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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Isaiah 36:11 - 36:22
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Rahshakeh's Efforts to bring about Revolt
v. 11. Then said Eliakim and Shebnah and Joah, the representatives of the king of Judah, unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language, in the Aramaic tongue, as spoken by the Assyrians, for we understand it, and speak not to us in the Jews' language, in the pure Hebrew, as spoken in and near Jerusalem, in the ears of the people that are on the wall, since they feared that the suggestions made by the Assyrian envoys might have a bad effect upon the inhabitants of the city. This remonstrance, however, exposed the fears of the Jewish leaders, for which reason the enemies were quick to take advantage of it.
v. 12. But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words, on a secret mission? Hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung and drink their own piss with you? The messengers of Sennacherib purposely spoke in the Hebrew tongue and with a loud voice, in order to hold before the defenders of the city the fate which awaited them if they would not yield, namely, that of a most terrible starvation, which would drive them to the last extreme in providing food and drink for themselves.
v. 13. Then Rabshakeh, suiting his actions to his words, stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!
v. 14. Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you; for he shall not be able to deliver you, to save them from the fate which was in store for them in case they refused to surrender.
v. 15. Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, this being the chief weapon of the believers of all times, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us; this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria, this evidently being the gist of Hezekiah's assurances, and rightly so.
v. 16. Hearken not to Hezekiah; for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, that is, Enter into a relation of mutual congratulations with me, the reference being to a surrender with the ratification of peace, at which time people congratulated one another, and come out to me, abandoning and surrendering the city; and eat ye every one of his vine and every one of his fig-tree, this being the Assyrian's promise to all inhabitants of Jerusalem who would side with him, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern, in a peaceful and undisturbed enjoyment of his own land and its products,
v. 17. until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. Upon his return from Egypt, which Sennacherib believed he could overcome without difficulty, the Assyrians intended to follow their usual policy of deporting the inhabitants and thus keeping them in subjection most effectively.
v. 18. Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The Lord will deliver us, this challenge now being supported by a third consideration. Hath any of the gods of the nations, of the heathen countries round about, delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
v. 19. Where are the gods of Hamath, the capital of the country between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon, and Arphad, a city still nearer the Syrian frontier? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? the southernmost city of Mesopotamia, on the left hank of the Euphrates. And have they, the idols of the heathen, delivered Samaria out of my hand?
v. 20. Who are they among all the gods of these lands that have delivered their land out of my hand that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? One commentator aptly remarks that the speaker forgets his own assertion here,
v. 10. according to which lie had come up against Judah with the Lord. "Liars need good memories. "
v. 21. But they, the men of Judah, also those on the wall, held their peace and answered him not a word, for a single incautious remark might have worked great harm; for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
v. 22. Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and Shebna, the scribe, and Jaah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, the three envoys of Judah, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, as a sign of deep grief and sorrow, and told him the words of Rabshakeh. Their obedience is rightly regarded as an example for others to follow.