2Ki 19 | TNotes | STEP | 19:1 Hezekiah showed his grief in the same way his representatives had (see Joel 1:13 ). He wisely went to the Temple , where he laid bare his soul before God in heartfelt worship and supplication (see Pss 5:7 ; 48:9-10 ; 63:1-3 ).

19:1 ^a Hezekiah showed his grief in the same way his representatives had (see Joel 1:13 ^b). He wisely went to the Temple, where he laid bare his soul before God in heartfelt worship and supplication (see Pss 5:7 ^c; 48:9-10 ^d; 63:1-3 ^e).
Summary for 2Kgs 19:2-3: 19:2-3 ^f Leaders often consulted prophets like Isaiah in emergencies (3:11-12 ^g) or before going into battle (1 Kgs 22:8-10 ^h); Isaiah was active throughout Hezekiah’s reign (2 Kgs 20:1 ⁱ, 14 ^j).

• The expression a day of trouble describes the heart-wrenching distress the king was experiencing because of the blasphemous insults and disgrace that God and his people were being forced to endure. Hezekiah realized that he and the people were powerless without God’s intervention.
19:4 ^k Hezekiah was not denying his own relationship to the Lord by referring to him as your God; rather, he was acknowledging God’s special call upon Isaiah.
19:8 ^l Sennacherib had dispatched his officers and forces to Jerusalem while he was attacking Lachish (18:14 ^m, 17 ⁿ). He had now moved eight miles to the northeast, to Libnah.
19:9 ^o King Tirhakah of Ethiopia would later become pharaoh over Egypt. At this time he was a commander in his brother Shebitku’s army.
Summary for 2Kgs 19:10-13: 19:10-13 ^p Sennacherib’s second message reminded the people of Jerusalem of the Assyrians’ ruthless victories; it was common knowledge that the kings of Assyria had plundered, tortured, mutilated (see 19:28 ^q), and completely destroyed everyone who stood in their way. No nation, king, or god had been able to resist them. In the face of this threat, the people would be wiser to trust their common sense and surrender rather than trust Hezekiah and his deceptive piety.
Summary for 2Kgs 19:14-19: 19:14-19 ^r Hezekiah received Sennacherib’s blasphemous letter and immediately took it to theinto the house of the Lord’s Temple. His prayer to God was a lament of praise (19:15 ^s) and petition (19:16-19 ^t).
Summary for 2Kgs 19:16-19: 19:16-19 ^u Sennacherib’s successes were irrelevant because—unlike the gods of these nations, who were not gods at all—Yahweh was the living God.
Summary for 2Kgs 19:21-28: 19:21-28 ^v The phrase virgin daughter is often used regarding civic identity (Isa 23:12 ^w; 37:22 ^x; 47:1 ^y; Jer 18:13 ^z). Here, the metaphor implies that as a young maiden is rescued from her attacker, so God will rescue Jerusalem. The Lord’s answer was delivered as a “taunt song,” a common literary form in the ancient Near East that rejoiced over an enemy’s humiliation (cp. Isa 14:3-20 ^aa).
Summary for 2Kgs 19:23-24: 19:23-24 ^ab highest mountains ... of Lebanon: In his annals, Sennacherib told of scaling high mountain passes and felling Lebanon’s great trees. Sennacherib felt invincible, but he was a mere man, no match for the omniscient Lord of the universe (1 Chr 28:9 ^ac).
Summary for 2Kgs 19:25-26: 19:25-26 ^ad I am making it happen: All of Sennacherib’s great accomplishments were what God had planned for him.
Summary for 2Kgs 19:27-28: 19:27-28 ^ae I know you well: See Pss 44:21 ^af; 94:11 ^ag.

• hook ... bit: The Assyrian annals mention similar mistreatment of prisoners; the Lord would do to Sennacherib what he and his predecessors had done to those they subjugated.
Summary for 2Kgs 19:29-30: 19:29-30 ^ah Here is the proof: The Lord’s message of encouragement included a sign that Jerusalem would be rescued from the siege. The sign was God’s provision of food. Because the land had suffered devastation by the Assyrians, the people would need to depend on random crop growth for their survival. The food supply would also remain scarce as the next year came. But by the third year, there would be a return to regular planting and harvesting.
19:31 ^ai The theme of the remnant occurs frequently in the Old Testament. God’s preservation of his people often serves as a promise of his care for them in the distant future (see Isa 4:2-6 ^aj; 9:1-7 ^ak; Zeph 3:8-20 ^al; cp. Rev 7:1-12 ^am). God’s people can be assured of their survival, for the commitment of the Lord ... will make this happen.
Summary for 2Kgs 19:32-34: 19:32-34 ^an Sennacherib’s armies did not enter Jerusalem but returned home. In Sennacherib’s own account, he gave details of capturing and despoiling forty-six cities of Judah. He made no mention of the capture of Jerusalem but recorded only that he shut up Hezekiah “in Jerusalem ... like a bird in a cage.”

• For my own honor—in light of Sennacherib’s blasphemies and arrogance against God (18:25 ^ao, 28-30 ^ap; 19:10-13 ^aq, 21 ^ar, 27-28 ^as)—and for the sake of my servant David, to whom God had made his covenant promise (2 Sam 7:8-16 ^at) and whose faith Hezekiah had emulated (2 Kgs 18:3 ^au), the Lord would defend this city (see 20:6 ^av). The Lord decisively demonstrated that he alone is God and that he is faithful to his people who trust in him.
19:35 ^aw The angel of the Lord had similarly been active in the rescue of God’s people from Egypt (Exod 12:12-13 ^ax, 23 ^ay).
19:36 ^az Sennacherib ... went home ... and stayed there: Although this Assyrian king went on five more military campaigns, he did not return to attack Judah.
19:37 ^ba his sons ... killed him: Although Sennacherib’s assassination took place twenty years later in 681 BC, the narrator includes it here to conclude his discussion of the Assyrian king and to point out the irony in his death. He had boasted that no gods were able to rescue the peoples he attacked, yet his god failed to defend him against assassins from his own family!

• At Sennacherib’s death, his son, Esarhaddon, succeeded him and reigned until 669 BC.