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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 37:8-20

We may observe here, 1. That, if God give us inward satisfaction in his promise, this may confirm us in our silently bearing reproaches. God answered Hezekiah, but it does not appear that he, after deliberation, sent any answer to Rabshakeh; but, God having taken the work into his own hands, he quietly left the matter with him. So Rabshakeh returned to the king his master for fresh instructions. 2. Those that delight in war shall have enough of it. Sennacherib, without provocation given to him... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 37:9

And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia ,.... Not Rabshakeh, but the king of Assyria heard a rumour of this Ethiopian king coming out to war against him: his name, in Josephus F23 Antiqu. l. 10. c. 1. sect. 4. , is Tharsices; in the Septuagint version it is Tharaca; and by Africanus F24 Apud Euseb. Chron. he is called Taracus; and is the same, who, by Strabo F25 Geograph. l. 15. p. 472. , out of Megasthenes, is named Tearcon the Ethiopian: the Ethiopia of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 37:9

He heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia - When he heard that Tirhakah king of Ethiopia had come out against him, then he sent that blasphemous manifesto which is contained in Isaiah 37:10-13 , to terrify Hezekiah into submission. How much was this like, in words and spirit, to the manifesto sent to the Parisians by the late Duke of Brunswick, from the plains of Champaigne, in 1792, which was the forerunner of the mighty torrents of human blood which was shed in the French... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 37:1-18

Hezekiah's resources. The conduct of the king on hearing the haughty message of the Assyrian is that of a man of habitually religious mind and religious practice. 1 . He rends his garments and covers himself with sackcloth. This was significant of sorrow and of self-humiliation: "Humble yourselves beneath the mighty hand of God, and he will exalt you in due time." Instead of searching far and wide for the causes of our distress, it were well to look first into our own hearts, and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 37:9

Tirhakah, King of Ethopia . Tirhakah is among the most famous of the monarchs belonging to this period. The Greeks called him "Tearchon," the Assyrians "Tarku" or "Tarqu." His name, as represented on his own monuments, is "Tahark" or "Tahrak." According to the Egyptian remains, he had a reign of at least twenty-six years in Egypt—from b.c. 693 to b.c. 667. He would seem, however, to have been King of Ethiopia, and lord paramount of the lower valley of the Nile, from about b.c. 700, Shabatok... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 37:9

And he heard say - The report or rumour referred to in Isaiah 37:7. In what way he heard this is not intimated. It is probable that the preparations which Tirhakah had made, were well known to the surrounding regions, and that he was already on his march against Sennacherib.Tirhakah - This king, who, by Eusebius and by most ancient writers, is called Ταρακὸς Tarakos, was a celebrated conqueror, and had subdued Egypt to himself. He reigned over Egypt eighteen years. When Sennacherib marched... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 37:1-38

Assyria defeated (37:1-38)Hezekiah now realized his mistake in ignoring Isaiah and relying on Egypt. In a humble but open acknowledgment that Judah’s plight was desperate, he sent to ask Isaiah to appeal to God for help (37:1-4). Isaiah reassured Hezekiah that God would not tolerate Assyria’s mockery of him (5-7).When the Assyrians temporarily withdrew from Jerusalem to deal with an enemy attack to the south-west, they sent a letter renewing their threats. They reminded the Jerusalemites that... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Isaiah 37:9

he heard. The "rumour" of Isaiah 37:7 . Tirhakah. The Taracus of the inscriptions. The third and last of Manetho's twenty-sixth dynasty. This reference to the Ethiopian dynasty in Isaiah's time is an "undesigned coincidence". Ethiopia. Judah's hope in Ethiopia was vain (See Isaiah 20:1-6 ). read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 37:9

9. Tirhakah—(See on :-; Isaiah 37:1). Egypt was in part governed by three successive Ethiopian monarchs, for forty or fifty years: Sabacho, Sevechus, and Tirhakah. Sevechus retired from Lower Egypt owing to the resistance of the priests, whereupon Sethos, a prince-priest, obtained supreme power with Tanis (Zoan in Scripture), or Memphis, as his capital. The Ethiopians retained Upper Egypt under Tirhakah, with Thebes as the capital. Tirhakah's fame as a conqueror rivalled that of Sesostris; he,... read more

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