{"id":66524,"date":"2018-07-09T17:45:27","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-370\/"},"modified":"2023-07-06T07:13:56","modified_gmt":"2023-07-06T04:13:56","slug":"wall-370","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-370\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Prophets-Isaiah-36"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"370","date":"20270128","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"370","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"66654","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"JPS Audio Bible - Isaiah Chapter 36 ","post_title":"JPS Audio Bible - Isaiah Chapter 36","slug":"jps-audio-bible-isaiah-chapter-36","old_id":"66654","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"370","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"JPS Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"Isaiah Chapter 36","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"Hear the daily chapter","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-753876298\/jps_audio_bible_isaiah_chapter_36","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"370","date":"20270128","wall_id":"370"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"72851","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"And Then It Happened ","post_title":"And Then It Happened","slug":"and-then-it-happened","old_id":"72851","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":68344,"post_title":"Alicia Jo Rabins","slug":"alicia-jo-rabins","old_id":"68344","first_name":"Alicia Jo ","last_name":"Rabins ","description":"Alicia Jo Rabins is a writer, musician, performer and Torah teacher. She is the author of Divinity School (2015 APR\/Honickman First Book Prize) and Fruit Geode (finalist for the 2018 Jewish Book Award). As a musician and performer, Rabins has released three albums and tours internationally with Girls in Trouble, her indie-folk song cycle about women in Torah, and is in post-production on A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff: The Film, a mystical Jewish feminist rock opera about the largest financial crime in history. Rabins lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and their two children. ","short_description":"Alicia Jo Rabins is a writer, musician, performer and Torah teacher.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":68346,"alt":"","title":"Alicia Jo Rabins","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Alicia-Jo-Rabins-1.jpg","width":1042,"height":1115,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Alicia-Jo-Rabins-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Alicia-Jo-Rabins-1-280x300.jpg","medium-width":280,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Alicia-Jo-Rabins-1-768x822.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":822,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Alicia-Jo-Rabins-1-957x1024.jpg","large-width":957,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Alicia-Jo-Rabins-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1042,"1536x1536-height":1115,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Alicia-Jo-Rabins-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1042,"2048x2048-height":1115,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Alicia-Jo-Rabins-1.jpg","post_full_size-width":1042,"post_full_size-height":1115,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Alicia-Jo-Rabins-1-393x420.jpg","home_baner-width":393,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"452","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"and all we had left were our words...\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

And then it happened, <\/span>
\r\n<\/span>just as you said it would.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Fire, and siege, and eyes put out:<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>armies scattered, jail cells rusted shut.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

They carried off the holy instruments,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>the bronze pillars and the water tank,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>and all we had left were our words.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Words that didn\u2019t stop death;<\/span><\/p>\r\n

words we still read today,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>millennia in the future.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Words that keep us alive,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>just as You said they would.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Image: A Wordle of the distribution of words in the Hebrew Bible \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":72852,"alt":"","title":"jer52-hebrew words","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jer52-hebrew-words.png","width":800,"height":358,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jer52-hebrew-words-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jer52-hebrew-words-300x134.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":134,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jer52-hebrew-words-768x344.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":344,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jer52-hebrew-words.png","large-width":800,"large-height":358,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jer52-hebrew-words.png","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":358,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jer52-hebrew-words.png","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":358,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jer52-hebrew-words.png","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":358,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jer52-hebrew-words.png","home_baner-width":800,"home_baner-height":358}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"929 Poetry Corner","tile_main_caption":"And Then It Happened","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"and all we had left were our words...","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":72852,"alt":"","title":"jer52-hebrew words","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jer52-hebrew-words.png","width":800,"height":358,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jer52-hebrew-words-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jer52-hebrew-words-300x134.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":134,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jer52-hebrew-words-768x344.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":344,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jer52-hebrew-words.png","large-width":800,"large-height":358,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jer52-hebrew-words.png","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":358,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jer52-hebrew-words.png","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":358,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jer52-hebrew-words.png","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":358,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/jer52-hebrew-words.png","home_baner-width":800,"home_baner-height":358}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Jeremiah","chapter":"52","chapter_main_number":"452","date":"20270524","wall_id":"452"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":3,"id":"66814","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Who\u2019s Right about Hezekiah? (Part 1) ","post_title":"Who\u2019s Right about Hezekiah? (Part 1)","slug":"whos-right-about-hezekiah-part-1","old_id":"66814","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"370","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"With three versions of the same story - who\u2019s right?","post_main_content_content":"

Malbim* (v.1) noted that the opening verse of our chapter has not one but two parallels in Tanakh and that the three sources do not tell the identical story.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n

\u00a02 Kings 18:13<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched against all the fortified towns of Judah and seized them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n

Isaiah 35:1\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched against all the fortified towns of Judah and seized them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

\r\n

\u00a02 Chronicles 32:1<\/span><\/p>\r\n

After these faithful deeds, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah and encamped against its fortified towns with the aim of taking them over.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n


\r\n<\/span>Note the similarities and distinctions. On the one hand, all three texts acknowledge that the fortified cities of Judah came under Assyrian attack. On the other hand, whereas 2 Kings and Isaiah explicitly acknowledge that those cities fell to Sennacherib (<\/span>vayitp\u2019sem<\/span><\/em>), 2 Chronicles allows only that it was his intent to breach them\u2014allowing for the possibility that he failed.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

At this point, the three narratives diverge. According to 2 Kings 18 (14-16), Hezekiah capitulated to the Assyrian demand for tribute, even tearing down the gilded doors of the Temple to meet the payment. 2 Chronicles 32 (2-8) features a brave Hezekiah who sealed the breaches in the city walls, augmented the armory and made a rousing speech urging defiance against the invaders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Isaiah 36, however, reports neither version; it is silent until all three sources resume an otherwise identical account commencing with the dispatch of Rabshakeh (2 Kings 18:17 ff., 2 Chronicles 32:9 ff., Isaiah 36:2).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0We shall address four questions to these correspondences and divergences and answer them in part 2.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \r\n\t
  1. Was Hezekiah the craven tributary portrayed in 2 Kings or the stalwart defender depicted in 2 Chronicles?<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Whichever narrative we prefer, how can we reconcile the alternative?<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Why is Isaiah completely silent on the matter of Hezekiah\u2019s behavior?<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Is the assortment of narratives accidental, or the result of editorial design?<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    \u00a0<\/span>*For the significance of Malbim\u2019s commentary to the Book of Isaiah,<\/span> see our introduction to chapter 1.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\r\n

    Image: Hezekiah, woodcut by Rudolf Schaefer, 1929.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":66815,"alt":"","title":"is36-hezekiah1","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","width":622,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1-300x289.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":289,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","medium_large-width":622,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","large-width":622,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","1536x1536-width":622,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","2048x2048-width":622,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","post_full_size-width":622,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1-435x420.jpg","home_baner-width":435,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Part 1 - Questions","tile_main_caption":"Who\u2019s Right about Hezekiah?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"With three versions of the same story - who\u2019s right?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":66815,"alt":"","title":"is36-hezekiah1","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","width":622,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1-300x289.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":289,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","medium_large-width":622,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","large-width":622,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","1536x1536-width":622,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","2048x2048-width":622,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","post_full_size-width":622,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1-435x420.jpg","home_baner-width":435,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"370","date":"20270128","wall_id":"370"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"366","name":"Commentators","old_id":"766"},{"term_id":"575","name":"Interpretation","old_id":"975"},{"term_id":"721","name":"Text","old_id":"1121"},{"term_id":"898","name":"Hezekiah","old_id":"1298"}]},{"order":4,"id":"66817","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Who\u2019s Right about Hezekiah? 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He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"370","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Was he a craven tributary, stalwart defender, or something else?","post_main_content_content":"

    In part 1, we posed several questions apropos the discrepancies between the three biblical accounts of Sennacherib\u2019s invasion.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The perspective we need to answer these questions is found in the talmudic attribution of biblical texts to their respective authors or redactors (BB 14b, ff.): Kings by Jeremiah, Chronicles by Ezra, and Isaiah by the entourage of King Hezekiah. The discrepancies reflect the editorial inclinations and predispositions of those by whom the books were redacted.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Jeremiah\u2019s prophetic mission was distinguished by his condemnation of the Israelite resistance to the Babylonians, who would eventually destroy the Temple. It is easy to see that, in reviewing the very similar episode involving Hezekiah and the Assyrian forerunners of the Babylonians, his editorial inclination was to preserve the version of events that featured Hezekiah\u2019s submission.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Ezra\u2019s, on the other hand, fortified the beleaguered Judean populace in their attempt to rebuild the city of Jerusalem in the face of the opposition of their many adversaries. It is understandable that Ezra, who split the workers into platoons of builders and armed guards, would choose to perpetuate Hezekiah\u2019s resistance.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    However, while it is understandable that Hezekiah\u2019s entourage would decline to report on his cowardice, why would they not record his outstanding bravery?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    We submit that their evaluation of Hezekiah\u2019s actions may be understood in light of rabbinic tradition, which is critical even of his preparations for resistance. We refer to the Mishnah (Pesa\u1e25im 4:9):<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    King Hezekiah performed six actions. [The Sages] approved of three and disapproved of\u00a0 three.\u2026 He cut down the doors of the Temple and dispatched them to the king of Assyria, and they disapproved. He sealed up the upper Gihon [water source], and they disapproved\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    In other words, even Hezekiah\u2019s preparations to withstand the Assyrian siege displeased the Sages, ostensibly because they betrayed a lapse of faith in God\u2019s promise\u2014delivered by the prophet Isaiah\u2014to extend divine protection to the city. Since the entourage was unable to take pride either in Hezekiah\u2019s capitulation to Sennacherib or in his resistance, they chose silence.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Image: Hezekiah, woodcut by Rudolf Schaefer, 1929.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":66818,"alt":"","title":"is36-hezekiah","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah.jpg","width":622,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah-300x289.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":289,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah.jpg","medium_large-width":622,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah.jpg","large-width":622,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah.jpg","1536x1536-width":622,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah.jpg","2048x2048-width":622,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah.jpg","post_full_size-width":622,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah-435x420.jpg","home_baner-width":435,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Part 2 - Answers","tile_main_caption":"Who\u2019s Right about Hezekiah?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Was he a craven tributary, stalwart defender, or something else?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":66818,"alt":"","title":"is36-hezekiah","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah.jpg","width":622,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah-300x289.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":289,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah.jpg","medium_large-width":622,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah.jpg","large-width":622,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah.jpg","1536x1536-width":622,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah.jpg","2048x2048-width":622,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah.jpg","post_full_size-width":622,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah-435x420.jpg","home_baner-width":435,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"370","date":"20270128","wall_id":"370"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"366","name":"Commentators","old_id":"766"},{"term_id":"575","name":"Interpretation","old_id":"975"},{"term_id":"627","name":"Talmud","old_id":"1027"},{"term_id":"721","name":"Text","old_id":"1121"},{"term_id":"898","name":"Hezekiah","old_id":"1298"}]},{"order":5,"id":"66825","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"Lessons Our Enemies Teach Us ","post_title":"Lessons Our Enemies Teach Us","slug":"lessons-our-enemies-teach-us","old_id":"66825","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":57331,"post_title":"Josh and Leora Blechner","slug":"josh-and-leora-blechner","old_id":"57331","first_name":"Josh and Leora ","last_name":"Blechner","description":"Josh and Leora Blechner have been learning Tanach together since Leora was five years old. Josh is an in-house attorney in New Jersey and Leora is a middle school student at SAR academy.","short_description":"Josh and Leora Blechner have been learning Tanach together since Leora was five years old. Josh is an in-house attorney in New Jersey and Leora is a middle school student at SAR academy.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":57484,"alt":"","title":"blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/blechner-1.jpg","width":501,"height":509,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/blechner-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/blechner-1-295x300.jpg","medium-width":295,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/blechner-1.jpg","medium_large-width":501,"medium_large-height":509,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/blechner-1.jpg","large-width":501,"large-height":509,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/blechner-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":501,"1536x1536-height":509,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/blechner-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":501,"2048x2048-height":509,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/blechner-1.jpg","post_full_size-width":501,"post_full_size-height":509,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/blechner-1-413x420.jpg","home_baner-width":413,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"370","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Those Egyptians are as good for Israel as a broken reed","post_main_content_content":"

    In Isaiah chapter 36 we have a retelling of the story of Rabshakeh and Sennecharib's Assyrian officers' dire warning to the people of Jerusalem. In his pronouncement, Rabshakeh excoriates the people of Jerusalem for putting their hopes in the hands of Egypt. Rabshakeh uses the metaphor of a reed staff that when leaned on, splinters and punctures the hand of the person using it. The apt analogy warns of leaning too heavily on Egypt for support against the Assyrian armies, for in the end Egypt would be no support at all. The message resonates with Hezekiah and the people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    This metaphor is used again in Tanach also to describe Egypt, but the next time is by God through the prophet Ezekiel. In his admonition regarding Egypt, in Ezekiel 29:6-7, Ezekiel describes the Egyptians as \"a reed staff for Israel\" that \"When they grasped you with the hand, you would splinter, And wound all their shoulders, And when they leaned on you, you would break, And make all their loins unsteady.\"\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    We have two questions: 1) Why would a Prophet a hundred years later borrow the metaphor of the emissary of the Assyrian government? 2) Why is this story\u00a0 of Rabshakeh, which appears again in II Kings and II Chronicles, repeated 3 times? \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The simple answer is that Rabshakeh was correct in his assessment of Egypt and the people listened to what he was saying. They were afraid. That\u2019s why the advisers of Hezekiah wanted Rabshakeh to speak in Aramaic, so the people wouldn\u2019t understand his message. It\u2019s also why we see such a strong reaction from Hezekiah. He is distraught and prays to God. In essence Rabshakeh is actually a very effective prophet. Later on, Ezekiel takes this message and repeats it as a way to remind the people about the forewarning of Rabshakeh and to borrow his effective messaging.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Even our enemies can teach us lessons.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":66826,"alt":"","title":"is36-reed staff","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-reed-staff.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-reed-staff-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-reed-staff-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-reed-staff-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-reed-staff-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-reed-staff.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-reed-staff.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-reed-staff-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-reed-staff-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":" Lessons Our Enemies Teach Us","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Those Egyptians are as good for Israel as a broken reed","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":66826,"alt":"","title":"is36-reed staff","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-reed-staff.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-reed-staff-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-reed-staff-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-reed-staff-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-reed-staff-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-reed-staff.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-reed-staff.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-reed-staff-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-reed-staff-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"370","date":"20270128","wall_id":"370"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"469","name":"Egypt","old_id":"869"},{"term_id":"854","name":"Metaphor","old_id":"1254"},{"term_id":"898","name":"Hezekiah","old_id":"1298"}]},{"order":6,"id":"66830","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"Rabshakeh: Who Was This Hebrew-Speaking Assyrian? ","post_title":"Rabshakeh: Who Was This Hebrew-Speaking Assyrian?","slug":"rabshakeh-who-was-this-hebrew-speaking-assyrian","old_id":"66830","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36147,"post_title":"Aaron Koller","slug":"aaron-koller","old_id":"36147","first_name":"Aaron","last_name":"Koller","description":"Aaron Koller is professor of Near Eastern studies at Yeshiva University, where he is chair of the Beren Department of Jewish Studies. His last book was Esther in Ancient Jewish Thought (Cambridge University Press), and his next is Unbinding Isaac: The Akedah in Jewish Thought (forthcoming from JPS\/University of Nebraska Press in 2020); he is also the author of numerous studies in Semitic philology. Aaron has served as a visiting professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and held research fellowships at the Albright Institute for Archaeological Research and the Hartman Institute. He lives in Queens, NY with his wife, Shira Hecht-Koller, and their children.","short_description":"Aaron Koller is professor of Near Eastern studies at Yeshiva University, and chair of the Department of Jewish Studies there.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36148,"alt":"","title":"AJ Koller headshot","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot.jpg","width":5184,"height":3456,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"370","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Could he have been an exiled Israelite, serving his Assyrian captors?","post_main_content_content":"

    The story that starts in today\u2019s chapter should sound familiar: it is also found in 2 Kings 18-20. One character in this story stands out: Rabshakeh. He is the star of Isaiah 36, delivering two long, chilling speeches at the wall of Jerusalem, designed to intimidate the residents into submitting to the Assyrians.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Although in the Bible this seems to be a name, we now know it was a title of an Assyrian official: <\/span>rab shaqeh<\/span><\/em> is similar to the Hebrew <\/span>sar ha-mashqim<\/span><\/em>, \u201cchief cupbearer.\u201d That doesn\u2019t mean he was primarily a butler, but the great historian Hayim Tadmor showed that the rab shaqeh<\/em> was primarily a domestic official, not usually involved in diplomatic or military missions. Why, then, is this rab shaqeh<\/em> at Jerusalem?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The language is the key. After his first speech, the Judean officials at the way say to the rab shaqeh<\/em>: \u201cPlease, speak to your servants in Aramaic, as we understand it! Don\u2019t speak to us in Judean, in the hearing of the people on the wall!\u201d Now, the speech had been in Hebrew, but that did not seem surprising, since the Bible is basically always in Hebrew. Joseph and Pharaoh speak in Hebrew, as do Moses and the later Pharaoh; Ahashverosh and Haman speak in Hebrew, as does Nebuchadnezzar. Of course, this doesn\u2019t mean that these characters are meant to be understood as actually speaking Hebrew, only that the narrative is in Hebrew and so everyone is quoted in that language. But here, we are told, the rab shaqeh<\/em> was actually speaking Hebrew!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Why was he speaking Hebrew? The Judeans already gave the answer, and the rab shaqeh<\/em> gives it back to them: \u201cWas it to your master and to you that my master sent me to speak those words? It was precisely to the men who are sitting on the wall\u2014who will have to eat their dung and drink their urine with you.\u201d He is trying to reach the common folk, and while in the late eighth century, Judean officials also spoke Aramaic, regular people only spoke Hebrew.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    How did he know Hebrew? Tadmor had quite a brilliant suggestion for this. Recall that twenty years earlier, the Assyrians had conquered and exiled the Northern Kingdom of Israel, the \u201cTen Tribes.\u201d Some of those Israelites were brought to Assyria, and conceivably had integrated into the bureaucracy there. If this rab shaqeh<\/em> was an exiled Israelite, he would of course be a native speaker of Hebrew \u2013 and this would explain why a normally domestic official was brought out for this mission.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    This would also make the rab shaqeh\u2019s<\/em> last line all the more chilling. When he asked, \u201cWhere were the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where were the gods of Sepharvaim? And did they save Samaria from me?,\u201d the people would know that the people of Samaria and the people of Jerusalem shared not only a language, but a religion. And if Samaria fell, didn\u2019t that mean that Jerusalem was next?<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":66845,"alt":"","title":"is36-rabshakeh2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh2.jpg","width":600,"height":704,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh2-256x300.jpg","medium-width":256,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh2.jpg","medium_large-width":600,"medium_large-height":704,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh2.jpg","large-width":600,"large-height":704,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh2.jpg","1536x1536-width":600,"1536x1536-height":704,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh2.jpg","2048x2048-width":600,"2048x2048-height":704,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh2.jpg","post_full_size-width":600,"post_full_size-height":704,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh2-358x420.jpg","home_baner-width":358,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Rabshakeh: Who Was This Hebrew-Speaking Assyrian?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Could he have been an exiled Israelite, serving his Assyrian captors?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":66845,"alt":"","title":"is36-rabshakeh2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh2.jpg","width":600,"height":704,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh2-256x300.jpg","medium-width":256,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh2.jpg","medium_large-width":600,"medium_large-height":704,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh2.jpg","large-width":600,"large-height":704,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh2.jpg","1536x1536-width":600,"1536x1536-height":704,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh2.jpg","2048x2048-width":600,"2048x2048-height":704,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh2.jpg","post_full_size-width":600,"post_full_size-height":704,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh2-358x420.jpg","home_baner-width":358,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"370","date":"20270128","wall_id":"370"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"361","name":"Hebrew language","old_id":"761"},{"term_id":"598","name":"Israelites","old_id":"998"},{"term_id":"953","name":"Assyria","old_id":"1353"}]},{"order":7,"id":"116550","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"The Tanakh Podcast-Isaiah36 ","post_title":"The Tanakh Podcast-Isaiah36","slug":"the-tanakh-podcast-isaiah36","old_id":"116550","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33692,"post_title":"Alex Israel","slug":"33692-2","old_id":"33692","first_name":"Alex","last_name":"Israel","description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem. 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Hear about the speeches of the senior Assyrian official, the Rabshakeh, and his psychological intimidation of the besieged people of Jerusalem.","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":108885,"alt":"","title":"-635baf915f04f--635baf915f050tanakh podcast - Alex Israel.JPG","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","width":350,"height":352,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG-298x300.jpg","medium-width":298,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","medium_large-width":350,"medium_large-height":352,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","large-width":350,"large-height":352,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","1536x1536-width":350,"1536x1536-height":352,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","2048x2048-width":350,"2048x2048-height":352,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","post_full_size-width":350,"post_full_size-height":352,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","home_baner-width":350,"home_baner-height":352}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/2uN1lMlf0bQtNVFG83QzKC","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"370","date":"20270128","wall_id":"370"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"589","name":"audio","old_id":"989"},{"term_id":"857","name":"podcast","old_id":"1257"}]},{"order":8,"id":"66806","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Assyrian Psychological Warfare ","post_title":"Assyrian Psychological Warfare","slug":"assyrian-psychological-warfare","old_id":"66806","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":65182,"post_title":"Benny Lau & Yoel Bin Nun","slug":"benny-lau-yoel-bin-nun","old_id":"65182","first_name":"Benny Lau","last_name":"and Yoel Bin Nun","description":"Rabbi Dr. Binyamin Lau is the founder and head of the Israeli initiative 929 and is a community leader, activist, author, and public speaker.\r\nRabbi Yoel Bin Nun, PhD. is a religious Zionist rabbi who was among the founders of Yeshivat Har Etzion and who emphasized the importance of the study of Tanach, and not just Talmud, in yeshiva. \r\nTogether they are the authors of \"Isaiah: Prophet of Righteousness and Justice\" (Maggid Books, 2019)","short_description":"Rabbi Dr. Binyamin Lau is the founder and head of the Israeli initiative 929. 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    The Assyrians used psychological tactics to crush their enemies\u2019 spirits, mocking the weakness of the besieged nation. Rabshakeh\u2019s words were carefully calculated to undermine Jerusalem\u2019s confidence in every respect: politically, religiously, and militarily.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    (1) Political Scorn<\/b><\/p>\r\n

    \"Thus said the Great King, the king of Assyria\u2026'Look, on whom are you relying, that you have rebelled against me? You are relying on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff\u2026'\" (Is. 36:4\u20136).\u00a0<\/span>By undermining their greatest political ally, the Assyrian official deflated the hopes of Jerusalem\u2019s soldiers.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    (2) Religious Scorn for Hezekiah\u2019s Reform<\/b><\/p>\r\n

    \"'And if you tell me that you are relying on the Lord your God \u2013He is the very one whose shrines and altars Hezekiah did away with, telling Judah and Jerusalem, \u2018You must worship only at this altar!\u2019\" (Is. 36:7).\u00a0<\/span>The effective Assyrian intelligence network had discovered Judah\u2019s resentment at Hezekiah\u2019s removal of the shrines and altars. The people had worshiped God at these altars for so long, and Hezekiah had insisted upon their destruction. The Rabshakeh taunted the weary guards of Jerusalem\u2019s walls, bringing their long-buried resentments to the surface.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    (3) Military Scorn<\/b><\/p>\r\n

    \"'Come now, I\u2019ll give you two thousand horses, if you can produce riders to mount them\u2026'\" (Is. 36:8\u20139).\u00a0<\/span>Playing on Assyria\u2019s infamous reputation, Rabshakeh sought to intimidate Judah\u2019s soldiers before he struck, emphasizing one of Judah\u2019s perceived weaknesses in order to destroy Judahite confidence.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    (4) Assyria has Risen through the Will of God<\/b><\/p>\r\n

    \"'Now, do you think I have ascended to destroy this place without the Lord? The Lord said to me, Ascend against this land, and destroy it!'\u201d (Is. 36:10).\u00a0<\/span>Half a century earlier, Isaiah had warned that Assyria was the \u201crod of God\u2019s wrath.\u201d Now, Rabshakeh repeated this concept, so familiar to Jerusalemites, in order to crush the people\u2019s spirits.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The Judahite delegates were well aware of the dangers of this psychological war, and sought to minimize the damage. They said:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    'Please, speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it; do not speak to us in Judean (=Hebrew) in the hearing of the people on the wall.' But the Rabshakeh said to them, 'It was precisely to the men who are sitting on the wall \u2013 who will have to eat their dung and drink their urine with you.' (Is. 36:11\u201312).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \u00a0(5) \"Immigration\" to Assyria<\/b><\/p>\r\n

    \"And the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in Judean, 'Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to save you. For thus said the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me and come out to me\u2026until I come and take you away to a land like your own, a land of bread and wine, of grain and vineyards'\" (Is. 36:13\u201317).\u00a0<\/span>Rabshakeh offered the people of Jerusalem a new home in a bountiful land. He presented the Assyrian king as a merciful, benevolent ruler who was concerned about the welfare of his new subjects.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    (6) Scorn for Those who Rely upon God<\/b><\/p>\r\n

    \"'Beware of letting Hezekiah mislead you by saying, \u2018The Lord will save us.\u2019 Did any of the gods of the other nations save his land from the king of Assyria?'\u201d (Is. 36:18\u201320).\u00a0<\/span>Here, Rabshakeh contradicted himself. He had initially spoken of the God of Judah as the One who had appointed Assyria to destroy the land; now he equated him with the gods of the other conquered nations.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The Rabshakeh\u2019s speech was met with silence: \"And the people were silent and did not answer him with a single word; for the king\u2019s order was, 'Do not answer him.'\u201d (Is. 36:21).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

     <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":65184,"alt":"","title":"Isaiah-LauBinNun","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun.png","width":1816,"height":1816,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun-768x768.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun-1024x1024.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun.png","2048x2048-width":1816,"2048x2048-height":1816,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun-1200x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun-420x420.png","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Excerpts from \"Isaiah: Prophet of Righteousness and Justice\"","tile_main_caption":"Assyrian Psychological Warfare","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Scorn, intimidation, humiliation and more","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":65184,"alt":"","title":"Isaiah-LauBinNun","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun.png","width":1816,"height":1816,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun-768x768.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun-1024x1024.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun.png","2048x2048-width":1816,"2048x2048-height":1816,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun-1200x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Isaiah-LauBinNun-420x420.png","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"370","date":"20270128","wall_id":"370"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"434","name":"War","old_id":"834"},{"term_id":"635","name":"Jerusalem","old_id":"1035"},{"term_id":"953","name":"Assyria","old_id":"1353"}]},{"order":9,"id":"66811","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Siege Of Jerusalem ","post_title":"The Siege Of Jerusalem","slug":"the-siege-of-jerusalem","old_id":"66811","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":64700,"post_title":"Yaakov Jaffe","slug":"yaakov-jaffe","old_id":"64700","first_name":"Yaakov ","last_name":"Jaffe ","description":"Rabbi Dr. Yaakov Jaffe is Dean of Judaic Studies at the Maimonides School in Brookline, and is the Rabbi of the Maimonides Kehillah there. 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","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":64701,"alt":"","title":"yaakov-jaffe","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/yaakov-jaffe.png","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/yaakov-jaffe-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/yaakov-jaffe.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/yaakov-jaffe.png","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/yaakov-jaffe.png","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/yaakov-jaffe.png","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/yaakov-jaffe.png","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/yaakov-jaffe.png","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/yaakov-jaffe.png","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"370","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"And the crazy strategies the Assyrians tried","post_main_content_content":"

    The entirety of the book has led to this moment, the narrative depiction of the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem. These chapters appear in parallel in the book of Kings, but the inclusion in this book of prophecy is also fitting, as it finally describes the events that are at the core of the book.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    In siege warfare, the attacking nation prefers to scare the defending nation into surrender.\u00a0 After all, a siege can be a long, protracted affair, especially when the defending nation has had much time to prepare and store supplies (2 Chronicles 32). The Assyrian king attempts a shortcut, by sending three trusted advisers to \u201cde-motivate\u201d the people and encourage them to accept surrender. The group speaks in Hebrew (36:12) in an effort to break the spirit of the people, and not Aramaic, which was the language of diplomacy at the time. This verse is important as it establishes that at this time, all Judeans spoke Hebrew but few spoke Aramaic, a situation that will reverse itself later in Tanakh by the time of Nehemiah.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The emissaries speak of the inevitability of the defeat of Jerusalem. First, they note that Egypt was not a trustworthy partner and they would not help defend the people (an idea expressed by the prophet, himself, in chapters 30 and 31). Moreover, the Assyrian army had many more horses than the Jews (36:8); they had more horses than the Judeans had riders!\u00a0 Two arguments are given as to why the God of the Jews would not save them as well. Hezekiah\u2019s ministers are told that God would not save them, as Hezekiah had removed the \u201c<\/span>bamot,<\/span><\/i>\u201d the local altars outside of Jerusalem, thereby angering God. (This claim, of course, is incorrect, as Hezekiah\u2019s decision would be supported by God, given that it reflects the teachings of the Torah). And to the people they add that none of the gods of the other nations had saved their people from the Assyrians (36:18-20), so why would the God of the Judeans be any different? Accept our offer \u2013 they say \u2013 and we will give you land in a different country, just as good as your land (36:17). Surrender and receive peace, refuse and face certain defeat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Even the kings trusted ministers are dejected and forlorn (36:22), and the people clearly are primed to rebel, kill the king, and then surrender (as we have seen in chapter 22). The various prophecies of reassurance throughout the book (from chapter 10 through chapter 35) were likely given at this point, as the king and prophet try to find a way to keep the people together until such time as God would save.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Image: Jos\u00e9 Villegas Cordero, Rabshakeh\u2019s Speech, c. 1885.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":66812,"alt":"","title":"is36-rabshakeh","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh.jpg","width":568,"height":393,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh-300x208.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":208,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh.jpg","medium_large-width":568,"medium_large-height":393,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh.jpg","large-width":568,"large-height":393,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh.jpg","1536x1536-width":568,"1536x1536-height":393,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh.jpg","2048x2048-width":568,"2048x2048-height":393,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh.jpg","post_full_size-width":568,"post_full_size-height":393,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh.jpg","home_baner-width":568,"home_baner-height":393}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Siege Of Jerusalem","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"And the crazy strategies the Assyrians tried","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":66812,"alt":"","title":"is36-rabshakeh","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh.jpg","width":568,"height":393,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh-300x208.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":208,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh.jpg","medium_large-width":568,"medium_large-height":393,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh.jpg","large-width":568,"large-height":393,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh.jpg","1536x1536-width":568,"1536x1536-height":393,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh.jpg","2048x2048-width":568,"2048x2048-height":393,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh.jpg","post_full_size-width":568,"post_full_size-height":393,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-rabshakeh.jpg","home_baner-width":568,"home_baner-height":393}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"370","date":"20270128","wall_id":"370"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"635","name":"Jerusalem","old_id":"1035"},{"term_id":"898","name":"Hezekiah","old_id":"1298"},{"term_id":"953","name":"Assyria","old_id":"1353"}]},{"order":10,"id":"66801","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Promise And Perils Of Diglossia ","post_title":"The Promise And Perils Of Diglossia","slug":"the-promise-and-perils-of-diglossia","old_id":"66801","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34011,"post_title":"Jeremy Benstein","slug":"dr-jeremy-benstein","old_id":"34011","first_name":"Jeremy","last_name":"Benstein","description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English. He is one of the founders of the Heschel Center for Sustainability. He writes the MiliMiliM - Hebrew Corner on the site, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34232,"alt":"","title":"Jeremy Benstein","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"370","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Aramaic vs. Hebrew on the ramparts of Jerusalem","post_main_content_content":"

    A person who has a native language and learns a foreign one becomes bilingual. Bilingualism is a feature of an individual.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Historically, multi-lingual Jews have been something else. Jews generally spoke a Jewish language (such as Yiddish or Ladino) in the home and street, while using Hebrew for prayer and study, making them a community that knew and used several languages in specific circumstances for specific purposes.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    This is not bilingualism, but <\/span>diglossia<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n

    Diglossia refers to national groups or communities who use more than one language (often connected or related) in very defined and structured ways. One language is considered \"high\" or formal, or sanctioned by authority, and is used in writing, formal contexts, literature, and education. The other variant, the \"low\" language, or vernacular, exists in opposition to political power, is used in the home and the marketplace, and is rarely written down.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    As opposed to bilingualism, which applies to individuals, diglossia describes the reality for an entire community, where people know which language to speak, where, when, and to whom.\u00a0<\/span>The idea of Jews speaking different languages at different times for different purposes is nothing new. Our chapter has an example of this.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Around 700 BCE, after the fall of the Northern Kingdom, the Assyrian king Sennacherib marches against Judea and King Hezekiah. Upon reaching Jerusalem, the Assyrian general, known as the Rabshakeh, proceeds to deliver a torrent of abuse in Hebrew (verses 4-20). The barrage is clearly \u201cpsychological warfare\u201d consisting of terror, ridicule, and promises, accentuating the futility of resistance. The invaders want their propaganda to strike fear into the hearts of anyone who might resist them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Fearing the abuse will demoralize the gawking public, who understand the Rabshakeh\u2019s message loud and clear, the leaders beg the Rabshakeh to speak in Aramaic, the (\"high\") political language of Western Asia, which they (unlike the ordinary Jerusalemites) understand. But Rabshakeh's precise aim is to undermine the confidence of Jerusalem's population in their God, their king, and their own ability to resist, and so like a good demagogue \u2013 spoke to the people in a way they could understand.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    But \u2013 spoiler -\u00a0 there\u2019s a happy ending: despite this strategy of talking directly to the people and trying to sway them with braggadocio and threats, the Judeans are delivered from the Assyrians (Is. 37).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    But note the linguistic aspect of this story. The Assyrian delegation spoke Hebrew (a language they probably learned for the purpose of ruling over Israelite subjects), and the Judean officials spoke Aramaic\u2014which the Judean citizenry didn\u2019t. In our diglossic model, Aramaic was thus the Judeans\u2019 \"high\" language of political power and international relations, while Judean (Hebrew) was the \u201clow\u201d language, spoken and understood by the common people.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Later in Jewish history, Hebrew becomes the \"high\" language of prayer and study, with other Jewish languages filling the role of the \"low\" vernaculars. The modern 'revival' of spoken Hebrew represents a rare example of re-tooling a language of scholarship to become a vernacular used in all strata of society.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Excerpted from: <\/span>Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World, <\/span><\/i>Jeremy Benstein, Behrman House, 2019, p. 39.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":66802,"alt":"","title":"is36-Benstein-HRJR","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-Benstein-HRJR.png","width":550,"height":472,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-Benstein-HRJR-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-Benstein-HRJR-300x257.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":257,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-Benstein-HRJR.png","medium_large-width":550,"medium_large-height":472,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-Benstein-HRJR.png","large-width":550,"large-height":472,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-Benstein-HRJR.png","1536x1536-width":550,"1536x1536-height":472,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-Benstein-HRJR.png","2048x2048-width":550,"2048x2048-height":472,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-Benstein-HRJR.png","post_full_size-width":550,"post_full_size-height":472,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-Benstein-HRJR-489x420.png","home_baner-width":489,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Excerpt from \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes\"","tile_main_caption":"The Promise And Perils Of Diglossia","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Aramaic vs. Hebrew on the ramparts of Jerusalem","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":66802,"alt":"","title":"is36-Benstein-HRJR","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-Benstein-HRJR.png","width":550,"height":472,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-Benstein-HRJR-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-Benstein-HRJR-300x257.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":257,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-Benstein-HRJR.png","medium_large-width":550,"medium_large-height":472,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-Benstein-HRJR.png","large-width":550,"large-height":472,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-Benstein-HRJR.png","1536x1536-width":550,"1536x1536-height":472,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-Benstein-HRJR.png","2048x2048-width":550,"2048x2048-height":472,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-Benstein-HRJR.png","post_full_size-width":550,"post_full_size-height":472,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-Benstein-HRJR-489x420.png","home_baner-width":489,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"370","date":"20270128","wall_id":"370"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"361","name":"Hebrew language","old_id":"761"},{"term_id":"444","name":"History","old_id":"844"}]},{"order":11,"id":"66800","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"From Prophecy To Prose ","post_title":"From Prophecy To Prose","slug":"from-prophecy-to-prose","old_id":"66800","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54356,"post_title":"Robert Alter","slug":"robert-alter","old_id":"54356","first_name":"Robert ","last_name":"Alter","description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has written over twenty books, focusing on such topics as the European novel from the 18th century to the present, contemporary American fiction, and modern Hebrew literature. He has also written extensively on the literary aspects of the Bible. His most recent work is his monumental three volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019 - from which the selections in 929 are taken. ","short_description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and author of the three-volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54357,"alt":"","title":"robert alter","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","width":184,"height":275,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium-width":184,"medium-height":275,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium_large-width":184,"medium_large-height":275,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","large-width":184,"large-height":275,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","1536x1536-width":184,"1536x1536-height":275,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","2048x2048-width":184,"2048x2048-height":275,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","post_full_size-width":184,"post_full_size-height":275,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","home_baner-width":184,"home_baner-height":275}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"370","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Some historical context for the prophetic message","post_main_content_content":"

    36:1 \u201cAnd it happened in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria went up against all the fortified towns of Judah and took them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The prose narrative that begins here and runs to the end of chapter 39 replicates 2 Kings 18:13 through 2 Kings 20:19 with, for the most part, only minor textual differences and one added unit, 38:9-20. Although some scholars have argued that the Book of Isaiah is the primary source, copied by the editors of Kings, the reverse seems more likely. One indication that the Isaiah text is secondary is that at quite a few points it slightly abbreviates the text in Kings, dropping out a word, phrase, or even a clause that was not deemed strictly necessary. The editorial decision to insert this narrative segment here at the end of the prophecies of Isaiah son of Amoz (however much these include later writings) was evidently motivated by a desire to round out the prophecies with some detailed historical context. The fourteenth year of Hezekiah\u2019s reign is 701 B.C.E. Sennacharib\u2019s campaign in Phoenicia, Philistia, and Judah in that year is elaborately documented in Assyrian annals and bas-reliefs.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    From: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible, vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

     <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"From Prophecy To Prose","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Some historical context for the prophetic message","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"370","date":"20270128","wall_id":"370"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"721","name":"Text","old_id":"1121"}]},{"order":12,"id":"66798","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points to Ponder - 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      \r\n\t
    1. Rabshakeh speaks fluent Isaian<\/em>. Now that we know what Isaiah has to say about Assyria, about Egypt and about a rebellion, it\u2019s clear that Rabshakeh\u2019s speech is actually quite similar. About Assyria: they are an instrument of God. About Egypt: they are not to be relied upon, don\u2019t be foolish. And about that rebellion? Don\u2019t put yourselves through needless suffering. Really.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    2. Assyrian pride.<\/em> In his speech, Rabshakeh is full of pride, especially in what he says in verse 20, the narrative expression of the prophecy of the proud king of Assyria (which we read only 26 chapters ago in Isaiah 10), which tells of a king who lashes out in overweening pride at God, who is the one who sent him: \u201cDoes an ax boast over him who hews with it, Or a saw magnify itself above him who wields it? As though the rod raised him who lifts it, As though the staff lifted the man!\u201d (10:15). Will Assyria pay the price that the prophecy foretells? Stay tuned for the answer.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    3. 2 Kings redux<\/em>. The story told in this chapter appears also in 2 Kings 18, beginning with verse 13 (but with a small addition in verses 14-16). Stick around for another 545 chapters, and we will meet the story for a third time (slightly abbreviated) in 2 Chronicles 32.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Isaiah 36","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"36","chapter_main_number":"370","date":"20270128","wall_id":"370"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/66524"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}