Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 19:29
And this [shall be] a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof.
29. And this shall be a [R.V. the ] sign unto thee ] The next portion of the oracle is addressed to Hezekiah. On the giving of a sign to mark the certainty of a prophecy, cf. Isa 7:11-14.
Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves ] R.V. that which groweth of itself. The meaning of the sign appears to be this. Sennacherib was to be driven away from Jerusalem, yet though the land had been overrun by the enemy, and the people of Jerusalem had been shut up within the walls, they should find enough produce from what had been shed on the ground in the previous harvest time to serve them for the first year. In the next year they should be supplied in the same way, so that they could rest from the labours of the field, and both they and their lands enjoy a sabbatical year. Then in the third year they should commence undisturbedly their agricultural work, and enjoy their crops in peace. So that the sign looks far beyond the immediate deliverance (as also it does in Isa 7:14 just quoted) and proclaims to Jerusalem a prolonged period of peace and security.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The prophet now once more addresses Hezekiah, and gives him a sign, or token, whereby he and his may be assured that Sennacherib is indeed bridled, and will not trouble Judaea anymore. It was a sign of the continued freedom of the land from attack during the whole of the remainder of Sennacheribs reign – a space of 17 years.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 29. This shall be a sign unto thee] To Hezekiah; for to him this part of the address is made.
Ye shall eat this year] Sennacherib had ravaged the country, and seed-time was now over, yet God shows them that he would so bless the land, that what should grow of itself that year, would be quite sufficient to supply the inhabitants and prevent all famine; and though the second year was the sabbatical rest or jubilee for the land, in which it was unlawful to plough or sow; yet even then the land, by an especial blessing of God, should bring forth a sufficiency for its inhabitants; and in the third year they should sow and plant, c. and have abundance, &c. Now this was to be a sign to Hezekiah, that his deliverance had not been effected by natural or casual means for as without a miracle the ravaged and uncultivated land could not yield food for its inhabitants, so not without miraculous interference could the Assyrian army be cut off and Israel saved.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
A sign unto thee, to wit, of the certain accomplishment of the promises here made to thee; that Zion should triumph over this insulting enemy, 2Ki 19:21; that God would not only preserve the city from his present fury, 2Ki 19:34, but also that God would bless his people with a durable prosperity, and a happy increase, 2Ki 19:30,31. And thus it is not only a sign of a short deliverance, which would be past before this sign was fulfilled, (though there are instances of such signs as followed the thing done; as Exo 3:12; Isa 7:14) but of a future mercy, which was to continue long after that sign. And this sign was the more necessary, because otherwise Hezekiah and his people had cause to fear that the Assyrians would be greatly enraged for their shameful repulse, and the destruction of their army, and would quickly recruit their army, and return against them with far greater force and violence. But some affirm that Sennacherib, when he heard of Tirhakahs march against him, of which 2Ki 19:9, went with his army to meet him, and overthrew him, and the Egyptian who was joined with him, as was noted before; and prosecuted his victory by following them into Egypt and Ethiopia; in the conquest of which he spent two years, in which space the people did eat such things as grew of themselves; and in the third year returned to Jerusalem, intending to besiege it. It is true, it is said, and so the sign went before the thing, (which may be objected against the truth of this relation,) 2Ki 19:9, that when he heard of Tirhakah, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, pretending as if he would forthwith come against him; but it is not said that he did so, nor is it set down what he did with Tirhakah, because the design of the sacred writer was only to write the history of the Jewish nation; not of others, but only with respect to them.
In the third year: this was an excellent sign, for it was miraculous; especially considering the waste and havoc which the Assyrians had made in the land; and that the Jews had been forced to retire into their strong hold, and consequently to neglect their tilling, and sowing, and reaping; and yet this year they should have sufficient provision from those fruits of the earth which the Assyrian left; and the second year, which probably was the year of release, in which they might neither sow, nor reap from such fruits as the earth brought forth of its own accord; and so in the third year.
Sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof; you shall not sow, and another reap, as lately you did; but you shall enjoy the fruit of your own labours.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
[See comments on 2Ki 19:1]
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(29) And this shall be a sign unto thee.The prophet now addresses Hezekiah.
A sign.Rather, the sign; namely, of the truth of this prophetic word. The sign consists in the foretelling of natural and nearer events, which serve to accredit the proper prediction. The purport of it is that this and the next year the country will be still occupied by the enemy, so that men cannot sow and reap as usual, but must live on that which grows without sowing. In the third year, they will again be able to cultivate their fields and vineyards, and reap the fruits of them (Keil). The prophecy was probably uttered in the autumn, so that only one full year from that time would be lost to husbandry.
Ye shall eat.Or, eat ye.
Such things as grow of themselves.The Hebrew is a single word, sphah, the after-growth (Cheyne; see Lev. 25:5; Lev. 25:11).
That which springeth of the same.Again one word in the Hebrew, shsh, or as in Isaiah, shhs probably synonymous with the preceding term, after-shoot, i.e., the growth from old roots left in the ground.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
29. A sign unto thee Unto Hezekiah; for the oracle of the prophet here turns to comfort Judah and Jerusalem.
Such things as grow of themselves The spontaneous growth which springs up from the leavings of the previous harvest. Compare Lev 25:5; Lev 25:11.
That which springeth of the same Hebrew, , sachish, which Furst defines as the “aftergrowth out of the roots of stocks in the second year after sowing.” Strabo (xi, 4, 3) says of Albania, “In many places the ground, which has once been sown, produces two or three crops, the first of which is even fiftyfold, and that without a fallow.” The same is true of various parts of Palestine.
The third year sow ye, and reap But if, as 2Ki 19:35 implies, the Assyrian army was smitten soon after this prophecy of Isaiah, why should they wait till the third year to cultivate the soil? Some say that this year was a sabbatical year, and the second year the year of jubilee, during both of which, according to the law, (Lev 25:4; Lev 25:11,) no sowing or reaping was allowed. This supposition may be true, but it seems to us far more simple and satisfactory to understand this year as that of Sennacherib’s invasion, which was now near its close, but during which the Jews had been obliged to eat such things as grow of themselves; the next, or second year, came so soon after the retreat of the Assyrians, and found the land in so unsettled a state, that there could be no cultivation of the soil that year; and so it was not till the third year that they could sow and reap. And all this, as it came to pass, was to be a sign to Hezekiah and his people of their miraculous deliverance from Assyria. So the sign in this case was not to be a prophecy or pledge of any thing yet future, as that the Assyrians would retreat the third year, for when that year came, and long before, the Assyrians had retreated; but the sign was of the nature of a suggestive memorial a proof or testimonial of the Divine interposition in their behalf.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Through Isaiah YHWH Gives A Sign That Jerusalem’s Deliverance Is At Hand ( 2Ki 19:29-31 ).
As in the case of Moses in Exo 3:12 and Isaiah’s prophecy in Isa 7:14 the sign now given was to be found in the guarantee of a future event, not in the event itself. It was saying, ‘this is what I, YHWH, intend to do, and you may take me at My word. Because it is My promise it is the guarantee of its fulfilment, and it is that certain guarantee that is the sign that I have given.’ In this case the promise that by the third year from when it was spoken they would be carrying out their normal agricultural activity from start to finish was a promise that the siege was about to end (otherwise it could not happen).
There is a deliberate change here from poetic metre to prose indicating emphatically that this is a new prophecy and not a part of the prophecy in 2Ki 19:21-28. It is a promise of immediate deliverance.
Analysis.
“And this will be the sign to you” (2Ki 19:29 a).
“You will eat this year what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs of the same, and in the third year sow you, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat its fruit” (2Ki 19:29 b).
“And the remnant which is escaped of the house of Judah will again take root downward, and bear fruit upward” (2Ki 19:30).
“For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant, and out of mount Zion they who will escape” (2Ki 19:31 a).
“The zeal of YHWH will perform this” (2Ki 19:31 b).
Note that in ‘a’ the guarantee is given as a sign, and in the parallel it is the zeal of YHWH which will perform it. In ‘b’ they will leave the city almost immediately, so that normal agricultural activity, which will take time to establish, will begin, surviving in the meantime on what grows of itself, and in the parallel the remnant that remains who have escaped the anger of Sennacherib will go triumphantly out of Jerusalem. Centrally in ‘c’ they will not only have physical blessing but will have spiritual blessing as they take root in the Law of YHWH and look up to Him in worship and prayer.
2Ki 19:29
“And this will be the sign to you, You will eat this year what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs of the same, and in the third year sow you, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat its fruit.”
The sign that was being given was His guaranteed promise. And that promise was that within three years their agricultural round would be back to normal. It was presumably too late for the first sowing which would have to await the following year, thus in the first part year (from then until the New Year) they would have to eat what naturally grew out of the ground, in the second year (in the latter part of which they would be able to begin their sowing) they would survive on what resulted naturally from what grew in the first year, but by the third year what they had themselves sowed in the middle of the second year would be growing and be able to be reaped and eaten.
2Ki 19:30
“And the remnant which is escaped of the house of Judah will again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.”
But their crops were not the only things that would become established. Those who remained of the house of Judah, those who had escaped the wrath of Sennacherib, would also themselves ‘take root downwards’. They would become firmly established, and that would include being established in His Law. And they would ‘bear fruit upwards’, offering to God what was pleasing to Him, not only in offerings and sacrifices, but also in the fruit of their lives (see Isa 1:11-18).
2Ki 19:31
“For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant, and out of mount Zion they who will escape. The zeal of YHWH will perform this.”
For it was YHWH’ guarantee that a remnant would go forth out of Jerusalem, the remnant that now remained of all that Judah had been before the invasion. Out of Mount Zion would go those who had escaped the fearsome hand of Sennacherib. And this would be because YHWH had delivered them. They would be free and still living in their own land. And all this would be because YHWH was acting in His zealousness.
“The zeal of YHWH will perform this.” Compare Isa 9:7. In both cases the zeal of YHWH would bring about His will in establishing His Kingly Rule. The saying is typically Isaianic.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
2Ki 19:29 And this [shall be] a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof.
Ver. 29. Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves. ] Saphiach, hoc est, sponte nature; and in the second year, Sachish, i.e., sponte renatum, that which springeth of the same, haply increasing the more, because it had been so beaten down the year before by the Assyrian army. God’s plenty in the land, notwithstanding the sabbatical year, the fifteenth jubilee, say some, and the enemy’s abode and waste there made, should be a sign for confirmation of the truth of God’s promise.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
eat this year, &c. See the reference to Jehovah’s sign in Hezekiah’s “Songs of the degrees” (Psa 126:5, Psa 126:6; Psa 128:2). See App-67.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
a sign: 2Ki 19:21, 2Ki 19:31-34, 2Ki 20:8, 2Ki 20:9, Exo 3:12, 1Sa 2:34, Isa 7:11-14, Luk 2:12
Ye shall eat: Lev 25:4, Lev 25:5, Lev 25:20-22, Isa 37:30
Reciprocal: Lev 25:22 – eighth Lev 26:10 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Ki 19:29. This shall be a sign unto thee Of the certain accomplishment of the promises here made; that Zion shall triumph over this insulting enemy, 2Ki 19:21; and that God will not only preserve the city from Sennacheribs present fury, but also will bless his people with durable prosperity, and a happy increase, 2Ki 19:30-31. For the sign here given is not so much intended to be a token of their present deliverance from Sennacherib, which would be effected before the sign took place, as of their future preservation from him and the Assyrians, and of blessings which were to continue long after it. In other passages of Scripture we have signs given in the same manner, particularly in Exo 3:12 and Isa 7:14. At the time that Isaiah spoke this, nothing seemed more improbable than that the Jews, delivered from the Assyrians, should freely use and enjoy their own land, and be supported from its productions. They had cause to fear that the Assyrians would be greatly enraged at their shameful repulse, and the destruction of their army, and would quickly recruit their forces and come against them with far greater strength and violence than before. But if not, they had reason to fear another enemy equally formidable and destructive, a grievous famine. The Assyrian army had trodden down or eaten up all their corn, and the next year, which was the fifteenth of Hezekiah, was the sabbatical year, in which their law neither allowed them to plough nor sow. How were they to be supported? God engages they shall have sufficient support: Ye shall eat this year , sapiach, sponte natum, the natural produce of the ground, which the invasion of the Assyrian army in a great measure prevented you from ploughing and sowing. And the second year, that which springeth of the same , sachish, sponte renatum, the name here given to the spontaneous productions of the earth the second year that it had not been sown. And in the third year, sow ye, and reap You shall not sow, and another reap, as has lately been the case; but you shall enjoy the fruit of your own labour. Now this was an excellent sign, for it was miraculous, especially considering the waste and destruction which the Assyrians had made in the land, and that the Jews had been forced to retire into their strong holds, and consequently to neglect their tilling, sowing, and reaping. And these events taking place accordingly, year after year, and the predictions being punctually fulfilled, the hopes of Hezekiah and his people would be revived and confirmed more and more, and assurance would be given them that they had nothing further to fear from the Assyrians, and that God would yet defend, bless, and prosper his people.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
19:29 And this [shall be] a {t} sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof.
(t) God not only promised him the victory, but gives him a sign to confirm his faith.