Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 19:26
Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were [as] the grass of the field, and [as] the green herb, [as] the grass on the housetops, and [as corn] blasted before it be grown up.
26. Therefore ] i.e. Not, as thou thinkest, because of thy might, but because I sent thee; for this reason it is that the people against whom thou camest were dismayed.
of small power ] Literally, as in the margin ‘short of hand’. Cf. the question of Moses (Num 11:23) ‘Is the Lord’s hand waxen short?’ See also Isa 50:2; Isa 59:1.
They were as the grass of the field ] All these figures of frailty are found in other places of Scripture. See Psa 27:2; Psa 90:5; Psa 102:4; Psa 102:11; Isa 40:7. The grass upon the housetops, Psa 129:6.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The weakness of the nations exposed to the Assyrian attacks was as much owing to the divine decrees as was the strength of the Assyrians themselves.
The grass on the house tops – Compare the marginal reference. The vegetation on the flat roofs of Oriental houses is the first to spring up and the first to fade away.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Therefore; because I had armed thee with my commission and strength, and taken away their spirit and courage, and withdrew my help from them to give it to thee.
Their inhabitants; the people of Israel, and Judah, and other places which thou hast conquered.
As the grass of the field; which is weak and quickly fading, and unable to resist any hand or instrument which offers violence to it.
As corn blasted before it be grown up, i.e. all their designs and hopes were disappointed before they could come to any perfection or success.
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
(26) Of small power.Literally, short-handed. (Comp. Isa. 1:2; Isa. 59:1.) Keil compares the well-known title of Artaxerxes I., Longimanus, the long-handed, as if that epithet meant far-reaching in power. Thenius says that a frightened man draws in his arms (?)
As the grass . . .The as may better be omitted. They were field growth and green herbage; grass of the roofs and blasting before stalk. The sense seems imperfect, unless we supply the idea of withering away, as in Psa. 37:2; Psa. 90:5-6; Psa. 129:6; Isaiah 40 (5, 7. Instead of the word blasting the parallel text (Isa. 37:27) has fielda difference of one letter. Thenius adopts this, and corrects stalk into east wind, no great change in the Hebrew. We thus get the appropriate expression: and a field before the east wind.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
26. Therefore their inhabitants were of small power The margin renders, more literally, were short of hand unable to resist the invader. So Sennacherib is informed that the dismay and confusion of the people he had conquered were not produced by his greatness, but by Jehovah’s decree.
Grass green herb Images of frailty and sudden decay. Compare Psa 37:2; Psa 90:5; Isa 40:6.
Grass on the housetops Which is more perishable even than that of the field, for it has no depth of soil, and quickly withers away. Compare Psa 129:6.
Blasted before it be grown up Blighted at the very outset, before it has become a stalk.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2Ki 19:26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were [as] the grass of the field, and [as] the green herb, [as] the grass on the housetops, and [as corn] blasted before it be grown up.
Ver. 26. Therefore their inhabitants were of small power. ] Heb., Short of hand; helpless and shiftless, because I gave them up into thy power. It is God that strengtheneth or weakeneth the arms of either party in battle. Eze 30:24
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
as the grass, &c. Note Hezekiah’s reference to this in his “Song of the degrees” (Psa 129:5-7). See App-67.
blasted = blighted.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
of small power: Heb. short of hand, Num 11:23, Num 14:9, Psa 48:4-7, Psa 127:1, Jer 37:10, Jer 50:36, Jer 50:37, Jer 51:30, Jer 51:32
they were: Psa 92:7, Psa 102:11, Isa 40:6-8, Jam 1:10, Jam 1:11, 1Pe 1:24
the grass: Psa 129:6-8
Reciprocal: Gen 41:23 – thin Isa 37:27 – their inhabitants
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Ki 19:26. Therefore their inhabitants were of small power The people of Israel and Judah, and of other countries which thou hast conquered, because I had armed thee with my commission and strength, and had taken away their spirit and courage, and had withdrawn my help from them to give it to thee. They were as the grass of the field Which is weak, and quickly fades, and is unable to resist any hand or instrument which offers violence to it. As corn blasted before it be grown up All their designs and hopes were disappointed before they could come to any perfection or success.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
19:26 Therefore their {r} inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were [as] the grass of the field, and [as] the green herb, [as] the grass on the housetops, and [as corn] blasted before it be grown up.
(r) Thus he describes the wicked, who flourish for a time, and later fade and decay like flowers.