Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 39:1

"At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah; for he heard that he had been sick, and was recovered." — Isaiah 39:1 (ASV)

Merodach-baladan. —The name is conspicuous in the Assyrian inscriptions of Sargon (Records of the Past, ix. 13), as having rebelled against him and set up an independent monarchy. He is described in them as son of Yakin, but this is, probably, a dynastic appellative, just as Jehu is described in the Assyrian records (Records of the Past, v. 41) as “the son of Khumri” (i.e., Omri).

The mission had two ostensible objects:

1. Congratulation on Hezekiah’s recovery;
2. To inquire and report as to the phenomenon of the sun-dial (2 Chronicles 32:31).

Really, we may believe the object of Merôdach-baladan was to open negotiations for an alliance with Judah. The “present,” interpreted after the manner of the East, would seem almost like an acknowledgment of Hezekiah’s hegemony, or even suzerainty, in such a confederacy.