Isaiah 36:16

36:16-17 The Assyrian was tempting the people of Jerusalem with provisions that the Lord had promised to provide his obedient people (see 1:19; 37:30-35; Deut 8:7-9). It was a tempting offer, but a counterfeit. And it covered up the reality of exile that would have followed (Isa 36:17).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The Hebrew word signifieth blessing, whereby this wicked captain would have persuaded the people, that their condition should be better under Sennacherib than under Hezekiah.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

agreement . . . by . . . present--rather, "make peace with me"; literally, "blessing" so called from the mutual congratulations attending the ratification of peace. So Chaldee. Or else, "Do homage to me" [HORSLEY].

come out--surrender to me; then you may remain in quiet possession of your lands till my return from Egypt, when I will lead you away to a land fruitful as your own. Rab-shakeh tries to soften, in the eyes of the Jews, the well-known Assyrian policy of weakening the vanquished by deporting them to other lands (Gen 47:21; Kg2 17:6).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 16. Make an agreement] ברכה berachah, make a blessing with me; i.e., Give me a ransom for the city, and I will not destroy it; give me the yearly tribute thou hast promised.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

16. Make an agreement with me by a present] R.V. Make peace with me. Lit. “Make to me a blessing” (see R.V. marg.). The expression does not occur elsewhere, and its exact sense is doubtful. Probably “make peaceful submission to me.”

come out to me] The ordinary phrase for the surrender of a city (1Sa_11:3; Jer_21:9, &c.). and eat] that ye may eat. If they will but yield now, they may at once resume the cultivation of their fields and orchards.

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.

Hearken not to Hezekiah,.... To his exhortations and persuasions to trust in the Lord; nor would he have them obey him in things civil, any more than hearken to him in things sacred, though their liege lord and sovereign; for his view and endeavour were to stir them up to mutiny and rebellion; and so the Targum,

"do not obey Hezekiah:''

or receive any orders from him, or pay any regard to them:

for thus saith the king of Assyria, make an agreement with me by a present; or, "make a blessing with me" (i); either send a large and liberal gift to secure his favour, and their happiness; a most insolent and unrighteous demand this, when he had already received three hundred talents of silver, and thirty talents of gold, to withdraw his army; or make a blessed peace with me; suggesting that it would turn more to their account to give up themselves to him, than to be in the condition they were; so the Targum,

"make peace with me:''

this sense Ben Melech gives; and the Septuagint version is, "if ye would be blessed" (k), or happy,

come out to me; forsake your king, throw off your allegiance to him, surrender yourselves and city to me:

and eat ye everyone of his vine, and everyone of his fig tree: and drink ye everyone the waters of his own cistern; promising liberty and property, but does not tell them how long they should enjoy them; he signifies that they should enjoy everything that was necessary, convenient, and delightful; vines and fig trees are mentioned, because common in Judea, and all had cisterns near them for their use; unless this last clause is to be understood of everyone having their own wives; see Pro 5:15 as the other clauses may design the enjoyment of their estates and possessions, without any molestation or infringement of them; see Mic 4:4.

(i) "facit mecum benedictionem", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus. (k) , Sept.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Hearken not to Hezekiah - Do not listen to his entreaties to confide in him, and in Yahweh; do not unite with him in endeavoring to make any resistance or opposition to us.

Make an agreement with me by a present - The Septuagint read this, Ει ̓ βούλεσθε εὐλογηθῆναι Ei boulesthe eulogēthēnai - ‘If you wish to be blessed, or happy, come out to me.’ The Hebrew is literally, ‘Make with me a blessing’ (ברכה berâkâh). The idea of its being done ‘by a present,’ is not in the Hebrew text. The word ‘blessing’ here probably means the same as peace. ‘Make peace with me,’ perhaps because peace was regarded as a blessing; and perhaps the word is used with a reference to one of the significations of: ברך bārak, which is to kneel down, and this word may refer to their kneeling down; that is, to their offering allegiance to the king of Assyria. The former is, however, the more probable sense, that the word means peace, because this was an evident blessing, or would be the source of rich blessings to them. It is not, however, used in this sense elsewhere in the Bible. The Chaldee renders it, ‘Make peace (שׁלמא shālâmâ') with me.’

And come out to me - Surrender yourselves to me. It is evident, however, that he did not mean that be would then remove them from their city and country, but he demanded a surrender, intending to come and remove them at some other period Isa 36:17.

And eat ye every one of his own vine - An emblem of safety, when every man might be permitted to partake of the fruit of his own labor. All that he now professed to desire was, that they should surrender the city, and give up their means of defense, and then he would leave them in security and quietness, until it should please his master to come and remove them to a land as fertile as their own.

And drink ye every one - Another emblem of security and happiness. This promise was made to induce them to surrender. On the one hand, he threatened them with the dreadful evils of famine if they refused and allowed their city to be besieged Isa 36:12; and on the other, he promised them, for a time at least, a quiet and secure residence in their own city, and then a removal to a land not inferior to their own.

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

Make an agreement with me by a present; literally, make a blessing with me. Delitzsch paraphrases, "Enter into a connection of mutual good wishes with me." Vance Smith translates boldly, "Make peace with me;" and Mr. Cheyne, "Make a treaty with me." There seems to be no doubt that brakah, besides its primary sense of "blessing," had two secondary senses, "present" and "treaty." Here "treaty" is no doubt intended. Come out to me; i.e. "come out of Jerusalem, and surrender yourselves". (comp 1Sa_11:3 Jer_38:17) And eat ye... drink ye. Peace being made, the Jews could leave the protection of their walled cities, and disperse themselves over their lands, where they could live in plenty and security, (comp. 1Ki_4:25) at any rate for a time. They would be safe front the terrible extremities hinted at in ver. 12, and might confidently await the great king"s ultimate disposal of them, which would be determined widen the war in these parts was over. The waters of his own cistern; rather, of his own well. All cultivators had wells in their plots of ground. Cisterns, or reservoirs, in which the rain-water was stored, were comparatively uncommon.

Vers. 16, 17. The invitation of the enemy.

The King of Assyria, by the mouth of his general, appeals to the citizens of Jerusalem to abandon their allegiance to Hezekiah. and "go out to him," promising them great advantages for their disloyalty. It is closely analogous to the invitation of our spiritual enemy to go over to him and receive the wages of sin which he offers to our souls.

I IT IS A VERY PLAUSIBLE OFFER.

1. Under the circumstances in which they then were, loyalty was threatened with decided disadvantage:

(1) with privation, for there was the probability of a long siege and its attendant scarcities;

(2) with suffering, or even death, for attacks would be made and missiles would be hurled against the city.

2. On the other hand, surrender promised material good:

(1) present exemption from exigency and assault (ver. 16); and

(2) abundance of comfort in future days (ver. 17). So is it in the spiritual realm. Our great Adversary seeks to allure us from the true citizenship, and he has a plausible proposal to make. He says

(1) that to serve God is to suffer loss; is to be shut out from many sources of wealth and joy; is to be starved and beggared; is to be exposed to the dislike, the derision, the hostile action of those who are the strongest and most numerous among men. He says also

(2) that to be on the side of evil is to be in the way of prosperity; that its land is "a land of corn and wine," of strength and joy, of material prosperity and sensual enjoyment: be selfish and unscrupulous, and the prizes of life and the pleasures of sense are yours. But in regard to each of these proposals, the historical and the existing, it must be considered that

II IT IS ESSENTIALLY FALSE.

1. Rabshakeh and his royal master were both mistaken in their calculations. Jerusalem was not to be reduced to the severe straits of a protracted siege, was not to be taken by assault; neither want nor sword was to devastate the city. And they left the most important consideration out of their account; for even if their military projects had succeeded, and if the Jews had been defeated and]lad found the plains of the Tigris as fruitful as the valley of the Jordan, yet would they have missed and mourned the liberty, the sacred services, the natural independence of their own beloved country, they would have hung their harps upon the willows, instead of making them sound the joyous strains of patriotism and piety.

2. Our spiritual enemy is also essentially wrong in his representations; he, too, leaves the principal considerations out of his reckoning.

(1) All that we lose by our loyalty to God is that which no wise man would accept iniquitous gain, injurious friendship, demoralizing pleasure, etc.; it is well, indeed, to be without these.

(2) All that we could gain by subservience to his unholy will would leave us unblessed with the true riches with the favour and friendship of God, with a sense of moral and spiritual integrity, with the power of rendering holy service to our kind, with the joy of sacred intercourse with a Divine Redeemer and with like-minded fellow-servants, with the elevating and sustaining hopes that "enter within the veil. C.

Security of stable government.

"The fig tree affords a thick shade, and is, on this account, a favourite resort of the family, where they may often be seen seated on mats, partaking of a meal or entertaining friends. The expression, "to sit under one"s own vine and fig tree," denotes at once security, domestic enjoyment, and competence." The expression is either a common Eastern, proverb, or the Rabshakeh takes up the language of the people he addresses, in his chaffing, taunting, satirical way. The sentence and figure are found also in 1Ki_4:25 Zec_3:5. Mr. Thomas Jenner, writing of a dwelling just outside Jerusalem, says, "Mr. Azam"s house is approached through a gateway of considerable width, from which to the door a broad path leads through the garden. This path is spanned by a wooden trellis, upon which a vine is trained, and at the time of our visit delicious grapes were hanging from it. As I contemplated this scene from within doors, or took the morning and evening air, sauntering between gate and door, I could but recall this striking figure of security and peace." The point before us is, that the Rabshakeh promises the people that safety which comes from the rule of a strong and stable government. He scarcely veils his taunts at the parties and political commotions which were destroying the sense of security, and making foreign complications, for the people of Judah. We too seldom realize the importance of strong, stable government in a country. It may be illustrated in the following directions.

I STABLE GOVERNMENT CHECKS PARTY FEELING. If the government be weak, its enemies are active, public opinion is kept agitated, demagogues appear and exaggerate public disabilities and public claims. Men are diverted from their proper pursuits to engage in political wrangle; the relationships of life are embittered by party divisions; and valuable national time is lost in unprofitable contentions. If the government be strong, the anarchical forces subside. Blessed is the land that is generally free from political strife.

II STABLE GOVERNMENT VIGOROUSLY REPRESSES EVILDOERS. And on this the security and prosperity of a country most directly depends. Business can only be carried on where there is security for property and security for rights. Illustrate from the condition of Israel when "there was no king in the land, and every one did that which was right in his own eyes.

III STABLE GOVERNMENT CAN ENCOURAGE THE ARTS OF PEACE AND ACCOMPLISH JUDICIOUS REFORMS. It holds foreign relations with firm band, and so preserves peace. It can crush the agitator and heed the reformer. Spared from contention, it has time and means for aiding internal development. And it can stand by and preserve the liberties of those who, in a thousand ways, would spread among the people the knowledge of the true God and the eternal life. Therefore every good Christian and good citizen should strengthen the government of his day. "The powers that be are ordained of God. R.T.

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

“Hearken not to Hezekiah, for thus saith the king of Assyria, make with me a blessing, and come out unto me, and eat ye (every) man his own vine and (every) man his own fig-tree, and drink ye (every) man the waters of his own cistern.” Some explain the phrase here used, ‘make me a present’ or ‘make an agreement with me by a present’. It is possible, however, to adhere more closely to the usage of the term, by taking blessing in the sense of friendly salutation, which in the east is commonly an invocation of the divine blessing. Thus the verb to bless is often used to express the act of greeting or of taking leave. To make a blessing with one then might mean to enter into amicable intercourse. To ‘come out’ is in Hebrew the common military phrase for the surrender of a besieged town. The inducements offered in the last clause are in obvious antithesis to the revolting threat or warning in the last clause of v. 12. To eat the vine and fig tree (meaning to eat their fruit) is an elliptical form of speech, which has its analogies in every language.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah (1846–1847; New York: Scribner, 1870–1878) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

The chief commander continues speaking to the people of Judah.

Make peace with me

This idiom means to agree officially to act peacefully towards one another. AT: "Let us agree to have peace" (See: Idiom)

come out to me

This idiom means to surrender. AT: "surrender to me" (See: Idiom)

until I come and take

Here the king of Assyria is referring to his army as himself. AT: "until my army comes and takes" (See: Metonymy)

a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards

These two phrase have the same meaning and are used together to emphasize how prosperous the land will be. (See: Parallelism)

a land of grain ... a land of bread

This means that they land is full of natural resources, such as grain. AT: "a land where there is plenty of grain ... a land where there is plenty of bread" (See: Possession)

translationWords

Hezekiah

king

Assyria

peace

vine

fig

water

grain

wine

bread

vineyard

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

Make peace with me (בְרָכָה, lit., a blessing.) Come out to me for peace and greet me and bring me a gift of peace.

בְּרָכָה is saloud in O.F., salutation. Comp. (Gen. 47:10) “And Jacob greeted Pharaoh.”

and each man will eat of his vine And I will leave you, and dwell in peace until I find a land as good as your land, and I will exile you there, for so is my wont, to transfer nations from land to land, as it is said (supra 10:13): “And I remove the boundaries of the peoples.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.