Isaiah 36:4

And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? GREAT KING - the usual title of the Persian and Assyrian kings, as they had many subordinate princes or kings under them over provinces (.)...

4._Say now to Hezekiah. _He relates that the three ambassadors, though they were attended by all the magnificence that yet remained in the kingdom, were not only repulsed, but disdainfully treated by the tyrant’s delegate, and loaded with disgraceful reproaches; for, as if Hezekiah had been convicted of wicked revolt, Rabshakeh asks how he had dared to rebel. The particle נא (_na_) is supposed by some to denote entreaty, and is rendered by them _I pray; _but it would be unsuitable to a proud and insolent man to entreat in this manner. He speaks in the ordinary language of those who lay conditions on the vanquished, or on those who are overwhelmed with fear, whom they wish to compel to make an unconditional surrender, or, as we commonly say, _(sommer) to summon. _ _Thus saith the great king. _In order to give greater validity to the summons, that general speaks in the name of his king

WHAT CONFIDENCE - What is the ground of your confidence? on what do you trust? The appellation ‘great king’ was the customary title of the kings of the Persians and Assyrians....

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 RABSHAKEH SAID UNTO THEM,.... The three ministers above mentioned: SAY YE NOW TO HEZEKIAH; tell him what follows; he does not call him king, as he does his own master: THUS SAITH THE GREAT KING, THE KING OF ASSYRIA; this he said boastingly of his master, and in order to terrify Hezekiah and his subjects; whom he would represent as little in comparison of him, who had subdued many kingdoms, and aimed at universal monarchy; so the eastern kings used to be called, as now the Grand Signior with the Turks, and the French call their king the great monarch; but the title of a great king suits best with God himself, Psalms 95:3: WHAT CONFIDENCE IS THIS WHEREIN THOU TRUSTEST? meaning, what was the ground and foundation of his confidence? what was it that kept him in high spirits, that he did not at once submit to the king of Assyria, and su

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

THE GREAT KING. Contrast Psalms 47:2. TRUSTEST. hast confided. Hebrew. _batah._ App-69. See Hezekiah's "Songs of the Degrees" (Psalms 121:3; Psalms 125:1; Psalms 125:2; Psalms 127:1; Psalms 130:5. and App-67)....

The speech of the Rabshakeh, dealing with the two motives which might be supposed to have induced Hezekiah to rebel: (1) his reliance on the help of Egypt (Isaiah 36:6), and (2) his religious confidence in Jehovah (Isaiah 36:7); and urging him to submit to the king of Assyria (Isaiah 36:8)....

VI. CHASTENING THROUGH CAPTIVITY Chapter S 36-39 A. PRESSURE, CHAPTER 36 1. PREDICAMENT TEXT: Isaiah 36:1-12 1 Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib, king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and took them. 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. 3 Then came forth unto him Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder. 4 And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trusteth? 5 I say, thy counsel and strength for the war are but vain words: n