Isaiah 37:36

36 And a messenger of Jehovah goeth out, and smiteth in the camp of Asshur a hundred and eighty and five thousand; and [men] rise early in the morning, and lo, all of them [are] dead corpses.

Isaiah 37:36 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 37:36

Then the angel of the Lord went forth
From heaven, at the command of the Lord, being one of his ministering spirits, sent forth by him, as for the protection of his people, so for the destruction of their enemies; this was the same night, either in which the Assyrian army sat down before Jerusalem, as say the Jews ^F24; or, however the same night in which the message was sent to Hezekiah; see ( 2 Kings 19:35 ) :

and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred and fourscore and
five thousand men:
a prodigious slaughter indeed! which shows the power and strength of an angel. Josephus ^F25 says they were smitten with a pestilential disease; but other Jewish writers say it was by fire from heaven, which took away their lives, but did not consume their bodies, nor burn their clothes; but, be that as it will, destroyed they were:

and when they arose early in the morning:
those of the army that survived; Sennacherib, and his servants about him; or Hezekiah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that were besieged:

behold, they were all dead corpses;
the whole army, excepting a few; this may well be expressed with a note of admiration, "behold!" for a very wonderful thing it was.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 T. Bab. Sanhedrin: fol. 95. 1.
F25 Antiqu. l. 10. c. 1. sect. 5.

Isaiah 37:36 In-Context

34 In the way that he came, in it he turneth back, And unto this city he doth not come in, An affirmation of Jehovah,

35 And I have covered over this city, To save it, for Mine own sake, And for the sake of David My servant.'

36 And a messenger of Jehovah goeth out, and smiteth in the camp of Asshur a hundred and eighty and five thousand; and [men] rise early in the morning, and lo, all of them [are] dead corpses.

37 And journey, and go, and turn back doth Sennacherib king of Asshur, and dwelleth in Nineveh.

38 And it cometh to pass, he is bowing himself in the house of Nisroch his god, and Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons have smitten him with the sword, and they have escaped to the land of Ararat, and Esar-Haddon his son reigneth in his stead.