Isaiah 37:9

37:9 King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was then the ruler of Egypt.

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

Tirhakah--(See on Isa 17:12; Isa 18:6). 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, and one at least, of the Pharaohs of Lower Egypt, were Hezekiah's allies against Assyria. The tidings of his approach made Sennacherib the more anxious to get possession of Jerusalem before his arrival.

sent-- Kg2 19:9 more fully expresses Sennacherib's eagerness by adding "again."

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 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 Isa 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 revolution! And what a blast of God fell upon him and his army - nearly like that which fell on the army of Sennacherib!

He sent messengers - "He sent messengers again"] The word וישמע vaiyishma, "and he heard," which occurs the second time in this verse, is repeated by mistake from the beginning of the verse. It is omitted in an ancient MS. It is a mere tautology, and embarrasses the sense. The true reading instead of it is, וישב veyesheb, "and he returned," which the Septuagint read in this place, απεστρεψε, and which is preserved in the other copy, 2Kg 19:9: "He returned and sent," that is, according to the Hebrew idiom, "he sent again."

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

(9) Tirhakah.—The third of the twenty-fifth, or Ethiopian dynasty of kings, So, or Sabaco, with whom Hoshea, the last king of Israel, allied himself, being the first (2Ki_17:4). He is described in Assurbanipal’s inscriptions (Records of the Past, i. 60) as king of Mizr and Cush—i.e., Egypt and Ethiopia. The policy of Hezekiah’s counsellors had led them to court his alliance, as in Isaiah 30, 31. Now, however, the Egyptian army was at least mobilised. “Rahab” was no longer “sitting still” (Isa_30:7).

When he heard it.—The message is in substance a repetition of its predecessors, more defiant, perhaps, as if in answer to the threatened attack of Tirhakah’s armies, which Sennacherib could scarcely fail to connect with Hezekiah’s confident hope of deliverance.

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

9. Tirhakah king of Ethiopia is named only here in the O.T. See General Introduction, p. xvi.

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.

Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying,.... This was the direction, and these the instructions he gave to his messengers, in which he gives Hezekiah the title of king, and owns him to be king of Judah; which was more than Rabshakeh his servant would do:

let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee; than which, nothing could be more devilish and satanical, to represent the God of truth, that cannot lie, as a liar and deceiver: in this the king of Assyria outdid Rabshakeh himself; he had represented Hezekiah as an impostor and a deceiver of the people, and warns them against him as such; and here Sennacherib represents God himself as a deceiver, and cautions Hezekiah against trusting in him: nothing is more opposite to Satan and his instruments, than faith in God, and therefore they labour with all their might and main to weaken it; however, this testimony Hezekiah had from his enemy, that he was one that trusted in the Lord; and a greater character a man cannot well have:

saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria; and so the Lord had said it; see Isa 38:6 and by some means or another Sennacherib had heard of it; and there was nothing he dreaded more than that Hezekiah should believe it, which would encourage him, he feared, to hold out the siege.

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

And he heard say - The report or rumour referred to in Isa 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 into Egypt, Sevechus or Sethon was on the throne. Sennacherib having laid siege to Pelusium, Tirhakah came to the aid of the city, and, in consequence of his aid, Sennacherib was compelled to raise the siege and returned to Palestine, and laid siege to Lachish. Tirhakah succeeded Sevechus in Egypt, and was the third and last of the Ethiopian kings that reigned over that country. He probably took advantage of the distracted state that succeeded the death of Sevechus, and secured the crown for himself. This was, however, after the death of Sennacherib. The capital which he occupied was Thebes (see Prideaux’s “Connection,” vol. i. pp. 141, 145, 149. Ed. 1815). As he was celebrated as a conqueror, and as he had driven Sennacherib from Pelusium and from Egypt, we may see the cause of the alarm of Sennacherib when it was rumoured that he was about to follow him into Palestine, and to make war on him there.

He is come forth - He has made preparations, and is on his way.

He sent messengers ... - With letters or despatches Isa 37:14. Hezekiah was probably ignorant of the approach of Tirhakah, or at all events Sennacherib would suppose that he was ignorant of it; and as Sennacherib knew that there would be no hope that Hezekiah would yield if he knew that Tirhakah was approaching to make war on him, he seems to have resolved to anticipate the intelligence, and to see if it were possible to induce him to surrender. He, therefore, sent substantially the same message as before, and summoned him to capitulate.

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

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 for some years ruling Egypt, or a portion of it, as his deputy (Rawlinson, "Hist. of Ancient Egypt," vol. 2. p. 450). Hezekiah"s negotiations had, it is probable, been with Tirhakah. (Isa_19:13 Isa_20:5 Isa_30:1-6) This monarch, having engaged to help him, now put his forces in motion, and began to descend the Nile valley to his relief. His movement rather provoked than alarmed Sennacherib, who, having defeated one Egyptian army in B.C. 701 ("Eponym Canon," pp. 133, 134), was confident of success against another. He sent messengers. It is not very clear what advantage Sennacherib expected from this second embassy. He had no fresh argument to bring forward, unless it were a suggestion that Hezekiah"s God was endeavouring to deceive him. In the main, vers. 10-13 are a mere expansion of Isa_36:18-20.

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

“And he (Sennacherib) heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee; and he heard (it) and sent (or when he heard it he sent) messengers to Hezekiah, saying” (what follows in the next verse). For the meaning of the Hebrew name Cush, see the notes on Isa 18:1 and Isa 20:3. Tirhakah was one of the most famous conquerors of ancient times. Magasthenes, as quoted by Strabo, puts him between Sesostris and Nebuchadnezzar. He is also named by Manetho as one of the Ethiopian dynasty in Egypt. He was at this time either in close alliance with that country, or more probably in actual possession of Thebais or Upper Egypt. The fact that an Ethiopian dynasty did reign there, is attested by the ancient writers, and confirmed by still existing monuments. The Greek forms of the name vary but little from the Hebrew.

It is unnecessary to suppose that Tirhakah had crossed the desert to invade Syria, or that he was already on the frontier of Judah. The bare fact of his having left his own dominions, with the purpose of attacking Sennacherib, would be sufficient to alarm the latter, especially as his operations in the Holy Land had been so unsuccessful. He was naturally anxious therefore to induce Hezekiah to capitulate before the Ethiopians should arrive, perhaps before the Jews should hear of their approach. That he did not march upon Jerusalem himself, is very probably accounted for on the ground that his strength lay chiefly in cavalry, which could not be employed in the highlands, and that the poliorcetic part of warfare was little known to any ancient nation but the Romans, as Tacitus explicitly asserts. To this may be added the peculiar difficulty arising from the scarcity of water in the environs of Jerusalem, which has been an obstacle to all the armies that have ever besieged it. (See the notes on Isa 22:9-11).

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

And he heard i.e., the king of Assyria.

about Tirhakah...saying Tirhakah went out to wage war against you.

And he heard, and he sent emissaries The second “and he heard” is not like the first “and he heard.” The first is an expression of hearing, and the second is an expression of accepting. He accepted the report of the messengers, and it appealed to him to give thought to withdraw from Jerusalem to fight first with Cush.

and he sent emissaries to Hezekiah to notify [him] that he was not withdrawing completely, but with the intention of returning.

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.