Hezekiah, Isaiah and the Assyrian Siege of Jerusalem
An Old Testament Exegesis
by Karl Kowallis
Introduction
The book of Second Kings is a narrative of Israelite History. The eighteenth and nineteenth chapters contain an account of Jerusalem's siege by Assyrian forces under the direction of Sennacherib. The Lord's deliverance of the city is one of the great displays of divine intervention in the Old Testament. The story is not as well known as some in the Old Testament perhaps because it was simply a delay in destruction for less than 150 years later Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians. The lessons taught in Sennacherib's siege were forgotten and God's punishment was inflicted by the Babylonians.
Two entire chapters is a large section to do an in depth analysis of. Consequently the focus will be on the Assyrian demands and the prophetic response. Other verses will be included as they support the storyline and give background. Because of the narrative format of the text word choice in the various translations mainly changes the readability of the story rather than providing any large changes in meaning. Exceptions will be noted.
To support the story type format of the text, the analysis will be broken down by section. The introductory material introduces Hezekiah's reign and his righteous renovations. In addition to this material background on Assyria will be included relative to their impending siege and the overrunning of Samaria recorded in verses 9-10. The second section will be on the Rabshakeh's comments to Judah followed by Hezekiah's reporting to Isaiah and Isaiah's response. Finally Sennacherib's letter to Hezekiah and Isaiah's denunciation of the Assyrian invasion will be reviewed concluding with the repulsion of Assyrian forces.
Background
Chapter 18 contains a reminder of Shalamanaser's conquest of Israel and Samaria. Not only were the Assyrians known as a race of aggressive, brutal warriors, but the brothers of Judah to the north had already fallen as prey. Idolatry was becoming rampant and Hezekiah was the first righteous king in years. Both the habits and hearts of the people needed to be changed. Part of his internal revolution was ending the nation's tribute to Assyria. Judah was to become again a free people under the direction of God. In Hezekiah's 14th year, "Sennacherib king of Assyria [did] come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them." A confrontation was imminent and many people had fled to Jerusalem. Much of Judah was now under Assyrian authority and troops were in Lachish, a fortified city South west of Jerusalem and on a main Southern route. Help from the south would be cut off and preparation for a siege was beginning.
The Rabshakeh
In the King James version (KJV) Rabshakeh is treated as a name. In most of the other versions and in scholarly writings it is used as a title, as are Tartan and Rabsaris, mentioned in verse 17. The Rabshakeh has three main arguments that he presents to Jerusalem. His main intent is to stir up insurrection and sedition so that the people will either give up voluntarily or create enough internal strife to ease the Assyrian assault.
Who does Israel trust in? Where does the confidence come to throw off Assyrian rule in an attempt to stand independent? The lack of tribute money had brought inquiries from Assyria and now at their approach they saw that Hezekiah was not come out to meet them and the people were in a state of defense, prepared for confrontation. The Rabshakeh, who spoke Hebrew, spoke Sennacherib's message to the Jewish representatives with great rudeness. He addresses Hezekiah without a title and attaches the title of "the great King" to Sennacherib which is also occasionally used by the Lord as in Psalms 47:2, 48:2, 95:3. (NIV 560, Spence 362). The statement "what confidence is this," uses a diminutive that insults and could be alternately translated as "What little, foolish, or unavailing cause of confidence is it , in which thou trustest?" (Clarke 542). "Thou sayest," from verse 20, implies the words of lips, of which the heart has no conviction, certainly intimidating to a decimated nation with very few military resources in comparison to the mighty Assyrians. (Spence 362). This also is emphasized by the insulting comment in vv23-24 were the Rabshakeh insinuates that even if the Jews were given horses they would not have the personnel to use them.
19 And Rab-shakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence [is] this wherein thou trustest?
20 Thou sayest, (but [they are but] vain words,) [I have] counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?
21 Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, [even] upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so [is] Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him.
22 But if ye say unto me, We trust in the LORD our God: [is] not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?
23 Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
24 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
25 Am I now come up without the LORD against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.
2 Kings 18:19-25
Hezekiah's Egyptian embassy was known to Sennacherib and he addressed the futility of relying on that withering nation. (Spence 362). Egypt was a common nation for the Israelites to run to in time of need. They had not been at the height of their power for centuries and were of no help to the Jews.
Although Assyrians had no confidence in Jehovah, nor did they believe that he could save Judah, they recognized that Jehovah was a Jewish rallying point. By attacking Hezekiah's policy on removing idiolatry Assyria hoped to undermine the Jewish faith. Not only was his message being heard by Jerusalem residents, but also those that had flocked to the city as surrounding communities had been overtaken. The comment about worshiping in Jerusalem was also to cause insurrection among those seeking refuge in Jerusalem.
The Rabshakeh finishes by claiming that his attack and impending success is supported by Jehovah. Perhaps the prophecies of Isaiah and Micah were known to the Assyrians. Perhaps Sennacherib's message was simply boastful and arrogant.
To these open insults the Jewish representatives requested that the Rabshakeh speak in Syrian so the common people would not understand. Because this was the Rabshakeh's intent he spoke all the louder. "Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of [Sennacherib's] hand." The Rabshakeh continued to defy God's saving power and declared to the people that Hezekiah would lead the people to destruction unless they offered to appease Assyria with gifts and surrender to their mercies. This part of the Rabshakeh's comments were evidently not written by Sennacherib. (Spence 364). He intentionally disregards any hint of diplomacy in order to be heard by the people and cause strife. When he concludes he speaks of Samaria being delivered out of my hand and forgets that he is supposedly representing Sennacherib. Sennacherib is portrayed as the deliverer of Jerusalem from Hezekiah. Where Hezekiah wants the people to suffer through a long siege, of which the phrase "that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss," visually depicts what a siege will do to the people. The promises made by the Rabshakeh were recorded by the Jews as best they could. Their memory makes the promises blend well with the mosaic promises where the Lord would deliver them, "into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any [thing] in it" (Deut 8:8-9). Such an analogy was not intended by the Assyrians but would have an impact on those who heard the news at the time or read the recorded story in scripture.
The Rabshakeh's final comment is based on his assumption that Jehovah is just like any of they other gods whose nations have been destroyed by Assyria. In the historical knowledge of the Assyrians Jehovah had done nothing to save his people. Samaria had fallen as had numerous other deities. Ironically this may be one of the most deep of the Rabshakeh's accusations. Because of the idolatry in the minds and hearts of the people, to some, Jehovah was just like the other gods.
First Reaction
Hezekiah, with cloths rent in sign of the Rabshakeh's blasphemous words, sent a message to Isaiah of what had transpired and went to the temple. Isaiah's message seemed one of simple deliverance, without fanfare or complications. Isaiah's message was perhaps intentionally vague. The "blast" spoken of is not identified. This uncertainty in how God would perform his work lent a greater need for faith and also adds suspense to the story as retold.
6 And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumor, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
Isaiah's first response (19:6-7)
When the Rabshakeh and his embassy returned to Sennacherib he had moved on to Libnah, away from Lachish. Keil and Thenius suppose that it is because Lachish had been conquered by the Assyrians and they had moved to another city. (Spence 383). News of military movement by Tirhakah, who would eventually become the ruler of Egypt, but then King of Ethiopia, reached Sennacherib. (Clarke 542). The need to hasten influenced Sennacherib to seek a quick solution to the Jerusalem thorn. This may be the reason for the initial group led by the Rabshakeh, it also seems to be the reason for a subsequent letter from Sennacherib to Hezekiah reconfirming his denial of hope and encouraging surrender. Sennacherib's continued arrogance and disdain for the Lord further ripened him for divine destruction.
Second Reaction
Hezekiah retreated to the temple, spread the blasphemous words before the Lord and sought deliverance. Isaiah delivered the response, first condemning Sennacherib, then giving Hezekiah a sign of prophetic fulfilment and telling the Judean King once again that the Assyrians would leave. The Lord would defend his city! The first part of Isaiah's reply was a denunciation of Sennacherib and the Assyrians. The Lindsell Study Bible phrases Isaiah's words as, "The virgin daughter of Zion isn't afraid of you. The daughter of Jerusalem mocks at you." This prophecy is a direct response of Jehovah his opposition, a pagan king. (Spence 386). The phrase "shaken her head," is commonly used as an idiom of mocking. More than this is implied however. "The gesture is one of sorrow and commiseration. The prophet depicts the attacked consoling the attacker, and this by saying, 'Poor Assyria, how do you suffer!'" (Anchor 237).
20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, [That] which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.
21 This [is] the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, [and] laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
22 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted [thy] voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? [even] against the Holy [One] of Israel.
23 By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, [and] the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, [and into] the forest of his Carmel.
24 I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places.
25 Hast thou not heard long ago [how] I have done it, [and] of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities [into] ruinous heaps.
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.
27 But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me.
28 Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.
Sennacherib's boasting is refuted by the Lord's divine appointment. Earthly rulers in general and specifically the Assyrian success is by devine design. As well might the axe boast against him that swings it. (See Isa 10:15).
That which comes up against the Lord is called tumult in the KJV(v28) but rather, thy arrogancy as in the Revised Standard. The word thus translated "is rather the quiet security of extreme pride and self-confidence." (Spence 388). The imagery following is well known because The Assyrians often led away captured kings using a hook in the nose. Later, Manesseh, the son of Hezekiah would be so led into Babylon. (2 Chron 33:11). Although not a literal prophecy, it was clear that Sennacherib was in the hand of the Lord and would be led away at His will.
Isaiah's prophecy turns to Hezekiah in verse 29 with a sign of deliverance from the Lord. The gradual renewal of food and the lack of a famine were themselves a miraculous deliverance.
"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 a 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 that &c and have abundance, &c." (Clarke 547).
The remnant mentioned in verse 30 in the immediate sense was the spreading out of those in Jerusalem to re-cultivate Judah. By the time of Josiah the Land of Palestine was again inhabited by Israelites. In a fuller sense those escaping Jerusalem may include Israelites already scattered about the earth as well as the eventual diaspora. Eventually they shall regain their inheritances and bring forth fruit unto the Lord.
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.
30 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.
31 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD [of hosts] shall do this.
32 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.
33 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.
34 For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
Isaiah's oracle ends with a pronouncement on Sennacherib's siege, the initial concern of Jerusalem and their impending worry. All of the steps taken in a siege are commented on and none will happen. Jerusalem will never come under attack. God will defend her. Two reasons are given for this salvation. For God's own sake and for David's sake. Many interpretations can come from theses reasons. God's honor was at stake with the Assyrian defiance of His power. The Davidic line, through which Christ would come, needed to be preserved. This reason alone can encompass both reasons in the light that Jehovah was the Christ to come.
Deliverance of Jerusalem
When the Assyrian leaders awoke the next morning 185000 were dead. A blast had arrived in the night and the message delivered to Sennacherib that morning caused him to swiftly depart towards Nineveh. Assyrian records pass over the details of the defeat but there is an indication that "by a still unexplained catastrophe, the main army of Sennacherib was annihilated on the frontier between Egypt and Palestine" (Spence 404).
Discrepancies in other Assyrian records have created two conflicting opinions regarding the historicity of the biblical record. The record in the Bible seems to indicate a single assault by Sennacherib which is assumed to have taken place in 701 bc. Another assumption is that there were two attacks. One in 701 ended with the vassalship of Judah and the looted treasure mentioned in chapter 18. The second occurred later and had the miraculous ending contained in chapter 19. The positions have both flaws and supporters.
Theological Implications
The diversion of impending doom by the direct intervention of the Almighty is unusual in scripture, even in the Old Testament. (Clements 11) . What is special about this situation and what does it teach, both to ancient Israel and to modern readers? The plot is simple and has both profound aspects in individual verses as well as in the whole.
The groundwork for deliverance was being laid by Hezekiah. He sought to restore the worship of Jehovah and realign the people with their divine king. The value of obedience, or at the very least the effort towards obedience, is a necessary prerequisite for extra-ordinary events. Without faith nothing can be done. Considering the spiritual state of Israel, that faith may have had to come mainly from Hezekiah and Isaiah. The use of miracles as a teaching tool comes into question. Hezekiah was beginning to change Israel's idolatrous ways. Some would need some evidence to support their changing faith. Some were still used to their idols and identified with the Rabshakeh's comments. Many were probably confused and hoped that their leaders knew what they were doing. All would learn something from the experience. This deliverance marks am opportunity for a turning point in Judah. A divine marker was set for Israel's return to Jehovah. Hezekiah's successor, Manessah, would permanently set the downward spiral that would lead to destruction and exile less than 150 years later.
Many individual aspects of the story supply rich doctrinal meaning. Hezekiah's turning to the temple in time of need is directly applicable to modern times, both of the need for temple attendance and the need to spiritually seek God's presence when in need.
Hezekiah's answer is a dramatic demonstration of both the receiving of answers to prayers and the nature of prophets and mortals in the guidance of our lives on the earth. Listening to prophets is also essential. Rabshakeh spoke to Jerusalem on the very spot where a generation earlier Ahaz had defied Isaiah's instruction and had formed an alliance with Assyria. Not many generations later the prophetic instruction of Jeremiah would be to give in and surrender to Babylon. The future choice to fight had dire effects on the children of Israel.
Secondary Literature
Many of the principals taught in 2 Kings 18-19 are referred to by prophets and scholars of our day. Joseph Fielding Smith taught on the presence of modern Idiolatry in our societies. Like Hezekiah, we must remove it from our lives. John A. Widtsoe uses Isaiah's response to Hezekiah's prayer as a sample of revelation and how it can guide our lives. The remnant that would go out of Jerusalem is referred to by many including Bruce R. McConkie, James E. Talmage, and John A. Widtsoe. In a religious studies series, the blessings received by the faithful are demonstrated by Judah's deliverance because of Hezekiah and Isaiah. Many other references also exist.
Conclusions
In our world today we must recognize the need to follow the counsel of the prophets. It acts as both a preparation for the future and a way of alleviating the distress of the present. We must recognize God's delivering power and recognize the covenants we have entered into. When we live up to our end, the Lord is bound to uphold his.
Study, faith and knowledge are all inter-related. Seeking for any two, without the third, is futile and will lead to a staleness of life and an incomplete existence. The most often thought of set is that study and faith will lead to knowledge. True as that is, knowledge is also needed in the study process. Resources available guide the learning process and allow the wisdom of one person to become the wisdom of another. When combined, new insight can follow. I admire the hope and faith of Hezekiah. I wonder if he really believed that his people were worthy of deliverance, yet he trusted in the Lord and the prophetic counsel. God still delivers his people!
References
Spence, HDM, Joseph Exell. //The Pulpit Commentary: V5 //I&II //Kings. //Erdman's Publishing Co. 1962.
Gray, John. The Old Testament Library: //I & II Kings, a Commentary//. SCM Press LTD 1970.
Brueggeman, Walter. //2 Kings (John Knox Preaching Guides).// John Knox Press, 1982.
Clements, R.E. Isaiah and the Deliverance of Jerusalem. JSOT Press 1980.
Cogan, Mordechai & Hayim Tadmor. //The Anchor Bible: 2 Kings, a new translation//. Doubleday & Co. 1988.
Old Testament Student Manual. Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints. 1983.
Nelson, Richard D. //Interpretation: First and Second Kings//. John Knox Press, 1987.
Clarke, Adam. Clarke's Commentary. Phillip & Hunt, NY 1830.
//Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. //Oxford University Press.
Lindsell, Harold. Lindsell Study Bible. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 1971.
New Jerusalem Bible. Doubleday & Co. Inc.
NIV Study Bible. Zondervan Pub. 1985.
Reese, Edward. Reese Chronological Bible. Bethany Fellowship, 1980.
Herzog, Chaim and Mordechai Gichon. //Battles of the Bible// Greenhill Books, London 19
1998 Karl Kowallis
BYU Class Rel A 302
Dr Seely
21 April 1998
