When he heard it said of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “Behold, he has come out to fight against you,” he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying,
ExplanationCommentary
Verse 9. When he, Sennacherib, though it would seem to refer to Rabsaces. Bible.—Tharaca, called by Thearchon by Strabo, (i. and xv. p. 653.) extended his conquests as far as the pillars of Hercules. Megasthenes.—The Egyptians seem to have called him Sethon, and assert that the god (Vulcan) appeared to him on the approach of Sennacherib, assuring him of his protection. He encamped near Pelusium, where the enemy’s army on its arrival was infested with rats, which destroyed their armour, and made them an easy prey. Herodot. ii. 141. It is probable that Taphnes, near Pelusium, was the capital city of Tharaca. Isaiah 18 and 30:4. He does not appear to have joined battle with Sennacherib, whose army was destroyed on its march (ib. 10:24) the very night that the prophet promised Ezechias a deliverance.