Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition) (continued)
The Reigns of Azariah, Jeroboam. 2 KIJSGS XV, XVI. Zechariah, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, etc.
of his predecessors. 19. Pul the king of Assyria—This chariot to Jerusalem, where he was interred among bis royal ancestors.
is the first Assj'rian king after Nlmrod who is mentioned in biblical history. His name has been recently identified witli thatof Phalluka on the monuments of Nineveh, and tliat of Menahem discovered also, came against the land—Elsewhere it is said "Ephraim (Israel) goes to the Assyrian." The two statements may be reconciled thus: "Pul, of his own motion, induced, perhaps, by tlie expedition of Menahem against Thapsacus, advanced against the kingdom of Israel; then Menahem sent him 1000 talents in order not only to divert him from his plans of conquest, but at the same time to purchase his friendship and aid for tlie establishment of his own precarious sovereignty, so that Menahem did not properly Invite the Assyrian into the land, but only changed tlie enemy when marching against the country, by tliis tribute, into a confederate for the security of his usurped dominion; which the prophet Hosea, less concerned about the historical fact than the disposition betrayed therein, might very well censure as a going of Ephraim to the Assyrians (Hosea 5. 13 ; 7. 1 ; 8. 9), and a covant-making with Asshur (ch.l2. 1). [Keil.] a thousand talents of silver—Equal to
21, '22. Azariah Succeeds Him. 31. all. the people of Jndah took Aiarlali—Or Uzziah (ch. 15. 30 ; 2 Chronicles
26. 1). The popular opposition had been personally directed against Amaziah as the author of their calamities, but it was not extended to his family or heir. 'i'i. He built Elatli—fortified that seaport. It liad revolted with the rest of Edom, but was now recovered by Uzziah, his father, who did not complete the conquest of Edopa, having left him tliat work to do.
23-29. Jeroboam's Wicked Reign over Israel.' 33. Jeroboam, tUe son of Joasb, the king of Israel—This was Jeroboam II. who, on regaining tlie lost territory, raised the kingdom to great political power (v. 25), but adhered to the favourite religious policy of tlie Israelltish sovereigns {v. 24); and, while God granted him so great a measure of national prosperity and eminence, the reason
Is expressly stated (v. 26, 27) to be that the purposes of the Divine covenant forbade as yet the overthrow of the kingdom of theten tribes (see on ch. 13. 23).
This tribute, which Menahem raised by a tax on the grandees of Israel, bribed Pul to return to his own country (see on 1 Chronicles 5. 26).
CHAPTER XV.
Ver. 1-4. AzARiAH's Reign over Judah. 1. In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam—It is thought that tlie throne of Judah continued vacant eleven or twelve years, between the death of Amaziah and the inauguration of his son Azariah, who, being an infant four years old when his father was murdered, a regency was appointed duri ng his minority. Azariah began to reign —The character of his reign is described by the brief formula employed by the inspired historian, in recording the religious policy of the later kings. But his reign Was a very active as well as eventful one, and is fully related (2 Chronicles 26). Elated by the possession of great power, and presumptuously arrogating to himself, as the heathen kings, the functions both of the real and sacerdotal offices, he was punished with leprosy, which, as the offence was capital (Numbers 8. 7), was equivalent to death; for this disease excluded him from all society; and while Jotliam, his son, as his viceroy, administered the aft'airs of tlie kingdom—being about fifteen years of age (cf. V. Wi}—he had to dwell in a place apart by himself (see on ch. 7. 3). After a long reign he died, and was buried. in the royal burying-fleld, though not in the royal cemetery of " the city of David" (2 Chronicles 20. 33).
22-24. Pekahiah's. 33. Pekahiah . . . son of Menahem began to reign—On comparing the date given with Azariah's reign, it seems that several months had intervened between the death of Menahem and •the accession of Pekaliiah, probably owing to a contest about the throne. 35. \vlth Argob and Arleh, <Sc.—JIaiiy commentators view these as the captain's accomplices. But it is more probable that they were influential friends of the king, who were murdered along with him.
27-31. Pekah'S. 39. In the days of Peknh, king of Israel, came TIglath-plleser—This monarch, who succeeded Pul on the throne of Assyria, is tlie only one of all the kings who does not give his genealogy, and is therefore supposed to have been an usurper. His annals have been discovered in the Nimroud mound—describing this expedition into Syria. The places taken are here mentioned as they occurred and were conquered in the progress of an invasion. 30. Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy . . , and slew him— He did not, however, obtain possession of the kingdom till about nine or tea years after the perpetration of this crime. [Hales.]
32-.3S. JoTHAM's Reign over Jud.\h. In tlie twentieth year of Jotham—Jotham's reign having lasted only sixteen years, the meaning Is, that the reign of Hoshea began in tile twentieth after the beginning of Jotham's reign the sacred historian, having not yet introduced the name of Ahaz, reckoned the date by Jotham, whom ho had already mentioned (see on 2 Cnironicles 27. 8). 33. Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign —I. c, alone—for he had ruled as his father's viceroy. 35. the higher gate of the house of the Lord—Not the temple itself, but one of its courts—probably that whichled into the palace (2 Clironlcles 2:1. 20). 37. the Lord began to send against Judah, Kezin the king of Syria, &c.—This Is tlie first intimation of the hostile feelings of
8-lG. Zechariah's Reign over I.sraei,. 8. In the tlilrty and eighth year of Azariah king of .Tudah did Zecharinh the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel—Tliere was an interregnum from some unlcnown cause between tlie reign of Jeroboam and the accession of his son, wliich lasted, according to some, for ten or twelve years, according to others, tor twenty-two years, or more. This prince pursued the religious policy of the calf-worship, and'hls reign was short, being abruptly terminated by the hand of violence. In his fate was fulfilled the prophecy addressed to Jehu (ch. 10.30; also Hosea 1.4), that his family would pogsess the throne of Israel for four generations; and accordingly Jehoahaz, Joash, Jehoram, and Zechariah were his successors — but there his dynasty terminated ; and perhaps it was the public knowledge of this prediction that prompted the murderous design of Shallum. 13-17. Shailnm . . . reigned a full month—Heing opposed and slain by Menahem, who, according to Josephus, was commander of the forces, wliich, on the report of the king's murder, were besieging Tlrzali, a town twelve miles east of Samaria, and formerly a seat of the kings of Israel. Raising the siege, ho marched directly against the usurper, slew him, and reigned In Ills stead. 16. Menahem smote TIphsah—Thapsacus, on the Euphrates, the border city of Solomon's kingdom (1 Kings 4.
tlie kings of Israel and Syria, to Judah, whicii led tliem to form an alliance and make Joint preparations for war, which, however, was not actually waged till the relga of Ahaz.
CHAPTER XVI.
Ver. 1-16. AnAz'8 Wickkd JJeion over Judah. Ahaz did not that which was right In the sight of the liord—The character of this king's reign, the voluptuousness and religious degeneracy of all cla.sses oT the people, are graphically portrayed In the writings of Isaiah, who prophesied at that period. Tlie great Increase of worldly wealth and luxury in the reigns of Azariah and Jotham had Introduced a host of corruptions, which, during his reign, and by the Influence of Ahaz, bore fruit In the Idolatrous practices of every kind which prevailed In all parts of the kingdom (see on 2 Chronicles 28. 21),
24). Tlie inhabitants refusing to open their gates to him, Menahem took it by storm, and having spoiled it, committed the most barbarous excesses, without regard either to age or sex.
17-21. Menahem'S. 17. reified ten years In Samaria —His government was conducted on the religious policy
Etoikeas Wicked Reign. 2 KINGS XVII. Samaria Taken, and Israel Carried Captive.
3, walked In tUe way of the kings of Israel—this is descriptive of the early part of his reign, wlien, lilie the kins of Israel, he patronized the symbolic worship of God by images, but he gradually went farther into gross Idolatry (2 Clironlcles 28. 2). made lits son to pass tnrougli the fire—(ch. 23. 10). The hands of the idol Moloch being red-hot, the children were i)assed through between tliem, which was considered a form of lustration ; but there is reason to believe that, In certain circumstances, the children were burnt to death (Psalm 106. 37). This was strongly prohibited in the law (Leviticus 18. 21; zealous patrons of idolatry, and many of whom liad been also infamous for personal crimes, tlie wliole nation had become so completely demoralized, tliat tiie risjlittous judgment of an angry Providence imi Dcnded over it. 3. Against him came up Shalmaneser—or Slialman (Ilosea
10. 14), tlie same as the Sargon of Isaiah. Very recently the name of this Assyrian king has been traced on the Ninevite monuments, as concerned in an expedition against a king of Samaria, whose name, thougli mutilated. Colonel Rawlinson reads as Hoshea.- 4. found con spiracy in Hoshea—after having paid tribute for several years, Hoshea, determined on throwing off the Assyrian yoke, withheld the stipulated tribute; and Shalmaneser, incensed at tliis rebellion, proclaimed war against Israel. This was in the sixtli year of Hoshea's reign, he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt—the Sabaco of the classic historians, a famous Etliiopian wlio, for fifty years, occupied the Egyptian throne, and through wliose aid Hoshea hoped to resist the threatened attack of the Assyrian conqueror. But Shalmaneser, marching against him, scoured the whole country of Israel, besieged the capital Samaria, and carried the piincipal inliabitanta into captivity in his own land, having taken tlie king himself, and imprisoned him for Jife. This ancient policy of transplanting a conquered people into a foreign land, was founded on the idea that, among a mixed multitude, differing in language and religion, they would be kept in better subjection, and have less opportunity of combining together to recover their independence, carried Israel away i. e., the remaining tribes (see on ch. 15. 29). and placed them, Ac—This passage Gesenius renders tlius, omitting the particle by, .which is printed in italics to show it is not in the original: "and placed them in Halah, and on the Chabor, a river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes." Halah, the same as Calah (Genesis 10. 11, 12), in the region of the Laycus or Zab river, about a day's journey from .the ruins of Nineveh. Chabor is a river, and it is remarkable that there is a river rising in the central highlands of Assyria which retains this name Khabour unchanged to the present day. Gozan (pasture) or Zozan, are tlie highlands of Assyria, which afford pasturage. The region in which the Chabor and the Zab rise, and through which they flow, is peculiarly of this character. The Nestorlans repair to it with their numerous flocks, spending the summer on the banks or in the highlands of the Chabor or the Zab. Considering the high authority we possess for regarding Gozan and Zozan as one name, there can be no doubt that this is tlie Gozani referred to in this passage, cities of the Modes—"villages," according to the Syriac and Vulgate versions, or "mountains," according to the Septuagint. Tlie Medish inhabitants of Gozan, having revolted, had hoen destroyed i by the kings of Assyria, and nothing was more natural', than that they should wish to place in it an industrious people, like the captive Israelites, while it was well suited
20. 2-5; Deuteronomy 18. 10), although there is no evidencethat it was practised in Israel till the time of Ahaz. 5. Then Rezin king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remallah, king of Israel, came up to war against Jcru- •alem—Notwithstanding their great efforts and military preparations, they failed to take it, and, being disappointed, raised the siege and returned home (cf. Isaiah 7.
1). 6. Rezin recovered Elath—which Azariali had got Into his possession (ch. 14. 22). The Syrians came to BUath, and dwelt there unto this day—The Septuagint version has "the Edomites," which tlie most judicious commentators and travellers [Robinson] prefer. 7-9. So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser—In spite of the assurance given him by Isaiah by two signs, the one immediate, the other remote (Isaiah 7. li ; 8. 4), that the confederate kings would not prevail against him, Ahaz sought aid from the Assyrian monarcli, to purchase which he sent the treasures of the palace and temple. Tiglathpileser marched against Damascus, slew Rezin the king, and carried the people of Damascus into captivity to Kir, which is thought to have been the city Karine (now Kerend), in Media. 10-16. Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser—This was a visit of respect, and perhaps of gratitude. During his stay in tliat heathen city, Ahaz ,7 an altar with which he was greatly captivated. Fartl"; writh a sketch of it was transmitted to Jerusalem, vLh orders to Urijah the priest to get one constructed according to the Damascus model, and let this new altar supersede the old one in the temple. Urijah, with culpable complaisance, acted according to his instructions {y. IG). The sin in this affair consisted in meddling with, and improving according to human taste and fancy, the altars of the temple, the patterns of which had been furnished by Divine authority (Exodus 25. 40 ; 26. 30;
27. 1 ; 1 Chronicles 28. 19). Urijah was one of the witnesses taken by Isaiah to bear his prediction against Syria and Israel (Isaiah 8. 2).
17-19. He Spoils THE Temple. 17. cut off the borders of the bases, <fec.—It is thought that he did this to employ the elaborate sculpture in adorning his palace. 18. the covert for the Sabbath—the portico through which the priests entered the temple on the Sabbath, the king's entry without—a private external entrance for the king into the temple. The change made by Ahaz consisted in removing both of these into the temple from fear of the king of Assyria, that. In case of a siege, he might secure the entrance of the temple from him.
i to their pastoral life. [Grant's Nestorians.]
5-41. Samaria Taken, and Israel for their Sins Carried Captive. 7. For so it was tliat the chll>- dren of Israel had sinned—There is here given a very full and Impressive vindication of the Divine procedure in punishing his highly privileged, but rebellious and' apostate people. No wonder that amid so gross a perversion of the worship of the true God, and the national propensity to do reverence to idols, the Divine patience was exhausted; and that the God whom they had forsaken permitted them to go into captivity, that they might learn the difference between His service and that of their despotic conquerors. 24. the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, &c.—This was nc»t Shalmaneser, but Esar-haddon (Ezekiel 4. 2). The places vacated by the captive Israelites he ordered to lie occupied by several colonies of his own subjects from Bab.ylon, and other provinces, from Cuthah— The Chaldee form of Cush or Snsiana, now Khusistan. Ava—Suppixsed to be Ahivaz, situated on the river Karuns, which falls into the head of the Persian Gulf. Hamath—On the Orontes. Sepharvaim — Slphara, a city on the Euphrates above Babylon, placed them to dwell In the cities of Sa-
CHAPTEB XVII.
Ver. i-j. HosHEA's Wicked Reign. 1. In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, began Hoshea to reign riie statement in ch. 15. 30 may be reconciled with the present passage in the following manner: Hoshea conspired against Pekah in the twentieth year of the latter, which was the eighteenth of Jotham's reign. It was two years before Hoshea was acknowledged king of Israel, i. €., in the fourth of Ahaz, and twentieth of Jothara. In the twelfth year of Ahaz his reign began to be tranquil and prosperous. [Calmet.] a. he did evil, but not as the kings of Israel—Unlike his predecessors from the time of Jeroboam, he neither established the rites of Baal, nor compelled the people to adhere to the symbolic worship of the calves. But. although. In these respects, Hoshea acted as became a constitutional king of Israel; yet, through the influence of the nineteen princes who had swayed the sceptre before him, all of whom had been
The Mixed Worship of the Samaritans. 2 KINGS XVm. Sezekiah Dtroys Idolatry.
ntaiis, &c.—It must not be supposed that the Israelites were universally removed to a man. A remnant was warm climates of the south, where the human frame Is matured sooner than in our northern regions. But the . case admits of solution in a difl'erent way. It was customary for the later kings of Israel to assume their son and heir into partnership in the government during their lives ; and as Hezekiah began to reign in the third year of Hoshea (v.l), and Hoshea in the twelfth year of Ahaz (ch. 17. 1), it is evident that Hezekiah began to reign in the fourteenth year of Ahaz his fother, and so reigned two or three years before his father's deatli. So that, at the beginning of his reign in conjunction with his father, he might be only twenty-two or three, and Ahaz a few years older than the common calculatiim maltes him. Or the case may be solved thus: As the ancient writers, in the computation of time, take notice of the year they mention, whether finished or newly begun, so Ahaz might be near twenty-one years old at the beginning of his reign, and near seventeen years older at his death; while, on the other hand, Hezekiah, wiien he began to reign, might be just entering into his twenty-fifth year, and so.Ahaz would be near fourteen years old when his sou Hezekiah was born—no uncommon age for a young man to become a father in southern latitudes. [Patrick.]
left, chiefly, however, of the poor and lower classes, with whom these foreign colonists mingled ; so that the prevailing character of society about Samaria was heathen, not Israelite; for the Assyrian colonists became masters. of the land, and, forming partial intermarriages with the remnant Jews, the inhabitants became a mongrel race, no longer a people of Ephraim (Isaiah 7. 6), who, imperfectly Instructed in the creed of the Jews, acquired also a mongrel doctrine. Being too few to replenish the land, lions, by which the land had been infested (Judges 14. 5 ; 1 Samnell7. 34; 1 Kings 13.24; 20.36; Song 4.8), multiplied and committed frequent ravages upon them. Recognizing in these attacks a judgment from the God of the land, whom they had not worshipped, they petitioned the Assyrian court to send them some Jewish priests who might instruct them in the right way of serving Htm. The king, in compliance with their request, sent them one of the exiled priests of Israel, who established his headquarters at Beth-el, and taught them how they should fear the Lord. It is not said that he took a copy of the Pentateuch with him, out of which he might teach them. Oral teaching was much better fitted for the superstitious people than instruction out of a written book. He could teach them more efl'ectually by word of mouth. Believing that he would adopt the best and simplest method for them. It
4-37. He Destroys Idolatry. *. He removed the liigli places and brake tbe Images, i&c.—The methods adopted by this good king for extirpating idolatry, and accomplishing a thorough reformation in religion, are fully detailed (2 Chronicles 20. 3 ; 31. 19). But they are here indicated very briefly, and in a sort of passing allusion, brake ill pieces the brazen serpent—The preservation of this remarkable relic of antiquity (Numbers 21. 5-10), might, like the pot of jnanna and Aaron's rod, have remained an interesting and instructive monument of the Divine goodness and mercy to the Israelites in the wilderness ; and it must have required the exercise of no small courage and resolution to destroy it. But in the progress of degeneracy it had become an object of idolatrous worship; and as the interests of true religion rendered its demolition necessary, Hezekiah, by taking thU bold step, consulted both the glory of God and the good of his country, unto those days the children of Israel did bum Incense to It^—It is not to be supposed that this superstitious reverence had been paid to it ever since the time of Moses, for such idolatry would not have been tolerated either by David or l)y Solomon in the early part of his reign, by Asa or Jehoshaphat had they been aware of such a folly. But the probability is, that the introduction of this superstition does not date earlier than the time when the family of Ahab, by their alliance with the throne of Judah, exercised a pernicious influence In paving the way for all kinds of idolatry. It is possible, however, as some think, that Its origin may have arisen out of a misapprehension of Moses' language (Numbers 21. 8). Serpent-worship, liow revolting soever it may appear, was an extensively dilfused form of Idolatry, and It would obtain an easier reception in Israel that many of the neighbouring nations, such as the P'gyptians and Phoenicians, adored Idol gods in the form of serpents aa the emblems of health and immortality. 5. he. trusted In the Iiord God of Israel—Without invoking the aid or purchasing the succour of foreign auxiliaries like Asa is unlikely that he took the written law with him, and so gave origin to the Samaritan copy of the Pentateuch. [Davidson's Criticism.] Besides, it is evident from his being one of the exiled priests, and from his settlement at Beth -el, that he was not a Levite, but one of the calf-worshipping priests, and, consequently, that his instructions would be neitlier sound nor et Rcient. 39. Howbeit every nation made god of tlieir own—These Assyrian colonists, however, though instructed in the worship, and acknowledging the being of the God of Israel, did not suppose him to be the only God. Like other heathens, they combined his worship with th.at of their own gods, and as they formed a promiscuous society from dil Jerent nations or provinces, a variety of idols was acknowledged ajnong them. 30. Snccotli-benotU— £. e., the "tents or booths of the daughters," similar to those in which the Babylonian damsels celebrated impure rites (Amos 2.8). Bfergal—The Jewish writers say this idol was in the form of a cock, and it is certain that a cock is often associated with a priest on the Assyrian monuments. [Layard.] But modern critics, looking to the astrological character of Assyrian idolatry, generally consider Nergal as the planet Mars, the god of war. The name of this idol formed part of the appellation of two of the king uf Babylon's princes (Jeremiah 39.3). Asliiina— An idol under the form of an entirely bald he-goat. 31. Nlbhaz—Under that of a dog—that Egyptian form of animal-worship having prevailed in ancient Syria, as is evident from the image of a large dog at the mouth of the Nahr-el-Kelb or Dogriver. Tartak—According to the rabbis, was in the form of an ass, but others understand it as a planet of ill-omen, probably Saturn. Adrammelecli—Supposed by some to be the same as Molech, and in Assyrian mythology to stand for the snu. It was worshipped In the form of a mule—others maintain in that of a peacock. AnamineIccli—Worsliipped In the form of a hare, others say In that of a goat. 34. Unto this day—The time of the BabylonIan exile, when this book was composed. Their religion was a strange medley or compound of the service of God and the .service of idols. Such was the first settlement of the people, afterwards called Samaritans, who were sent from Assyria to colonize the land, when the kingdom of
(1 Kings 15. 18, 19) and Aliaz ((^h. 16. 17; Isaiah 7). so that after him was none like lilm among all the kings of Judah—Of course David and Solomon are excepted, they having had the sovereignty of the whole country. In the petty kingdom of Judah, Joslah alone had a similar testimony borne to him (ch. 2.'J. '25). Hut even ho was surpassetl by Hezekiah, who set about a national reformation at the beginning of his reign, which Joslah did not. The pious character and the excellent course of Hezekiah was prompted, amongst other secondary influonees, by a sense of the calamities his father's wicked career had brought on the country, as well as by the counsels of Isaiah. T. he rebelled ngninst the king of Assj ria—t, e., the yearly tribute his father ha<l stipulated to pay, he, with Imprudent haste, withdrew. Pursuing the policy of a truly theocratic sovereign, ho was, through tlio Divine blessing which rested on his government, rulsed lo a
Israel, after having continued 356 years, was overthrown,
CHAPTER XVIII.
Ver. l-."?. Hbzekiah's Good Reign. Hezekiah . . . be{;an to retgn. Twenty and Ave years old—According to this statement (cf. cli. 16. 2), he must have been born when his father Ahaz was no more than eleven years old. Vateniltv at an age so early is not unprecedented in the 242
SennackeriJ) Besieges Jerusalem. 2 KINGS XIX. His Blasphemous Letter to Hezekiah, the city walls. Eliaklm—Lately promoted to be master of the royal household. (Isaiah 22. 20.) Sliebna—Rt inoved position of great public and national strength. Shalmaneser had withdrawn from Palestine, being engaged in a war with Tyre, or probably was dead; and assuming, consequently, that full independent sovereignty which God had settled on the house of David, he botli shook off the Assyrian yoke, and, by an energetic movement against the Philistines, recovered from that people the territory for his pride and presumption (Isaiah 22. 15) from that office, though still royal secretary. JToali . . . tlie recorder
—i. €., the keeper of the chronicles, an important office ia Eastern countries. 19. Rab-shakeh said—The insolent tone he assumed appears surprising. But tliis boasting, both as to matter and manner, his highly coloured picture of his master's powers and resources, and the impossibility of Hezekiah making any effective resistance, heightened by all the arguments and figures which an Oriental imagination could suggest, has been paralleled in all, except tae blasphemy, by other messages of defiance sent on similar occasions in the history of the East. 27. that tl»ey may eat, &c.—This was designed to show the dreadxhich they had taken from his father Ahaz. (2 Chronicles
S8. 18.) 13. Sennacherib—The son and successor of Shalmaneser. all the fenced cities of Jndah—Not absolutely the whole of them ; for, besides the capital, some strong fortresses held out against the invader (v. 17; ch. 19. 8). The following account of Sennacherib's Invasion of Ju'dah and the remarkable destruction of his' army, is repeated almost verbatim in 2 Chronicles 33. ; and Isaiah 36., 37. The expedition seems to have been directed against Egypt, the conquest of which was long a leading object of arahition with the Assyrian monarchs; but the invasion of Judah necessarily preceded, that country being the key to Egypt, the highway through which the conquerors from Upper Asia had to pass, and having at this time formed a league of mutual defence with Egypt (v. 24). Moreover, it was now laid completely open by the transplantation of Israel to Assyria. Overrunning Palestine, Sennacherib ful extremities to which, in the threatened siege, the people of Jerusalem would be reduced.
CHAPTER XIX.
Ver. 1-5. Hezekiah in Deep Affliction. 1. wlicn King Hezeldah heard It, he rent Ills clotlies, &c.—The rending of his clothes was a mode of expressing horror at the daring blasphemy—the assumption of sackclotli a sign of his mental distress—his entrance into the temple to pray, the refuge of a pious man in affliction, and the forwarding an account of the Assyrian's speech to Isaiah was to obtain the propliet's counsel and comfort. The expression in whicli the message was conveyed described, by a strong figure, the desperate condition of the kingdom, together with their own inability to help themselves; and it intimated also a hope, that the blasphemous defiance of Jehovah's power by the impious Assyrian might lead to some direct interposition for the vindication of his honour and supremacy to all heathen laid siege to the fortress of Lachish, which lay seven Roman miles from Eleutheropolis, and therefore southwest of Jerusalem on the way to Egypt. [Robinson.] Amongst the interesting illustrations of sacred history furnished by the recent Assyrian excavations, is a series of bas-reliefs, representing the siege of a town; which the Inscription on the sculpture shows to be Lachish, and the figure of a king, whose name is given, on the same in Bcription, as Sennacherib. The legend, sculptured over the head of the king, ran thus: "Sennacherib, the mighty king, king of the country of Assyria, sitting on the throne of judgment before the city of Lachish (Lakhisha), I give permission for its slaughter." [Nineveh and Babylon.] This minute confirmation of the truth of the Bible narragod!3. 4. the living God—Is a most significant expression taken in connection with the senseless deities that Rabshakeh boasted were unable to resist his master's victorious arms.
tive is given not only by the name Lachish, which is contained in the inscription, but from the physiognomy of the captives brought before the king, which is unmistakably Jewish. 14. he sent to Lachish, saying, . . , that which thoii puttest on me will I bear—Disappointed In his expectations of aid from Egypt, and feeling himself unable to resist so mighty a conqueror who was menacing Jerusalem Itself, Hezekiah made his submission. The payment of 300 talents of silver, and 30 talents o£ gold—£.351,000—brought a temporary respite; but, in raising the Imposed tribute, he was obliged not only to drain aU the treasures of the palace and the temple, but even to strip the doors and pillars of the sacred edifice of the gold that adorned them.
6, 7. CoMFOKTED BY ISAlAH. 6. Isaiali said ... Be not afraid—The prophet's answer was most cheering, as
It held out the prospect of a speedy deliverance from the invader. The blast, the rumour, the fall by the sword, contained a brief prediction that was soon fulfilled in all the three particulars—viz., the alarm that hastened his retreat, the destruction that overtook his army, and tno violeut death that suddenly ended his career.
8-13. Sennacherib Sends a Blasphemous Letter to Hezekiah. 8. Rab-sliakeh . . . found the king of Assyria warring against I/lbnali—whetlier Lacliish had fallen or not, is not said. But Sennacherib had transferred his battering-rams against the apparently neighbouring fortress of Libnah (Joshua 10. 29; cf. 31; 15.42), where the chief cup-bearer reported the execution of his mission. 9. when he heard say of Tirliakali, Belkold, he is come out to fight against thee, &o,—This was the " rumour" to which Isaiah referred. Tirhakah reigned m Upper Egypt, while So or Saljaco ruled in Lower Egypt. He was a powerful monarch, another Sesostris, and both he and Sabaco have left many monuments of their greatness. The name and figure of Tirhakah receiving warcaptives, are still seen in the Egyptian ternpR of Sledinet Abou. This was the expected succour which was sneered at (ch. 16. 21) by Rab-shakeh as "a bruised reed." Rage against Hezekiah for allying himself with Egypt, or the hope of being better able to meet this attack from the south, induced him, after hearing the rumour of Tirhakah's advance, to send a menacing letter to Hezekiah, iu order that he might force the king of Judali to an immediate surrender of his capital. This letter, couched in the .same vaunting and imperious style as tl'o speech of Rab-shakeh, exceeded it in blasphemy, and contained a larger enumeration of conquered places, with the view of terrifying Hezekiah, and showing him the utter hopelessness of all attempts at resistance.
Sennacherib Besieoes Je'ktjsal,em. 17. king of Assyria sent Tartan—general. (Isaiah 20. 1.) Rabsaris— chief of the eunuchs. Rab-shalteh—chief cup-bearer. These were the great ofllcers employed in delivering Sennacherib's Insulting message to Hezekiah. On the walls of the palace of Sennacherib, at Khorsabad, certain figures have been identified with the of Bcers of that sovereign mentioned In Scripture. In particular, the figures, Rab-shakeh, Rabsaris, and Tartan, appear as full-length portraits of the persons holding those offices in the reign of Sennacherib, and probably the very individuals sent on this embassy, with a great host to Jerusalem Engaged In a campaign of three years in Egypt, Sennacherib was forced by the king of Ethiopia to retreat, and discharging his rage against Jeru.salem, sent an immense army to summon it to surrender. (See on 2 Chronicles 32.
80.) the conduit of the upper pool, &c.—is the conduit which went from the reservoir of the Upper Gihon (Birket el Mamilla)to the lower pool, the Birket es Sultan, the highway of the fti Uer's Held-the public road which pas.sed by that district, which had been assigned them for carrying on their business without the city, on account of the unpleasant smell. [Keii,.] . 18. when they had called to the king—Hezekiah did not make a persimal appearance, but commissioned his three principal mlnis-
14-34. Hezekiah's Prayer. 14. Hezekiah receive<l tlie letter . , , and went up Into the house of tlie Lord —Hezekiah, after reading it, hastened into the temple, ters to meet the Assyrian deputies at a conference outside
An Angd Destroys the Assynaiis, 2 KINGS XX. Hezekiah's Life Lengthened.
way as he came (v. 33). The route is described (Isaiah lU). The early chariot track near Beyrout is on tlie rooky edge spread it in the child-like confidence of faitli before the Lord, as containing taunts deeply affecting the Divine honour, and implored deliverance from this proud defler of Lebanon, which is skirted by the ancient Lycus (Nahr-el Kelb.) On the pt rpendigular face of the limestone rook, at different heights, are seen slabs witli Assyrian inscriptions, wliicli having been dec-ipliered, are found to contain the name of Sennacherib. Thus, by tho preservation of these tablets, the wrath of the Assyrian invaders is made to praise the Lord, dwelt at Nineveh —This statement implies a considerable period of time, and his Annals carry on his history at least five years of God and man. The devout spirit of this prayer, the recognition of the Divine being in the plenitude of His majesty—so strikingly contrasted with the fancy of the Assyrians as to his merely local power—his acknowledgment of the conquests obtained over other lands, and of the destruction of their wooden idols which, according to the Assyrian practice, were committed to the flames because their tutelary deities were no gods; and the obafter his disastrous campaign at Jerusalem. No record of his catastrophe can be found, as tlie Assyrian practice was ject for which he supplicated the Divine interposition, that all the kingdoms of the earth might know tliat the Lord was the only God ;—this was an attitude worthy to be assumed by a pious theocratic king of the chosen peoto record victories alone. The sculptures give only the sunny side of the picture.
37. Sennacherib Slain. 37. as he was worshipping in the house of Nisrocli—Assarae, or Assliur, the head of ple. 20. Tlien Isaiah . . . sent^-A revelation having been made to Isaiah, the prophet announced to the king that his prayer was heard. The prophetic message consisted of three different portions -.—First, Sennacherib is apostrophized (v. 21-28) in a highly poetical strain, admirably descriptive of the turgid vanity, haughty pretensions, and presumptuous impiety of the Assj-rian despot. Secondly, Hezekiah is addressed {v. 29-31), and a sign given him of the promised deliverance—viz., that for two years the presence of the enemy would interrupt the peaceful pursuits of husbandry, but on the third year the people would be in circumstances to till their fields and vineyards, and reap the fruits as formerly. Thirdly, the issue of Sennacherib's invasion is announced (v. 32-34). 33. shall not come Into this city—Nor approach near enough to shoot an arrow, not even from the most powerful engine which throws missiles to the greateit distance, nor shall he occupy any part of the ground before the city by a fence, a mantelet, or covering for men employed in a siege, nor cast (raise) a bank (mound) of earth, overtopping the city walls, whence he may see and command the interior of the city. None of these, which were tlie principal modes of attack followed in ancient military art, should Sennacherib be permitted to adopt. Though the army under Rab-shakeh marched towards Jerusalem, and encamped at a little distance with a view to blockade it, tlaey delayed laying siege to it, probably waiting till the king, having taken Lachish and Libnah, should bring up his detachment, that with the whole combined forces of Assyria they might invest the capital. So determined was this invader to conquer Judah and the neighbouring countries (Isaiah 10. 7), that nothing but a Divine interposition could have saved Jerusalem. It might be supposed that the powerful monarch who overran Palestine, and carried away the tribes of Israel, would leave memorials of his deeds on sculptured slabs, or votive bulls. A long and minute account of this expedition is contained in the Annals of Sennacherib, a translation of whicli has recently been made into English, and, in his remarks upon tlie Assyrian Pantheon, represented not as a vultureheaded figure—tliat is now ascertained to be a priest—but as a winged figure in a circle, which was the guardian deity of Assyria. The king is represented on tlie monuments standing or kneeling beneath tills figure, his hand raised in sign of prayer or adoration, his sons smote him witli the sword—Sennacherib's temper, exasperattnl, probably, by his reverses, displayed itself in tho most savage cruelty and intolerable tyranny over his subjects and slaves, till at length he was assassinated by his two sons, whom, it is said, he Intended to sacrifice to pacify the gods, and dispose them to grant him a return of prosperity. The parricides, taking flight into Armenia, a third son, Esar-haddon, ascended the throne.
CHAPTER XX.
Ver. 1-7. Hezekiah's Life Lengthened. 1. In those days was Hezekiali sick—As his reign lasted twentynine years (ch. 18. 2), and his kingdom was Invaded in the fourteenth (ch. 18. 13), it Is evident that tills sudden and severe illness must have occurred in tho very year of the Syrlun invasion. Between tlie threatened attack and the actual appearance of the enemy, this incident In Hezekiah's history must have taken place. But according tD the usage of the sacred historian, the story of Sennacherib is coniploted before entering on what was personal to tlio king of Judah (see also Isaiah 38. 39). set thine Iioiise in order—Isaiah, being of the blood-royal, might have access to the king's private house. But since the prophet was commissioned to make this announcement, the messago must be considered as referring to matters of higher Importance than the settlement of the king's domestic and private affairs. It must have related clilefly to the state of his kingdom, he having not as yet any son (cf. v. 6 with ch. 21. 1). for thou slialt die, and not live—The disease was of a malignant character, and would be mortal in its efleets, unless tho healing power of God should mlraoulously Interpose, a. he turned his face to tlie wall—Not like Ahab (1 Kings 21. 4), In fretful discontent, but in order
It, Colonel Rawlinson says the Assyrian version confirms the most important features of the Scripture account. The Jewish and Assyrian narratives of tlie campaign are, indeed, on the whole, strikingly Illustrative of each otlier. [Outlines of Assyrian History.]
to secure abetter opportunity for prayer. 3. remember now howl have walke<l before thee, Ac—The course of Hezekiah's thoughts was evidently directed to tho promise made to David and his successors on tlie tlirono
35, 36. An Angel Destroys the Assyrians. 35. In the morning . . . tliey were all dead corpses—It was the miraculous Interposition of the Almighty that defended Jerusalem. As to the secondary agent employed in the destruction of the Assyrian army, It is mosiprobable that
(1 Kings 8. '25). He had kept the conditions as faithfully as human Inflrmlty admitted, and as ho had bon all along free from any of those great crimes by which, through tho
It was effected by a hot south wind—the simoom-such as to this day often envelops and destroys whole caravans. This conjecture is supp9rted by v. 7, and J(!remlah SI. I. The destruction wbk during night; tlie ol Hcers andsoldiers, i)eing in full security, were negligent; tlieir dlsclplina was relaxed; the camp-guards were not alert, or perhaps they themselves were the first taken off, and those who slept, no< wrapped up, imbibed the poison plen-
Judgment of God, human life was often sudtli'nly out short, his great grief might arise partly from the love of life, partly from the obscurity of the Mosaic dlsponsatlon, where life and Iniinortnllty had not boon fully brought to light, and partly from his plans for the reformation of his kingdom being frustrated by his death. He pleaded tho fuinimentof the promise. 4. afore Isaiah was ^one out Into the middle court-Of the royal oastl(>. 5. Thus snith. . . the God of I>avld thy father—An lmniodl!it(>answer was given to his prayer, containing an a»surnn<u> that the Lord was mindful of bis iiroinlse to Dnvid, and would nctifully. If this had been an evening of dissolute mirth (no uncommon thing In a camp), their Joy (perhaps for a victory), or "tlie first night of their attacking the city," •nays Joseph us, became, by Its effects, one means of their destruction. [Calmkt's Fragment.] 36. So Scnna- ^eherlb, king of Assyria, went aild returned-The same coinpllsli It In Hezekiah's experience, lioth by the prolongation of his life, and bis deliverance from the Assyrians, on the third day — The perfect recovery fl-om k
The Sun goes Ten Degrees Backward. 2 KINGS XXI. MuTMsseh's Wicked Reign.
reign. The work of religious reformation which Hezekiah had zealously carried on was but partially accomplished. There was little appearance of its influence on the heart and manners of the people at large. On the contrary, the true fear of God had vanished from the mass of the people; corruption a,nd vice increased, and were openly practised (Isaiah 28. 7, <tc.) by the degenerate leaders, who, having got the young prince Manasseh into their power, directed his education, trained him up in their views, and seduced him into the open patronage of idolatry. Hence, when he became sovereign, he introduced the worship of idols, the restoration of high places, and the erection of altars or pillars to Baal, and the placing, in the temple of God itself, a graven image of Asherah, the sacred or symbolic tree, which represented "all the host of heaven." This was not Idolati-y, but pure star worship, of Chaldaic and Assyrian origin. [Keil.] The sun, as among the Persians, had chariots and horses consecrated to it (ch. 23. 11), and Incense was offered to the stars on the housetops (ch. 23. 12; 'i Chronicles 33. 5; Jeremiah 19. 13; Zephaniah 1.5), and n the temple area with the face turned toward the sunrise (Ezekiel 8. 16). 5. the two courts of the house of tlie Lord—The court of the priests and the large court of the people. 6. made his son pass through the tire—(See on ch. 16. 3.) obser^-ed times—From an observation of the clouds, used enchantments—Jugglery and spells, dealt witli familiar spirits—Sept., ventriloquists, who pretended to ask counsel of a familiar spirit, and gave the response received from him to others. • and wizards—Wise or knowing ones, who protended to reveal secrets, to recover things lost, and hidden treasure, and interpret dreams. A great influx of these impostors had, at various times, poured from Chaldea into the land of Israel to pursue their gainful occupations, especially during the reigns of the latter kings; and Manasseh was not only their liberal patron, but zealous to. appear himself an adept in the arts. He raised them to be an influential class at his court, as they were in that of Assyria and Babylon, where nothing was done till they had ascertained the lucky hour and promised a happy issue. 7. And he set a graven image—The placing of the Asherah within the precincts of the temple, dangerous sickness, within so short a time, shows the miraculous cliaracter of the cure (see his thanksgiving song, Isaiah 38. 9). The disease cannot be ascertained; but the text gives no hint tliat the plague was raging then in JuruBalem; and although A.vai) physicians apply a cataplasm of flgs to plagUe-boils, they also do" so in other cases, as figs are considered useful In ripening and soothing in- .- flammatory ulcers.
8-20. The Sun Goes Ten Degrees Backward. 8. Hezekiah said unto Isatali, Wliat will be tlie sign that tlie Xjord sliall heal me—His recovei-y in the course of nature was so unlooked for, that the king asked for some token to justify his reliance on the truth of the prophet's communication ; and the sign he specified was granted to him. The shadow of the sun went back upon the dial of Ahaz the ten degrees It had gone down. Various conjectures have been formed as to this dial. The word in the original is "degrees," or "steps," and hence many commentators have supposed that it was a stair, so artfully contrived, that the shadow on the steps indicated the hours and course of the sun. But it
Is more probable that it was a proper instrument, and, from the Hebrews having no term to designate it, that it was one of the foreign novelties imported from Babylon by Ahaz, It seems to have been of such magnitude, and so placed in the court, that Isaiah could point to it, and the king see il, from his chamber. The retrogression of the sun's shadow on the dial was miraculously accomplished by the omnipotent power of God; but the phenomenon was temporary, local, confined to the notice, and Intended for the satisfaction, only of Hezekiah and his court, ia-19. Bei-odacU-baladan—(Isaiah 39.) The first king of Babylon mentioned in sacred history; formerly its rulers were viceroys of the Assyrian monarchs. This individual threw off the yoke, and, asserting his Independence, made with varying success, a long and obstinate resistance. [Rawlinson's Outlines.] The message of congratulation to Hezekiah, was, in all likelihood, accompanied with proposals for a defensive alliance against their common Assyrian enemy. The king of Judah, flattered with this honour, showed the ambassadors all his treasures, his armoury and warlike stores which was dedicated to the worship of the true God, is dwelt upon as the most aggravated outrage of the royal idolater. 8. neither will I make the feet of Israel move . . . out of the land wliich I gave their fathers —Alluding to the promise (2 Samuel 7. 10). only if they will obsei-ve, &c.—This condition was expressed from tha first plantation of Israel in Canaan. But that people not only did not keep it, but through the pernicious influence of Manasseh, were seduced into greater excesses of idolatrous corruption than even the original Canaanites. 10-17. the Lord spake by his servants the prophets These were Hosea, Joel, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Isaiah. Their counsels, admonitions, and prophetic warnings, were put on record in the national chronicles (2 Chronicles 33. 18), and now form part of the sacred canon. 1.'4. whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle— and his motive for this was evidently that the Babylonian deputies might be the more induced to prize his friendship, the silver and the gold—He paid so much tribute to Sennacherib as exhausted his treasury (ch. 18. 16). But, after the destruction of Sennacherib, presents were brought him from various quarters, out of respect to a king who, by his faith and prayer, saved his country; and besides, it is by no means improbable that from the corpses in the Assyrian camp, all the gold and silver he had paid might be recovered. The vain display, however, wasolfensive to his Divine liege-lord, who sent Isaiah to reprove him. The answer he gave the prophet (v. 11) shows how he was elated by the compliment of their visit; but it was wrong, as presenting a bait for the cupidity of these rapacious foreigners, who, at no distant period, would return and pill Age his country, and transfer all the possessions he ostentatiously displayed to Babylon, as well as his posterity to be court attendants in that country—(see on 2 Chronicles .32. 31). 19. Good is the word of the liord—Indicating a humble and pious resignation to the Divine will. The concluding part of his reply was uttered after a pause, and was probably an ejaculation to himself, expressing his thankfulness, that, though gi-eat afflictions should befal his descendants, the execution of the Divine strong metaphorical form of announcing an extraordinary and appalling event (see 1 Samuel 3. 11 ; Jeremiah 19. 3 ; also Habakkuk 1. 5). 13. the line of Samaria and the plummet of the liouse of Ahab—Captives doomed to destruction were sometimes grouped together, and marked off by means of a measuring-line and plummet
(2 Samuels. 2; Isaiah 34.11; Amos 7. 7); so tli'at the line of Samaria means the line drawn for the destruction of Samaria; the plummet of the house of Ahab, for exterminating his apostate family; and the import oi the threatening declaration here is, that Judan would be utterly destroyed, as Samaria and the dynasty of Ahab had been. I will wipe Jerusalem, &c.—The same doom is denounced more strongly in a figure unmistakably significant. 14. I will forsake the remnant of mine iii> heritance—The people of Judah, who of all the choseo people alone remained. The consequence of the Lord's forsaking them would be their fall into the power of their enemies. 16. Moreover, Manasseh shed innocent b!oo —Not content with the patronage and the pract ice of idoljudgment was to be suspended during his own lifetime, ao. pool and a condul<>-(See on 2 Chronicles 32. 30.)
CHAPTER XXI.
Ver. 1-18. MANAasEH's Wicked Reion, and Great Idolatry. 1. Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign-He must have been born three years alter his father's recovery; and his minority, spent under the Influence of guardians who were hostile to the religious principles and reforming policy of his father, may account in part for the anti-theocratic principles of his