by RunningMan 5 Replies latest jw friends
I was rooting around on an internet site the other day and noticed an unusual comment.
Open your Bible to 2 Kings chapter 19. Then open it to Isaiah chapter 37. Now, compare the two.
The two chapters are identical - word for word. It looks like God's word processor had a hiccup.
They are not word for word...if I am not mistaken there is a break about the last two verses or so...as well...I asked my room mate about it and he says the Isaiah is actually older than the 2nd Kings...it was added to emphasize prophetic verse...could be wrong,but not that big of a deal.
Sincerely,
District Overbeer
Very much like Isaiah prophecy books one and two.
For your reading pleasure....
*** Rbi8 2 Kings 19:1-37 *** 19 And it came about that as soon as King Hez·e·ki´ah heard, he immediately ripped his garments apart and covered himself with sackcloth and came into the house of Jehovah. 2 Further, he sent E·li´a·kim, who was over the household, and Sheb´nah the secretary and the older men of the priests covered with sackcloth to Isaiah the prophet the son of A´moz. 3 And they proceeded to say to him: “This is what Hez·e·ki´ah has said, ‘This day is a day of distress and of rebuke and of scornful insolence; for the sons have come as far as the womb’s mouth, and there is no power to give birth. 4 Perhaps Jehovah your God will hear all the words of Rab´sha·keh, whom the king of As·syr´i·a his lord sent to taunt the living God, and he will actually call him to account for the words that Jehovah your God has heard. And you must lift up prayer in behalf of the remnant that are to be found.’” 5 So the servants of King Hez·e·ki´ah came in to Isaiah. 6 Then Isaiah said to them: “This is what YOU should say to YOUR lord, ‘This is what Jehovah has said: “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard with which the attendants of the king of As·syr´i·a spoke abusively of me. 7 Here I am putting a spirit in him, and he must hear a report and return to his own land; and I shall certainly cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”’” 8 After that Rab´sha·keh returned and found the king of As·syr´i·a fighting against Lib´nah; for he had heard that he had pulled away from La´chish. 9 He heard it said respecting Tir·ha´kah the king of E·thi·o´pi·a: “Here he has come out to fight against you.” Therefore he sent messengers again to Hez·e·ki´ah, saying: 10 “This is what YOU men should say to Hez·e·ki´ah the king of Judah, ‘Do not let your God in whom you are trusting deceive you, saying: “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of As·syr´i·a.” 11 Look! You yourself have heard what the kings of As·syr´i·a did to all the lands by devoting them to destruction; and will you yourself be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations that my forefathers brought to ruin delivered them, even Go´zan and Ha´ran and Re´zeph and the sons of E´den that were in Tel-as´sar? 13 Where is he—the king of Ha´math and the king of Ar´pad and the king of the cities of Seph·ar·va´im, He´na and Iv´vah?’” 14 Then Hez·e·ki´ah took the letters out of the hand of the messengers and read them, after which Hez·e·ki´ah went up to the house of Jehovah and spread it out before Jehovah. 15 And Hez·e·ki´ah began to pray before Jehovah and say: “O Jehovah the God of Israel, sitting upon the cherubs, you alone are the [true] God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You yourself have made the heavens and the earth. 16 Incline your ear, O Jehovah, and hear. Open your eyes, O Jehovah, and see, and hear the words of Sen·nach´er·ib that he has sent to taunt the living God. 17 It is a fact, O Jehovah, the kings of As·syr´i·a have devastated the nations and their land. 18 And they have consigned their gods to the fire, because they were no gods, but the workmanship of man’s hands, wood and stone; so that they destroyed them. 19 And now, O Jehovah our God, save us, please, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Jehovah, are God alone.” 20 And Isaiah the son of A´moz proceeded to send to Hez·e·ki´ah, saying: “This is what Jehovah the God of Israel has said, ‘The prayer that you have made to me concerning Sen·nach´er·ib the king of As·syr´i·a I have heard. 21 This is the word that Jehovah has spoken against him: “The virgin daughter of Zion has despised you, she has held you in derision. Behind you the daughter of Jerusalem has wagged her head. 22 Whom have you taunted and spoken of abusively? And against whom have you lifted up your voice And do you raise your eyes on high? It is against the Holy One of Israel! 23 By means of your messengers you have taunted Jehovah and you say, ‘With the multitude of my war chariots I myself— I shall certainly ascend the height of mountainous regions, The remotest parts of Leb´a·non; And I shall cut down its lofty cedars, its choice juniper trees. And I will enter its final lodging place, the forest of its orchard. 24 I myself shall certainly dig and drink strange waters, And I shall dry up with the soles of my feet all the Nile canals of Egypt.’ 25 Have you not heard? From remote times it is what I will do. From bygone days I have even formed it. Now I will bring it in. And you will serve to make fortified cities desolate as piles of ruins. 26 And their inhabitants will be feeble-handed; They will simply be terrified and will be ashamed. They must become as vegetation of the field and green tender grass, Grass of the roofs, when there is a scorching before the east wind. 27 And your sitting quiet and your going out and your coming in I well know, And your exciting yourself against me, 28 Because your exciting yourself against me and your roaring have come up into my ears. And I shall certainly put my hook in your nose and my bridle between your lips, And I shall indeed lead you back by the way by which you have come.” 29 “‘And this will be the sign for you: There will be an eating this year of the growth from spilled kernels, and in the second year grain that shoots up of itself; but in the third year sow seed, you people, and reap and plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. 30 And those who escape of the house of Judah, those who are left, will certainly take root downward and produce fruitage upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem a remnant will go forth, and those who escape from Mount Zion. The very zeal of Jehovah of armies will do this. 32 “‘That is why this is what Jehovah has said concerning the king of As·syr´i·a: “He will not come into this city nor will he shoot an arrow there nor confront it with a shield nor cast up a siege rampart against it. 33 By the way by which he proceeded to come, he will return, and into this city he will not come, is the utterance of Jehovah. 34 And I shall certainly defend this city to save it for my own sake and for the sake of David my servant.”’” 35 And it came about on that night that the angel of Jehovah proceeded to go out and strike down a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the As·syr´i·ans. When people rose up early in the morning, why, there all of them were dead carcasses. 36 Therefore Sen·nach´er·ib the king of As·syr´i·a pulled away and went and returned, and he took up dwelling in Nin´e·veh. 37 And it came about that as he was bowing down at the house of Nis´roch his god, A·dram´me·lech and Shar·e´zer, his sons, themselves struck him down with the sword, and they themselves escaped to the land of Ar´a·rat. And E´sar-had´don his son began to reign in place of him. | *** Rbi8 Isaiah 37:1-38 *** 37 And it came about that as soon as King Hez·e·ki´ah heard, he immediately ripped his garments apart and covered himself with sackcloth and came into the house of Jehovah. 2 Further, he sent E·li´a·kim, who was over the household, and Sheb´na the secretary and the older men of the priests covered with sackcloth to Isaiah the son of A´moz the prophet. 3 And they proceeded to say to him: “This is what Hez·e·ki´ah has said, ‘This day is a day of distress and of rebuke and of scornful insolence, for the sons have come as far as the womb’s mouth, and there is no power to give birth. 4 Perhaps Jehovah your God will hear the words of Rab´sha·keh, whom the king of As·syr´i·a his lord sent to taunt the living God, and he will actually call him to account for the words that Jehovah your God has heard. And you must lift up prayer in behalf of the remnant that are to be found.’” 5 So the servants of King Hez·e·ki´ah came in to Isaiah. 6 Then Isaiah said to them: “This is what YOU should say to YOUR lord, ‘This is what Jehovah has said: “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard with which the attendants of the king of As·syr´i·a spoke abusively of me. 7 Here I am putting a spirit in him, and he must hear a report and return to his own land; and I shall certainly cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”’” 8 After that Rab´sha·keh returned and found the king of As·syr´i·a fighting against Lib´nah, for he had heard that he had pulled away from La´chish. 9 Now he heard it said concerning Tir·ha´kah the king of E·thi·o´pi·a: “He has come out to fight against you.” When he heard, he at once sent messengers to Hez·e·ki´ah, saying: 10 “This is what YOU men should say to Hez·e·ki´ah the king of Judah, ‘Do not let your God in whom you are trusting deceive you, saying: “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of As·syr´i·a.” 11 Look! You yourself have heard what the kings of As·syr´i·a did to all the lands by devoting them to destruction, and will you yourself be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations that my forefathers brought to ruin delivered them, even Go´zan and Ha´ran and Re´zeph and the sons of E´den that were in Tel-as´sar? 13 Where is the king of Ha´math and the king of Ar´pad and the king of the city of Seph·ar·va´im—of He´na and of Iv´vah?’” 14 Then Hez·e·ki´ah took the letters out of the hand of the messengers and read them, after which Hez·e·ki´ah went up to the house of Jehovah and spread it out before Jehovah. 15 And Hez·e·ki´ah began to pray to Jehovah, saying: 16 “O Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, sitting upon the cherubs, you alone are the [true] God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You yourself have made the heavens and the earth. 17 Incline your ear, O Jehovah, and hear. Open your eyes, O Jehovah, and see, and hear all the words of Sen·nach´er·ib that he has sent to taunt the living God. 18 It is a fact, O Jehovah, that the kings of As·syr´i·a have devastated all the lands, and their own land. 19 And there was a consigning of their gods to the fire, because they were no gods, but the workmanship of man’s hands, wood and stone, so that they destroyed them. 20 And now, O Jehovah our God, save us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Jehovah, are [God] alone.” 21 And Isaiah the son of A´moz proceeded to send to Hez·e·ki´ah, saying: “This is what Jehovah the God of Israel has said, ‘Because you have prayed to me concerning Sen·nach´er·ib the king of As·syr´i·a, 22 this is the word that Jehovah has spoken against him: “The virgin daughter of Zion has despised you, she has held you in derision. Behind you the daughter of Jerusalem has wagged [her] head. 23 Whom have you taunted and spoken of abusively? And against whom have you lifted up [your] voice And do you raise your eyes on high? It is against the Holy One of Israel! 24 By means of your servants you have taunted Jehovah and you say, ‘With the multitude of my war chariots I myself— I shall certainly ascend the height of mountainous regions, The remotest parts of Leb´a·non; And I shall cut down its lofty cedars, its choice juniper trees. And I shall enter its final height, the forest of its orchard. 25 I myself shall certainly dig and drink waters, And I shall dry up with the soles of my feet all the Nile canals of Egypt.’ 26 Have you not heard? From remote times it is what I will do. From bygone days I have even formed it. Now I will bring it in. And you will serve to make fortified cities become desolate as piles of ruins. 27 And their inhabitants will be feeble-handed; They will simply be terrified and ashamed. They must become as vegetation of the field and green tender grass, Grass of the roofs and of the terrace before the east wind. 28 And your sitting quiet and your going out and your coming in I well know, And your exciting yourself against me, 29 Because your exciting yourself against me and your roaring have come up into my ears. And I shall certainly put my hook in your nose and my bridle between your lips, And I shall indeed lead you back by the way by which you have come.” 30 “‘And this will be the sign for you: There will be an eating this year of the growth from spilled kernels, and in the second year grain that shoots up of itself; but in the third year sow seed, YOU people, and reap, and plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. 31 And those who escape of the house of Judah, those who are left remaining, will certainly take root downward and produce fruitage upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem a remnant will go forth and those who escape out of Mount Zion. The very zeal of Jehovah of armies will do this. 33 “‘Therefore this is what Jehovah has said concerning the king of As·syr´i·a: “He will not come into this city, nor will he shoot an arrow there, nor confront it with a shield, nor cast up a siege rampart against it.”’ 34 “‘By the way by which he came he will return, and into this city he will not come,’ is the utterance of Jehovah. 35 ‘And I shall certainly defend this city to save it for my own sake and for the sake of David my servant.’” 36 And the angel of Jehovah proceeded to go forth and strike down a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the As·syr´i·ans. When people rose up early in the morning, why, there all of them were dead carcasses. 37 Hence Sen·nach´er·ib the king of As·syr´i·a pulled away and went and returned and took up dwelling in Nin´e·veh. 38 And it came about that as he was bowing down at the house of Nis´roch his god, A·dram´me·lech and Shar·e´zer, his own sons, struck him down with the sword, and they themselves escaped to the land of Ar´a·rat. And E´sar-had´don his son began to reign in place of him. |
Didn't we just have a thread about this?
I think god must have been working on 'repetition for emphasis'.
This whole account is about how Judah is miraculously saved by Yahweh sending his angel to destroy Sennacharib's army of 185,000 men. Judah is saved because of it's faith in Yahweh in contrast to the northern kingdom of Israel. Yahweh allowed Israel to be destroyed by Assyria because of it's continued apostacy and the evil done by it's kings. History paints a slightly different picture though.
The northern kingdon of Israel had actually prospered under many of it's kings especially the Omrides. It was this prosperity that eventually led to conflict with the expanding Assyrian empire and by the time of the death of Tiglath-pileser III most of the northern kingdom had been annexed and it's people lost to history. But it does make you wonder why Yahweh let many of these kings prosper for so long despite their continued idolatry and apostacy.
When the biblical authors compiled their history of the northern kingdom their aim was not to produce an objective history but a theological explanation for the destruction of the northern kingdom. Each one of the northern kings is judged negatively especially Jereboam I and the Omrides such as Ahab.
When Judah was attacked decades later by Sennacharib's forces it is true that Jerusalem didn't fall. The biblical authors attribute this to Hezekiah's pious faith and Yahweh intervention. But archaeology paints a very different picture. Excavations at Lachish, Judah's second city, show the Assyrian seige ramp and mass graves. An Assyrian relief found at Ninevah shows the full horror of the Assyrian destruction of this city. Further Assyrian records of Sennacharib's campaign and mound excavations throughout Judah confirm the total devastation of Judahite cities.
Hezekiah had fortified Jerusalem against an Assyrian attack including the building of a subterranean tunnel to bring water into the city from the Gihon spring. So although Jerusalem didn't fall Sennacharib achieved all his goals. Faith in Yahweh did not stop large parts of the Shepelah (Judah's agricultural land) being given away to city states of Philistia. Hezekiah was forced to pay heavy tribute to Assyria and a significant number of Judahites were deported. For all the bible's talk of Yahweh's intervention, Assyria was the only victor. Judah had been fully subjugated.
If 185,000 Assyrian troops had been destroyed by Yahweh then none of the above would have happened. And certainly no other Judahite king would ever turn to idolatry again. But is this the case? No. Hezekiah's son Manasseh seduces his subjects "to do more evil than the nations had done" (2 Kings 21:9).
An objective study of the true history of the kings of Israel and Judah compared to the theological history of the bible is important to show why much of the bible was written. The bible authors based in Jerusalem were Yahwists. To them any king who rebelled against foreign influences such as Hezekiah and Josiah were good and faithful. Any king who had alliances or paid tribute to foreign powers was evil and idolatrous.
Israel and Judah's demise was the result of politics and not divine retribution.
