32 Now the rest H3499 of the acts H1697 of Hezekiah, H3169 and his goodness, H2617 behold, they are written H3789 in the vision H2377 of Isaiah H3470 the prophet, H5030 the son H1121 of Amoz, H531 and in the book H5612 of the kings H4428 of Judah H3063 and Israel. H3478
Now it came to pass in the third H7969 year H8141 of Hoshea H1954 son H1121 of Elah H425 king H4428 of Israel, H3478 that Hezekiah H2396 the son H1121 of Ahaz H271 king H4428 of Judah H3063 began to reign. H4427 Twenty H6242 and five H2568 years H8141 old H1121 was he when he began to reign; H4427 and he reigned H4427 twenty H6242 and nine H8672 years H8141 in Jerusalem. H3389 His mother's H517 name H8034 also was Abi, H21 the daughter H1323 of Zachariah. H2148 And he did H6213 that which was right H3477 in the sight H5869 of the LORD, H3068 according to all that David H1732 his father H1 did. H6213 He removed H5493 the high places, H1116 and brake H7665 the images, H4676 and cut down H3772 the groves, H842 and brake in pieces H3807 the brasen H5178 serpent H5175 that Moses H4872 had made: H6213 for unto those days H3117 the children H1121 of Israel H3478 did burn incense H6999 to it: and he called H7121 it Nehushtan. H5180 He trusted H982 in the LORD H3068 God H430 of Israel; H3478 so that after H310 him was none like him among all the kings H4428 of Judah, H3063 nor any that were before H6440 him. For he clave H1692 to the LORD, H3068 and departed H5493 not from following H310 him, but kept H8104 his commandments, H4687 which the LORD H3068 commanded H6680 Moses. H4872 And the LORD H3068 was with him; and he prospered H7919 whithersoever he went forth: H3318 and he rebelled H4775 against the king H4428 of Assyria, H804 and served H5647 him not. He smote H5221 the Philistines, H6430 even unto Gaza, H5804 and the borders H1366 thereof, from the tower H4026 of the watchmen H5341 to the fenced H4013 city. H5892 And it came to pass in the fourth H7243 year H8141 of king H4428 Hezekiah, H2396 which was the seventh H7637 year H8141 of Hoshea H1954 son H1121 of Elah H425 king H4428 of Israel, H3478 that Shalmaneser H8022 king H4428 of Assyria H804 came up H5927 against Samaria, H8111 and besieged H6696 it. And at the end H7097 of three H7969 years H8141 they took H3920 it: even in the sixth H8337 year H8141 of Hezekiah, H2396 that is the ninth H8672 year H8141 of Hoshea H1954 king H4428 of Israel, H3478 Samaria H8111 was taken. H3920 And the king H4428 of Assyria H804 did carry away H1540 Israel H3478 unto Assyria, H804 and put H5148 them in Halah H2477 and in Habor H2249 by the river H5104 of Gozan, H1470 and in the cities H5892 of the Medes: H4074 Because they obeyed H8085 not the voice H6963 of the LORD H3068 their God, H430 but transgressed H5674 his covenant, H1285 and all that Moses H4872 the servant H5650 of the LORD H3068 commanded, H6680 and would not hear H8085 them, nor do H6213 them. Now in the fourteenth H702 H6240 year H8141 of king H4428 Hezekiah H2396 did Sennacherib H5576 king H4428 of Assyria H804 come up H5927 against all the fenced H1219 cities H5892 of Judah, H3063 and took H8610 them. And Hezekiah H2396 king H4428 of Judah H3063 sent H7971 to the king H4428 of Assyria H804 to Lachish, H3923 saying, H559 I have offended; H2398 return H7725 from me: that which thou puttest H5414 on me will I bear. H5375 And the king H4428 of Assyria H804 appointed H7760 unto Hezekiah H2396 king H4428 of Judah H3063 three H7969 hundred H3967 talents H3603 of silver H3701 and thirty H7970 talents H3603 of gold. H2091 And Hezekiah H2396 gave H5414 him all the silver H3701 that was found H4672 in the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068 and in the treasures H214 of the king's H4428 house. H1004 At that time H6256 did Hezekiah H2396 cut off H7112 the gold from the doors H1817 of the temple H1964 of the LORD, H3068 and from the pillars H547 which Hezekiah H2396 king H4428 of Judah H3063 had overlaid, H6823 and gave H5414 it to the king H4428 of Assyria. H804 And the king H4428 of Assyria H804 sent H7971 Tartan H8661 and Rabsaris H7249 and Rabshakeh H7262 from Lachish H3923 to king H4428 Hezekiah H2396 with a great H3515 host H2426 against Jerusalem. H3389 And they went up H5927 and came H935 to Jerusalem. H3389 And when they were come up, H5927 they came H935 and stood H5975 by the conduit H8585 of the upper H5945 pool, H1295 which is in the highway H4546 of the fuller's H3526 field. H7704 And when they had called H7121 to the king, H4428 there came out H3318 to them Eliakim H471 the son H1121 of Hilkiah, H2518 which was over the household, H1004 and Shebna H7644 the scribe, H5608 and Joah H3098 the son H1121 of Asaph H623 the recorder. H2142 And Rabshakeh H7262 said H559 unto them, Speak H559 ye now to Hezekiah, H2396 Thus saith H559 the great H1419 king, H4428 the king H4428 of Assyria, H804 What confidence H986 is this wherein thou trustest? H982 Thou sayest, H559 (but they are but vain H8193 words,) H1697 I have counsel H6098 and strength H1369 for the war. H4421 Now on whom dost thou trust, H982 that thou rebellest H4775 against me?
Now it came to pass in the fourteenth H702 H6240 year H8141 of king H4428 Hezekiah, H2396 that Sennacherib H5576 king H4428 of Assyria H804 came up H5927 against all the defenced H1219 cities H5892 of Judah, H3063 and took H8610 them. And the king H4428 of Assyria H804 sent H7971 Rabshakeh H7262 from Lachish H3923 to Jerusalem H3389 unto king H4428 Hezekiah H2396 with a great H3515 army. H2426 And he stood H5975 by the conduit H8585 of the upper H5945 pool H1295 in the highway H4546 of the fuller's H3526 field. H7704 Then came forth H3318 unto him Eliakim, H471 Hilkiah's H2518 son, H1121 which was over the house, H1004 and Shebna H7644 the scribe, H5608 and Joah, H3098 Asaph's H623 son, H1121 the recorder. H2142 And Rabshakeh H7262 said H559 unto them, Say H559 ye now to Hezekiah, H2396 Thus saith H559 the great H1419 king, H4428 the king H4428 of Assyria, H804 What confidence H986 is this wherein thou trustest? H982 I say, H559 sayest thou, (but they are but vain H8193 words) H1697 I have counsel H6098 and strength H1369 for war: H4421 now on whom dost thou trust, H982 that thou rebellest H4775 against me? Lo, thou trustest H982 in the staff H4938 of this broken H7533 reed, H7070 on Egypt; H4714 whereon if a man H376 lean, H5564 it will go H935 into his hand, H3709 and pierce H5344 it: so is Pharaoh H6547 king H4428 of Egypt H4714 to all that trust H982 in him. But if thou say H559 to me, We trust H982 in the LORD H3068 our God: H430 is it not he, whose high places H1116 and whose altars H4196 Hezekiah H2396 hath taken away, H5493 and said H559 to Judah H3063 and to Jerusalem, H3389 Ye shall worship H7812 before H6440 this altar? H4196 Now therefore give pledges, H6148 I pray thee, to my master H113 the king H4428 of Assyria, H804 and I will give H5414 thee two thousand H505 horses, H5483 if thou be able H3201 on thy part to set H5414 riders H7392 upon them. How then wilt thou turn away H7725 the face H6440 of one H259 captain H6346 of the least H6996 of my master's H113 servants, H5650 and put thy trust H982 on Egypt H4714 for chariots H7393 and for horsemen? H6571 And am I now come up H5927 without H1107 the LORD H3068 against this land H776 to destroy H7843 it? the LORD H3068 said H559 unto me, Go up H5927 against this land, H776 and destroy H7843 it. Then said H559 Eliakim H471 and Shebna H7644 and Joah H3098 unto Rabshakeh, H7262 Speak, H1696 I pray thee, unto thy servants H5650 in the Syrian language; H762 for we understand H8085 it: and speak H1696 not to us in the Jews' language, H3066 in the ears H241 of the people H5971 that are on the wall. H2346 But Rabshakeh H7262 said, H559 Hath my master H113 sent H7971 me to thy master H113 and to thee to speak H1696 these words? H1697 hath he not sent me to the men H582 that sit H3427 upon the wall, H2346 that they may eat H398 their own dung, H2716 H6675 and drink H8354 their own piss H4325 H7272 H7890 with you? Then Rabshakeh H7262 stood, H5975 and cried H7121 with a loud H1419 voice H6963 in the Jews' language, H3066 and said, H559 Hear H8085 ye the words H1697 of the great H1419 king, H4428 the king H4428 of Assyria. H804 Thus saith H559 the king, H4428 Let not Hezekiah H2396 deceive H5377 you: for he shall not be able H3201 to deliver H5337 you. Neither let Hezekiah H2396 make you trust H982 in the LORD, H3068 saying, H559 The LORD H3068 will surely H5337 deliver H5337 us: this city H5892 shall not be delivered H5414 into the hand H3027 of the king H4428 of Assyria. H804 Hearken H8085 not to Hezekiah: H2396 for thus saith H559 the king H4428 of Assyria, H804 Make H6213 an agreement with me by a present, H1293 and come out H3318 to me: and eat H398 ye every one H376 of his vine, H1612 and every one H376 of his fig tree, H8384 and drink H8354 ye every one H376 the waters H4325 of his own cistern; H953 Until I come H935 and take you away H3947 to a land H776 like your own land, H776 a land H776 of corn H1715 and wine, H8492 a land H776 of bread H3899 and vineyards. H3754 Beware lest Hezekiah H2396 persuade H5496 you, saying, H559 The LORD H3068 will deliver H5337 us. Hath any H376 of the gods H430 of the nations H1471 delivered H5337 his land H776 out of the hand H3027 of the king H4428 of Assyria? H804 Where are the gods H430 of Hamath H2574 and Arphad? H774 where are the gods H430 of Sepharvaim? H5617 and have they delivered H5337 Samaria H8111 out of my hand? H3027 Who are they among all the gods H430 of these lands, H776 that have delivered H5337 their land H776 out of my hand, H3027 that the LORD H3068 should deliver H5337 Jerusalem H3389 out of my hand? H3027 But they held their peace, H2790 and answered H6030 him not a word: H1697 for the king's H4428 commandment H4687 was, saying, H559 Answer H6030 him not. Then came H935 Eliakim, H471 the son H1121 of Hilkiah, H2518 that was over the household, H1004 and Shebna H7644 the scribe, H5608 and Joah, H3098 the son H1121 of Asaph, H623 the recorder, H2142 to Hezekiah H2396 with their clothes H899 rent, H7167 and told H5046 him the words H1697 of Rabshakeh. H7262
And thus did H6213 Hezekiah H3169 throughout all Judah, H3063 and wrought H6213 that which was good H2896 and right H3477 and truth H571 before H6440 the LORD H3068 his God. H430 And in every work H4639 that he began H2490 in the service H5656 of the house H1004 of God, H430 and in the law, H8451 and in the commandments, H4687 to seek H1875 his God, H430 he did H6213 it with all his heart, H3824 and prospered. H6743
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 32
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 32 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 32
2Ch 32:1-20. Sennacherib Invades Judah.
1. After these things, and the establishment thereof—that is, the restoration of the temple-worship. The precise date is given, 2Ki 18:13. Determined to recover the independence of his country, Hezekiah had decided to refuse to pay the tribute which his father had bound himself to pay to Assyria.
Sennacherib … entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities—The whole land was ravaged; the strong fortresses of Ashdod (Isa 20:1) and Lachish had fallen; the siege of Libnah had commenced, when the king of Judah, doubting his ability to resist, sent to acknowledge his fault, and offer terms of submission by paying the tribute. The commencement of this Assyrian war was disastrous to Hezekiah (2Ki 18:13). But the misfortunes of the early period of the war are here passed over, as the historian hastens to relate the remarkable deliverance which God wrought for His kingdom of Judah.
2-8. when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib … was purposed to fight against Jerusalem—An account of the means taken to fortify Jerusalem against the threatened siege is given only in this passage. The polluting or filling up of wells, and the altering of the course of rivers, is an old practice that still obtains in the wars of the East. Hezekiah's plan was to cover the fountain heads, so that they might not be discovered by the enemy, and to carry the water by subterranean channels or pipes into the city—a plan which, while it would secure a constant supply to the inhabitants, would distress the besiegers, as the country all around Jerusalem was very destitute of water.
4. So there was gathered much people … who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land—"Where these various fountains were, we have now no positive means of ascertaining; though En-rogel, and the spring now called the Virgin's Fount, may well be numbered among them. Josephus mentions the existence of various fountains without the city, but does not mention any of them in this connection but Siloam. 'The brook,' however, is located with sufficient precision to enable us to trace it very definitely. We are told that it 'ran through the midst of the land.' Now a stream running through either the Kedron or Hinnom Valley, could, in no proper sense, be said to run through the midst of the land, but one flowing through the true Gihon valley, and separating Akra and Zion from Bezetha, Moriah, and Ophel, as a stream once, doubtless, did, could, with peculiar propriety, be said to run through the midst of the land on which the [Holy] City was built. And that this is the correct meaning of the phrase is not only apparent from the force of circumstances, but is positively so declared in the Septuagint, where, moreover, it is called a 'river,' which, at least, implies a much larger stream than the Kedron, and comports well with the marginal reading, where it is said to overflow through the midst of the land. Previous to the interference of man, there was, no doubt, a very copious stream that gushed forth in the upper portion of that shallow, basin-like concavity north of Damascus Gate, which is unquestionably the upper extremity of the Gihon valley, and pursuing its meandering course through this valley, entered the Tyropœon at its great southern curve, down which it flowed into the valley of the Kedron" [Barclay, City of the Great King].
5, 6. he strengthened himself—He made a careful inspection of the city defenses for the purpose of repairing breaches in the wall here, renewing the masonry there, raising projecting machines to the towers, and especially fortifying the lower portion of Zion, that is, Millo, "(in) the original city of David." "In" is a supplement of our translators, and the text reads better without it, for it was not the whole city that was repaired, but only the lower portion of Zion, or the original "city of David."
6. he … gathered them together … in the street—that is, the large open space at the gate of Eastern cities. Having equipped his soldiers with a full suit of military accoutrements, he addressed them in an animated strain, dwelling on the motives they had to inspire courage and confidence of success, especially on their consciousness of the favor and helping power of God.
9-20. (See on 2Ki 18:17-35; also 2Ki 19:8-34).
18. they cried with a loud voice … unto the people of Jerusalem … on the wall—It appears that the wall on the west side of the city reached as far to the side of the uppermost pool of Gihon at that time as it does now, if not farther; and the wall was so close to that pool that those sent to negotiate with the Assyrian general answered him in their own tongue (see on 2Ki 18:27).
2Ch 32:21-23. An Angel Destroys the Assyrians.
21. an angel … cut off all the mighty men—(See on 2Ki 19:35-37).
2Ch 32:24-26. Hezekiah's Sickness and Recovery.
24. In those days Hezekiah was sick to the death—(See on 2Ki 20:1-11).
2Ch 32:27-33. His Riches and Works.
27-29. he had exceeding much riches and honour—(compare 2Ki 20:13; Isa 39:2). A great portion of his personal wealth, like that of David and Uzziah, consisted in immense possessions of agricultural and pastoral produce. Besides, he had accumulated large treasures in gold, silver, and precious things, which he had taken as spoils from the Philistines, and which he had received as presents from neighboring states, among which he was held in great honor as a king under the special protection of Heaven. Much of his great wealth he expended in improving his capital, erecting forts, and promoting the internal benefit of his kingdom.
30. stopped the … watercourse of Gihon, and brought it … to the west side of the city, &c.—(Compare 2Ki 20:20). Particular notice is here taken of the aqueduct, as among the greatest of Hezekiah's works. "In exploring the subterranean channel conveying the water from Virgin's Fount to Siloam, I discovered a similar channel entering from the north, a few yards from its commencement; and on tracing it up near the Mugrabin gate, where it became so choked with rubbish that it could be traversed no farther, I there found it turn to the west in the direction of the south end of the cleft, or saddle, of Zion, and if this channel was not constructed for the purpose of conveying the waters of Hezekiah's aqueduct, I am unable to suggest any purpose to which it could have been applied. Perhaps the reason why it was not brought down on the Zion side, was that Zion was already well-watered in its lower portion by the Great Pool, 'the lower pool of Gihon.' And accordingly Williams [Holy City] renders this passage, 'He stopped the upper outflow of the waters of Gihon, and led them down westward to the city'" [Barclay, City of the Great King]. The construction of this aqueduct required not only masonic but engineering skill; for the passage was bored through a continuous mass of rock. Hezekiah's pool or reservoir made to receive the water within the northwest part of the city still remains. It is an oblong quadrangular tank, two hundred forty feet in length, from one hundred forty-four to one hundred fifty in breadth, but, from recent excavations, appears to have extended somewhat farther towards the north.
31. in the business of the ambassadors who sent … to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, &c.—They brought a present (2Ch 32:23; see on 2Ki 20:12, 13), and a letter of congratulation on his recovery, in which particular enquiries were made about the miracle of the sun's retrocession—a natural phenomenon that could not fail to excite great interest and curiosity at Babylon, where astronomy was so much studied. At the same time, there is reason to believe that they proposed a defensive league against the Assyrians.
God left him, to try him, &c.—Hezekiah's offense was not so much in the display of his military stores and treasures, as in not giving to God the glory both of the miracle and of his recovery, and thus leading those heathen ambassadors to know Him.