Isaiah 36:3Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Given that the Jews, who possessed the Law of Moses, were deemed the wisest of all nations, and declared, ‘Blessed are we Israel, for we are wise, which is acceptable to the Lord’ (Bar. 4:4), Rapsacus discounted this wisdom, claiming it would provide no real advantage to those instigating conflict. He suggested it would not aid them in understanding the laws, insisting that only counsel and experience conveyed through words held any value. Notably, some leaders in Judah had sought assistance from the Egyptian forces unlawfully, leading the Assyrian to believe that Hezekiah’s reliance was not on God but rather on others, specifically the rulers of Egypt. Consequently, he described Egypt as a reed, asserting that trust in them was consistently empty and deceptive, ultimately causing more harm than good to those who depended on it, much like a man who places his faith in a reed that would snap and injure him.

This reference is directed towards Shebna, the previous ruler of the temple, who is also mentioned in the same vision: “Go, and say to him that dwelleth in the tabernacle, to Shebna, the ruler of the temple” (Isaiah 22:15). According to Jewish tradition, fearing the advances of Rabsak, he yielded his defenses to the Assyrians and abandoned the lower regions of Jerusalem, leaving only the fortress of Zion and the temple unoccupied by enemy forces. The text notes that Shebna, the chief priest, was destined to be captured by the Assyrians, and he is identified as a scribe, termed ‘sofer’ in Hebrew.

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, marched against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. Rabsak was dispatched from Lachish to Jerusalem, bringing with him a formidable army. He halted at the upper pond along the road to the field where lime is spread. Eliakim, son of Helkiin, the steward of the palace, along with Sobnah the scribe and Joach, son of Asaph, went out to meet him. Rabsak then proclaimed to them, “Say unto Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What is this confidence in which you trust, or upon what counsel and strength do you rely to renew your struggle? In whom do you place your trust that you have turned away from me? You trust in this broken reed of reeds, in Egypt, which, should one lean upon it, will pierce his hand: such is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all who trust in him. And if you answer me that you have faith in the Lord our God, has He not been the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, commanding Judah and Jerusalem, ‘Before this altar shall you worship’? Now yield yourself to the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, yet you will find no riders for them. How can you stand before the chief of one district, the least of my lord's servants? And if you rely on Egypt, with its cavalry and chariots: have I entered this land without the will of the Lord to seize it? The Lord commanded me to go into this land, and to lay it waste.”

The account is well-documented elsewhere, particularly in the books of Kings and Chronicles, which clarify that in the third year of Uzziah, son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah ascended the throne, beginning his reign at twenty-five years of age and ruling in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, following in the ways of his forefather David. He placed his trust in the God of Israel, and after him, there was none like him among the kings of Judah, nor had there been any before him. He remained devoted to the Lord and adhered to His commandments as given to Moses; thus, the Lord was with him in all his endeavors. He resisted the Assyrian king and emerged victorious (2 Kings 18:1-7).

In the sixth year of his reign, Salmanassar, king of Assyria, captured Samaria and exiled the ten tribes known as Israelites, settling them in Hal and Havor by the rivers of Gozan and in the cities of the Medes (2 Kings 18:9-11). Seven years later, in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib invaded Judah, laying siege to its fortified cities. When besieging Lachish, Hezekiah sent messengers to him, expressing that he would accept any charges against him (2 Kings 18:14).

Hezekiah paid a hefty tribute, gathering three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold to satisfy the king of Assyria's demands. Following this, he desecrated the temple of the Lord by stripping its doors of their gold. Subsequently, Sennacherib sent his commanders from Lachish to take Jerusalem, and they arrived at the upper pond conduit on the way to the whitewashing fields, where they called for the king. Eliakim, son of Helkiin, the palace overseer, Sobnah the scribe, and Joach, son of Asaph, also a scribe, approached them. Rabsak addressed them with arrogance, mimicking the prophets by proclaiming, “Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria.” Eliakim, son of Helkiin, is the same Eliakim referenced earlier in the vision concerning Zion as the servant anointed by God to govern and safeguard the people.

The accusations from Rabshakeh, claiming reliance on a “broken reed” represented a significant misunderstanding; no records suggest Hezekiah sought assistance from the Egyptians. When Rabsak alleged that Hezekiah dismantled high places, he misrepresented the king’s intentions, which were to eliminate idolatry and restore true worship focused in Jerusalem. The promise of two thousand horses was not reflective of Judah’s incapacity due to former neglect, but was a reminder of God's command to Moses against excessive military might (Deuteronomy 17:16-17).

In disputing Hezekiah’s stand against them, Rabsak manipulated the narrative to assert that his invasion was sanctioned by God, claiming divine providence for his campaign. However, sacred history has made it clear regarding the conquests of Samaria, tracing them back to various Assyrian kings, illustrating the larger narrative of Israel’s struggles against foreign powers.