles of shields, with the result that many were killed, fleeing unarmed the next day” - Herodotus 2.141

(this quote from H. needs to be investigated because I think it is referring to a different battle)

Rashi

Verse 3

<html>[And] debate. That the wicked are debating¹Alternatively, ותוכחה means “disgrace.—Targum Or “reproof.”—Radak and showing evidence to [support] their words, claiming, “We have the power and the strength.”²Alternatively the phrase refers to God and means, “may He rebuke for the words, etc.” Children. Yisroel. As far as the birthstool. As far as a distress similar to a woman sitting on the birthstool, but not having strength to give birth.</html>

Verse 4

<html>And he brought proof with the words. Aprover, in O.F., He showed evidence to [support] his statement,³Below, v. 9. [namely,] that he prospered wherever he went.</html>

Verse 7

<html>And he will hear a rumor. And he will withdraw from you and return to his land. He will not [return] because of the rumor, but after a while he will return to his land in disgrace, and I will cause him to fall there by the sword. Now what was the rumor? ”And he heard about Tirhaikoh.”⁴Yeshayohu 45:14. He heard that Tirhaikoh had gone out to wage war against him, so, he left Yerusholayim and went to Cush, and waged war with Tirhaikoh, and Egypt, who were with him. He defeated him and took their most coveted treasures, and came to Yerusholayim, where he fell. In reference to this, Yeshayohu stated, ”The toil of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, etc., will become yours, etc.”⁵See commentary above, 18:34.</html>

Verse 9

<html>He again sent messengers. To notify him that he was not returning to his land, rather he was waging war with Cush, and then to return here.</html>

Verse 12

<html>Eden. The name of a province.</html>

Verse 13

<html>He exiled and twisted. The king of Ashur exiled and twisted them.⁶Alternatively, this refers to Eretz Yisroel.—Radak</html>

Verse 17

<html>Indeed. It is true that the kings of Ashur destroyed the peoples and put their deities in fire.</html>

Verse 23

<html>The highest mountains. [This refers to] the Temple Mount.⁷The sacrifices that are offered in the Beis Hamikdosh atoned for the sins and “whitened” them. The verse in Yeshayohu 1:18 states, “If your sins will be like scarlet, they will become as white [=ילבינו] as snow.” See Maseches Gittin 56b and Rashi there. To the end of the Levanon. [This refers to] the Beis Hamikdosh which whitens [=מלבן] sins.⁸Alternatively “its tallest cedar [trees]” refers to the great leaders and nobles among the Bnei Yisroel.—Radak See Rashi in Bamidbar 13:20. And I will cut down its tallest cedar [trees]. I will not return until I have destroyed it.⁹”Its remotest lodge,” refers to the Beis Hamikdosh which is the lodging place of the Shechinah.—Radak Remotest. Its end.¹⁰I.e., his army is so vast that they drink up all the water available, he therefore had to dig and search for other water sources.—Radak Its fruitful forest. The fullness of its land and the beauty of its splendor.</html>

Verse 24

<html>I dug and drank strange water. I.e., I started all my deeds and completed [them], as one who digs a hole and finds flowing water and drinks it. Flowing water he calls “זרים [=strange],” because until now no one knew of them. And I dry up with the soles of my feet. If I besiege a city that depends upon its rivers, I bring many troops upon it who dry up its rivers with their drinking and the drinking of their cattle¹¹His soldiers were so numerous that as they crossed a river they carried away so much water on their feet that the river bed was left dry by the time they all crossed it. See Maseches Sanhedrin 95b. and by the treading of their feet.¹²Yeshayohu 10:5. And I dry up. This is in the present tense [because] this is always my way.</html>

Verse 25

<html>Have you not heard from afar. Why do you glorify and aggrandize yourself with this? This is not yours, for you have heard from afar through the prophets, that I decreed upon the nations to bring you upon them, as the matter that is stated, ”Ho, Ashur, the staff of My wrath.”¹³Yeshayohu 30:33. In days of yore. Since the world was created, it entered My thought, as it is stated, ”For [Gehinnom] is arranged from days of yore; that too was prepared for the king.”¹⁴Yeshayohu 31:9. This refers to Sancheiriv, who was burned in the fire of Gehinnom, as it is stated, ”The word of Adonoy, Who has fire in Tzion.”¹⁵קצרי יד is an expression meaning “lack of power,” as in Bamidbar 11:23, “Is the power of AD limited [= תקצר’ ה היד].” Now I have brought it about. And this is the power that is in your hand. And it shall be. The coming of My decree shall be to make desolate fortified cities into blossoming hills, into piles of earth upon which vegetables grow, for you destroy them because of My decree. To make desolate. An expression of desolation, forsaken.</html>

Verse 26

<html>Their inhabitants were short of strength. Those whom I weakened before you,¹⁶I.e., it is a Divine gift for which Sancheiriv could claim no credit. and the might is not yours.¹⁷The nations that Sancheiriv conquered had already been condemned to punishment and destruction. You are not mighty, rather they are weak.¹⁸In Tehilim 129:6 the verse states” … like the grass on rooftops which even before it is plucked, withers.” Like grass of the rooftops. Which dries quickly.¹⁹Alternatively, grass is unable to move and defend itself from being cut.—Ralbag And wind blast before [becoming] standing grain. Like blasted stalks of grain, before they hardened to become standing grain.</html>

Verse 27

<html>Your sitting and your going out and your coming in. [Targum] Yonoson rendered, ”And your sitting in counsel, and your going out to wage war, and your coming to the land of Yisroel, is revealed to Me;” it emanated from Me. And your raging against Me. And that ultimately you will become arrogant and aroused against Me with anger and tumult, estorimir, in O.F..</html>

Verse 28

<html>And your tumult. [Means] the same as ושאונך [=your tumult].²⁰Alternatively, “your tranquility,” i.e., their rage was on account of their tranquility.—Radak My ring. A kind of ring by which they pull an animal whose behavior is bad,²¹Alternatively, חח is a fish hook which pierces the fish when it is pulled out of the water.—Radak as we learned, ”And all animals that are usually pulled with a ring may go out [on Shabbos] with a ring.”²²Maseches Shabbos 51b. And my bit. [Targum] Yonoson rendered זמם, which is made of iron, and which is inserted into the nostrils of a female camel,²³Alternatively, מתג is the bit placed in the animal's mouth by which to lead it.—Radak and she is pulled with it, because her behavior is bad. This is what we learned, ”And the female camel [may go out on Shabbos] with a nose ring.”²⁴Maseches Shabbos 51b.</html>

Verse 29

<html>And this shall be the sign for you. The prophet said to Chizkiyohu, ”And this prophecy which I said to you that Sancheiriv will fall here, will be a sign for you²⁵Alternatively, the sign for the fulfillment of the prophecy is that Sancheiriv will return to his land, mentioned in v. 7 above. The fulfillment of this prophecy serves as a sign that the remainder of the prophecy will likewise be fulfilled.—Radak also for the approaching days, for you are afraid of dying from hunger, because Sancheiriv destroyed the land and chopped down the trees.” This year you will eat what grows by itself. This year plants will grow for you, and you will be sustained by them. What grows from the tree stumps. The chopped off trees that will sprout, and when you see My word fulfilled concerning the fall of the armies, it will be a sign for you that this promise, too, will be fulfilled.</html>

Verse 31

<html>The zeal of Adonoy of Hosts. That He will be zealous for His honor and for His Name, not that you have any merit,²⁶For even the merit of the Patriarchs had been used up, according to Rashi in Yeshayohu 37:32. for Achaz your father committed many wicked deeds.</html>

Verse 32

<html>He will not advance upon it. He will not set a shield before it.²⁷The first soldiers attacking a city were the shield bearers.—Radak A ramp. A heap of earth to raise a mount upon which to stand to wage war against the city, and because one presses it down and beats it with sticks and sledge hammers, so that it becomes trodden and pressed down with strength, it is called סוללה, an expression of, “Beat down [=סולו], beat down [=סולו] the highway.”²⁸Yeshayohu 62:10. See also II Shmuel 20:15.</html>

Verse 35

<html>And it was that night. When Sancheiriv returned from [battling] with Cush, and he came as far as Nov, which was near Yerusholayim.²⁹Although his astrologers told him that he would be successful in conquering Yerusholayim if he were to attack it on that very day, Sancheiriv in his arrogance decided to camp overnight in Nov and wait for the following day. This ultimately led to his downfall. See Maseches Sanhedrin 95a. Dovid who was Chizkiyohu's ancestor, incurred guilt by causing the deaths of the kohanim of Nov, and it was therefore decreed that his descendants would be liable for punishment for many years. This was the last day of the decree, as stated in Yeshayohu 10:32, “Yet today he will stand in Nov.” One hundred eighty-five thousand. All of them were heads of companies.³⁰Sancheiriv's camp was enormous. Each of these 185,000 officers was in charge of 2,000 men. See Rashi above, in 18:24.</html>

Verse 36

<html>And dwelt in Nineveh. It was the capital of Ashur.</html>

Verse 37

<html>In the temple of Nisroch his god. A board from Noach's ark.³¹נסרת is a contraction of נסר מתיבתו של נח. ³²Sancheiriv believed it was the deity which saved Noach from the Flood, so it will save him also. See Maseches Sanhedrin 96a. They do not fear Adonoy. A complete fear as is the custom of the [Bnei] Yisroel. And although they converted out of fear of the lions, [nonetheless,] their fear of Adonoy was not a complete fear, (like [Bnei] Yisroel's custom) as it goes on to elaborate, that they were not engaged in Torah [study] and [in performing] the commandments which God commanded the Bnei Yaakov, and they do not practice according to their statutes and according to their law, which they are obligated to practice once they converted, but as the priest who was of the people of Shomron, instructed them.³⁷Alternatively, the verse refers to the exiled Bnei Yisroel who “until this day” have not repented from the idolatrous practices, but continue to combine the worship of God with the worship of idols as they had practiced in Shomron.—Radak—who were idolatrous.</html>

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Table of Contents

2 Kings 19

2 Kings 19

Notes

Cross Reference

Commentary

Archaeological Evidence

Rashi

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 7

Verse 9

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 17

Verse 23

Verse 24

Verse 25

Verse 26

Verse 27

Verse 28

Verse 29

Verse 31

Verse 32

Verse 35

Verse 36

Verse 37