Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 18:23

Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.

23. Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord ] R.V. my master. The change conforms to verses 24 and 27 below. Having ridiculed any trust in Egypt, and expressed his opinion that Hezekiah could not expect help from Jehovah, after demolishing all the altars in the land, Rab-shakeh comes to his third argument. This is, ‘you have no forces to resist us’. He puts this into the form of a taunt. The verb rendered ‘give pledges’, has in its simpler voice, the sense of ‘mortgaging’ or ‘giving something in pledge’. In the present verse it appears to mean ‘pledge yourself’, ‘put yourself under some penalty’. And so the taunt is equivalent to saying: ‘You dare not undertake to find two thousand riders, if I offer you the horses for them. If you dare, then do it. The horses are ready; I challenge you to provide the men’.

I will deliver ] R.V. give. The verb is the one usually rendered ‘give’, and the insult is made the greater by this proud way of expressing superiority.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

The phrase translated give pledges, or hostages (margin) may perhaps be best understood as meaning make an agreement. If you will bind yourself to find the riders (i. e., trained horsemen), we will bind ourselves to furnish the horses. The suggestion implied that in all Judaea there were not 2000 men accustomed to serve as cavalry.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 23. I will deliver thee two thousand horses] Another insult: Were I to give thee two thousand Assyrian horses, thou couldst not find riders for them. How then canst thou think that thou shalt be able to stand against even the smallest division of my troops?

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Give pledges to my lord, i.e. give him hostages to secure him from thy future rebellion, and he will depart from thee. Or rather, contend with my lord in battle; seeing thou hast counsel and strength for war, do not lie lurking in thy strong hold, but come out into the open field, and let us try for mastery; and whereas thou mayest pretend thou wantest horses to fight with me, if thou wilt accept of my challenge, I will furnish thee with two thousand horses, if thou hast riders for them; as it here follows.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

[See comments on 2Ki 18:17]

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(23) Give pledges to.Rather, make a compact with . . . So the Syriac; literally, mingle with . . . have dealings with (Psa. 106:35). Gesenius explains: join battle with; literally, mingle yourselves with: LXX., . Mr. Cheyne prefers, lay a wager with . . . The rab-sak sneers at Hezekiahs want of cavalry, an arm in which the Assyrians were preeminently strong; and further hints that even if horses were supplied him in numbers sufficient to constitute an ordinary troop, he would not be able to muster an equivalent number of trained riders.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

23. Give pledges to Rather, enter into intercourse with, or, make an agreement with.

If thou be able The whole verse is a contemptuous assumption of the weakness of the Jewish military force. The sense is, Suppose you make a bargain with the king of Assyria, I venture to say he will deliver you two thousand horses on condition that you furnish men enough to use them as cavalry, and I have no fear that you will be able to meet the condition. “The meaning is not that Hezekiah could not raise two thousand soldiers in all, but that he could not produce so many men who were able to fight as horsemen.” Keil.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments