The Meaning of 2 Kings 19:36 Explained

2 Kings 19:36

KJV: So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

YLT: And Sennacherib king of Asshur journeyeth, and goeth, and turneth back, and dwelleth in Nineveh;

Darby: And Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and abode at Nineveh.

ASV: So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

So Sennacherib  king  of Assyria  departed,  and went  and returned,  and dwelt  at Nineveh. 

What does 2 Kings 19:36 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Kings 19:25-37 - The Answer Of The King Of Kings
These verses, taken with Isaiah 10:5-15, form a most suggestive and sublime comment on the words, "the Lord reigneth." They show us God using the Assyrian as "the rod of His anger," and working personally and mightily through the politics of the world. Isaiah's faith, through all this terrible crisis, was the one bulwark behind which king and people lay entrenched. What a gift one such man is to an entire people! His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord, and he cannot be made afraid by evil tidings.
It has been suggested that this was a Sabbatic year, the produce of which sufficed for two years, 2 Kings 19:29. In any case, the Sabbatic peace and calm had entered Isaiah's soul. They who have learned to stay themselves on God may sing triumphal odes, in sure conviction of coming victory. Thus, also, it befell. The angel of God's deliverance wrought through some terrible outbreak of plague, and thus the tents were strewn with the silent corpses of men who had yesterday been full of manly vigor. The Lord was Judge, Lawgiver, and King; and saved His people, as the mother-bird, with outspread wing, protects her brood against the hawk. God's presence, like an invisible river, surrounded and saved His people. "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge," Psalms 46:11. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Kings 19

1  Hezekiah, in mourning, sends to Isaiah to pray for them
6  Isaiah comforts them
8  Sennacherib, going to encounter Tirhakah, sends a blasphemous letter to Hezekiah
14  Hezekiah's prayer
20  Isaiah's prophecy of the destruction of Sennacherib, and the good of Zion
35  An angel slays the Assyrians
36  Sennacherib is slain by his own sons

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 19:36 mean?

So departed and went away and returned [home] Sennacherib king of Assyria and remained at Nineveh
וַיִּסַּ֣ע וַיֵּ֔לֶךְ וַיָּ֖שָׁב סַנְחֵרִ֣יב מֶֽלֶךְ־ אַשּׁ֑וּר וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב בְּנִֽינְוֵֽה

וַיִּסַּ֣ע  So  departed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָסַע  
Sense: to pull out, pull up, set out, journey, remove, set forward, depart.
וַיֵּ֔לֶךְ  and  went  away 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
וַיָּ֖שָׁב  and  returned  [home] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
סַנְחֵרִ֣יב  Sennacherib 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: סַנְחֵרִיב  
Sense: son of Sargon, father of Esarhaddon, and king of Assyria from 705–68 BC; attacked Judah during the reign of king Hezekiah and Judah was delivered when in response to the prayer of Hezekiah an angel smote 85,000 Assyrian soldiers.
מֶֽלֶךְ־  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
אַשּׁ֑וּר  of  Assyria 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אַשּׁוּר  
Sense: the second son of Shem, eponymous ancestor of the Assyrians.
וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב  and  remained 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
בְּנִֽינְוֵֽה  at  Nineveh 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: נִינְוֵה  
Sense: capital of the ancient kingdom of Assyria; located on the east bank of the Tigris river, 550 miles (880 km) from its mouth and 250 miles (400 km) north of Babylon.