Isaiah 37:9Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He commanded some of his servants to swiftly convey his message to Hezekiah, filled with disdainful blasphemies against God, declaring outright, ‘Since the gods of other nations have fallen along with their worshippers, neither can the God of the Hebrews rescue them from the Assyrians.’ He then listed the cities he had laid to waste, many of which had endured severe destruction. Through this tactic, he sought to instill dread among those who had placed their faith in the Lord, inciting fear that they too might meet a similar fate.

Sennacherib, king of Assyria, also engaged in conflict with the Egyptians and besieged Pelusium. After the trenches had been dug for the city's capture, Tirhakah came to its defense, and in a single night, a catastrophic plague claimed the lives of eighty-five thousand Assyrian soldiers. This account is detailed by Herodotus and further elaborated by Berosus, who chronicled the Chaldean history; however, the authenticity of their texts remains subject to further scrutiny.

Rabshakeh returned to discover the king of Assyria engaged in warfare against Lovnah, after hearing that he had vacated Lachish. He was informed that Tirhakah was preparing for battle against him. Consequently, he sent envoys to Hezekiah, proclaiming, “Let not your God, in whom you trust, deceive you, saying, Jerusalem shall not be handed over to the king of Assyria. Behold, you have heard all that the kings of Assyria have accomplished against the lands they have conquered; are you able to be saved? Have the gods of the nations saved those whom my forebears have destroyed: Gozan, Haran, and Retzeph, and the children of Eden in Tel Assar? Where are the kings of Hamath, Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim?”

In the same manner, it is recorded in the history of the kings that Rabshakeh, by the will of the Lord, withdrew from the siege of Jerusalem, proceeding to his lord upon hearing that he was, whether departing from Lachish or attacking Lovnah. Furthermore, Sennacherib, after noting that Tirhakah was advancing against him, went out to engage him, and still, he sent messengers to Hezekiah along with letters to intimidate those not yet subdued by arms. He repeated his taunts to the king with, “Let not your God deceive you.” By referencing the examples of his ancestors, he insisted that, as the gods of other nations could not protect them, neither would Jerusalem be spared. He also listed nations including Ana and Ava, which, when combined, are referred to as Anavegava, with the conjunction appearing in Hebrew as if they were one nation.

Additionally, Sennacherib’s confrontation with Egypt and his siege of Pelusium, alongside Tirhakah's arrival with reinforcements and the divine pestilence that struck down eighty-five thousand of his army in a single night, is recounted by Herodotus and elaborated upon by Berosus. However, the trustworthiness of these writings still awaits verification.