The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV, page 194
18:18 Eliakim…Shebna. Eliakim was the palace administrator and Shebna, the secretary. See notes on Is. 22:19–22. Joah…the recorder. The position was that of an intermediary between the king and the people (cf. 2 Sam. 8:16).
18:19–25 The Rabshakeh’s logic was twofold: 1) Egypt would be unable to deliver Jerusalem (vv. 20, 21, 23, 24); and 2) the Lord had called on the Assyrians to destroy Judah (vv. 22, 25).
18:19 great king. Cf. v. 28. The self-appropriated title of Assyrian kings. In contrast, Rabshakeh rudely omitted any title for Hezekiah (vv. 19, 22, 29, 30, 31, 32).
18:20 mere words. See note on Is. 36:5. whom do you trust? The implication was that Assyria was so strong, there was none stronger.
18:21 broken reed, Egypt. The Assyrian’s advice strongly resembled that of Isaiah (Is. 19:14–16; 30:7; 31:3). Egypt was not strong and could not be counted on for help.
18:22 He whose high places and whose altars. The Rabshakeh mistakenly thought Hezekiah’s reforms in removing idols from all over the land and reestablishing central worship in Jerusalem (18:4; 2 Chr. 31:1) had removed opportunities to worship the Lord, and thus cut back on honoring Judah’s God, thereby displeasing Him and forfeiting His help in war. this altar. That all worship should center in Solomon’s temple was utterly foreign to the polytheistic Assyrians.
18:23, 24 See note on Is. 36:8, 9.
18:25 The LORD said. See note on Is. 36:10.
18:26 Aramaic…Hebrew. See note on Is. 36:11.
18:27 men…on the wall. See note on Is. 36:12.
18:28–32 The Rabshakeh spoke longer and louder in Heb. suggesting that Hezekiah could not save the city, but the great king, of Assyria, would fill the people with abundance if they would promise to surrender to his sovereign control, give tribute to him and be willing to go into a rich and beneficial exile (vv. 31, 32).
18:32 take you away. See note on Is. 36:17.
18:32–35 See note on Is. 36:18–20.
2 Kin. 18:35
Nebuchadnezzar’s Campaigns Against Judah
18:36 held their peace. See note on Is. 36:21.
18:37 clothes torn. See note on Is. 36:22.
2 Kings 19
19:1 tore…sackcloth. See note on 6:30. A reaction that symbolized Hezekiah’s grief, repentance, and contrition. The nation had to repent and the king had to lead the way. house of the LORD. See note on Is. 37:1.
19:2 elders of the priests. See note on Is. 37:2. Isaiah the prophet. The first reference in 1, 2 Kings to one of the Lord’s greatest prophets (cf. Is. 1:1). He had already been ministering for 40 years since the days of Uzziah (Is. 6:1), also called Azariah (14:21).
19:3 come to birth…no strength. See note on Is. 37:3.
19:4 reproach the living God. See note on Is. 37:4. remnant that is left. See note on Is. 37:4.
19:6 Do not be afraid. Sennacherib had blasphemed the Lord by equating Him with other gods. The Lord would personally demonstrate to the Assyrian king His superiority over all other so-called deities.
19:7 spirit. The Lord promised to incline Sennacherib’s attitude in such a way that he would leave Jerusalem unharmed and return home. How the Lord did that is recorded in vv. 35–37.
19:8 Libnah. See note on Is. 37:8.
19:9 Tirhakah king of Ethiopia. See note on Is. 37:9.
19:9–13 The king of Assyria sent messengers to summarize the arguments given in the Rabshakeh’s ultimatum of 18:19–25.
19:10 deceive. The accusation of deception was first against Hezekiah (18:29), then against the Lord.
19:11–13 The threat repeated the thrust of 18:33–35.
19:12, 13 The conquered cities mentioned here lay between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia, and were cities of Syria that had recently fallen to Sennacherib and the Assyrians.
19:14 house of the LORD. Godly Hezekiah returned to the house of the Lord (cf. v. 1) as he should have, in contrast to Ahaz who in a similar crisis refused even to ask a sign from the Lord (Is. 7:11, 12).
19:15 the One who dwells…heaven and earth. See note on Is. 37:16.
19:16 hear…see…hear. See note on Is. 37:17.
19:17, 18 See note on Is. 37:18, 19.
19:19 You alone. See note on Is. 37:20.
19:20 Isaiah the son of Amoz. See note on Is. 37:21.
19:21 laughed you to scorn. See note on Is. 37:22.
19:22 you reproached and blasphemed? The Lord had heard Sennacherib’s reproach against Him (v. 16).
19:23, 24 See note on Is. 37:24, 25.
19:25–28 I have brought it to pass. See notes on Is. 37:26–29.
19:29 sign. The two years in which they were sustained by the growth of the crops were the two in which Sennacherib ravaged them. He left immediately after the deliverance (v. 36), so in the third year the people remaining could plant again.
19:30, 31 remnant…remnant. From the remnant of survivors in Jerusalem came descendants who covered the land once again (cf. Is. 1:9, 27; 3:10; 4:3; 6:13; 8:16, 17; 10:20, 22; 11:12, 16; 26:1–4, 8; 27:12; 28:5; 37:4).
19:31 zeal of the LORD of hosts. The same confirmation of God’s promise in 19:7 assured the future establishment of the messianic kingdom. Deliverance from Sennacherib in Hezekiah’s day was a down payment on the literal, final restoration of Israel at Christ’s second coming.
19:32 shall not come…build a siege mound. See note on Is. 37:33.
19:33 shall he return. See note on Is. 37:34.
19:34 For My own sake. Since Sennacherib had directly challenged the Lord’s faithfulness to His Word (v. 10), the faithfulness of God was at stake in this contest with the Assyrians (cf. Ezek. 36:22, 23). for My servant David’s sake. God pledged to perpetuate David’s line on his throne (2 Sam. 7:16; cf. Is. 9:6, 7; 11:1; 55:3).
19:35 the angel of the LORD. For identification, see note on Ex. 3:2. For the angel as an agent of destruction, see Gen. 19:15; 2 Sam. 24:16.
19:35–37 killed. See notes on Is. 37:36–38.
2 Kings 20
20:1 In those days…sick. The date of Hezekiah’s sickness poses 3 reasonable possibilities: 1) since Hezekiah would be given 15 years of life and delivered from the Assyrians (v. 6), the sickness occurred ca. 701 B.C.; 2) since Berodach-Baladan (v. 12) died in 703 B.C., the sickness occurred shortly before and was followed by the embassy from Babylon that saw the temple treasures (vv. 12–19); or 3) since Berodach-Baladan’s greatest power was ca. 721–710 B.C., Hezekiah’s sickness occurred during those years. The first or second possibility is most likely. Set your house in order. An instruction telling Hezekiah to make his final will known to his family (cf. 2 Sam. 17:23). you shall die, and not live. The prediction sounded final, but Hezekiah knew God was willing to hear his appeal (cf. Ex. 32:7–14).
20:2, 3 prayed…wept bitterly. Hezekiah reminded the Lord in prayer of his piety and devotion to God. He did not specifically ask to be healed. Based on the interpretation of the date from v. 1, Hezekiah wept because: 1) he thought his death would give Sennacherib cause for boasting; or 2) his son Manasseh was too young to become king.
20:3 loyal heart. See note on Is. 38:3.
20:6 fifteen years. The Lord’s immediate (v. 4) response granted the king’s request. Having to reverse a prophecy so quickly did not alarm Isaiah as it did Jonah later on (Jon. 4:2, 3). Isaiah resembled Nathan in this respect (2 Sam. 7:3–6). I will deliver…this city. See note on Is. 38:6.
20:8–11 sign…ten degrees backward. Here is the first biblical mention of any means of marking time. Hezekiah requested this sign to confirm the Lord’s promise of healing.
20:12 At that time. Just after Hezekiah’s sickness and recovery. Berodach-Baladan. Berodach-Baladan (see marginal note), ruler of the city of Babylon, defied Assyria repeatedly between 721 and 710 B.C. He apparently approached Hezekiah (ca. 703 B.C.) for help against Sargon, king of Assyria, though interest in the reversal of the sundial (2 Chr. 32:31) and Hezekiah’s recovery may have been part of his motivation.
20:13 Hezekiah was attentive. The text does not say whether it was because of flattery or out of a desire for help against the Assyrian threat. Cf. “pleased” in Is. 39:2.
20:13, 14 treasures…treasures. See notes on Is. 39:2, 3.
20:16, 17 word of the LORD…carried to Babylon. Isaiah predicted the Babylonian captivity that would come over a century later (586 B.C.), another prophecy historically fulfilled in all of its expected detail.
20:17 nothing shall be left. Hezekiah’s sin of parading his wealth before the visitors backfired, though this sin was only symptomatic of the ultimate reason for the captivity. The major cause was the corrupt leadership of Manasseh, Hezekiah’s son (21:11–15).
20:18 sons who will descend from you. Hezekiah’s sons had to go into captivity. See 24:12–16; 2 Chr. 33:11; Dan. 1:3, 4, 6 for the prophecy’s fulfillment.
20:19 word of the LORD…good. A surprising response to the negative prophecy of vv. 16–18. It acknowledged Isaiah as God’s faithful messenger, and God’s goodness in not destroying Jerusalem during Hezekiah’s lifetime. peace and truth…in my days. Hezekiah might have reacted selfishly, or perhaps he looked for a bright spot to lighten the gloomy fate of his descendants.
20:20 tunnel. See note on 2 Chr. 32:30.
2 Kings 21
21:1 twelve years old. Manasseh began to reign as co-regent alongside his father, Hezekiah, in 695 B.C. Since the years of the subsequent royal reigns in Judah total 10 years longer than the actual historical period and the dates of the later kings synchronize well with history, it is best to assume a 10 year co-regency in Manasseh’s long reign. Hezekiah groomed his son as a youth to succeed him as king; however, Manasseh turned out to be the worst king in Judah’s history. fifty-five years. 695–642 B.C. See notes on 2 Chr. 33:1–20.
21:2 the abominations of the nations. The detestable practices of the Canaanites were enumerated in Deut. 18:9–12. Israel’s reproduction of these abominable practices of the nations that preceded her in the land was forbidden in Deut. 12:29–31. The idolatry of Manasseh is detailed in vv. 3–9 (cf. 17:7–12, 15–17).
21:3 high places…altars…wooden image. Manasseh reversed the reforms of Hezekiah (cf. 18:4), reestablishing the worship of Baal as an official state-sanctioned religion in Judah, just as Ahab had done in Israel (cf. 1 Kin. 16:30–33). host of heaven. See note on 17:16. The worship of the sun, moon, and stars was prohibited in Deut. 4:19; 17:2–5.
21:4 altars in the house of the LORD. These altars were dedicated to “the host of heaven” (v. 5).
21:6 made his son pass through the fire. See note on 16:3. soothsaying…witchcraft…spiritists and mediums. The king was engaged in every form of occultism, including black magic, fortune-telling, demon contacts, and wizards. All this was in direct violation of God’s law (Lev. 19:31; Deut. 18:9–12).
21:7 set…put. Manasseh provoked the Lord by “setting” an idol of a Canaanite goddess in the temple where the Lord had “set” His name (see 1 Kin. 8:29; 9:3; 2 Chr. 7:12, 16). Asherah (cf. 23:4; 2 Chr. 15:16) was believed to be the mother of 70 deities, including Baal.
21:8, 9 This alludes to the promise of 2 Sam. 7:10. From the very start of their time in Canaan, the people were called to this obedience, but because the people of Judah did not follow carefully the stipulations of the Mosaic law, they were again led into idolatry by Manasseh. Their idolatry even exceeded the idolatry of the Canaanites from whom they took the land.
21:10 the prophets. Through his spokesman, the Lord announced Judah’s judgment. In vv. 11–15, the prophetic message to Judah is summarized.
21:11 Amorites. A general designation of the original inhabitants of Canaan (cf. Gen. 15:16; Josh. 24:8).
21:13 the plummet. These were weighted lines dropped from walls to see whether they were structurally straight (cf. Is. 28:17; Amos 7:7, 8). Walls out of line were torn down. The Lord had measured Jerusalem by the standard of His Word and had determined that the fate of Samaria (Israel) was also to befall Jerusalem. wipe Jerusalem. As one would wipe food off a dish, the Lord would wipe Jerusalem clean off the earth, i.e., obliterate her, and leave her turned upside down, empty, and useless.
21:14 forsake. The Lord was going to abandon His people into the hands of enemies who would plunder them (cf. Jer. 12:7). remnant. Judah, the only remaining group of the chosen people.
21:15 provoked Me to anger. The history of God’s people Israel was a history of disobedience toward the Lord. With the reign of Manasseh, the sin of God’s people climaxed, God’s patience was withdrawn, and the judgment of exile became inevitable (cf. 24:1–4).
21:16 very much innocent blood. The reference here is ambiguous and several interpretations have been offered: 1) child sacrifice (cf. v. 6); 2) oppression and persecution of the weak (Jer. 7:6; 22:3, 17; Ezek. 22:6–31); or 3) the martyrdom of God’s prophets (cf. v. 10). A combination of all 3 is most likely. Jewish and Christian tradition alike report that Manasseh had Isaiah sawn in two inside a hollow log (cf. Heb. 11:37).
21:19 two years. 642–640 B.C. Amon continued the idolatrous practices of his father, abandoning the Lord completely (vv. 20–22). See note on 2 Chr. 33:21–25.
21:24 the people of the land. Probably a group of Judah’s national leaders who killed the assassins of Amon and installed his son Josiah on the throne. Apparently, they desired to maintain the Davidic dynasty (cf. 2 Kin. 11:14–18).
2 Kings 22
22:1 thirty-one years. 640–609 B.C. During Josiah’s reign, power in the ancient Near East passed from Assyria to Babylon. Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was destroyed by the Babylonians in 612 B.C. and the whole Assyrian empire fell in 609 B.C. Josiah was the last good king of the Davidic line prior to the Babylonian exile. Jeremiah (Jer. 1:2), possibly Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (Zeph. 1:1) were prophets to Judah during the reign of Josiah. See notes on 2 Chr. 34:1—35:27.
22:2 did not turn aside. Josiah had complete devotion to God’s approved course of conduct for his life (cf. 23:25). He obeyed the Mosaic stipulations as he came to know them, following the example of David, who set the pattern for the rulers of God’s people (Deut. 17:11, 20; Josh. 1:7).
22:3 eighteenth year. 622 B.C., when Josiah was 26 years of age.
22:4 Hilkiah. The High-Priest was the father of Azariah and the grandfather of Seraiah, the High-Priest who would be executed at the time of the exile by the Babylonians (cf. 25:8–20).
22:4–7 the doorkeepers. See note on 12:9. Josiah used the same procedure as King Joash had for collecting funds to repair the temple after its abuse in the days of Manasseh and Amon.
22:8 the Book of the Law. A scroll containing the Torah (the Pentateuch), the revelation of God through Moses to Israel (see notes on 23:2; Deut. 28:61). Manasseh may have destroyed all the copies of God’s law that were not hidden. This could have been the official copy laid beside the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place (Deut. 31:25, 26). It may have been removed from its place under Ahaz, Manasseh, or Amon (cf. 2 Chr. 35:3), but was found during repair work.
22:9, 10 Some believe that Shaphan must have read Deut. 28–30, in which are recorded a renewal of the national covenant and a listing of the terrible threats and curses against all who violate the law of God.
22:11 tore his clothes. Josiah’s reaction at the reading of the law was one of immediate contrition, expressed by the common sign of lamentation and grief (see 18:37; 19:1). Josiah’s grief sprang from Judah’s guilt and God’s punishment (v. 13).
22:14 Huldah. This prophetess is otherwise unknown in the OT. She was held in some regard for her prophetic gift, though why she was consulted and not another prophet like Jeremiah or Zephaniah (see note on 22:1) is unexplained. Rarely did God speak to the nation through a woman (cf. Miriam, Ex. 15; Deborah, Judg. 5) and never did a woman have an ongoing prophetic ministry identified in Scripture. No woman was inspired to author any of Scripture’s 66 books. the wardrobe. Likely, these were the royal garments or those used by the priests. the Second Quarter. This district of Jerusalem was called “second” because it comprised the city’s first major expansion. It was probably located on the western hill of Jerusalem, an area enclosed by the city wall and built during the reign of Hezekiah. The expansion of the city during Hezekiah’s reign was perhaps to accommodate Jewish refugees who had escaped from the Assyrian invasion of Israel.
22:15–20 Huldah gave God’s message to Josiah through his messengers. First, the Lord confirmed to Josiah that He was surely going to bring His judgment upon Jerusalem because of her idolatry (vv. 15–17). Second, the Lord’s personal word to Josiah was that he would die “in peace” (v. 20), meaning that he would escape the horrors in store for Jerusalem. This promise was based on Josiah’s response of tenderness and humility before the Lord when he heard the scroll describing Judah’s future devastation (vv. 18, 19).
22:20 in peace. His heart was at peace with God and he never lived to see Jerusalem destroyed, but he did die in battle (2 Chr. 35:23).
2 Kings 23
23:2 Book of the Covenant. Although this designation was used in Ex. 24:7 with reference to the contents of Ex. 20:22—23:33, it seems here to refer to a larger writing. Since the larger part of the Pentateuch focused on the Mosaic Covenant, these 5 books came to be called thusly. Since all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were assembled together by Josiah, it seems best to view this as the reading of the whole written law found in Gen. 1 through Deut. 34 (see notes on Deut. 31:9, 11).
23:3 pillar. See note on 11:14. a covenant…this covenant. Josiah made a public, binding agreement to completely obey the Lord by doing all that was commanded in the Book of the Covenant that the people had just heard read to them. Following Josiah’s example, all the people promised to keep the stipulations of the Mosaic Covenant. See notes on 11:17; Ex. 24:4–8.
