Isaiah 37:10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He boldly asserted, “Since the gods of other countries or nations have perished along with their worshippers, neither can the God of the Hebrews deliver them from the hands of the Assyrians.” He went on to list the cities he had ravaged, a considerable number of which had experienced severe devastation. By this means, he instilled dread in those who had placed their faith in the Lord God, causing them to fear that they might also face destruction.

Rabshakeh returned to find the Assyrian king waging war against Livnah, having noted that he had departed from Lachish. He overheard discussions about Tirhakah, king of the Ethiopians, who was preparing for battle against him. Consequently, he dispatched messengers to Hezekiah with the following message: “Thus say to Hezekiah, king of the Jews, ‘Let not your God, in whom you trust, deceive you, claiming that Jerusalem will not fall into the hands of the king of Assyria. You have heard all that the kings of Assyria have done to other countries; can you expect to be saved? Have the gods of these nations saved them from the destruction my forefathers enacted on Gozan, Haran, Retzeph, and the people of Eden, who were in Telassar? Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, or the king of the city of Sepharvaim?’”

The same narrative, in parallel wording and meaning, is recorded in the books of Kings and Chronicles, stating that Rabshakeh, at God's command, departed from besieging Jerusalem to meet his master, who was either retreating or advancing from Lachish to attack Livnah. Additionally, Sennacherib went out to confront Tirhakah, yet sent messengers to Hezekiah with letters to intimidate those he had not yet overcome. He echoed his earlier proclamation to the masses, “Let not Hezekiah deceive you” (2 Kings 18), mirroring the same treachery directed at the king: “Let not your God deceive you.” He cited the examples of conquered nations, claiming that just as they could not shield their gods from defeat, Jerusalem too would not be saved.

When referring to the other nations, he also mentions Ana and Ava, which in Hebrew, can be perceived as a single entity due to the conjunction—leading the uninformed to think of them as one nation. We briefly summarize the more straightforward instances to focus on the more complex details. Additionally, Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, engaged in conflict with the Egyptians and laid siege to Pelusium, while Tirhakah, king of the Ethiopians, came to assist it. According to Herodotus and elaborated upon by Berosus, who chronicled Chaldean history, it is said that in a single night, eighty-five thousand from the Assyrian army succumbed to a plague, although the validity of their accounts is still under examination.