These two chapters neatly encapsulate the fall of Sennacherib and the failure of his siege of Jerusalem, told elsewhere in 2nd Kings, the Annals of Sennacherib, Herodutus, and plenty of sculpture from that time. After Isaiah prays to the Lord, Sennacherib's troops are killed by the angel of the Lord (a footnote in my Bible says "possibly indicating the plague") and he must return to Nineveh in shame, where he is later killed as he stands before the altar of his god, Nisroch.
What strikes me most about this passage is the use of languages. The Assyrian representative speaks in the language of Judah, and yet Hezekiah's men say:
"Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, 'Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.' But the Rabshakeh said, 'Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?'
Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: 'Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!'"
2 comments:
For Tolkien addicts, this part reminds me enormously of the Mouth of Sauron confronting Aragorn, Gandalf, and co. Weakening courage, despair, and finally an end to resistance is the goal of the enemy. The messenger of Assyria and the Mouth of Sauron both address their messages to the whole group rather than the leader in the hope that the company will not remain true to their leader and fear will cause them to either switch sides or flee. I wonder how intimidating it was to deliver the message and hear nothing but silence in return. Silence can really echo when you were hoping for a more enthusiastic result.
This passage made me think of a video I recently saw on National Geographic. THEY FOUND A VERY SECLUDED VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND THEY SAY THAT THEY STILL SPEAK ARAMAIC. Gasp. No, this has nothing to do with Christmas or anything, BUT WE ALL THOUGHT ARAMAIC WAS DEAD. If you are interested, you can find the video on nationalgeographic.com. Go under videos, and search for "aramaic." It'll pop up.
Post a Comment