Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 37:7
Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumor, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
7. I will send a blast upon him ] Render as in R.V. I will put a spirit in him, i.e. a spirit of craven fear, depriving him of his natural courage and resourcefulness. How the spirit will work is stated in what follows: a mere rumour will drive him back to his own land, there to meet his death (cf. 2Ki 7:6). There is no allusion in this oracle to the disastrous blow recorded in Isa 37:36. The “rumour” is no doubt that of the approach of Tirhakah ( Isa 37:9).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Behold, I will send a blast upon him – Margin, Put a spirit into him. The word rendered blast ( ruach) is commonly rendered spirit. It may denote breath, air, soul, or spirit. There is no reason to think that the word is used here in the sense of blast of wind, as our translators seem to have supposed. The sense is probably, I will infuse into him a spirit of fear, by which be shall be alarmed by the rumour which he shall hear, and return to his own land. The word is often used in this sense (compare 1Sa 16:14; see also Isa 31:8-9). Gesenius understands it here in the sense of will or disposition. I will change his will or disposition, so that he will return to his own land.
And he shall hear a rumour – The rumour or report here referred to, was doubtless that respecting Tirhakah king of Ethiopia Isa 37:9. It was this which would alarm him, and drive him in haste from the cities which he was now besieging, and be the means of expelling him from the land.
And I will cause him … – This is said in accordance with the usual statements in the Scriptures, that all events are under Gods providential control (compare the note at Isa 10:5-6).
By the sword in his own land – (See the note at Isa 37:38).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 7. I will send a blast – “I will infuse a spirit into him”] ” nothen bo ruach never signifies any thing but putting a spirit into a person: this was , the spirit of deceit.” – Secker. “I will send a blast” – I do not think that Archbishop Secker has hit the true meaning of these words. I believe ruach means here a pestilential wind, such as the Arabs call simoom, that instantly suffocates both man and beast; and is what is termed “the angel of the Lord,” God’s messenger of death to the Assyrians, Isa 37:36.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
7. blastrather, “I willput a spirit (Isa 28:6;1Ki 22:23) into him,” thatis, so influence his judgment that when he hears the report (Isa37:9, concerning Tirhakah), he shall return [GESENIUS];the “report” also of the destruction of his army atJerusalem, reaching Sennacherib, while he was in the southwest ofPalestine on the borders of Egypt, led him to retreat.
by the sword (Isa37:38).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Behold, I will send a blast upon him,…. The king of Assyria; a pestilential one, as he afterwards did, which destroyed his army: or,
I will put a spirit into him s; a spirit of fear and dread, which will oblige him to desist from his purposes, and flee; though some interpret it only of an inclination, a will t in him, to return: it may be understood of an angel, a ministering spirit, and be rendered “I will send a spirit against him”; an angelic spirit, as he did, which cut off his army in one night:
and he shall hear a rumour; of the sudden and total destruction of his army; though some refer this to the rumour of the king of Ethiopia coming out to make war against him, Isa 37:9, but upon this he did not return to his own land, nor was he slain with the sword, as follows:
and return to his own land; as he did, immediately upon the slaughter of his army by the angel:
and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land: as he did, being slain by his own sons, Isa 37:37.
s “indam ei Spiritum”, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. t So Ben Melech explains it by , “will”, “desire”, “purpose”.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
7. Behold, I will bring a wind upon him. Others translate it, “I will put my Spirit in him,” as if the Prophet were speaking of a secret influence of the heart; but that is a forced interpretation. It is a highly appropriate metaphor that there is in the hand of God a wind or whirlwind to drive Sennacherib in another direction. To compare wicked men to “straw or chaff,’ (Psa 1:4) is a mode of expression frequently employed in Scripture, because God easily drives them wherever he thinks proper, when they think that they are standing very firm. The commotion that arose in the kingdom of Sennacherib is compared by the Prophet to a “wind” or “storm” which drove him out of Judea, and then he shews that the Lord will find no more difficulty in repelling that enemy than if he wished to move straw or chaff; and the very same thing might be said of all tyrants, however powerful.
For he shall hear a report. The words “and he shall hear” are evidently added for the sake of explanation, and therefore I have chosen to interpret them as assigning a reason, “For he shall hear.” (50) This is the wind by the raising of which Sennacherib was suddenly driven away; for a report which he heard about the kings of Egypt and Ethiopia constrained him to return to his own country.
And I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. This means as if he had said, “He now annoys and harasses others, and endeavors to extend widely the limits of his empire; but I will raise up enemies to him, in the very bosom of his own land, who shall discomfit him.” Some expound it to mean the land of Israel, but that is an excessively forced interpretation; for he speaks of the land of the king of Assyria himself, and there is an implied contrast, “He who subdued other men’s cities and kingdoms shall not be able to defend his own country, but shall be destroyed and perish in it.”
(50) ἀκούσας ἀγγελίαν , “having heard a message.” “ (lang. it) Havendo inteso un certo grido,” “having heard a certain noise.” — Ital. “ Uno foll etmas heren,” “and shall hear something.” — Luth. Germ.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(7) I will send a blast upon him.Better, I will put a spirit in him. The Authorised Version suggests the idea of some physical calamity, like that which actually destroyed the Assyrian army. Here, however, the spirit, stands for the impulse, strong and mighty, which overpowers previous resolves. (Comp. Isa. 30:28.)
He shall hear a rumour.The words admit of being explained either as a prediction rising out of a purely supernatural foresight, or as resting on some secret intelligence which Israel had received as to the movements of Tirhakah.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 37:7. Behold, I will send a blast upon him Behold, I will put a spirit [of fear] into him, when he shall hear, &c. Vitringa. See chap. Isa 31:8-9 whence it clearly follows, that the interpretation here given is right, and that the prophet here refers to the fears of Sennacherib upon the report of Tirhakah’s invasion, and not a pestilential blast, as our version would lead one to think.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
I will: Isa 10:16-18, Isa 10:33, Isa 10:34, Isa 17:13, Isa 17:14, Isa 29:5-8, Isa 30:28-33, Isa 31:8, Isa 31:9, Isa 33:10-12, 2Ki 7:6, Job 4:9, Job 15:21, Psa 58:9
send a blast upon him: or, put a spirit into him
I will cause: Isa 37:36-38, 2Ch 32:21
Reciprocal: Exo 15:8 – blast Isa 37:37 – Sennacherib Isa 40:24 – he shall also Isa 43:12 – declared Isa 48:3 – and I Jer 49:14 – heard Eze 21:31 – I will blow
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
37:7 Behold, I will send a wind upon him, and he shall hear a {f} rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
(f) Of the Egyptians and Ethiopians, who will come and fight against him.