Isaiah 36:2

And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field. RABSHAKEH. In , Tartan and Rabsaris are joined with him. Rabashakeh was probably the chief leader; Rab is a title of authority, 'chief cupbearer.' LACHISH - a frontier town southwest of Jerusalem, in Judah; represented as a great fortified city in a hilly and fruitful country in the Kouyunjik bas-reliefs, now in the British museum; also, its name is found on a slab over a figure of Sennacherib on his throne. He took it at his first invasion, but apparently failed to take it and Libnah at the second expedition. From it he sent his messengers, and then the threatening letter to Hezekiah. UPPER POOL - the side on which...

2._Then the king of Assyria Rent Rabshakeh. _The order of the narrative may here have been altered; for he had formerly said that Sennacherib had taken all the cities of Judea, and now he says that he sent Rabshakeh (28) from Lachish, implying that he was besieging it, and consequently he had not yet stormed them all. But it ought to be observed that historical connection is frequently disturbed, and that what was first in the order of time, comes last in the narrative. Besides, the Scriptures frequently make use of a figure of speech in which a part is taken for the whole, and by which it might be said that all the cities were taken, because those which had been left were few, and Hezekiah had no means of intercourse with them. It appeared, therefore, that the king of Assyria had brought the whole of Judea under his dominion, because nearly all that remained was Jerusalem alone, in whic...

AND THE KING OF ASSYRIA SENT RABSHAKEH - In 2 Kings 18:17, it is said that he sent Tartan, and Rabsaris, and Rabshakeh. In regard to Tartan, see the note at Isaiah 20:1. It is probable that Rabshakeh only is mentioned in Isaiah because the expedition may have been mainly under his direction, or more probably because he was the principal speaker on the occasion to which he refers. FROM LACHISH - This was a city in the south of the tribe of Judah, and was southwest of Jerusalem Joshua 10:23; Joshua 15:39. It was situated in a plain, and was the seat of an ancient Canaani

PART II. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF EVENTS IN THE REIGN OF HEZEKIAH (CH. 36-39.). SECTION I. SENNACHERIB'S ATTEMPTS TO REDUCE JUDAEA, AND HIS OVERTHROW (Isaiah 36:1; Isaiah 37:1.). EXPOSITION IF the Book of Isaiah be regarded as the result of a gradual accretion (see the General Introduction), whether that accretion is to be ascribed to the action of the prophet himself or to that of later editors, we may equally consi

AND THE KING OF ASSYRIA SENT RABSHAKEH FROM LACHISH TO JERUSALEM UNTO KING HEZEKIAH WITH A GREAT ARMY,.... Notwithstanding he had taken Hezekiah's money to withdraw his army out of his country, yet sends it out to his very capital; along with this Rabshakeh he sent two other generals, Tartan and Rabsaris, 2 Kings 18:17 though they are not mentioned, only Rabshakeh, because he was the principal person, however the chief speaker. Lachish was a city in the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:39, which Sennacherib was now besieging, 2 Chronicles 32:9. This message was sent, Bishop Usher says, three years after the former expedition: and he stood by the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fullers' f

THE HISTORICAL PARENTHESIS (36-39) The center of the book of Isaiah is a brief but deeply interesting historical account of events during the reign of King Hezekiah. His name is mentioned not less than thirty-one times in these Chapter s. His great works in reformation and otherwise are recorded in 2 Kings 18:4, 2 Chronicles 29:1; 2Ch 30:5-22, 2 Kings 20:20. From Proverbs 25:1 we learn that he was a great lover of the Word of God, for he had it copied, perhaps by many scribes. He was 25 years old when he ascended the throne and reigned 29 years, 727-699 B.C. No doubt he was one of the greatest kings of Judah. T

ISAIAH 36-39. This section has been extracted from 2 Kings 18:13 to 2 Kings 20:19, and the Song of Hezekiah has been added. For an exposition see the notes on 2 K.; here we have simply to deal with the Song of Hezekiah. ISAIAH 38:10. THANKSGIVING FOR DELIVERANCE FROM IMMINENT DEATH. This is now generally regarded as a post-exilic psalm. Its absence in the parallel narratine in Kings is significant. Apparently it was inserted here by an editor who thought it suitable to Hezekiah's circumstances. If, as seems likely, it has been influenced by the Book of Job, it must be post-exilic. The title cannot, any more than the Psalm titles, weigh against internal evidence. Hezekiah's writing after his recov

RABSHAKEH: or, "political officer". Probably. renegade Jew. LACHISH. Now _Tell el Hesy_, or _Umm Lakis_. See the work on the excavations there, published by the "Palestine Exploration Fund". Compare note on 2 Kings 18:17, and 2 Kings 19:8. WITH. GREAT ARMY. Foretold in Isaiah 29:1, as foretold in Isa 22:15-26. HE STOOD. In the same spot where Isaiah stood with Ahaz twenty-eight years before. See Isaiah 7:3. HIGHWAY. See note on Isaiah 7:3....

_Rabshakeh_is not a proper name, but an official designation, like the Tartan (see ch. Isaiah 20:1) and the Rab-saris (chief eunuch) who are mentioned along with him in 2 Kings 18:17. The Assyrian word is _Rab-saq_, said to mean "chief of the officers." _from Lachish_ The most important Judæan fortress in the Shephelah, commanding the road from Egypt. Recent excavations by Mr Flinders Petrie have identified its site with Tell-el-Hesy, a few miles distant from the modern Umm Lakis. _the conduit of the upper pool_ See on ch. Isaiah 7:3....

AND THE KING OF ASSYRIA SENT RABSHAKEH— The prophet omits what is related in 2 Kings 18:14, that Hezekiah sent ambassadors to Sennacherib at Lachish. What is here related probably happened after Sennacherib returned from his Egyptian expedition. See Joseph. Antiq. book 10: chap. 1: _Rabshakeh_ is thought to have been a name of office, signifying the _principal cup-bearer,_ as _Tartan_ and _Rabsaris_ mentioned in Exodus 18:17 signify the _president of the council_ and the _chief eunuch._...