John Gill Commentary Isaiah 36

Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, &c.] The following piece of history is inserted from the books of Kings and Chronicles, as an illustration of some preceding prophecies, and as a confirmation of them; see (2 Kings 18:13) (2 Chronicles 32:1). that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah; who, in the Apocrypha , where it is said, "And if the king Sennacherib had slain any, when he was come, and fled from Judea, I buried them privily; for in his wrath he killed many; but the bodies were not found, when they were sought for of the king," is said to be the son of Shalmaneser, as he certainly was his successor, who in the sixth year of Hezekiah, eight years before this, took Samaria, and carried the ten tribes captive, (2 Kings 18:10 2 Kings 18:11). He is called Sennacherib by Herodotus ^F3, who says he was king of the Arabians, and the Assyrians; who yet is blamed by Josephus ^F4 for not calling him the king of the Assyrians only of the Arabians, whereas he styles him both; and the same Josephus observes, that Berosus, a Chaldean writer, makes mention of this Sennacherib as king of Assyria.

The same came up in a military way against the fortified cities of Judah, which were the frontier towns, and barriers of their country: and took them; that is, some of them, not all of them; see (Isaiah 37:8). He thought indeed to have took them to himself; this was his intent (2 Chronicles 32:1), but was prevailed upon to desist by a payment of three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold to him by the king of Judah (2 Kings 18:14–16).

FOOTNOTES:

• F3: In Euterpe c. 141.
• F4: Antiqu. Jud. l. 10. c. 1. sect. 4.

And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to
Jerusalem unto King Hezekiah with a great army Notwithstanding he had taken Hezekiah's money to withdraw his army out of his country, yet sends it out to his very capital; along with this Rabshakeh he sent two other generals, Tartan and Rabsaris, (2 Kings 18:17) though they are not mentioned, only Rabshakeh, because he was the principal person, however the chief speaker. Lachish was a city in the tribe of Judah, (Joshua 15:39) , which Sennacherib was now besieging, (2 Chronicles 32:9) . This message was sent, Bishop Usher says, three years after the former expedition.

and he stood by the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the
fullers' field ; where they spread their clothes, as the Targum, having washed them in the pool, of which see (Isaiah 7:3) . Ben Melech thus describes the pool, conduit, and highway: the pool is a ditch, built with stone and lime, where rainwater was collected, or where they drew water from the fountain, and the waters were gathered into this pool; and there was in this pool a hole, which they stopped, until the time they pleased to fetch water, out of the pool: and the conduit was a ditch near to the pool, and they brought water out of the pool into the conduit, when they chose to drink, or wash garments: the highway was a way paved with stones, so that they could walk upon it in rainy days; and here they stood and washed their garments in the waters of the conduit, and in the field they spread them to the sun.

This pool lay outside the city, yet just by the walls of it, which showed the daring insolence of Rabshakeh to come so very near, for he was in the hearing of the men upon the walls, (Isaiah 36:12) .

This Rabshakeh is by the Jewish writers thought to be an apostate Jew, because he spoke in the Jews' language; and some of them, as Jerome says, claim him to be a son of the Prophet Isaiah's, but without any foundation, Procopius, in (2 Kings 18:18) , thinks it probable that he was a Hebrew, who either had fled on his own accord to the Assyrians, or was taken captive by them.

Then came forth unto him Being sent by Hezekiah; for otherwise Rabshakeh had the impudence to call to him, in order to parley, and treat with him about the surrender of the city; but as this was not thought either safe or honourable for the king to go in person, his following ministers went; see (2 Kings 18:18).

Eliakim, Hilkiah's son, which was over the house; not over the house of the Lord, the temple, as some, but the king's house, being high steward of it, or "major domo". This is the same person as is mentioned in (Isaiah 22:20).

and Shebna the scribe; not of the book of the law, a copier, or interpreter of that, but secretary of state; he had been treasurer, but now removed, (Isaiah 22:15).

and Joah, Asaph's son, the recorder; the master of requests, or the "remembrancer" ^F5; who, as the Targum, was appointed over things memorable; whose business it was to take notice of things worthy of memory, write them down, and digest them in order; perhaps the king's historiographer.

FOOTNOTES:

• F5: (rykzmh) "recordator, commonfactor", Vatablus; "commenefaciens", Montanus: "a nemoria", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

And Rabshakeh said unto them
the three ministers above mentioned: say you now to Hezekiah; tell him what follows; he does not call him king, as he does his own master: thus says the great king, the king of Assyria; this he said boastingly of his master, and in order to terrify Hezekiah and his subjects; whom he would represent as little in comparison of him, who had subdued many kingdoms, and aimed at universal monarchy; so the eastern kings used to be called, as now the Grand Signior with the Turks, and the French call their king the great monarch; but the title of a great king suits best with God himself, (Psalms 95:3):

what confidence is this in which you trust? meaning, what was the ground and foundation of his confidence? what was it that kept him in high spirits, that he did not at once submit to the king of Assyria, and surrender the city of Jerusalem to him?

I say, (you say,) but they are but vain words^F6; meaning the following, which he suggests were only the fruit of his lips, not of his heart; or were vain and foolish, and without effect, and stood for nothing; so the first part of the words are Hezekiah's, "I say (you say)"; and the latter, Rabshakeh's note upon them; though they may be understood as Hezekiah's, or what he is made to speak by Rabshakeh, as the ground of his confidence, namely, "word of lips"; that is, prayer to God, as Kimchi explains it; or eloquence in addressing his soldiers, and encouraging them to fight, either of which Rabshakeh derides, as well as what follows: I have counsel and strength for war; as he had; he has wise ministers to consult, and was capable of forming a good plan, and wise schemes, and of putting them into execution, and of heartening men; though he did not put his confidence in these things, as Rabshakeh suggested, (2 Chronicles 32:3–8), the words may be rendered; "but counsel and strength are for war"^F7: what signifies words to God, or eloquence with men? this is all lip labour, and of little service; wisdom and counsel to form plans, and power to execute them, are the things which are necessary to carry on a war with success, and which, it is intimated, were wanting in Hezekiah; and therefore he had nothing to ground his confidence upon, within himself, or his people:

now on whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? which it does not appear he had, having paid the money agreed to for the withdrawment of his army; but this was a pretence for the siege of Jerusalem.

FOOTNOTES:

• F6: (Mytpv rbd) "verbum labiorum", Montanus; "vel, sermo labiorum", Vatablus.
• F7: (hmxlml hrwbgw hue) "consilium et fortitudo ad praelium", Montanus; "sed consilio et fortitudine opus ad praelium", Pagninus, i.e. "requiruntur", ut Grotius.