Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Kings 20:12

"At that time Berodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah; for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick." — 2 Kings 20:12 (ASV)

Berodach-baladan - The correct form of this name, Merodach-baladan, is given in Isaiah 39:1. The name is composed of three elements: Merodach, the well-known Babylonian god (Jeremiah 50:2); pal, meaning "a son"; and iddin or iddina, meaning "has given." Alternatively, Baladan may be a form of Beliddin. This king of Babylon is mentioned frequently in the Assyrian inscriptions and was not unknown to the Greeks.

He had two reigns in Babylon. First, he seized the throne in the same year Sargon became king of Assyria, 721 B.C., and held it for twelve years until 709 B.C., when Sargon defeated and captured him. Second, on the death of Sargon and the accession of Sennacherib, when troubles arose again in Babylonia, he returned and had another reign, which lasted for six months during part of the year 703 B.C. Since the embassy of Merodach-baladan followed closely after Hezekiah's illness, its date was likely around 713 B.C.

The son of Baladan - In the inscriptions, Merodach-baladan is repeatedly called the son of Yakin or Yagin. This, however, is a discrepancy that is easily explained. The Assyrians were not always accurate in their accounts of the parentage of foreign kings; for example, they refer to Jehu as "the son of Omri." Yakin was a prince of some repute, and Merodach-baladan had succeeded to his dominions. The Assyrians would therefore call him Yakin’s son, even though he might have been his son-in-law or grandson.

The embassy was not merely for congratulation. Its chief object was to inquire about the regression of the shadow, an astronomical marvel in which the Chaldeans of Babylon would have felt a keen interest (2 Chronicles 32:31). Moreover, a political purpose is implied in the following verse. Merodach-baladan was likely seeking to strengthen himself against Assyria through an alliance with Judah and Egypt.