2 Kings 18:33

2Ki 18:33 Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

Ver. 33. Hath any of the gods of the nations.] These were no gods, and Hezekiah might better say than that heathen once did, Contemno minutulos istos deos, modo, Iovem (Iehovam) mihi propitium habeam; Let the Lord arise, and his enemies shall be scattered.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(33) Hath any . . . his land.—Literally, have the gods of the nations at all delivered every one his own Land? If this is to be consistent with 2Ki_18:25, we must suppose the thought to be that the god of each conquered nation had favoured the Assyrian cause, as Jehovah is here alleged to be doing. But, as 2Ki_18:34-35 seem to imply the impotence of the foreign deities when opposed to the might of Assyria, a verbal inconsistency may be admitted. (See Note on 2Ch_32:15.)

The rab-sak would hardly be very particular about what he said in an extemporised address, the sole aim of which was to work on the fears of the Jews. The connection of thought in his mind may have been somewhat as follows: “Jehovah, instead of opposing, manifestly favours our arms; and even if that be otherwise, as you may believe, no matter! He is not likely to prove mightier than the gods of all the other nations that have fallen before us.”

Out of the hand of the king of Assyria.—Sennacherib, or his spokesman, thinks of his predecessors as well as of himself, as is evident from 2Ki_19:12-13. (Comp. 2Ch_32:13-14.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all] R.V. ever delivered. So that it is clear that Rab-shakeh, in spite of his language in verse 25, counted Jehovah as but one among the many local deities which were supposed specially to belong to one city or one country.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The boast is natural. The Assyrians had had an uninterrupted career of success, and might well believe that their gods were more powerful than those of the nations with whom they had warred. It is not surprising that they did not understand that their successes hitherto had been allowed by the very God, Yahweh, against whom they were now boasting themselves.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

33. Hath any of the gods — Skillfully and powerfully does the orator close his speech by claiming that none of the gods had thus far been able to resist the power of Assyria. He probably does not mean to imply that the gods of the conquered nation had actually fought against the king of Assyria and been destroyed in the conflict, but rather, that they had not opposed his march. He does not mean to contradict what he says in 2Ki_18:25, but would, perhaps, have it inferred that the gods of some of these countries, if not all, invited his coming, and favoured his conquests. At least none of them resisted his arms, but the images of some of them he cast into the fire and destroyed. 2Ki_19:18.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the King of Assyria? To Rabshakeh, and the Assyrians generally, this seemed a crushing and convincing, absolutely unanswerable, argument. It had all the force of what appeared to them a complete induction. As far back as they could remember, they had always been contending with different tribes and nations, each and all of whom had had gods in whom they trusted, and the result had been uniform the gods had been unequal to the task of protecting their votaries against Assyria: how could it be imagined that Jehovah would prove an exception? If he was not exactly, as Knobel calls him, "the insignificant god of an insignificant people," yet how was he better or stronger than the others than Chemosh, or Moloch, or Rim-moll, or Baal, or Ashima, or Khaldi, or Bel, or Merodach? What had he done for the Jews hitherto? Nothing remarkable, so far as the Assyrians knew; for their memories did not reach back so far as the time of Asa and the deliverance from Zerah, much less to the conquest of Canaan or the Exodus. He had not "saved the trans Jordanic tribes from Tiglath-pileser, or Samaria from his successors. Was it not madness to suppose that he would save Judaea from Sennacherib? A heathen reasoner could not see, could not be expected to see, the momentous difference; that the gods of the other countries were "no gods", (2Ki_19:18) while Jehovah was "the Lord of the whole earth."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Rabshakeh continues telling the message from the king of Assyria to King Hezekiah's men.

Has any of the gods ... Assyria?

He asks this question for emphasis because they know the answer. AT: "None the gods of the peoples have rescued them ... Assyria." (See: Rhetorical Question)

Where are the gods of ... Arpad?

He asks this question for emphasis because they know the answer. AT: "I have destroyed the gods of ... Arpad!" (See: Rhetorical Question)

Hamath ... Arpad ... Sepharvaim ... Hena ... Ivvah ... Samaria

These are the names of places that represent the people living there. (See: How to Translate Names)

out of my hand

"Hand" is metonymy for control, power, or authority. AT: "out from my control" (See: Metonymy)

is there any god who has rescued his land from my power?

He asks this question for emphasis because they know the answer. AT: "No god has rescued his land from my power." (See: Rhetorical Question)

from my power

"My power" is metonymy for the person whose has the power. AT: "from me" (See: Metonymy)

How could Yahweh save Jerusalem from my might?

He asks this question for emphasis because they know the answer. AT: "There is no way Yahweh can save Jerusalem from my might!" (See: Rhetorical Question)

translationWords

false god

king

Assyria

Samaria

hand

save

Jerusalem

might

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.