You rely on a fragile reed, Egypt, which, if a man leans upon it, will pierce his hand—such is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to those who depend on him. And if you respond by saying, ‘We rely on the Lord our God,’ is this not the same God whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, commanding Judah and Jerusalem to worship before this altar? Now, yield to the king of Assyria, and I will offer you two thousand horses, which you cannot muster riders for. How will you stand before one of the least of my lord’s servants? If you place your trust in Egypt, in their chariots and horsemen, did I invade this land without the Lord's permission to conquer it? The Lord sent me here to plunder this land."
The account is clear, as detailed in the books of Days and Kings. In the third year of Uzziah, son of Elah, King of Israel, Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, became king of Judah at the age of twenty-five, reigning in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, following the example of his father David. He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, and there was no king like him among those before or after him. He remained faithful to the Lord, keeping all His commandments as given to Moses. The Lord was with him, and he faced the king of Assyria without falling to him.
In the sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Salmanassar, king of Assyria, conquered Samaria and took the Israelites into exile, settling them by the rivers of Gozan and in the cities of the Medes. Seven years later, in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah, Sennacherib laid siege to Judah’s fortified cities. When he besieged Lachish, Hezekiah sent messengers declaring, “You have sinned; return from me. If you lay any charges against me, I will accept them.” After paying a tribute of three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold, which disrupted the temple of the Lord, Sennacherib dispatched Tartan and Rabsak with a strong army to confront Hezekiah in Jerusalem. They arrived, stopping at the conduit of the upper pond and summoned the king. Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, Sobnah, and Joach came out to them, and Rabsak delivered his message, echoing the titles of the prophets by announcing, “Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria.”
This Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, is noted from the vision given concerning the valley of Zion, where it was prophesied he would be clothed in authority. According to Jewish tradition, frightened by Rabsak’s threats, he surrendered to the Assyrians, leaving only the fortress of Zion and the temple intact. It is a misconception that Sobnah, who joins Eliakim and Joach in facing Rabsak, is the same person mentioned earlier; that Sobnah holds a different position as captain of the temple and is destined to be captured.
Rabsak, who communicated in Hebrew, was believed by some Jewish sources to be the son of the prophet Isaiah, possibly a traitor, with another son named Jasub, signifying “forsaken.” Others speculate he was a Samaritan familiar with Hebrew, who blasphemously spoke against the Lord. It is crucial to examine Rabsak’s words, particularly his claim that Hezekiah relied on Egypt, which is unfounded as no record suggests Hezekiah sought assistance from Pharaoh. He further stated, “If you trust in the Lord, it will not matter,” wrongly asserting that Hezekiah destroyed God’s high places and altars, which was a reform for true worship in Jerusalem rather than an affront to God.
Rabsak attempted to minimize the besieged’s strength by offering two thousand horses that Hezekiah could not equip riders for, not due to Judah's weakness but because of the command from God that kings should not multiply horses or wives. He challenged Hezekiah’s strength, claiming that if the least of his servants could overcome him, how could Hezekiah stand against the mighty king? When he prompted them with, “If you say, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’” he cunningly asserted that he acted under divine command. His being in Jerusalem and having captured many cities demonstrates that his actions were sanctioned by the Lord.
Some interpretations erroneously state that Sennacherib was the first to conquer Samaria; sacred history recounts that multiple Assyrian kings invaded the Israelites before him.
THEOSIS