Глава 19

1–4. Hezekiah, in grief, turns to prayer himself and sends a mourning embassy to the prophet Isaiah asking for prayer for Jerusalem and the Jewish people. 5–7. Encouragement from the prophet. 8–13. New threatening embassy of the Assyrian king. 14–19. Hezekiah's new prayer. 20–34. The prophet Isaiah's answer to this prayer. 35–37. The defeat of the Assyrian army and the death of Sennacherib. 2 Kings 19:1. When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth, and went to the house of the Lord. 2 Kings 19:2. And he sent Eliakim the captain of the palace, and Shebna the scribe, and the chief priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. 2 Kings 19:3. And they said to him, Thus says Hezekiah: This is the day of tribulation and punishment and shame; for the babies have reached the opening of their mothers’ wombs, but there is no strength to give birth. 2 Kings 19:4. Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria, his lord, sent to blaspheme the living God and revile the words that the Lord your God heard. Bring a prayer for those who are still alive. Seeing the invasion of the Assyrians and their siege of Jerusalem, Hezekiah, like his courtiers (2 Kings 18:37), puts on clothes of mourning and repentance (verse 1, cf. 1 Kings 20:32; 2 Kings 6:30) and goes to the church with a prayer of repentance and propitiation (the rabbis derived from this place the rule that when blasphemies, both the one who hears them and the one to whom they are transmitted must tear their clothes). At the same time, Hezekiah, at this critical moment, remembers the prophet Isaiah, who, from the moment of the memorable Syro-Israelite invasion of Jerusalem (2 Kings 7:3, etc.) was the only adviser to the king and the people, who therefore turned their gaze to him now. As part of the embassy (cf. Jer.21:1) the “elder priests” also came to the prophet (apparently, the priesthood at this time was united into a whole complex organization): here the difference between the priestly and prophetic ministries in Israel appears: the priests were professional ministers of the cult, destined by their very origin to serve religion and cult, while the prophets were the extraordinary chosen ones of God, His divinely inspired organs, to which the gaze of the people naturally turned at critical moments. In the words of Hezekiah, “babies have reached the opening of their mothers’ wombs, but there is no strength to give birth” (v. 3) contains “a highly figurative representation of the hopeless, painful state in which the Jews should have been in anticipation of imminent danger. This situation can be compared with nothing more expressively than the state of a woman in labor, in the last moments before the birth of a child, when the mother becomes weak in the pangs of birth and despairs of alleviating them” (Prof. Gulyaev, p. 357). This comparison has the form of a walking proverb (cf. Is. 13:8,26:18; Hos. 13:13; see Prof. Brodovich, op. cit. pp. 452–453). Hezekiah calls Jehovah the God of the prophet (v. 4) in the sense of God’s special closeness to the prophet, as to his chosen one, and on this closeness is based faith in the effectiveness of his intercession with God (cf. Gen. 18:17 ff., Gen. 20:7; Exod. 32:31 ff.). “Survivors,” that is, residents of Jerusalem and other cities not yet conquered by the Assyrians. 2 Kings 19:6. And Isaiah said to them, Thus say to your master, Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid of the words with which you have heard the servants of the king of Assyria reproach Me. 2 Kings 19:7. Behold, I will send a spirit into him, and he will hear the message and return to his land, and I will smite him with the sword in his land. The reassuring response of the prophet Isaiah foreshadows the happy outcome of Sennacherib’s invasion for Judea and sad for Assyria and its king, which soon came true in all its accuracy (vv. 35–37). The expression: “Behold, I will send spirit into him, and he will receive the message” (v. 7) is understood differently. Some understand the “spirit” (Heb. ruach) personified: either in the sense of the angel protector of the Jews (v. 35) or, on the contrary, in the sense of the spirit of lies (cf. 1 Kings 22:20–23), which inspired Sennacherib with false news, which forced him to return to Assyria. Others - in the sense of the intention inspired by Sennacherib, or more specifically, as the spirit of fear: blessed. Theodoret (question 52) writes: “what was said: behold, I give him spirit, as I think, means fear (πνεῦμα τὴν δειλίαν οἴμαι δηλοῦν). For the divine apostle also said this: God will not give us the spirit of fear.” Finally, some, accepting the Heb. ruach in its original meaning is wind, they see here an indication of a pestilence, like samum, which destroyed most of the Assyrian army (v. 35), see prof. Gulyaeva, s. 353. Of these opinions, the most acceptable is the opinion of Blessed. Theodoret, but it must be completed in accordance with the context of Art. 9 (cf. verse 7) that fear was instilled in Sennacherib precisely by the news of the campaign of Tirgak the Ethiopian against him (similar to the lifting of the siege of Samaria and the flight of the Syrians, 2 Kings 7:6). 2 Kings 19:8. And Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that he had departed from Lachish. 2 Kings 19:9. And he heard about Tirhak king of Ethiopia; They said to him, “Behold, he has come out to fight with you.” And again he sent ambassadors to Hezekiah, saying: 2 Kings 19:10. Thus say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you, thinking: “Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.” 2 Kings 19:11. After all, you heard what the kings of Assyria did to all the lands, placing a spell on them - and will you survive? 2 Kings 19:12. Did the gods of the nations that my fathers destroyed save them? Did they save Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden in Thalassara? 2 Kings 19:13. Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Ena and Ibva? Having not received the desired answer from Hezekiah, Rabshakeh, probably with an army (cf. 2 Kings 18:17), leaves the walls of Jerusalem and, with news of the results of the negotiations, heads to the fortress city of Livneh (Bet Jibrin now. Onomast. 634, see comments on 2 Kings 8:22), also in the tribe of Judah, but southwest of Jerusalem and north of the conquered and already left in to the rear of Lachish, halfway between these cities. Apparently, Sennacherib turned back in the direction of Egypt, leaving a strong fortress in the rear - Lachish, at which he received news of the campaign of Tirgak, king of the Ethiopians, Heb. Cush (v. 9). The name Kush or Cush (Hus) sometimes also meant the area north of the Persian Gulf (cf. Gen. 2:13, 10:6, etc.; 1 Chron. 1:8, etc.), the ancient name of which has been preserved to this day in the name of the Persian region of Khuzistan. But usually this name, well known in the Egyptian (Kas, Kis, Kes) and Assyrian monuments (Kassu), means a country, a nation and then a state south of Egypt along the Nile, in the territory of present-day Nubia, a country usually called in the Bible in connection with Egypt (Is. 20: 3–5, 11: 11; Jer. 46: 9, etc.; Onomasticon, 317, 344; 807): it is this last Ethiopia, no doubt, that is here (v. 9). Tirgak (in Manetho: Ταρακύς, in Strabo: Te όρκων ὁ Αιθίψ; on Egyptian monuments: Tahark or Taharka, Assyrian: Tarku, LXX: θαρακά, Vulg.: Tharaca, Slav.: “Faraka”). Egyptian monuments know Tirgaku, the third and last king of the Ethiopian dynasty of Egypt, more as a builder (he was responsible for the renovation and expansion of the famous Karpak church at Thebes) than as a conqueror. Moreover, Tirgaka appears from this latter side in the Assyrian inscriptions of Sennacherib, Asargaddon and Asurbanipal, in particular about Sennacherib there, according to the Bible, it is said that on his 3rd campaign against Phenicia and Palestine he was attacked by the king of Meroe (Ethiopia) and defeated him (the Bible does not speak about the latter) (see Brogsch, Gesch. Aegyptens 1877, s. 715 ff., cf. Ebers in Riehm "Handwörterbuch des Biblischen Altertums", II, 1698–1699). Tirgaki's campaign was probably a response to Sennacherib's raid (cf. Prof. Gulyaev, p. 359). Sennacherib now sends his letter (verse 96 ff.) directly to Hezekiah, hoping, of course, to achieve better results, but he uses the same argumentation (v. 10; cf. 2 Kings 18:30) as Rabshakeh, only naming an even larger number of countries and cities he conquered (v. 12–13), of course, with the aim of making a greater impression. For Gozan, see comments on (2 Kings 17:6). Haran, LXX: Ξαρράv, Slavic-Russian: “Harran” (Gen. 11:31), among the classics Κάῤῥαι, Carrae, in northwestern Mesopotamia southeast of Edessa (Onomasticon, 951; cf. “Explanatory Bible” vol. I, p. 49). Receph, LXX: ᾿Ραφίς, Vulg.: Reseph, slav. "Phares", identified with Ptolemy's Ρησὰφα or Ρεσκίφα, between Palomyra and the Euphrates (Onomast. 773). "Sons of Eden" (ὑιοὺς ᾿Εδέμ, Vulg.: filios Eden, slav.: "sons of Edomli"), Heb.: bene-Eden, probably the region known in cuneiform as Bit-Adini north of Rezeph, on both banks of the middle Euphrates. Thalassar, LXX: θαεσθέν, Heb. and Vulg.: Thelassar - perhaps one of the prominent points of the now named region (Onomasticon, 494). 2 Kings 19:14. And Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it, and went to the house of the Lord, and Hezekiah unfolded it before the Lord, 2 Kings 19:15. and Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said: Lord God of Israel, who sits on the Cherubim! You alone are the God of all the kingdoms of the earth, You created heaven and earth. 2 Kings 19:16. Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear [me]; Open, O Lord, Thy eyes and look and hear the words of Sennacherib, who sent to revile [You], the living God! 2 Kings 19:17. It is true, O Lord, the kings of Assyria destroyed the peoples and their lands, 2 Kings 19:18. and they cast their gods into the fire; but these are not gods, but the product of human hands, wood and stone; That's why they destroyed them. 2 Kings 19:19. And now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, and all the kingdoms of the earth will know that You, O Lord, are one God. Symbolically presenting (in the form of an extended letter) before Jehovah the full weight of Sennacherib's blasphemies and threats, Hezekiah pronounces a prayer that can serve as an example of the Old Testament theocratic confession of faith. About the expression “sitting on cherubim” (v. 15, cf. 1 Sam. 4:4; Ps. 99:1) cf. The Explanatory Bible, vol. I, p. 356–357. 2 Kings 19:20. And Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus says the Lord God of Israel: What you prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard. 2 Kings 19:21. This is the word that the Lord spoke about him: the virgin daughter of Zion will despise you and laugh at you; The daughter of Jerusalem will shake her head after you. 2 Kings 19:22. Whom did you blame and revile? And to whom did you raise your voice and raise your eyes so high? To the Holy One of Israel! 2 Kings 19:23. Through your messengers you reproached the Lord and said: “With many of my chariots I ascended to the heights of the mountains, to the ribs of Lebanon, and cut down its tall cedars, its excellent cypresses, and came to its most extreme refuge, to the grove of its garden; 2 Kings 19:24. and I dug and drank strange water, and with the soles of my feet I will dry up all the rivers of Egypt.” 2 Kings 19:25. Have you not heard that I did this long ago, ordained it in ancient days, and now I have fulfilled it by laying waste to fortified cities, turning them into heaps of ruins? 2 Kings 19:26. And their inhabitants became weak, trembled and remained in shame. They became like grass in the field and tender greenery, like shoots on the roofs and scorched bread before it sprang. 2 Kings 19:27. Whether you sit down, whether you go out, whether you go in, I know everything; I also know your insolence against Me. 2 Kings 19:28. Because of your insolence against Me and because your arrogance has reached My ears, I will put My ring in your nostrils and My bit in your mouth, and I will bring you back the same way you came. 2 Kings 19:29. And here is a sign for you, [Hezekiah]: this year you shall eat what has grown from the fallen grain, and in another year the native grain, and in the third year you shall sow and reap, and plant vineyards and eat their fruits. 2 Kings 19:30. And what remained in the house of Judah, that which remained, will again take root below and bear fruit above, 2 Kings 19:31. for out of Jerusalem shall come the remnant, and the saved from mount Zion. The jealousy of the Lord of hosts will do this. 2 Kings 19:32. Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: “He will not enter this city, nor throw an arrow there, nor approach it with a shield, nor build a rampart against it. 2 Kings 19:33. He will return by the same road by which he came, and will not enter this city, says the Lord. 2 Kings 19:34. I will guard this city to save it for My own sake and for the sake of David My servant.” Isaiah's entire prophetic response falls into three parts: a) the defeat of Sennacherib's arrogance and boastfulness, verses 21-28; b) an address to Hezekiah, verses 29-31 and c) an indication of the issue or result of the Assyrian invasion, verses 31-34. The arrogance of the Assyrian king is contrasted (v. 21) with the calm confidence of the “virgin daughter of Zion” (i.e. Jerusalem, cf. Is. 23:12; Jer. 1:15, etc.), shaking her head in contempt and mockingly (cf. Ps. 22:8, 108:25; Is. 16:4), and this contempt is well deserved, because Sennacherib reviled “The Holy One of Israel” (verse 22) is an epithet of Jehovah, used very often by the prophet Isaiah (Is. 1:4 and many others), here it is especially appropriate: the holiness of Jehovah is precisely His property, due to which the greatness of God cannot be despised with impunity (cf. Is. 5:16). In explanation of the figurative speech of Sennacherib, v. 23–24, it can be noted that “in the poetic animated speech of the Jews, the expressions Lebanon, cedar and climbing Lebanon, the highest mountain in this area, are very often used as a symbol of the strongest pride, which considers everything possible for itself”; that “in hot countries, water and a well constitute the most precious property (cf. Prov. 5:15, 9:17; Num. 20:17 ff); to bury a well on someone else’s land or drink someone else’s water meant completely taking possession of someone else’s property” 17 (Prof. Gulyaev, p. 361); if Art. 23 refers to the Palestinian territory, which was primarily affected by Sennacherib’s campaign, then v. 24 - to Egypt, which was also the goal of his campaign of conquest. In Art. 25–28 Sennacherib’s arrogance is contrasted with the universality of God’s foresight and providence, especially about Israel (verse 25–26), and then, after a reminder that God knows all the details of Sennacherib’s life and life (v. 27, cf. Ps. 121:8; Deut. 28:6), the complete arrangement of his destiny according to the almighty will of God is announced to him. (in v. 28 there is an image of animals being tamed, cf. Ps. 31:9; Is. 30:28). In Art. 29–31 Hezekiah is given a reassuring sign (cf. Ex. 3:12) that the Assyrian invasion will end for Judah not only without harm, but will also serve to some revival of the Jewish people - the race, for the sake of the saved remnant, the best part of the people of God; in Art. 29, perhaps, there is an indication, albeit a very vague one, for the Sabbath and jubilee years (Lev. 25:1, cf. Prof. Gulyaev, pp. 162–363). In Art. 32–34, complete security is announced for Jerusalem, protected by God, from Sennacherib, who will return to his former route to no avail. At this time, one must think, the battle of Sennacherib with Tirgakoyu at Altaku took place, about which wedge-shaped inscriptions speak; Altaku, according to Schrader (Keilnischriften und das Alte Testament, ss. 171, 289), is identical with the biblical Elteke in the inheritance of Dan (Joshua 19:44), identical, by assumption, with the current Beth-Lukya (Onomast. 416–217). In the battle, Tirgaka was defeated (cf. Bishop Plato, op. cit., pp. 242–343, 254). This victory, of course, made Sennacherib even more proud, filling him with confidence in the impending destruction of Jerusalem, but heavenly punishment was already close. 2 Kings 19:35. And it happened that night: the angel of the Lord went and smote one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. And they got up in the morning, and behold, all the bodies were dead. 2 Kings 19:36. And he set out, and went, and returned, king Sennacherib of Assyria, and dwelt in Nineveh. 2 Kings 19:37. And when he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch, his god, Adramelech and Sharezer, his sons, killed him with a sword, and they themselves fled to the land of Ararat. And Asardan his son reigned in his stead. “The Lord, having heeded the request, at night, in the blink of an eye, put to death one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrians” (Blessed Theodoret, question 52). What defeat of the masses of troops forced Sennacherib to hastily retire to Assyria? Herodotus (History. II, 141) says that during the Egyptian campaign, the Assyrian army was attacked by an uncountable number of mice, which gnawed the strings of the bows and the straps of the shields and thereby deprived the Assyrian army of the opportunity to continue the war. I. Flavius ​​(Ant. Jude 10:1, 5) considers defeat a plague; this opinion still prevails in historical, interpretative and medical science (see Bishop Plato, p. 254, note 4; I. Popov, “Biblical data on various diseases,” p. 114). But according to the biblical view, the supernatural nature of defeat is beyond doubt; it was carried out by the destroying angel (Heb. hamashhit), who once struck the firstborn of Egypt (Ex. 12:12,18,29), and also caused a massive defeat of Israel after the census of David (2 Sam. 24:15 ff.). Sennacherib returned to Nineveh (the capital of Assyria on the eastern bank of the Tigris, now the villages of Kuyundzhik and Nebi Yunus, Onomast. 749), where, according to the book of Tobit, he poured out his anger on the captive Israelites ((Tov.1:15,18), cf. Prof. I.M. Drozdov, op. cit., p. 111). According to Assyrian monuments, Sennacherib lived for another 20 years after the Palestine campaign. He died a violent death: while worshiping the god Nisroch (see about Nisroch in Palmov, op. cit., pp. 472–476) in the church of this god, he was killed by his own sons (their names, apparently, are identical with the names of the Assyrian gods; about Adramelech cf. (2 Kings 17:31)), who then fled from the people's rage into the land Ararat (Is. 37:38 according to LXX - to Armenia (Onomast. 111, 129, cf. "Explanatory Bible", vol. I, pp. 37–38). In the book of Bishop Plato (op. cit. pp. 236–237), the reverse order of events is allowed: the embassy of Merodach-Baladan is placed in a direct causal and chronological connection with the West Asian coalition formed against Sennacherib. But coalitions of this kind were formed against Assyria several times. The order of the biblical narrative, in any case, speaks for the sequence we have indicated You might be interested in: