The Embassy of Merodach-Baladan Merodach-Baladan (in Babylonian _Marduk-habal-iddina_) was king of Babylon for twelve years (721 709) in the reign of Sargon, and again for six months (_circa_704) in the reign of Sennacherib. He was originally the Chaldæan ruler of Bit-Yakin, a small state in southe... [ Continue Reading ]
_Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan_ The form "Berodach" in 2 Kings 20:12 is less correct. Marduk-habal-iddina is described in the monuments as "son of Yakin"; but this is no reason for doubting the identity of the person. The latter is probably his dynastic title. _letters_ A LETTER, as ch. Isai... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Hezekiah was glad of them_ Not only was his vanity flattered, but the arrival of the envoys fell in with political projects to which he was even then too ready to lend his ear. The reading is decidedly preferable to the flat and meaningless "heard of them" in 2 Kings 20:13 (not LXX.). _the hous... [ Continue Reading ]
The prophet's appearance on the scene shews that he suspected the king of coquetting with a foreign alliance, although it is remarkable that on neither side is there any explicit allusion to the political aspect of the affair. Perhaps the first evasive answer of Hezekiah betrays a consciousness of w... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hear the word of the Lord_ Isaiah's tone is threatening, because he sees in this thing a sin against Jehovah. It was not necessary to specify wherein the offence consisted; king and prophet understood each other perfectly. The reception of an embassy from the sworn enemy of the king of Assyria was... [ Continue Reading ]
This is the only occasion on which a prophecy of the Babylonian Exile appears to be attributed to Isaiah. It is not easy to reconcile such a prediction with the particular circumstances in which it is reported to have been uttered. The announcement naturally left on Hezekiah's mind the impression th... [ Continue Reading ]
The words _which thou shalt beget_seem, according to usage, to imply that the calamity would fall on Hezekiah's own children.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Good_is _the word of the Lord_ An expression of pious resignation, including repentance; cf. 1 Samuel 3:18. _there shall be peace and truth_(or STEADFASTNESS) _in my days_ In the Old Testament the postponement of a calamity is always regarded as a mitigation of its severity; see 1 Kings 21:28 f.;... [ Continue Reading ]