Isaiah 37:24

By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel. HAST THOU ... SAID - virtually. Hast thou said within thyself. HEIGHT OF THE MOUNTAINS, TO THE SIDES OF LEBANON - imagery from the Assyrian felling of trees in Lebanon (; ); figurative for, 'I have carried my victorious army through the regions most difficult of access, to the most remote lands.' FIR TREES - not cypresses, as some translate. Pine foliage and cedars are still found on the northwest side of Lebanon (Stanl...

24._By the hand of thy servants. _This also heightens the baseness and cruelty of the insult, for it is harder to bear reproaches from a servant than from his master, the insult being rendered more grievous by the meanness of the person. Renee also proud and insolent men, in order to render their threatenings more galling and offensive, boast that they will do this or that by one of their servants or footmen, for the purpose of testifying more strongly their contemptuous feelings towards those whom they hate. The Prophet therefore intended to represent more strongly the baseness of the blasphemy by this circumstance, that Sennacherib had not only vomited it out of his own mouth, but had employed _“his servant” _Rabshakeh to utter scornful language against the holy name of God. _I will ascend the heights of the mountains, the sides of Lebanon. _What he now repeats as having been spoken by...

Verse Isaiah 37:24. _BY THY SERVANTS_ - "By thy messengers"] The text has עבדיך _abdeycha, thy servants_; but the true reading seems to be מלאכיך _malacheycha, thy messengers_, as in the other copy, 2 Kings 19:23; and as the _Septuagint_ and _Syriac_ found it in their copies in this place. _REPROACHED THE LORD_] אדני _Adonai_: but _one_ of my MSS. has יהוה אדני _Yehovah Adonai, Jehovah the Lord_. This reading is not found, I think, in any other MS., but several have יהוה _Yehovah_ for אדני _Adonai_. _I WILL ENTER INTO THE HEIGHT OF HIS BORDER_ - "I will penetrate into his extreme retreats"] The text has מרום _marom, the height_ which seems to have been taken by mistake from the line but one

BY THY SERVANTS - Hebrew, ‘By the hand of thy servants.’ That is, by Rabshakeh Isaiah 36, and by those whom he had now sent to Hezekiah with letters Isaiah 37:9, Isaiah 37:14. AND HAST SAID - Isaiah does not here quote the precise words which Rabshakeh or the other messengers had used, but quotes the substance of what had been uttered, and expresses the real feelings and intentions of Sennacherib. BY THE MULTITUDE OF MY CHARIOTS - The word ‘chariots’ here denotes war-chariois (see the notes at Isaiah 2:7;...

EXPOSITION This chapter is the sequel of the preceding, and is so closely connected with it that the two really constitute but one narrative. Isaiah 37:22 of Isaiah 36:1. is more closely connected with Isaiah 37:1, than with the position of the narrative to which it is attached. ISAIAH 37:1 WHEN KING HEZEKIAH HEARD IT; rather, _heard them_;_ i.e._ the "words of Rabshakeh," which his officials reported to him. HE RENT HIS CLOTHES. He did as they had done (Isaiah 36:22

BY THY SERVANTS HAST THOU REPROACHED THE LORD,.... Particularly by Rabshakeh, and the other two that were with him, who, no doubt, assented to what he said; not content to reproach him himself, he set his servants to do it likewise; he made use of them as instruments, and even set them, as well as himself, above the Lord: AND HAST SAID, BY THE MULTITUDE OF MY CHARIOTS AM I COME UP TO THE HEIGHT OF THE MOUNTAINS; not only with his foot soldiers, but with his chariots, and a great number of them, he had travelled over hills and mountains, as Hannibal over the Alps, and was now upon the high mountains which were round about Jerusalem, and very near the mountain of the Lord's house; of which Jarchi interprets the words: TO THE SIDES OF LEBANON; meaning either the mountain of Lebanon, which was on the borders of the land of Israel, famous for cedars and fir trees, later mentioned; or, the t...

CHAPTER 37 Hezekiah in the House of the Lord and Sennacherib's Second Attempt 1. _Hezekiah's humiliation and Isaiah sent for (Isaiah 37:1)_ 2. _The message from the prophet (Isaiah 37:6)_ 3. _Rabshakeh's letter (Isaiah 37:8)_ 4. _Hezekiah's prayer (Isaiah 37:14)_ 5. _The prayer answered (Isaiah 37:21)_ 6. _The army of Sennacherib judged (Isaiah 37:36)_ 7. The judgment upon Sennacherib ...

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

LORD*. One of the 134 places where the _Sopherim_ changed "Jehovah" of the primitive text to "Adonai". AM. COME UP. have. scaled. Compare Isaiah 36:10. These boasts probably refer to the future as well as the past. LEBANON, &C. Compare 2 Kings 19:23. Fulfilling Isaiah 14:8 (see note there). As Hannibal later scaled the Alps....

The answer to the prayer comes in the form of a message from Isaiah. The message as here given really consists of two distinct oracles: (1) a poem, on the pride and the approaching humiliation of Sennacherib (Isaiah 37:22); to which is appended a short passage in a different rhythm addressed to Hezekiah (Isaiah 37:30); (2) a definite prediction, in a less elevated style, of the deliverance of Jerusalem (Isaiah 37:33). The lyrical passage (Isaiah 37:22) appears to have been inserted in the narrative from some independent source. Although probably a genuine work of Isaiah, the recitation of a somewhat elaborate poem is hardly a natural form for a