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Isaiah nor in the Book of Chronicles** do we find any reference to the embassy of
Hezekiah nor to the tribute which he sent. Probably both were viewed as the sequence of
a course disapproved, which, however, had no real bearing on the events that followed,
and which only because of their spiritual import, came within range of the object of the
narrative.
- On the Assyrian inscriptions Sennacherib describes the tribute as thirty talents of gold
and eight hundred talents of silver, the latter, no doubt, of "light weight" (for there were
two kinds of talent in Assyrian reckoning), which would be equal to three hundred Jewish
talents.
** But in 2 Chronicles 32:9 we have the notice that Sennacherib was laying siege to
Lachish.
The third event recorded in Holy Scripture is the detachment of the "great host" against
Jerusalem, with all the events connected with it. Of this we have an account alike in the
Book of Kings, in that of Chronicles, and in the prophecies of Isaiah.*
- But we note that in the two latter such historical details as the designations of all the
leaders of the Assyrian expedition, given in 2 Kings 18:I7, are wanting.
The lead of the Assyrian expedition and the conduct of negotiations were entrusted to the
"Tartan," which was the official title of the Assyrian commander-in-chief (comp. Isaiah
20:1), "the Rabh-Saris" - probably the translation of an Assyrian official title, which in
Hebrew means "chief of the eunuchs" - and "the Rebh-Shakeh," apparently a Hebrew
adaptation of Rab-sak, the Assyrian title of "chief captain," which repeatedly occurs on
the monuments, and probably represents the second in command, or chief of the staff.*
We mark that appropriately the spokesman in summoning the city to surrender was not
the general-in-chief, nor the chief eunuch (possibly the political officer), but the Rabh-
Shakeh, or second in command.
- Comp. Schrader, u.s. pp. 319, 320. The Hebrew form, "Rabh-Shakeh," means "chief
butler;" but there is no record on the monuments of such a high state official.
The wisdom of Hezekiah's preparations, especially in depriving the Assyrians of the
water supply, was soon apparent. For it was at that very place - the north-western angle of
the city - that the strength of the Assyrian attack was delivered, and it was here, "by the
conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field," that the three
Assyrian leaders met the representatives of King Hezekiah, whom they had summoned to
conference. Even had their spiritual preparation been less decisive, all must have felt
there was something specially significant in the fact that a speech, such as that which the
Rabh-Shakeh made, should have been delivered on the very spot where Isaiah had uttered
God's message to Ahaz (Isaiah 7:3). It is impossible to determine at what period of the
(^)