2 Kings 18

Notes on the verses

Chap. XVIII. Ver. 1—37. Hezekiah puts down idolatry. Sennacherib, after invading Israel, and taking captive the inhabitants of Samaria, threatens Hezekiah, who in vain bribes him to withdraw.—The sory part of Hezekiah’s reign is here passed over very cursorily, but the blank may be filled up by reading the 29th, 320th, and 31st chapters of the second ee a eae nis hind legs, and looking intensely at the moon.—<Adrammelech, &c.—These names both refer to Moloch. Jarchi says that they were in the form of a mule and a horse, to represent the sun and moon. See Dr. Clarke. Chap. XVIIL Ver. 2. Began to reign.—{As Ahaz was 20 years old when he began to reign, and died when he had reigned 16 years, his whole age only amounted to 36 years; and as Hezekiah was, at least, entering on his 25th year when he began to reign, then Ahaz must have been under 12 years of age when hig aon was born!

This is not at all impossible; and there are well attested facts of men having children at as early a period, especially in eastern countries. See note on ch. xvi. 2.)—Bagster. | “Ver. 4. Nehushtan.—See Margin. For the history of the brazen serpent, see (Numbers 21:8-9). Afterwards, it appears, the Israelites, in their rage for idolatry, burnt incense to this brazen relic. ~ Ver, 11. Halah.—(It is thought, with much probability, that Halak, or Chalach, is Ptolemy’s Calachene, the northern part of Assyria; that Habor, or Chabor, is the mountain, or mountainous country, between Media and Assyria called by Ptolemy, Chaboras; and that Gozan is the Gauzanitis of Ptoand took them. h after him. 14 And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the 1 2Ch.15.2 1Sa.

13. king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou j Ps.60.12 puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 And * Hezekiah gave him all the silver ke.16.7. that was found in the house of the Lord, and 1 Azzah. in the treasures of the king’s house. A, M. 3231. 16 At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold B. C. 723. m c.17.3,&¢ from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and n 1Ch.5.25. ‘from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave * it to the king of Aseo iortt. 17 J And the king of Assyria sent t Tartan A. M. 3201. B. C, 713. and Rabsaris and Rab-shakeh from Lachish p 2Ch.321, to king Hezekiah with a "

great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, q Sanherib. tT c.16.8. they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which vis in the highway of the s them. fuller’s field. A. M. 3294. B. C, 710. 18 And when they had called to the king, t Is.20.1. there came out to them Eliakim the son of u heavy. Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of v Is.7.3, the recorder. w or, secre- Asaph 19 And Rab-shakeh said unto them, Speak after. We have, in the preceding chapters, an account of the capture of Samaria and its inhabitants by Shalmaneser king of Assyria, in the sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign. About eight years after this, Sennacherib, who had succeeded.

Shalmaneser, turned his arms against Judah, with a design of subduin that country also. Seyeral of the fenced cities (or walle towns) on the boundaries of Judah having been captured, Hezekiah became much alarmed. Knowing that his father “Ahaz had been tributary to the king of Assyria, he, in a mosie eaiont chien Ns at PRAM PSS © LES i lemy, situated between that mountain and the Caspian sea, and between the two channels of the river Cyrus. |—Bagster.: ¥ Ver. 16. The gold from the doors:—See (1 Kings 6:32),——And from the pillars.— What these pillars were is unknown. a Ver. 17. Tartan and Rabsaris, and Rab-shakeh.—Calmet considers these not personal names, but names of office. Tartan, master of the tribute; Rabsaris, chief of the eunuchs; Rab-shakeh, master of the wine, cup bearer, or butler.-—Conduit.—Or aqueduct.

See (Isaiah 7:3). {If the Fudler’s field were near En-rogel, or the Fuller’s fountain, east of Jerusalem, as is generally supposed, then it is probable that the conduit of the upper pool was an aqueduct that brought the water from the upper or eastern reservoir of that fountain; which hay had probably seized in order to distress the city. ]—Bagster. Ver. 19. Rab-shakeh.—{He was the chief speaker, being a very eloquent man, and, according to the Hebrews, whom Procopius follows, an apostate Jew: which is not improbable, as he i Hebrew so fluently; and, when he blasphemed the Divine Majesty, the king and nobles rent their clothes, which was not usual unless the blasphemer were an Israelite. }—Bagster.—— What conji- 26 Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rab-shakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews’ language in the ears of the people that are on the wall.

27 But Rab-shakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men which sit on the wall, that ‘they may eat their own dung, and drink. ¢ their own piss with you? 28 {| Then Rab-shakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria: 29 Thus “saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand: 30 Neither i let Hezekiah make you trust j in the Lorn, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. 31 Jtearken not to Hezekiah: for.

thus saith the king of Assyria, « Make an agreement with me hy a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and ment of weakness, sent to know his demands; and in_ order to sausfy them, cut off the go’d from the doors and pillars of the temple, which he had repaired but a short time before, sent it, with all the silver he could muster, to pacify the Assyrian despot. J Whether these were not equal to his expectations, or whether the sight t it of them only increased his appetite for more, while he was himself with the main army besieging Lachish, he sent three of his chief officers, with a bo y of troops, to threaten Jerusalem. Hezekiah however, having recovered -his first alarm, had taken prudent precautions to protect the city; and encouraged é his people to put confidence in the Lord.

((2 Chronicles 32:1-8).) The messengers of Sendence. -Dr. Clarke takes the Hebrew word (habitachon) to be a diminutive; ““ What littte foolish confidence is this?” Ver. #0. Vain wwords,—i. e. a word of no meaning. Perhaps the sentence would jead more in the spirit of the original, ‘ Thou sayest, (but it is a vain word!) counsel and strength are for war; 4 (so margin.) Now on whom dost thou trust,” where is thy strength and counsel, “that thou rebellest against Ver. 25. Speak in Syrian.—{ Perceiving er. } that the object of this blasphemous caitiff was to stir up the people to sedition, they mildly and reasonably required him to make his proposals in the Syrian language. |—Bagster. Vor. 31. Mi ‘ake an agreement.—i.

e. a handsome present, See Gen. XXxXii, 20.; XXXL IL, Ver. 31. Hamath.—{ Hamath, there is little doubt, was the Epiphania of kiah. 14 Hezekiah’s prayer.’ 20 Isaiah’s prophecy of the pride and destruction of Sennacherib, and the good of Zion. 35 An angel slayeth the Assyrians. 36 Sennacherib is slain at Nineveh by his own sons. ND *it came to pass, when king Hezekiah 1 or, pit. heard it, that he rent his clothes, and m De.8.7,8. covered himself with sackcloth, and went into n or, dethe house of the Lord. 2 And he sent Eliakim, which was over the 0 ¢.19,12,13, household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, p Je.49. B. to Isaiah » the prophet the son of Amoz.

q ¢.17.24. 3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day ‘of trouble, and of rebuke, and ‘blasphemy: for the children s Pr.26.4. are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring fortn. t Is.33.7. 4 It may be the Lord thy God will hear all a Is.37.1,&¢ the words of Rab-shakeh, whom the king of b Lu.3.4. Assyria his master hath sent ¢ to reproach ‘ the living God; and will reprove &the words ¢ Je.30.7. which the Lord thy God hath heard: whered or, profore lift up thy prayer for the remnant * that e c.18.17. are i left.. 5 So theservants of king Hezekiah came to f Ps.74.18. g Ps.50.21. 6 | And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall h Ro.9.27, ye say to your master, Thus saith the Lord, i found.

Be not afraid of the words which thou hast nacherib blasphemed the God of Israel, by comparin with the idols of the heathen: and, by addressing the inhabitants in their own langnage, endeavoured also to excite discontents among the people, who, 7 however, remained firm both to their God and to their ing. We must not omit to notice the artful conduct of Rab-shakeh, in eee that Hezekiah was an apostate, and had offende the God of Israel by destroying the high places and idols of Jeroboam; and 7 obliging the people to come twice a year to worship at Jerus alem, as in the times of David and of Solomon; but the people were now better taught than to be deceived by him Chap. XTX. Ver. 1—37. Hezekiah applies to the prophet [ it was a the Greeks, as Josephus, Theodoret, and Jerome, expressly assert.

celebrated city of Syria, situated on the Orontes, and the present. Hamah doubtless occupies its site; as Abu/feda, who was prince or emir of Hamah about A. D. 1345, expressly states, in his description of Syria, that Hamah is an ancient city mentioned in the writings of the Israelites. _ It is still a considerable town, situated on both sides of the Orontes, about three days’ journey and a half from Tripoli, by way of Hossn; and must contain, Burckhardt says, at least 30,002 inhabitants. ——Arpad.—Arpad is probably the town of Arphas, mentioned by Josephus, as limiting the province of Gamalitis. Gaulanitis, Batanea, and Trachonitis, to the N. E.; and the Raphan, or Kaphanea, which Stephanus places near Epiphania.

]—Bagster.