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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 20:1-11

The historian, having shown us blaspheming Sennacherib destroyed in the midst of the prospects of life, here shows us praying Hezekiah delivered in the midst of the prospects of death?the days of the former shortened, of the latter prolonged. I. Here is Hezekiah's sickness. In those days, that is, in the same year in which the king of Assyria besieged Jerusalem; for he reigning reigned? in all twenty-nine years, and surviving this fifteen years, this must be in his fourteenth year, and so was... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Kings 20:7

And Isaiah said, take a lump of figs ,.... Not moist figs, but a cake of dried figs, as the word used signifies, and so the less likely to have any effect in curing the boil: and they took, and laid it on the boil, and he recovered ; made a plaster of it, and laid it on the ulcer, and it was healed. Physicians observe F21 Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. vol. 3. p. 620. Vid. Levin. Lemnii Herb. Bibl. Explicat. c. 19. p. 60. , that as such like inflammations consist in a painful extension... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Kings 20:7

Take a lump of figs - and laid it on the boil - We cannot exactly say in what Hezekiah's malady consisted. שחין shechin signifies any inflammatory tumour, boil, abscess, etc. The versions translate it sore, wound, and such like. Some think it was a pleurisy; others, that it was the plague; others, the elephantiasis; and others, that it was a quinsey. A poultice of figs might be very proper to maturate a boil, or to discuss any obstinate inflammatory swelling. This Pliny... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 20:1-11

Hezekiah's sickness. Every changing scene of life is depicted for us in the Bible. Whatever our circumstances may be, we can get some guidance, help, or comfort from that treasure-house of wisdom and experience. We have here— I. A SOLEMN MESSAGE . "Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live." 1. It was a solemn message for Hezekiah . His kingdom seemed now to be securely established. God had helped him against the Philistines, and had overthrown them. He was... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 20:1-11

Hezekiah's sickness. In order of time, this recovery of King Hezekiah from sickness stands before the destruction of Sennacherib, though in order of narration it comes after it. So with the Babylonian embassy (see on 2 Kings 18:1-13 ). I. WARNING OF DEATH . 1. Unexplained sickness . "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death." His disease was some ulcerous growth, called in the narrative "a boil." We have been accustomed in this history to see troubles of body, and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 20:1-21

ILLNESS OF HEZEKIAH AND EMBASSY OF MERODACH - BALADAN . HEZEKIAH 'S DEATH . The writer proceeds to relate an illness and a recovery of Hezekiah, which happened about the middle of his reign, probably in B.C. 713, and which was accompanied by strange, if not miraculous, circumstances ( 2 Kings 20:1-11 ). Hezekiah's recovery was followed by an embassy of congratulation from Merodach-Baladan, King of Babylon, which led Hezekiah into an act of folly, and brought upon him... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 20:1-21

Death. "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death," etc. A thoughtful man might raise many questions on this chapter—indeed, on all the chapters in this book. He might ask—Who was the writer of this chapter, ay, and of the entire Books of Kings? A question this which has not been settled, and, perhaps, never will be. He might ask on what authority certain men, called prophets, such as Isaiah, speak as from heaven, and say, "Thus saith the Lord." Priests and leaders of all sects profess to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Kings 20:7

And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. Figs were the usual remedy for boils. Dioscorides says of the fig, διαφορεῖ σκληρίας ; Pliny, " Ulcera aperit; " while Jerome, in his-commentary on Isaiah, has the following: " Juxta artem medicorum omnis sanies siccioribus ficis atque contusis in cutis superficiem provocatur ." The remedy is said to be still in use among Easterns. It can scarcely be supposed to have cured a malignant bell by its intrinsic force; hut under the Divine blessing... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Kings 20:7

A lump of figs - The usual remedy in the East, even at the present day, for ordinary boils. But such a remedy would not naturally cure the dangerous tumor or carbuncle from which Hezekiah suffered. Thus the means used in this miracle were means having a tendency toward the result performed by them, but insufficient of themselves to produce that result (compare 2 Kings 4:34 note). read more

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