Isaiah 37:8

8 So Ravshakeh returned, and found the king of Ashshur warring against Livna; for he had heard that he was departed from Lakhish.

Isaiah 37:8 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 37:8

So Rabshakeh returned
To the king of Assyria his master, to give him an account how things went at Jerusalem, and that he could get no direct answer from the king of Judah, and to consult with him what was proper to be done in the present situation of things; leaving the army before Jerusalem, under the command of the other two generals. For that he should take the army with him does not seem reasonable, when Hezekiah and his people were in such a panic on account of it; besides, the king of Assyria's letters to Hezekiah clearly suppose the army to be still at Jerusalem, or his menacing letters would have signified nothing; and after this the destruction of the Assyrian army before Jerusalem is related: and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah;
a city in the tribe of Judah, ( Joshua 10:29 ) ( 15:42 ) , and lay nearer to Jerusalem than Lachish, where Rabshakeh left him; so that he seemed to be drawing his army towards that city, on which his heart was set. Josephus F21 makes him to be at this time besieging Pelusium, a city in Egypt, but wrongly; which has led some into a mistake that Libnah and Pelusium are the same: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish;
where he was, when he sent him to Jerusalem, ( Isaiah 36:2 ) , having very probably taken it.


FOOTNOTES:

F21 Antiqu. l. 10. c. 1. sect. 4.

Isaiah 37:8 In-Context

6 Yesha`yahu said to them, Thus shall you tell your master, Thus says the LORD, Don't be afraid of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Ashshur have blasphemed me.
7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and he shall hear news, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
8 So Ravshakeh returned, and found the king of Ashshur warring against Livna; for he had heard that he was departed from Lakhish.
9 He heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Kush, He is come out to fight against you. When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hizkiyahu, saying,
10 Thus shall you speak to Hizkiyahu king of Yehudah, saying, Don't let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, Yerushalayim shall not be given into the hand of the king of Ashshur.
The Hebrew Names Version is in the public domain.