one only possible rival to Assyrie.-viz. Egypt. Egypt we.s, like Assyria, an organized monaroby, with a considerable population, long trained to a.'rmsi and especially strong where Jndl8& was most defective-that is, in horses nnd chariots. Behind Egypt, cloRely allied with her, and exercising a species of 11uzei·ain0- o,er her, was Ethiopia, with resources from which) in case of neea, Egypt might draw.1 It is uncertain at what date the Assyrian monaroh began to tbrea.ten Hezekiah with his vengeance. Sargon certainly made i,everal expeditions into Syria, and even into Philistia, and in one place he calls himself " the conqueror of the land of J ndah;" but there is no sufficient c,idence of bis having really made any seriollS attempt to reduce Judiea to subjection. Apparently it was not until after Sennacherib had ascended the Assyrian ·throne (in B.C. 705) that the conquest of the rebellious Jews was actually taken in hand by the great monarch. But the danger had impended during the whole of Hezekiah's reign; and, as it became more imminent, the counsels of the anti-religious party prevailed. Ambassadors were sent into Egypt ( eh. u::x. 2-4), and an alliance appears to have been concluded, whereby the :-eigning Pharaoh, Shabatok, and his Ethiopian suzerain, Tirhakah, undertook to fn.rnish an army for the defence of J ndiea, if it were attacked by the .Assyt"ians.11 In the fifth year of Sennacherib (B.O. 701) the attack came. Sennacherib in person conducted his army into Palestine, spread his troops over the whole country, took all the smaller fortified towns-forty-six in number, according to hie own account 8-and, con- centrating his forces about Jerusalem, formally laid siege to the city (eh. xxii. 1-14). Hezekiah endured the siege for a time, but, despairing of being able to resist for long, and receiving no aid from Egypt, felt him- self after a while forced to come to terms, and buy off hie adversary. On the receipt of a large sum in gold and silver, derived chiefly from the temple treasures (2 Kings xviii.14-16), Sennacherib retired, Hezekiah submitting himself, and professedly resuming the position of a tributary. But this position of things satisfied neither party. Sennacherib die- tra.sted Hezekiah, and Hezekiah no sooner saw the Assyrian hosts retire than he resumed bis intrigues with Egypt. After a very brief interval-to be counted, perhaps, by months-war once more broke out. Sennacherib with his main forces occupied the Shefeleh and Philistia, keeping watch on Egypt; while at the same time be sent a detachment under a general to threaten, and, should opportunity offer, seize Jerusalem. Of the proceedings of this detachment Isaiah gives a detailed account ( eh. xxxvi. 2-22; xxxvii. 8). He was himself present in Jerusalem, and encouraged Hezekiah to defy his foes (eh. xxxvii. 1-7). Hezekiah acted on his advice; and Sen- nacherib was provoked to write a letter containing still more violent threats against the holy city. Thie Hezekiah "spread before the Lord" (eh. xxxvii. ' Rawlinson, • History of Ancient Egypt,' vol. ii. pp. 483-458. ~ This ia not distinctly stated, b•1t seem1 to be implied in eh. HJ:, 2, 7; mi 1; xuvi, 6, 9; xxxm 9. • G. Smith, • Eponym Canon.' THE DOOK OF TRlll PMPHET ISAIAH. ix
14,); a.nd then the flat went forth for the destruction of hie host. The pla.ca of the slaughter is uncertain; but ·there can be no manner of doubt that a tremendous diea.eter befell hie army, producing complete panic and a hasty retreat. Nor were 'the consequences merely temporary. "Like Xerxes in Greece, Sennacherib never recovered from the shock of the disaster in Judah. He ma.de no more expeditions against either Southern Pa.Jestine or Egypli." 1 J udma w'as now for a. considerable space of time completely relieved from a.II threat of attack or inva.eion. The closing years of Hezekiah's life were peaceful and prosperous (2 Chron. xxxii. 23, 27-29). Manasseh, during his early reign, wae untroubled,by any foreign foe, and was too young to introduce mnovations in religion. If Isaiah's BUD set ultimately in blood-red clouds, he must still have enjoyed an interval of peace and rest between the final withdrawal of the Assyrians and the commencement of Ma.nasseh's persecu- tion. • The interval may have sufficed for the composition of the "Book of Conflolation."
§ 3, ON THE CHARJ.CTER AND CONTENTS OF THE BOOK ASCRIBED TO ISAIAH, AS IT HAS COME DOWN •ro us. The Book of Isaiah, as it has come down to us, presents a certain com- posite character. To the critical and the uncritical it is equally apparent that it divides itself into three main parts, each with characteristics of its own. The first thirty-five chapters are wholly, or almost wholly, prophetic -that is to say, they are didactic, admonitory, hortatory, containing next to no narrative-a declaration to the Israelites of the "word of the Lord," or of the will of God with respect to them. These thirty-five prophetical chapters are followed by four historical ones ( eh. mvi.-xx:xix.), which contain a plnin and simple narrative of certain events in the reign of Hezekiah. The work concludes with a third part, which is, like the first, prophetical, and which extends to twenty-seven chapters (from eh. xl. to eh. lxvi.). There is a. marked contrast of subject-matter, and of certain features in the composition, between Part I. and Part III. The main enemy of Israel in Part I. is Assyria; in Part III., Babylon. Part I. deals with the times of Hezekiah and Isaiah; Part III., with the time of the Babylonian captivity. Part I. contains numerous headings and dates, which very palpably divide it into ,portions (eh. i. 1; ii. 1 ;' vi. 1; vii. 1; xiii. 1; xiv. 28; xv. 1; xvii. 1, etc.); Part III. has no such subdivisions, but seems to flow on continuously. Part I. is chiefly denunciatory; Pa.rt III. chiefly consolatory. Pa.rt I. embraces all the known world; Pa.rt III. touches only Babylon, Persia., and Palestine. Both parts a.re Messianic; but Part I. presents Messiah as a mighty King and Ruler ; Pa.rt III. reveals him as a. suffering Victim, a meek and lowly R&deemer. 1 Professor Sayce, 'Anoiont Empires of the East,' p. SSO INTRODUCTION TO