‏ 2 Kings 18

Summary for 2Kgs 18:1-12: 18:1-12  ^a The accession statement concerning Hezekiah’s reign (18:1-2  ^b) is accompanied by a lengthy evaluation of Hezekiah’s spiritual commitment (18:3-7a  ^c), followed by background details of the political situation in his time (18:7b-12  ^d).
Summary for 2Kgs 18:1-2: 18:1-2  ^e the third year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel: The date given for Hezekiah’s accession refers to his co-regency with his father, Ahaz. Since Hoshea began his reign in 732 BC, Hezekiah began to rule in about 728 BC, when he was twelve years old. When Ahaz died in 715 BC, Hezekiah began his sole reign at age twenty-five. This marks the start of his reign of twenty-nine years (715–686 BC).
Summary for 2Kgs 18:3-4: 18:3-4  ^f Unlike Ahaz (16:2  ^g), Hezekiah compared favorably with David. Hezekiah destroyed false objects of worship, including the pagan shrines ... sacred pillars, and ... Asherah poles (see 16:3-10  ^h; 17:9-11  ⁱ, 19  ^j).

• Apparently the bronze serpent used by Moses (Num 21  ^k) had become an object of illicit worship.
Summary for 2Kgs 18:5-6: 18:5-6  ^l Hezekiah trusted in the Lord: He was without peer among all the kings of Judah. Later, Josiah was without equal in upholding the law of Moses (23:25  ^m). These two kings were models of piety in times of diminishing spirituality.
Summary for 2Kgs 18:7-8: 18:7-8  ⁿ Because of Hezekiah’s unparalleled spiritual commitment, God blessed him and he was successful in everything he did. Hezekiah began a series of reforms, including the cleansing, repair, and refurbishing of the Temple (2 Chr 29:3-36  ^o); observance of the Passover (2 Chr 30  ^p); and the reconstituting of vital worship in Judah (2 Chr 31:1-19  ^q).

• He revolted against the king of Assyria: In the ancient Near East, rebellion and the withholding of tribute usually took place with the change of government; King Sennacherib of Assyria succeeded Sargon II in 704 BC. Assyria’s preoccupation with matters in southern Mesopotamia at this time might have emboldened Hezekiah. Assyria’s response was to invade Judah in 701 BC (18:13–19:36  ^r).

• He also conquered the Philistines, who had been a menace during Ahaz’s reign (2 Chr 28:18  ^s).
Summary for 2Kgs 18:9-12: 18:9-12  ^t The narrator introduces the fall of Samaria as a reminder that Assyria was the prevailing power of the era and that Samaria fell because of Hoshea’s apostasy, thus setting the stage for the account of Hezekiah’s demonstration of spiritual fiber and God’s dealing with him (18:19–19:19  ^u).
18:13  ^v The annals of King Sennacherib of Assyria describe this invasion during his third military campaign. He advanced swiftly down the Mediterranean coast through the Phoenician cities and into Philistine territory, then turned inland.
18:14  ^w Lachish lay southwest of Jerusalem, not far from the Philistine border.

• I have done wrong (literally I have sinned). Hezekiah’s message to Sennacherib was in well-chosen diplomatic language.

• Sennacherib claimed that in addition to the eleven tons of silver and one ton of gold, he received from Hezekiah many jewels and rich treasures as well as Hezekiah’s own daughter, the women of his harem, and his male and female singers.
Summary for 2Kgs 18:15-16: 18:15-16  ^x Hezekiah paid a heavy price for refusing to pay tribute money to the king of Assyria. Now, to satisfy Sennacherib’s demands he emptied the silver and gold from the Temple and the palace treasury (cp. 2 Chr 16:1-9  ^y).
18:17  ^z sent ... a huge army: In spite of Hezekiah’s lavish payment, Sennacherib had no intention of being sidetracked from invading Jerusalem.

• beside the aqueduct: The meeting place of the two delegations is believed to be a location on Jerusalem’s northwestern wall; this spot had also served as the meeting place between Isaiah and Ahaz (Isa 7:3-16  ^aa).
Summary for 2Kgs 18:19-22: 18:19-22  ^ab In earlier days, the term great king was reserved for the kings of the leading military powers, but it had become a standard epithet for Assyrian kings.

• What are you trusting in? The Assyrian officer asserted that the citizens of Jerusalem, faced with Assyria’s overwhelming military superiority, would be foolish to trust in Hezekiah’s words. Similarly, soliciting help from Egypt would be foolish. Finally, the chief of staff argued that trust in the Lord would also be misplaced. Perhaps the officer hoped to gain the loyalty of citizens who had worshiped at the shrines and altars that Hezekiah had destroyed.
Summary for 2Kgs 18:23-24: 18:23-24  ^ac The officer next turned to taunting, suggesting that Jerusalem would be unable to field sufficient manpower and strength to withstand even the weakest contingent of Assyrian troops.
18:25  ^ad The chief of staff concluded his argument by claiming that Jerusalem’s situation was hopeless because the Assyrians had come at the Lord’s direction to destroy Judah. To oppose the great king was to oppose God himself!
18:26  ^ae Hezekiah’s representatives wanted the Assyrian delegation to speak ... in Aramaic, the language of diplomacy, so that the people who were listening would not understand and be discouraged or frightened.
18:27  ^af my master ... wants all the people to hear: The Assyrians used the native tongue of a besieged city as part of their psychological warfare.
Summary for 2Kgs 18:28-30: 18:28-30  ^ag The chief of staff ignored the request of Hezekiah’s delegation and shouted in Hebrew, hoping to arouse fear among the people of Jerusalem.
Summary for 2Kgs 18:31-32: 18:31-32  ^ah The Assyrian chief of staff then detailed the generous terms Sennacherib was offering for their surrender. Why die? Choose life!
Summary for 2Kgs 18:32-35: 18:32-35  ^ai The Lord will rescue us: The chief of staff continued his psychological taunting by asserting that the Lord was just like the gods of the other nations and could not save Judah.

• Arpad was a city-state located northwest of Aleppo. Like Hamath, it was a hub of Aramean activity and is mentioned on other occasions in the Old Testament (see Isa 10:9  ^aj; Jer 49:23  ^ak).
18:37  ^al tore their clothes in despair: This action could have been both a sign of sorrow over the situation in Jerusalem (see 6:30  ^am) and an indication of grief over the blasphemous insults of the Assyrian official (see 19:4-6  ^an).

‏ 2 Kings 19

19:1  ^ao Hezekiah showed his grief in the same way his representatives had (see Joel 1:13  ^ap). He wisely went to the Temple, where he laid bare his soul before God in heartfelt worship and supplication (see Pss 5:7  ^aq; 48:9-10  ^ar; 63:1-3  ^as).
Summary for 2Kgs 19:2-3: 19:2-3  ^at Leaders often consulted prophets like Isaiah in emergencies (3:11-12  ^au) or before going into battle (1 Kgs 22:8-10  ^av); Isaiah was active throughout Hezekiah’s reign (2 Kgs 20:1  ^aw, 14  ^ax).

• 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  ^ay 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  ^az Sennacherib had dispatched his officers and forces to Jerusalem while he was attacking Lachish (18:14  ^ba, 17  ^bb). He had now moved eight miles to the northeast, to Libnah.
19:9  ^bc 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  ^bd 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  ^be), 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  ^bf 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  ^bg) and petition (19:16-19  ^bh).
Summary for 2Kgs 19:16-19: 19:16-19  ^bi 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  ^bj The phrase virgin daughter is often used regarding civic identity (Isa 23:12  ^bk; 37:22  ^bl; 47:1  ^bm; Jer 18:13  ^bn). 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  ^bo).
Summary for 2Kgs 19:23-24: 19:23-24  ^bp 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  ^bq).
Summary for 2Kgs 19:25-26: 19:25-26  ^br 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  ^bs I know you well: See Pss 44:21  ^bt; 94:11  ^bu.

• 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  ^bv 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  ^bw 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  ^bx; 9:1-7  ^by; Zeph 3:8-20  ^bz; cp. Rev 7:1-12  ^ca). 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  ^cb 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  ^cc, 28-30  ^cd; 19:10-13  ^ce, 21  ^cf, 27-28  ^cg)—and for the sake of my servant David, to whom God had made his covenant promise (2 Sam 7:8-16  ^ch) and whose faith Hezekiah had emulated (2 Kgs 18:3  ^ci), the Lord would defend this city (see 20:6  ^cj). The Lord decisively demonstrated that he alone is God and that he is faithful to his people who trust in him.
19:35  ^ck The angel of the Lord had similarly been active in the rescue of God’s people from Egypt (Exod 12:12-13  ^cl, 23  ^cm).
19:36  ^cn 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  ^co 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.