Isaiah 37:33

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 shields, nor cast a bank against it. HE SHALL NOT COME ... BEFORE IT WITH SHIELDS. He did come near it, but was not allowed to conduct a proper siege. NOR CAST A BANK AGAINST IT - a mound to defend the assailants in attacking the walk. Sennacherib did hem it in with towers at the first invasion, as we know from the inscriptions, but not at the second invasion. Sir H. Rawlinson thus reads the inscription as to the former, 'Because Hezekiah, king of Judah, would not submit to my yoke, I came up against him, and by force of arms, and by the might of my power, I took 46 of his fenced cities, and of smaller towns scattered about I took a countless number. And I carried off as spoil 200,150 people. And Hezekiah himself I shut up in Jerusalem, hi...

33._Therefore thus saith Jehovah. _He now returns to the deliverance of which he had formerly spoken; for God proraised, first, that he would drive out Sennacherib; secondly, that he would grant food and nourishment for the sustenance of the people, though the country had been wasted and pillaged; and, thirdly, that he would cause flint small number to grow into a vast multitude. Having made these declarations, he returns to the first, because without it all the rest might appear to be useless; that is, if the people were not rescued from the hands, of that tyrant. _He shall not enter into the city. _God threatens that he will be as a fortress, to hinder him from “entering into the city,” and that he will even meet him, so as to hinder him from coming nearer or fighting against it; for he says that he shall not _cast an arrow _nor a _balister. _I think that in this passage סללה (solela

HE SHALL NOT COME INTO THIS CITY - Sennacherib encamped probably on the northeast side of the city, and his army was destroyed there (see the notes at Isaiah 10:28 ff.) NOR SHOOT AN ARROW THERE - That is, nor shoot an arrow within the walls of the city. NOR COME BEFORE IT WITH SHIELDS - (See the note at Isaiah 21:5). The meaning here is, that the army should not be permitted to come before the city defended with shields, and prepared with the means of attack and defense. NOR CAST A BANK AGAINST IT - A mound; a pile of earth thrown up in the manner of a fort to defend the assailants, or to give them an advantage in attacking the walls. Sieges were cond

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

THEREFORE THUS SAITH THE LORD CONCERNING THE KING OF ASSYRIA,.... The issue of his expedition, and the fruitfulness of it; how vain his attempts would be, and how successless in this undertaking: HE SHALL NOT COME INTO THIS CITY; shall not enter into it, and take possession of it, though so sure of it; or, "shall not come unto it w"; for some think he never was any nearer it than Libnah, from whence he sent his letters to Hezekiah, Isaiah 37:8, NOR SHOOT AN ARROW THERE; neither he nor his archers, so as to annoy or kill anyone person in it: NOR COME BEFORE IT WITH SHIELDS; or, "with a shield"; that is, he himself with one; otherwise his army under Rabshakeh was before it with men armed with shields; or the sense is, he shall not prevent it, or seize upon it, with his shielded men: NOR CAST A BANK AGAINST IT; raise a

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

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

THEREFORE THUS SAITH THE LORD— There is a gradation in these words, as is usual with Isaiah. The _first_ declaration is, that Sennacherib, if he shall attempt to besiege the city, shall never be able to succeed: _He shall not come into this city._ The _second_ is, that he shall not bring his army so near to the city as to _come before it with shields,_ or _raise a bank against it. To come before it with a shield,_ is, to defend himself with a shield when besieging a city, or making any attacks upon the walls. The _third,_ that _he shall not_ even _shoot an arrow_ into the city, which might be done from far. The word סללה _solelah_ rendered a _bank,_ says Pilkington, seems rather to signify an engine of war made use of in slinging stones or any heavy body into or against a besieged city. The Hebrew word שׁפךֶ _shapak_ with which it is connected, properly signifies to _pour out,_ and there...

4. THE PRONOUNCEMENT TEXT: Isaiah 37:21-35 21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word which Jehovah hath spoken concerning him: The virgin daughter of Zion hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. 23 Whom hast thou defied and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. 24 By thy servants hast thou defied the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut down the fall cedars thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof; and I will enter into its farthest h