Read 2 Kings 18.9-27. In verses 9-12: These verses reiterate the information about the fall of Israel in ch. 17. In verse 14: A talent could weigh between 45 and 130 pounds. In verse 17: Tartan, Rabsaris, and Rabshakeh are all titles for Assyrian military officers. The exact location of the conduit of the upper pool is unknown. In verse 18: The three Assyrians meet with three officials of the court of Judah-Eliakim, Shebnah, and Hoah. The precise functions of their offices as the one in charge of the palace, secretary, and recorder are uncertain. In verses 19-25: Part of the tactics of ancient warfare involved speeches like this one designed to discourage the enemy. The Rabshakeh makes the point that the Assyrians greatly outnumber the forces of Judah (vv. 23-24), and asks who else the people of Judah are relying on. He observes, quite correctly, that the Egyptians to who Hezekiah may have looked for help (v. 24), are powerless compared with the Assyrian army. His comparison of Egypt to a broken reed of a staff in v. 21 is found also in Ezek 29.6 and may have been a proverb. The other possibility he raises is that they are dependent on the Lord. To counter this, he states that Hezekiah removed the Lord's high places and altars (v. 22), which may be true in a sense. That is, in his efforts to centralize the government and religion of Judah, Hezekiah may have outlawed all shrines outside Jerusalem. The Rabshakeh also claims that the Lord sent the Assyrians against Jerusalem. This claim may also have had a measure of truth to the extent that Hezekiah or his predecessors likely swore an oath by the Lord to be loyal to their Assyrian overlord. In verse 26: Aramaic was the language of diplomacy of that time. The language of Judah was Hebrew. In verse 27: The fates described here refer to the conditions of starvation of a city under siege. Comments or Questions..
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