Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 36:13
Then Rab-shakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.
13. the great king ] It is to be observed that the speaker consistently withholds the title of king from Hezekiah.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
13 20. The Rabshakeh’s appeal to the people.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Then Rabshakeh stood – Indicating the posture of a man who intends to speak to them at a distance.
And cried with a loud voice – So that those on the wall could bear.
The words of the king … – (See the note at Isa 36:4)
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 36:13-21
Hear ye the words of the great king
The bland insinuations of the enemies of Gods people
When Satan would tempt men from trusting in God and cleaving to Him, he doth it by insinuating that in yielding to him they may better their condition; but it is a false suggestion, and grossly absurd, and therefore to be rejected with the utmost abhorrence, when the world and the flesh say to us, Make an agreement with us, and come out to us, submit to our dominion and come into our interests, and you shall eat every one of his own vine, they do but deceive us, promising liberty when they would lead us into the basest captivity and slavery.
One might as good take Rabshakehs word as theirs for kind usage and fair quarter; therefore, when they speak fair, believe them not. Let them say what they will, there is no land like the land of promise, the holy land. (M. Henry.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
13. Rab-shakeh speaks louder andplainer than ever to the men on the wall.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language,…. In which he spoke before; but now he raised up himself, and elevated his voice, and strained himself to the utmost, that all the people might hear, and that he might strike a terror into them, and stir them up to mutiny and rebellion, and oblige their governors to give up the city into the hands of the Assyrians; this use he made of the request of Hezekiah’s ministers, perceiving hereby their fears, and the disposition of the people:
and said, hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria;
[See comments on Isa 36:4].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
After Rabshakeh had refused the request of Hezekiah’s representatives in this contemptuous manner, he turned in defiance of them to the people themselves. “Then Rabshakeh went near, and cried with a loud voice in the Jewish language (K. and spake) , and said, Hear the words (K. the word) of the great king, the king of Asshur. Thus saith the king, Let not Hizkiyahu practise deception upon you ( , K. ) ) ; for he cannot deliver you (K. out of his hand) . And let not Hizkiyahu feed you with hope in Jehovah, saying, Jehovah will deliver, yea, deliver us: (K. and) this city will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Asshur. Hearken not to Hizkiyahu: for thus saith the king ( hammelekh , K. melekh ) of Asshur, Enter into a connection of mutual good wishes with me, and come out to me: and enjoy every one his vine, and every one his fig-tree, and drink every one the water of his cistern; till I come and take you away into a land like your land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread-corn and vineyards (K. a land full of fine olive-trees and honey, and live and do not die, and hearken not to Hizkiyahu) ; that Hizkiyahu to not befool you (K. for he befools you) , saying, Jehovah will deliver us! Have the gods of the nations delivered (K. really delivered) every one his land out of the hand of the king of Asshur? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? where the gods of Sepharvayim (K. adds, Hena and Ivah ) ? and how much less ( , K. ) have they delivered that Samaria out of my hand? Who were they among all the gods of these (K. of the) lands, who delivered their land out of my hand? how much less will Jehovah deliver Jerusalem out of my hand!? The chronicler also has this continuation of Rabshakeh’s address in part (2Ch 32:13-15), but he has fused into one the Assyrian self-praise uttered by Rabshakeh on his first and second mission. The encouragement of the people, by referring to the help of Jehovah (2Ch 32:6-8), is placed by him before this first account is given by Isaiah, and forms a conclusion to the preparations for the contest with Asshur as there described. Rabshakeh now draws nearer to the wall, and harangues the people. is construed here with a dative (to excite treacherous hopes); whereas in 2Ch 32:15 it is written with an accusative. The reading is altered from in Isa 36:20, which is inserted still more frequently by the chronicler. The reading with is incorrect; it would require (Ges. 143, 1 a). To make a b e rakhah with a person was equivalent to entering into a relation of blessing, i.e., into a state of mind in which each wished all prosperity to the other. This was probably a common phrase, though we only meet with it here. , when applied to the besieged, is equivalent to surrendering (e.g., 1Sa 11:3). If they did that, they should remain in quiet possession and enjoyment, until the Assyrian fetched them away (after the Egyptian campaign was over), and transported them to a land which he describes to them in the most enticing terms, in order to soften down the inevitable transportation. It is a question whether the expansion of this picture in the book of Kings is original or not; since in Isa 36:19 appears to be also tacked on here from Isa 37:13 (see at this passage). On Hamath and Arpad (to the north of Haleb in northern Syria, and a different place from Arvad = Arad), see Isa 10:9. Sepharvayim (a dual form, the house of the S e pharvm , 2Ki 17:31) is the Sipphara of Ptol. v. 18, 7, the southernmost city of Mesopotamia, on the left bank of the Euphrates; Pliny’s Hipparenum on the Narraga, i.e., the canal, n e har m alka , the key to the irrigating or inundating works of Babylon, which were completed afterwards by Nebuchadnezzar (Plin. h. n. vi. 30); probably the same place as the sun-city, Sippara, in which Xisuthros concealed the sacred books before the great flood (see K. Mller’s Fragmenta Historicorum Gr. ii. 501-2). in Isa 36:18 has a warning meaning (as if it followed ); and both and in Isa 36:19, Isa 36:20, introduce an exclamatory clause when following a negative interrogatory sentence: and that they should have saved,” or “that Jehovah should save,” equivalent to “how much less have they saved, or will He save” (Ewald, 354, c; comp. , 2Ch 32:15). Rabshakeh’s words in Isa 36:18-20 are the same as those in Isa 10:8-11. The manner in which he defies the gods of the heathen, of Samaria, and last of all of Jerusalem, corresponds to the prophecy there. It is the prophet himself who acts as historian here, and describes the fulfilment of the prophecy, though without therefore doing violence to his character as a prophet.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Vs. 13-20: THE ASSYRIAN APPEALS TO THE JEWS IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGES
1. The Assyrian warns the Jews against permitting king Hezekiah to deceive them into thinking he is able to protect them, (vs. 14).
2. Nor must they accept his word that Jehovah will deliver them, (vs. 15; Isa 37:10-11).
3. He urges them to ignore Hezekiah and make peace with him -promising that they will be permitted to enjoy the fruit of their own land until he has opportunity, at a later date, to return and take them to a land fully as delightful as their own, (vs. 16-17; comp. Gen 47:21; 2Ki 17:6).
4. Again, he warns against letting Hezekiah persuade them to trust in Jehovah for deliverance; no god has yet been able to deliver his people out of the hands of the great king of Assyria, (vs. 18-19; Isa 10:8-11; Isa 37:11-13).
5. He concludes that, since the gods of the captured nations (including Samaria) have made no significant resistance to Assyria’s onslaught, Jehovah will be just as helpless to defend Jerusalem, (vs. 20; comp. 1Ki 20:23; 1Ki 20:28).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
13. Therefore Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jewish language. The Prophet shews by what expedients Rabshakeh endeavored to shake the heart of the people, and first relates that he spoke in the Jewish language, though the ambassadors entreared him not to do so. It was, indeed, exceedingly shocking that the holy language, which had been consecrated to the mysteries of heavenly wisdom, was profaned and prostituted to wicked blasphemies; and this must undoubtedly have been a sore temptation to weak minds. But this should lead us to remark, that no enemies are more destructive than those who speak the same language as ourselves. At the present day we find this to be true in many who learn our language, that is, our way of speaking, that they may be able to insinuate themselves into the ears of weak and ignorant persons, so as to draw them aside from the true faith. Thirty years ago, the Papists had a language which was barbarous and totally at variance with the style of the Holy Spirit; scarcely were they heard to utter a word which breathed of Christian piety; but now they have succeeded in acquiring such skill as to know how to cloak their impieties under the ordinary language of Scripture, as if they were speaking in a Christian manner. Thus we see that it was Satan who framed that style; for he is their teacher and instructor as truly as he formerly was the teacher and instructor of Rabshakeh.
When the Prophet says that he stood, he expresses the fierceness and insolence of the wicked man; for the very attitude shews how haughtily he conducted himself. Formerly he stood, but now he placed himself in such an attitude as to be better seen, and strike greater terror into the Jews.
Hear the words of the great king. Having already spoken of the greatness of his king, he repeats his commands. It is customary with Satan to exaggerate in words the power of the enemies, and to represent the dangers as greater than they really are, in order to compel us to lose courage; for when our eyes are dazzled by the vain splendor of earthly objects, we faint. We ought therefore to contrast the power of God with all dangers; and if we have that power constantly placed before our eyes, there is nothing that can do us injury. With high disdain and great insolence the enemies will boast of their greatness and strength, and, on the other hand, will meek at our feebleness and our small numbers; but if the Lord is with us, we have nothing to fear.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
2. PROPOSITION
TEXT: Isa. 36:13-20
13
Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.
14
Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you:
15
neither let Hezekiah make you trust in Jehovah, saying, Jehovah will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
16
Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig-tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;
17
until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
18
Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, Jehovah will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
19
Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
20
Who are they among all the gods of these countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
QUERIES
a.
Was Hezekiah trying to deceive the people?
b.
Why would the Assyrian king take them from their land?
c.
Why refer to the gods of other nations?
PARAPHRASE
Then the Assyrian commander-in-chief stepped forth and shouted loudly in the Hebrew language toward the people gathered on the city walls, Listen to the words of the greatest of all kings, the king of Assyria: Do not let Hezekiahs promises deceive younothing he can do will save you. Do not let Hezekiah deceive you by telling you to trust in your Jehovahthat He will save youthat He will not let this city be taken over by the king of Assyria. I repeat, do not listen to Hezekiah! You had better listen to this proposition from the king of Assyria: He says, Surrender on my terms, open the gates of the city and come out in peace and I will let each of you go ahead living on your own land, conducting your own business, prospering, until I have time to come and take you away to a land very similar to this one where you will find as much prosperity as you do here. My taking your city is inevitable. You will be much better off to surrender. Beware that you do not be fooled by Hezekiahs promise that your Jehovah will save you from me. The gods of no other nation have been able to deliver from the king of Assyria. Remember Hamath and Arpad? Their gods did not deliver them. Neither did Sepharvaims gods and Samarias gods. Of all the gods of these nations, which one has ever delivered them from my power? Not a one! And do you think this god of yours can deliver Jerusalem from me? Do not be foolish!
COMMENTS
Isa. 36:13-15 TAUNT: The Assyrians were noted for their arrogant disregard of the most basic diplomatic etiquette. Their reputation was that of baseness, cruelty and insolence. Rabshakeh, asked to address his words in Aramaic to the representatives of King Hezekiah, insolently rises from his eat, steps forward (probably past the three Hebrew officials) and yells his taunt in the Hebrew language at the people gathered along the walls of the city of Jerusalem. His taunt is that Hezekiah does not know what he is talking aboutthat Hezekiah is leading the people down the path of deception. It is really an accusation that the people are being exploited by Hezekiah. It is interesting to note the emphatic repetition (4 times) of the Rabshakeh that the people not let Hezekiah deceive them. Evidently Hezekiah had impressed the people that Jehovah would deliver the city from the Assyrians. When Sennacherib first marched into Judah, Hezekiah sent a letter of apology for rebelling against him (see comments Isa. 36:1-12). Hezekiah even sent tribute to Lachish to Sennacherib. Isaiah must have convinced Hezekiah in the interval between Sennacheribs initial invasion and Rabshakehs journey to Jerusalem that the Lord would indeed deliver Jerusalem. Hezekiah made an impassioned plea to the people (2Ch. 32:6-8), after redirecting the citys water supply and building new walls, that there is one greater with us than with him. It appears the Assyrians had heard of this new courage of Hezekiah and his persuasion of the people. Rabshakehs words must have indicated to the people that the Assyrians knew even about the passionate pleas Hezekiah made within the confines of their city walls! It would be disconcerting and frightening.
Isa. 36:16-17 TEMPTATION: The Rabshakeh applies the pressure of fleshly concern for physical well-being, innocent enough in itself but idolatrous when it supersedes godliness as a first concern. He urges the people to think first of their stomachs. He promises that all will be well with them if they will surrender to the terms of the king of Assyria. The only sacrifice they will have to make, according to the Rabshakeh, is to be taken from their homeland. Even then, he promises, they will be taken to a land as fertile, productive and prosperous as their own. Rabshakeh does not specifically promise them they will participate as citizens or land-owners in the new land. The fertility of Mesopotamia was, in some ways, greater than that of Palestine. And that was the catch! The appeal was fleshly. The temptation was casting physical survival against a spiritual birthright. It was the age-old temptation begun with Jacob and Esau and epitomized at Christs temptation in the wilderness to turn stones into bread. The land of Palestine was more than mere physical sustenance to the Hebrews. It was the covenant land of their fathers. They were given this land by the mighty hand of Jehovah for a spiritual purpose. It was the land where the only altar to the One True God could be erected. If they, of their own deliberate choice, should surrender to be taken from the land, it would demonstrate their total disregard of their spiritual birthright. Later, when God removed them from their land, it was a graphic object lesson to the Jews that they had forfeited their spiritual legacy by sin and idolatry and no longer deserved to occupy the covenant land. The temptation was to weigh the invisible, ideal matters of faith against the visible, practical matters of the flesh. They were being tempted to think they were, after all, clinging to a religious illusion while they might deprive themselves of a present happiness.
The Hebrew people should have known the practice of pagan empires in transplanting people away from their homelands was not for the pleasure of the conquered people but for the security of the empire. It was a well known practice (cf. 2Ki. 18:11, etc.) and functioned well in keeping subjugated people from rebelling. Such a practice not only humiliated people and dispersed them widely but it also de-culturized them. They tended to lose their national identity and thus any strong motivation for rebellion.
Isa. 36:18-20 TABULATION: Now Rabshakeh appeals to seeming facts of history. He tabulates all the victories the king of Assyria has had over the gods of the nations he has conquered. He begins by warning the Hebrew people not to let Hezekiah sweet talk them into depending upon their God. The Hebrew word translated persuade is yasiyth (from suth) meaning to soothe. It is almost as if Rabshakeh warns the people that Hezekiah may be trying to soothingly seduce them by saying, Jehovah will deliver us. The gods of the nations appear to have been powerless against the great king of Assyria. When the power showdown came, none of the gods of the nations could deliver from the Assyrians. The gods of the nations now sat as trophies in the Assyrian pantheon of gods. In ancient thought, religion and political power were closely connected. If a city or a nation survived and maintained its sovereignty, it was because of the power of its national god; a nations wanderings were accompanied by the wanderings of its gods, its victories accomplished by its gods, its defeats signs of the inferiority of its gods. If all the powerful gods of the many nations conquered by Assyria were proven powerless, what hope could the Hebrews hold that their God was any more powerful. This appeal to the power of paganism over Jehovah may seem strange to us but to the mind of the heathen, and from the heathen view of politics, religion and history, it was not strange. In fact, in some godless lands today, the same reasoning prevails. See Map #1 for the location of Hamath, Arpad and Sepharvaim.
QUIZ
1.
How did Rabshakeh react to the request of the Hebrew officials to refrain from speaking so the people on the wall could hear?
2.
What does the repeated warning of Rabshakeh that Hezekiah should not deceive the people about deliverance infer about Hezekiahs appeals to them?
3.
Where is the record of Hezekiahs appeal to the people to trust God?
4.
What basic temptation did Rabshakeh hold out to the people to get them to surrender to Assyrias terms?
5.
Why did ancient empires transplant conquered peoples away from their homelands?
6.
What significance did Palestine have for the Jew besides a land to live on?
7.
Why did Rabshakeh refer to the pagan gods defeated by Assyria?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
‘Then the Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Judean language, and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria, ‘Thus says the king, Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. Nor let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, “Yahweh will surely deliver us, and there will not be a giving of this city into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ’
The Rabshakeh now turns his attention more directly to the people. All pretence is now thrown overboard. Note again the reference to the Great King and the disdainful reference to ‘Hezekiah’. The insult clearly shows that they do not expect Hezekiah to yield (he is not attempting to win him over) and that his words are therefore simply seeking to undermine the confidence and morale of the people. The message is simple. Hezekiah will not be able to deliver them. Nor will Yahweh be able to deliver them.
It is clear that his intelligence sources had informed him that there were voices in the city saying, ‘Trust in Yahweh’, which was, of course, the message of Isaiah. This explains his words here. Let them recognise that such an idea was ridiculous. This latter was his first mistake, which he would shortly develop, for what his intelligence sources had failed to explain to him was the real power of Yahweh, and that Yahweh was the living God.
Note the constant reference to ‘the king of Assyria.’ He wants them to recognise who they are dealing with. What chance do they have against this great and mighty king, the Great King? Notice also the impersonal ‘there will not be a giving’. He does not want their minds to associate the words too directly with Yahweh in case they thought that Yahweh might deliver them. It is a perfect example of balanced diplomacy.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 36:13-20
13Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in Judean and said, Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. 14Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you; 15nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 16Do not listen to Hezekiah,’ for thus says the king of Assyria, ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me, and eat each of his vine and each of his fig tree and drink each of the waters of his own cistern, 17until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And when have they delivered Samaria from my hand? 20Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their land from my hand, that the LORD would deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’
Isa 36:13-16 There are several IMPERATIVES and JUSSIVES used in this message from Sennacherib through Rabshakeh (threats and promises).
1. hear, Isa 36:13 – BDB 1033, KB 1570, Qal IMPERATIVE
2. do not let Hezekiah deceive you, Isa 36:14 – BDB 674, KB 728, NEGATED Hiphil IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense, cf. Isa 37:10; this is the same VERB used in Gen 3:13!
3. nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, Isa 36:15 – BDB 105, KB 120, Hiphil IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense
4. do not listen to Hezekiah, Isa 36:16 – BDB 1033, KB 1570, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense
5. make your peace with me, Isa 36:16 – BDB 793, KB 889, Qal IMPERATIVE
6. come out to me, Isa 36:16 – BDB 422, KB 425, Qal IMPERATIVE
7. eat, Isa 36:16 – BDB 37, KB 46, Qal IMPERATIVE
8. drink, Isa 36:16 – BDB 1059, KB 1667, Qal IMPERATIVE
Isa 36:17 Notice that Sennacherib’s two promises are directed to the people from the countryside who had fled into the walled city of Jerusalem for protection. He would let them stay on their own land, but as Isa 36:17 clarifies, only for a short while. He would spare their lives, but still they would be exiled. Even if they surrendered at this time, they would still be taken out of the land of Judah. However, Assyria killed the old and young on the spot!
Isa 36:18 Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria Here is the theological challenge. The gauntlet has been thrown down and YHWH will pick it up!
The VERB deliver (BDB 664, KB 717) is used five times in Isa 36:18-20. The first and last are Hiphil IMPERFECTS and the other three are Hiphil PERFECTS.
Isa 36:19 the gods of Hamath and Arpad
1. Hamath was a city in central Syria whose king participated in the rebellion against Assyria and was crushed by Sargon II in 720 B.C. and its population deported to Samaria (cf. 2Ki 17:24).
2. Arpad was a city in northern Syria whose king participated in the rebellion against Assyria and was crushed by Tiglath-pileser III in 740 B.C.
The exact names of their deities are uncertain.
the gods of Sepharvaim It may have been a city of northern Babylon. This was a location from which Sargon II (722-705 B.C.) sent exiles to settle in Samaria (cf. 2Ki 17:24). Some scholars assume it refers to Samaria (the captured capital of Israel, 722 B.C.).
From 2Ki 17:31 we know that the fertility gods they worshiped by child sacrifice were Adrammelech and Anammelech. The first name is also the name of one of Sennacherib’s sons who assassinated him (cf. Isa 37:38). How they are connected is uncertain.
have they delivered Samaria from my hand This is interesting because Samaria’s gods are listed separately from Judah’s. They both worshiped YHWH, but apparently the idolatry in the north had become so bad or the Assyrian information so poor that they did not realize that they both worshiped YHWH (cf. 2Ki 17:5-6; 2Ki 17:24).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Isa 36:13-20
Isa 36:13-20
“Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you: neither let Hezekiah make you trust in Jehovah, saying Jehovah will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make your peace with me, and come out unto me; and eat everyone of his vine, and everyone of his fig-tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern; until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, Jehovah will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who are they among all the gods of these countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?”
The strategy of Rabshakeh here was to destroy the faith of the people in their king Hezekiah, and in their God Jehovah, and in themselves. If he could have accomplished that, there would not have been very much left for Jerusalem to rely upon. One may only admire the arrogant and skillful verbal assault upon the city.
All the promises about every man eating of his own vine and fig-tree, etc., all but concealed the brutal truth that all of that period of peace would last “only” until Sennacherib carried them away to Assyria (Isa 36:17); and even that terrible fate was disguised by the promise that Assyria was a productive and fruitful land “like your own land!” But he did not mention the long lines of captives strung together with hooks and bridles through their noses, ears and lips, or the fact of their ultimate destination in the brickyards, mines, and factories where they would be worked to death, starved to death or beaten to death. What an unconscionable liar Rabshakeh really was?
Note the boast in Isa 36:19 that Sennacherib had defeated the gods of Hamath, Arpad and Sepharvaim, along with those of Samaria; but it was not Sennacherib who had won those victories. They belonged to Shalmaneser or Sargon, or Tiglath-pileser III.
Hamath was a city on the Orontes river on the northern border of Israel; Arpad was a citadel on the road between Damascus and Hamath (Jer 49:23); Sepharvaim cannot certainly be identified, but the context indicates that it was in Syria. See The New Bible Dictionary (in loco).
In Isa 36:20, Rabshakeh classified Jehovah along with all the other gods of the nations destroyed by the Assyrians, having already stated in Isa 36:10 that “Jehovah” had commanded him to destroy Jerusalem, posing in that remark as one who was acting upon Jehovah’s orders! As Jamieson said, “This contradicts what was said in Isa 36:10. Liars need good memories (which evidently Rabshakeh did not have). He here classes Jehovah with the idols of other lands, and even thinks him to be inferior.
Isa 36:13-15 TAUNT: The Assyrians were noted for their arrogant disregard of the most basic diplomatic etiquette. Their reputation was that of baseness, cruelty and insolence. Rabshakeh, asked to address his words in Aramaic to the representatives of King Hezekiah, insolently rises from his eat, steps forward (probably past the three Hebrew officials) and yells his taunt in the Hebrew language at the people gathered along the walls of the city of Jerusalem. His taunt is that Hezekiah does not know what he is talking about-that Hezekiah is leading the people down the path of deception. It is really an accusation that the people are being exploited by Hezekiah. It is interesting to note the emphatic repetition (4 times) of the Rabshakeh that the people not let Hezekiah deceive them. Evidently Hezekiah had impressed the people that Jehovah would deliver the city from the Assyrians. When Sennacherib first marched into Judah, Hezekiah sent a letter of apology for rebelling against him (see comments Isa 36:1-12). Hezekiah even sent tribute to Lachish to Sennacherib. Isaiah must have convinced Hezekiah in the interval between Sennacheribs initial invasion and Rabshakehs journey to Jerusalem that the Lord would indeed deliver Jerusalem. Hezekiah made an impassioned plea to the people (2Ch 32:6-8), after redirecting the citys water supply and building new walls, that there is one greater with us than with him. It appears the Assyrians had heard of this new courage of Hezekiah and his persuasion of the people. Rabshakehs words must have indicated to the people that the Assyrians knew even about the passionate pleas Hezekiah made within the confines of their city walls! It would be disconcerting and frightening.
Isa 36:16-17 TEMPTATION: The Rabshakeh applies the pressure of fleshly concern for physical well-being, innocent enough in itself but idolatrous when it supersedes godliness as a first concern. He urges the people to think first of their stomachs. He promises that all will be well with them if they will surrender to the terms of the king of Assyria. The only sacrifice they will have to make, according to the Rabshakeh, is to be taken from their homeland. Even then, he promises, they will be taken to a land as fertile, productive and prosperous as their own. Rabshakeh does not specifically promise them they will participate as citizens or land-owners in the new land. The fertility of Mesopotamia was, in some ways, greater than that of Palestine. And that was the catch! The appeal was fleshly. The temptation was casting physical survival against a spiritual birthright. It was the age-old temptation begun with Jacob and Esau and epitomized at Christs temptation in the wilderness to turn stones into bread. The land of Palestine was more than mere physical sustenance to the Hebrews. It was the covenant land of their fathers. They were given this land by the mighty hand of Jehovah for a spiritual purpose. It was the land where the only altar to the One True God could be erected. If they, of their own deliberate choice, should surrender to be taken from the land, it would demonstrate their total disregard of their spiritual birthright. Later, when God removed them from their land, it was a graphic object lesson to the Jews that they had forfeited their spiritual legacy by sin and idolatry and no longer deserved to occupy the covenant land. The temptation was to weigh the invisible, ideal matters of faith against the visible, practical matters of the flesh. They were being tempted to think they were, after all, clinging to a religious illusion while they might deprive themselves of a present happiness.
The Hebrew people should have known the practice of pagan empires in transplanting people away from their homelands was not for the pleasure of the conquered people but for the security of the empire. It was a well known practice (cf. 2Ki 18:11, etc.) and functioned well in keeping subjugated people from rebelling. Such a practice not only humiliated people and dispersed them widely but it also de-culturized them. They tended to lose their national identity and thus any strong motivation for rebellion.
Isa 36:18-20 TABULATION: Now Rabshakeh appeals to seeming facts of history. He tabulates all the victories the king of Assyria has had over the gods of the nations he has conquered. He begins by warning the Hebrew people not to let Hezekiah sweet talk them into depending upon their God. The Hebrew word translated persuade is yasiyth (from suth) meaning to soothe. It is almost as if Rabshakeh warns the people that Hezekiah may be trying to soothingly seduce them by saying, Jehovah will deliver us. The gods of the nations appear to have been powerless against the great king of Assyria. When the power showdown came, none of the gods of the nations could deliver from the Assyrians. The gods of the nations now sat as trophies in the Assyrian pantheon of gods. In ancient thought, religion and political power were closely connected. If a city or a nation survived and maintained its sovereignty, it was because of the power of its national god; a nations wanderings were accompanied by the wanderings of its gods, its victories accomplished by its gods, its defeats signs of the inferiority of its gods. If all the powerful gods of the many nations conquered by Assyria were proven powerless, what hope could the Hebrews hold that their God was any more powerful. This appeal to the power of paganism over Jehovah may seem strange to us but to the mind of the heathen, and from the heathen view of politics, religion and history, it was not strange. In fact, in some godless lands today, the same reasoning prevails. See Map #1 for the location of Hamath, Arpad and Sepharvaim.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
cried: 1Sa 17:8-11, 2Ki 18:28-32, 2Ch 32:18, Psa 17:10-13, Psa 73:8, Psa 73:9, Psa 82:6, Psa 82:7
Hear: Isa 36:4, Isa 8:7, Isa 10:8-13, Eze 31:3-10, Dan 4:37
Reciprocal: Hos 8:10 – the king
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
The Rabshakeh next addressed the people of Jerusalem who could hear him. He appealed to them to listen to Sennacherib’s message to them. Hezekiah could not deliver them, he boasted, nor would trusting in Yahweh work. Evidently the Assyrians knew that Isaiah’s policy of trusting Yahweh was a popular one with many of the Jerusalemites. The Rabshakeh promised that if the city surrendered, the people would enjoy peace and prosperity rather than war and starvation. They would be deported, a well-known Assyrian policy toward conquered peoples, but he portrayed the land where they would go as similar to their own but even better.