Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 37:6
And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
6. the servants ] Lit “the youths.” Cf. 1Ki 20:14.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
6, 7. Isaiah’s answer far exceeds the king’s request. He does not need now to pray, for he is already in possession of the Divine message for this crisis.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Wherewith the servants … – Hebrew, naarey – The youth, or the young men. The word properly denotes boys, youths, young men; and is used here probably by way of disparagement, in contradistinction from an embassy that would be truly respectable, made up of aged men.
Have blasphemed me – God regarded these words as spoken against himself and he would vindicate his own honor and name.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. Thus shall ye say] ko tomerun, “thus shall ye (explicitly, earnestly, and positively) say.” The paragogic nun deepens and increases the sense.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
6. servantsliterally,”youths,” mere lads, implying disparagement, not an embassyof venerable elders. The Hebrew is different from that for”servants” in Isa 37:5.
blasphemed me (Isa36:20).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Isaiah said unto them, thus shall you say unto your master,…. Or, “your lord” q; King Hezekiah, whose ministers and messengers they were:
thus saith the Lord, be not afraid of the words thou hast heard; be not not terrified by them, they are but words, and no more, and will never become facts:
wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me; by representing him as no better than the gods of the Gentiles, and as unable to deliver out of the hands of the king of Assyria the city of Jerusalem, when he had said he would. The word r for “servants” signifies boys, lads, young men; so Rabshakeh and his two companions, Rabsaris and Tartan, are called, by way of contempt, they acting a weak and childish part as well as a wicked one.
q “ad dominum vestrum”, Montanus. r “pueri recens nati, infantes, pueri judicio”, Gusset.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Vs 6-7: THE PROPHET’S ANSWER: THE LORD WILL INTERVENE
1. Hezekiah must not be afraid because of the blasphemies he has heard “the king’s boys” (Heb) speak against Jehovah, (vs. 6; Isa 7:4; Isa 35:4).
2. The Lord will send a spirit (angel) that will so disturb the Assyrian as to turn him back to his own land where he will fall by the sword, (vs. 7, 9, 37-38). ,
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
6. Thus saith Jehovah. Isaiah begins by saying that he gives the reply in the name of God, and expressly declares that the oracle comes from God, both because prophets ought always to beware of bringing forward anything of their own, and because in so difficult a matter the authority of God was needful. In this manner also, the Prophet shewed that he met the prayers of the pious king. Even false prophets, indeed, boast of the name of God, but falsely. Isaiah was truly the organ of the Holy Spirit, and therefore he has a right to mention the holy name of Him that sent him.
Fear not. When he bids him “not fear,” he exhorts Hezekiah to be of a courageous or, at least, a calm disposition. Whenever we hear this word, let us be reminded that we are enjoined to cultivate that peace which faith produces in our hearts; for all who trust in God, and expect from him deliverance from their distresses, rise superior to all fears by the exercise of patience, so that even in the midst of affliction they have peace. Besides, in order that the pious king may continue cheerfully to expect a joyful issue, he plainly declares that God conducts his own cause which he has undertaken to defend, because he cannot permit wicked men unpunished to dishonor his name without making it appear at length that he is a righteous judge. (48)
The servants of the king of Assyria. By calling them servants, he presents in a stronger light the baseness of the action; for although the king himself had spoken in this manner, still it would have been intolerable that the Lord should be despised and so shamefully attacked by a mortal man. Hence it might easily be concluded that much less would he endure to be so highly insulted by “servants,” (49) and therefore the rank of the person increases the heinoushess of the attack.
(48) “ En les punissant.” “By punishing them.”
(49) “The word translated servants, is not the same with that in the preceding verse, but strictly means young men or boys, and is so translated in the Targ. and Vulg. Many interpreters regard it as a contemptuous description, and it is so translated by Hitzig, ( knappen , attendants.) Umbreit, ( buben , boys or lads,) Henderson, (striplings,) and in other modern versions.” — Alexander.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) The servants of the king of Assyria.Not the usual word for servants, which might include high officers of state, but a less honourable one (naar), like puer in Latin, or garon in French. He speaks of Rabshakeh (probably the kings cup-bearer) as though he were only, after all, a valet.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6, 7. Isaiah replies He lives closer to God than his king assumes to; this is implied by the king himself in his appeal to him.
Thus saith the Lord Direct communion with Jehovah brings to the prophet a revelation favourable to the king’s hesitating hope in the case. All the braggadocio of Rabshakeh occasions no fear.
Send a blast Bring a spirit upon him; some supernatural force that shall influence his thought and plans.
He shall hear a rumour Something that shall produce terror, and shall disgracefully scare him homeward, where his career shall end in his being murdered.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isaiah said. The message in verses: Isa 37:6, Isa 37:7 is shorter and calmer than the second.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Thus shall: 2Ki 19:5-7, 2Ki 22:15-20
Be not: Isa 7:4, Isa 10:24, Isa 10:25, Isa 35:4, Isa 41:10-14, Isa 43:1, Isa 43:2, Isa 51:12, Isa 51:13, Exo 14:13, Lev 26:8, Jos 11:6, 2Ch 20:15-20, Mar 4:40, Mar 5:36
Reciprocal: 2Ki 19:6 – Isaiah Psa 146:3 – Put Isa 10:16 – the Lord of hosts Isa 52:5 – my name