Bible Commentaries
2 Kings 18

Verses 1-37

2 Kings 18:4 . Nehushtan; that is, their brass, or mere brass, or parvum æs, corrupted brass, by way of contempt. In the Chronicum of Alexander, cited by Eusebius out of Anestasio Niceno, we are told that the people resorted to this serpent to be healed of their diseases, instead of having recourse to herbs, and seeking a cure from God.

2 Kings 18:7 . He rebelled. This was prudent, because he had confidence in the Lord. Let us not serve the enemy while God is on our side.

2 Kings 18:13 . Sennacherib, son of Salmaneser, and called Sargon, in Isaiah 20:1. This young prince, smitten and fired with the mania of conquest, had left Babylon or Nineveh with an army, probably not less than three hundred thousand men, few of whom ever saw their country again. He had taken the five capital cities mentioned in 2 Kings 18:34, and pushed his conquests, as Herodotus relates, to the frontiers of Egypt.

2 Kings 18:19 . Rabshakeh said, in a speech which shows the style of generals, tyrants, and conquerors in those days. The whole is an insult to heaven, contempt of foes, and pride insupportable in character. It has however one word of meanness: “Now therefore I pray thee give pledges.” Certainly a man who talked of conquering the gods, ought not to have degraded himself as a suppliant to a mortal. See on 2 Chronicles 29:32.; and on Isaiah 37:0., where this invasion is more copiously related.

2 Kings 18:34 . Hamath, the old name of a kingdom, of which Amesa was the capital. Arphad lay north of Damascus.