The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 318

between the governors e.nd the governed, If at one time he had trusted in Egypt, that e.nd endeavour to stir up discontent nmong trust was now quite or well-nigh gone. the lntkr. Yet this is what Rnbshakehdid, The tone of his exhortations wae thnt re- and boasted of doing. Well might Iso.iah corded in Chronicles (-.! Ohron. xxxii. G-9), l!RY of•ucb an e.rrogant and htwless e.o-gressor, "He set cnptains of war over the people, and "He he.tb broken the oovenant, he bath gnthered them together to him in the street despised the cities, he regardeth no me.u" of the gate of the city, and spake comfort- (sc-r Isa. xxxiii. 8). That they me.y eat ably to them, saying, Be strong and their own dung, e.nd drink their own piss courrt~Mne, be not e.frnid nor dismayed for with you 1 Re.bshakeh means to SRV thnt the King of Assyria, 1101· for nil the multi- the effect of the men "sitting on the· wall," tude thnt ie with him : for there be more and continuing the defence of the town, with us than with him [see eh. vi. 16]; with v.ill be to bi-ing them to the last extremity him ie an arm of flesh ; but with us is the of hunger and thirst, when they will be Lord our God to help us, and to fight our forc,·d even to consume their own excre- battles. And the people rested themeelvee ment (comp. oh. vi. 25-29). upon the words of Hezekiah King of Judah." Yer. 28.-Then Jlabshe.keh stood and cried Saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and with aloud voioe in the lews' le.ngtiage, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand Bpt!ke, saying. Rabshe.keh had probe.lily of the Ki.ug of Assyria. Hezekiah's was, in been sitting before. He now stood up to part, a general conviction that God would attract attention, e.n<l raised bis vnice to be not foreake bis people, who had recently the betterbee.rd. Stillspee.ldng Hebrew, and turned to him, if not with nbsolute sincerity, not Aramaic, be addressed himself directly yet at any rnte with publio confession of to the people on the we.11, soldiers and others, sin, nnd public e.cknowledgment of his doing the very opposite to what he had been mercies, and public profession of an intention requested to do, and outraging a.II propri~ty. to serve him; in pa,t, probably, a special History scarcely presents any other instance reliance on some definite prophecies of of such coe.rse and be.refaced effront.ery, Isaiah, that the city should not be taken unless the affronts put upon a Dannbian (see Isa. xxxi. 4-6; xxxiiii. 20-22). principality by the envoy of a" great Po·,rnr" Ver. 31.-Hearken not to Hezekiah: for may be regarded as constituting a parallel. thns sa.ith the King of Assyria. Re.bshe.keh, Rco.r the word of the great king, the King before concluding, tries the effect of blandish- of Assyria. It is scarcely likely that Senna- ments. The King of Assyria is no harsh cherib had anticipated his envoy's action, lord, as he has been represented to them. much less directed it, and told him exactly He will be a kinder master than Hezekiah. whe.t he was to say. But Rabshe.keb ihinks Hezekiah condemns them to all the hard- his word.. will have more effect if he repre- ships of a siege; and then, if they survive eents them as those of his ma.ster. it, to a wasted land, ruined homes, broken Ver. 29.-Thus saith the king, Let not cisterns. Sennacherib, if they will but Hezekiah deoeive you. Rabshakeh and his yield to him, promises them peace and me.ster, no doubt, both of them tl.10ngbt prosperity, a time of quiet enjoyment in Hezekiab's grounds of coufidence would their own laud, and t!Jen removal to another prove falle.cions, and that all who chould equally good, where they will "live and trust in them would find themselves "de- not die," be happy and not miserable. It ceived." There were bot two grounds the.t will be observed that none but materinl in- Hezekiah could possibly put forward: (l) ducements a.re held out to them. They are deliverance by human means-by bis own expected to barter freedom, independence, armed strength and that of his allies; (2) religious privileges, country, home, for the deliverance by supernatural means-by some sake of creature comforts-for ee.se, quiet, and gree.t manifestation of miraculous power on security. Setting aside the question whether the part of Jehovah. B.e.bshe.keh thinks they could count on the performance of the both equally impossible. The first, how- promises made them, it will be felt the.t ever, is too absurd for argument, and he they did well not to be tempted. Better therefore takes no further notice of it; but vigorous national life, with any amount of the second he proceeds to combat, in vers. hardship, struggle, and suffering, than the 83-35. For he ■hall not be able to deliver gilded chains of the most peaceful servitude. yon out of hi■ hand. Correct grammar re- Make e.u agreemeut with me by a preaent- quires "out of my band ; " but Rabshakeh rather, make peace with me, or "me.ke term• forgets the.t he is professing to report the with me" (Knobel, Tbenius, Keil, B"li.hr); in wor<le of Sennacherib. other words, give in your BObmission-and Ver. 30.-Neither let Hezekiah make you come out to me; i.e. quit the town, surrender trust in the Lord. Rabshakeh secu,e to be it (see 1 Sam. xi. 3; Jer. xxi. 9; x:u:viii. aware the.t this is the e.rgument which 17), place yourselves at my mercy, "aud Hezekiah is, in point of fact, mainly urging. then" see what great things I will do for 011. i:vm. 1-37.J THI<: SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. 365 -------------------- - - - - - you," The -tone, e.s Bahr ea.ye, u1 one of eLa.keh, and tho Aeeyrians generally, this "wheedling" e.nd oo.jolement. And then seemed a crushing and convincing, abso- ee.t ye every me.n. of his own vin.e, e.nd every lutely unanswerable, argument. It bad all one of his fig tree, Proverbial expressions the force of what appeared to them a complete for e. pee.ceful, ho.ppy time (see 1 Kings iv. induction. As far be.ck as they coulrl re- 25: Mioe.h iv. 4: Zeeb. iii. 10), when there member, they had always been. contending a.re no inroads, no re.vo.gcs, no disturbances. with different tribes a.nd nations, each and Be.bshokeh promises, in the name of Sen- all of whom had had gods in whom they no.cherib, that they she.11 rest in their own trusted, anrl the result had been uniform- hnd for e. term-e.n indefinite term-in e. the gods ha.d been unequal to the task of blissful state of peace e.nd quietness before protecting their votaries against Assyria: e.ny new resolution is ta.ken a.bout them. how coulcl it be imagined tha.t Jehovah An.d drink ye every one the waters of his would prove e.n. exception? If he was not oistem ; ro.ther, of his well (i::i). Every exactly, as Knobel calls him, " the insig- man who had e. field or e. vineyard was sure nificant god of an insignificant people," yet to have a. well in it. Cisterns for the swre.ge how was he better or stronger than the of re.in-water were compa.re.tively uncommon. others-than Chemosh, or Moloch, or Rim- Ver. 32.-Until I oomee.n.d take youe.we.y mon, or Bae.I, or Ashime., or Khahli, or Bel, to a land like your own le.n.d. Ra.bshe.keh or Merodach? What had he don.e for the did not dissemble the fact that they must Jews hitherto? Nothing remarkable, so far look for e. transplantation. Probably he as the Assvrie.ns knew; for their memories felt the.t, if he did, he would not be be- did not reach be.ck so far as the time of lieved. The transplan te.tions had been. too Asa and the deliverance from Zere.h, much n.umerow and too recent, the exam pies of less to the conquest of Ca.no.an or the Exodus. Sa.maria., Damascus, Ha.ma.th, Ashdod, etc., He bar\ not saved the trans-Jorde.nic tribes were too notorious, for it to be worth his from Tigle.th-pileEer, or Samaria from his while to pretend that Judiea would have successors. Was it not madness to suppose any other fate. He therefore set himself that he would se.~e Judrea from Sennacherib? the task of persuading the J ewe that trans- A heathen. reru1oner could not see, could not plantation. had nothing abont it displeasing be expected to see, the momentous difference; or even disagree.ble-that, in fa.et, they were that the gods of the other countries "era to be envied rather than pitied for being "n.o gods" (eh. xix. 18), while Jehonili about to experience it. The King of Assyria, was "the Lord of the whole earth." in the goodness of his paternal breast, would Ver. 34.-Where are the gods of He.ma.th, select for them a land as nearly as possible an.d of Arpe.d t He.me.th and Arpad ha,I "like their own la.n.d "-a land teeming with been recently conquered (a.bout B.o. 720) liy corn an!} wine and oil, full of rich arable Sargon (see the' Eponym Co.non,' pp. 12G - tracts, of vineyards and of olive-grounds, 128). Of the latter city but little is kn.own, which would yield them those fruits of the n.ot even its site. We find it generally con- earth to which they were nccnstomed, in nected with Damascus (Jer. xlix. 23; ahunda.nce, What security they had that • Epon.ym Canon,' pp. 68, 126) and Ha.ma.lb these promises would be fulfilled, he did (oh. xix. 13; Isa. x. 9; xuvi. 19; xxxvii. not attempt to show them; much less did 13; Jer. xlix. 23; 'Eponym Canon,' p. 126), he explain to them why, if they were to gain and may conjecture that it lay between rather than lose, it was worth wbile trans- them, either in Ccelo-Syria or in the Anti- planting them e.t all : how that transplanted Libe.nus. (On Hnme.th, see the commen- nations lost all spirit nnd patriotism, sank tary upon eh. xiv. 25; and for its special god, into apathy, and gnve no trouble to their Asbima, see that on eh. xvii. 30.) Where masters. A le.nd of oom an.d wine, a le.n.d are the gods of Sepharve.im, Hen.a, an.d Ivah l of bread and vin.eye.rds, a lan.d of oil olive (On the cities and go,ls of Sepharvaim and an.d of honey (comp. Deut. \'iii. 8, 9, which Ivah (or Ava), see the comment on. oh. x, ii. has, no doubt, affected the language of the 24 and 31.) "Bene.," mentioned always reporter, who gives the general tenor of with Sephe.rvaim an.d hah (eh. xix. 13: Rabshe.keh's speech, but could not have Isa. xxxviii. 13), is probably Ane.h on the taken down. or hove remembered his exact Euphrates, a.bout se\'enty miles above Hit words) that ye may live, an.d ,n.ot die- (Ivah). Nothing is known of its gods. as you will if you follow Hezekiah's advice Probably Sephnrvaim, Bena, and Ivah had -an.d [therefore] hearken. n.ot unto Hezekiah, rebelled in. conjunction, and been recon- when. he persuadeth-i.e. seeketh to persuade quered at no distant date. Sargon. mentions -you, ae.ying, The Lord will deliver us in his annals that he besieged and took (see the comment on ver. 30). Sepharvaim (Sipp&rli) in his twelfth year Ver. 33.-llath an.y of the gods of the (s.c. 710). Have they delivered Se.maria. out; nation.a delivered at all his lan.d out of the of mine hand 1 There is probably some com- han.d of the King of Ass:yrie.1 To Rab- pression. of the original narre.ti ve here. The 866 THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. [on. xvrn. 1-87,