MPV Commentary

Hezekiah received the letter from Sennacherib and immediately went up to the temple of the Lord. He spread out the letter before God, confident in His power and majesty, and prayed for deliverance from this proud defier of God and man.

The devout spirit of this prayer is striking, as Hezekiah recognizes the divine being in all His glory, acknowledging the conquests obtained over other lands and the destruction of their wooden idols. He also acknowledges that these tutelary deities were no gods, and he supplicated the divine interposition so that all the kingdoms of the earth might know that the Lord was the only God.

Then Isaiah sent a message to the king, announcing that his prayer had been heard. The prophetic message consisted of three parts: first, Sennacherib is addressed in a poetic strain, describing his turgid vanity and haughty pretensions; secondly, Hezekiah is given a sign of the promised deliverance – for two years the enemy's presence would interrupt peaceful pursuits, but in the third year the people would be able to till their fields and vineyards as before; and thirdly, the issue of Sennacherib's invasion is announced.

The Assyrian army would not come near enough to shoot an arrow or occupy any part of the ground before the city. They would not cast a bank of earth overtopping the city walls or raise a mound from which they could see and command the interior of the city. The king, having taken Lachish and Libnah, delayed laying siege to Jerusalem, probably waiting for his detachment to arrive.

It might be supposed that Sennacherib would leave memorials of his deeds on sculptured slabs or votive bulls, but a divine interposition saved Jerusalem. A long account of this expedition is contained in the Annals of Sennacherib, which confirms the most important features of the Scripture account.

An angel destroyed the Assyrian army during the night, and by morning they were all dead corpses. The destruction was likely caused by a hot south wind, such as the simoon, which often envelops and destroys whole caravans. The officers and soldiers were negligent, their discipline relaxed, and those who slept imbibed the poison plentifully.

So Sennacherib king of Assyria returned home, taking the same route he came (Isa 10:28-32). The early chariot track near Beyrout is on the rocky edge of Lebanon, which is skirted by the ancient Lycus. On the perpendicular face of the limestone rock are slabs with Assyrian inscriptions containing Sennacherib's name.

Sennacherib dwelt at Nineveh for a considerable period after his disastrous campaign at Jerusalem. His Annals carry on his history at least five years after this event, but no record of his catastrophe can be found, as the Assyrian practice was to record victories alone. The sculptures give only the sunny side of the picture.