Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 37:38

"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 Ararat. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead." — Isaiah 37:38 (ASV)

And it came to pass.—The Assyrian inscriptions fill the twenty-year gap between the events that appear here as if in immediate sequence, detailing five campaigns in the north and east of the Assyrian Empire, chiefly against the Babylonians, who revolted again under the son of Merôdach-baladan.

Nisroch.—Some experts (Oppert and Schrader) have found the name in the Khorsabad inscriptions, in a prayer of Sargon to Nisroch as the patron of marriage, but this identification is disputed by others, such as G. Smith, Sayce, and Cheyne. The etymology of the name, as meaning the “eagle” deity, is also one of the open questions of Assyrian research.

Adrammelech and Sharezer.—The former name appears as that of a deity of Sepharvaim in 2 Kings 17:31. Its probable meaning is “the king of glory,” while Sharezer means “the ruler preserves,” or, in a variant form, Sanatzu, “Sin (the moon-god) preserves.”

The Assyrian records, so far as they have been interpreted, make no mention of the murder. However, an inscription of Esar-haddon’s, mutilated at the beginning, begins with an account of his victory over rebel princes. The narrative of his campaign speaks of snowy mountains, which at least suggest Armenia (Hebrew: Ararat) (Records of the Past, Vol. iii, p. 101).

Armenian traditions identify the two parricides as the founders of royal houses: the Sasserunians and Aizerunians. From the latter, in which the name of Sennacherib was common, originated the Byzantine Emperor, Leo the Armenian.

Esar-haddon is further memorable for several actions. He peopled Samaria with a mixed population of Babylonians, Cutheans, and others (2 Kings 17:24; Ezra 4:10), from whom the later Samaritans were descended. He also took Zidon and deported its inhabitants (Records of the Past, Vol. iv, p. 111). Additionally, he left inscriptions at Nahr-el-kelb, near Beyrout, in which he describes himself as “King of Egypt, Thebes, and Ethiopia.” He was also probably the “king of Assyria” who carried Manasseh bound in fetters to Babylon.

The will of Sennacherib (Records of the Past, Vol. i, p. 136), which gave Esar-haddon his chief treasures and renamed him with a new title of sovereignty (Assur-Ebil-Muni-pal, i.e., “Assur is lord, the establisher of the son”), seems to imply that he was a younger son. Sennacherib’s fondness had exalted this son above his elder brothers, who accordingly revenged themselves by murdering their father.