2 Kings 18:13-37

2 Kings 18:13-37

[13] Now in the fourteenth  year  of king  Hezekiah  did Sennacherib  king  of Assyria  come up  against all the fenced  cities  of Judah,  and took  [14] And Hezekiah  king  of Judah  sent  to the king  of Assyria  to Lachish,  saying,  I have offended;  return  from me: that which thou puttest  on me will I bear.  And the king  of Assyria  appointed  unto Hezekiah  king  of Judah  three  hundred  talents  of silver  and thirty  talents  of gold.  [15] And Hezekiah  gave  him all the silver  that was found  in the house  of the LORD,  and in the treasures  of the king's  house.  [16] At that time  did Hezekiah  cut off  the gold from the doors  of the temple  of the LORD,  and from the pillars  which Hezekiah  king  of Judah  had overlaid,  and gave  it to the king  of Assyria.  [17] And the king  of Assyria  sent  Tartan  and Rabsaris  and Rabshakeh  from Lachish  to king  Hezekiah  with a great  host  against Jerusalem.  And they went up  and came  to Jerusalem.  And when they were come up,  they came  and stood  by the conduit  of the upper  pool,  which is in the highway  of the fuller's  field.  [18] And when they had called  to the king,  there came out  to them Eliakim  the son  of Hilkiah,  which was over the household,  and Shebna  the scribe,  and Joah  the son  of Asaph  the recorder.  [19] And Rabshakeh  said  ye now to Hezekiah,  Thus saith  the great  king,  of Assyria,  What confidence  is this wherein thou trustest?  [20] Thou sayest,  (but they are but vain  words,)  I have counsel  and strength  for the war.  Now on whom dost thou trust,  that thou rebellest  against me? [21] Now, behold, thou trustest  upon the staff  of this bruised  reed,  even upon Egypt,  on which if a man  lean,  it will go  into his hand,  and pierce  it: so is Pharaoh  king  of Egypt  unto all that trust  on him. [22] But if ye say  unto me, We trust  in the LORD  our God:  is not that he, whose high places  and whose altars  Hezekiah  hath taken away,  and hath said  to Judah  and Jerusalem,  Ye shall worship  before  this altar  in Jerusalem?  [23] Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges  to my lord  the king  of Assyria,  and I will deliver  thee two thousand  horses,  if thou be able  on thy part to set  riders  upon them. [24] How then wilt thou turn away  the face  of one  captain  of the least  of my master's  servants,  and put thy trust  on Egypt  for chariots  and for horsemen?  [25] Am I now come up  without  the LORD  against this place  to destroy  it? The LORD  said  to me, Go up  against this land,  and destroy  [26] Then said  Eliakim  the son  of Hilkiah,  and Shebna,  and Joah,  unto Rabshakeh,  Speak,  I pray thee, to thy servants  in the Syrian language;  for we understand  it: and talk  not with us in the Jews' language  in the ears  of the people  that are on the wall.  [27] But Rabshakeh  said  unto them, Hath my master  sent  me to thy master,  and to thee, to speak  these words?  which sit  on the wall,  that they may eat  and drink  with you? [28] Then Rabshakeh  stood  and cried  with a loud  voice  in the Jews' language,  and spake,  saying,  Hear  the word  of the great  king,  of Assyria:  [29] Thus saith  the king,  Let not Hezekiah  deceive  you: for he shall not be able  to deliver  you out of his hand:  [30] Neither let Hezekiah  make you trust  in the LORD,  saying,  The LORD  will surely  us, and this city  shall not be delivered  into the hand  of the king  of Assyria.  [31] Hearken  not to Hezekiah:  for thus saith  the king  of Assyria,  Make  an agreement with me by a present,  and come out  to me, and then eat  ye every man  of his own vine,  and every one  of his fig tree,  and drink  ye every one  the waters  of his cistern:  [32] Until I come  and take you away  to a land  of corn  and wine,  a land  of bread  and vineyards,  a land  of oil  olive  and of honey,  that ye may live,  and not die:  and hearken  not unto Hezekiah,  when he persuadeth  you, saying,  The LORD  will deliver  [33] Hath any  of the gods  of the nations  delivered  his land  out of the hand  of the king  of Assyria?  [34] Where are the gods  of Hamath,  and of Arpad?  where are the gods  of Sepharvaim,  Hena,  and Ivah?  have they delivered  Samaria  out of mine hand?  [35] Who are they among all the gods  of the countries,  that have delivered  their country  out of mine hand,  that the LORD  should deliver  Jerusalem  out of mine hand?  [36] But the people  held their peace,  and answered  him not a word:  for the king's  commandment  was, saying,  Answer  [37] Then came  Eliakim  the son  of Hilkiah,  which was over the household,  and Shebna  the scribe,  and Joah  the son  of Asaph  the recorder,  to Hezekiah  with their clothes  rent,  and told  him the words  of Rabshakeh. 

What does 2 Kings 18:13-37 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Samaria"s conqueror, Shalmaneser V, died in722 B.C. shortly after his conquest. His successor, Sargon II (722-705 B.C.), carried out the deportation of the Israelites. The king who followed him was Sennacherib (705-681 B.C, 2 Kings 18:13). Hezekiah"s fourteenth year ( 2 Kings 18:13) as sole ruler over Judah was701 B.C.
Sennacherib"s inscriptions claim that he conquered46 strong cities of Hezekiah, plus many villages. In preparation for his siege of Jerusalem, the Assyrian king set up his headquarters at Lachish, 28 miles to the southwest of Jerusalem. Hezekiah had joined an alliance with Phoenicia, Philistia, and Egypt to resist Assyria. He admitted to Sennacherib that this was a mistake ( 2 Kings 18:14). Hezekiah offered to pay whatever Sennacherib would take to avoid a siege of Jerusalem. Sennacherib demanded about11tons of silver and one ton of gold, which Hezekiah paid. He did so by stripping the palace and temple that the king had previously Revelation -overlaid to glorify Yahweh ( 2 Kings 18:16).
"In Judah silver appears to have been more valuable than gold." [1]
Sennacherib accepted the ransom but would not abandon his goal of taking Judah"s capital. The upper pool ( 2 Kings 18:17) was the pool at the Gihon spring on Jerusalem"s east side. From this pool water ran down into the Kidron Valley to a field where the people did their laundry. This was close to the wall of Jerusalem and was a busy area. Rabshakeh stood at the very spot where Isaiah had stood when he warned King Ahaz against making an alliance with Assyria (cf. Isaiah 7:3-9). Hezekiah sent three of his officials to negotiate with the three representatives that Sennacherib had sent.
"Rabshakeh" was an Assyrian title equivalent to commander-in-chief of the army. The commander assumed Hezekiah was trusting in his Egyptian alliance and that Judah"s gods were no better than those of the other nations. He said that even if the Assyrians provided2 ,000 horses for Hezekiah, perhaps what Egypt might have contributed, Judah could not win. The commander"s claim that Yahweh had sent Sennacherib against Judah ( 2 Kings 18:25) may or may not have been true (cf. Isaiah 45:1-6).
Because many Judahites were hearing the negotiations taking place and would have become fearful as a result, Hezekiah"s officials asked that they proceed in the Aramaic language. Only the educated leaders of Israel understood Aramaic ( 2 Kings 18:26).
"Aramaic was the language of international diplomacy and ... the normal medium of communication in such a situation." [2]
However, the Assyrians wanted all the people to know that surrender would be better than resistance. The commander"s references to the inability of the gods of Samaria would have been especially intimidating since many in Israel had worshipped Yahweh ( 2 Kings 18:35).
The writer recorded this lengthy incident in Kings because it shows the central issues Judah faced. Would she trust in Yahweh or herself? God"s enemies challenged Him again (cf. Exodus 7-11; 1 Samuel 17). Isaiah also recorded these events ( 2 Kings 18:13, 2 Kings 17:1 to 2 Kings 20:17) in Isaiah 36:1 to Isaiah 38:8 and Isaiah 39:1-8, as did the writer of Chronicles in 2 Chronicles 32:1-23.