Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
2 Kings 20:12-19
The Visit Of The Babylonian Ambassadors (2 Kings 20:12).
News of Hezekiah's sickness had reached Babylon, who may already have been in negotiations with him, and the consequence was that the king of Babylon sent ambassadors to Hezekiah in order to wish him well. Proud to think that he was of some importance to so illustrious a figure (for Babylon had had a unique and dazzling reputation from earliest times) Hezekiah then determined to demonstrate that he too was important, and so he boastingly showed to the ambassadors all his treasures and all his armaments. No doubt this was partly in order to prove what a reliable and important ally he would be, but, as Isaiah pointed out, what he had overlooked was that to make such a display to Babylon was like showing a jewel to a magpie. Once the magpie knew of it, it would not be long before the magpie came for the jewel. Hezekiah's reply demonstrated the shortness of his vision. As long as there was peace in his day the future did not matter. (We can hear Manasseh saying, ‘Thanks, Dad').
Analysis.
a At that time Berodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick (2 Kings 20:12).
b And Hezekiah listened to them, and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious oil, and the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures. There was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah did not show them (2 Kings 20:13).
c Then came Isaiah the prophet to king Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, even from Babylon” (2 Kings 20:14).
d And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah answered, They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them” (2 Kings 20:15).
c And Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of YHWH. Behold, the days come, that all that is in your house, and what your fathers have laid up in store to this day, will be carried to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says YHWH (2 Kings 20:16).
b And of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will beget, will they take away, and they will be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon” (2 Kings 20:18).
a Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “Good is the word of YHWH which you have spoken.”. He said moreover, “Is it not so, if peace and truth will be in my days?” (2 Kings 20:19).
Note that in ‘a' the king of Babylon sent letters of sympathy, and in the parallel he is happy because it confirms peace in his day. In ‘b he reveals all his wealth, and in the parallel is informed that because of it his sons will be carried off to Babylon. In ‘c' Hezekiah tells Isaiah that they came from Babylon, and in the parallel Hezekiah learns that that is also where all Judah's possessions will go. Centrally in ‘d' Hezekiah explains that he has shown them all that he has.
‘At that time Berodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.'
It was customary for kings to send letters/condolences (and automatically the usual present) to their fellow-kings when they had either recovered or died, consequent upon an illness, but usually only to those whom they saw as comparatively equals with themselves (compare 2 Samuel 10:2). This deputation from great Babylon would therefore be very flattering to Hezekiah. It would give the appearance that the king of Babylon, who was, however, himself in a precarious position, was treating him as an equal. But there can be little doubt also that by it the king of Babylon was seeking to draw Hezekiah into an alliance with him against Assyria. Babylon had constantly been a thorn in the flesh to Assyria, and was seeking to be so again now that Merodach-baladan had retaken the throne, and was thus seeking to ensure the stretching of Assyria's resources when Sennacherib's strike at Babylon finally came. With much of the area south of the Euphrates formed into Assyrian provinces, Judah were one of the few ‘independent' states strong enough to cause trouble for Assyria. This visit probably took place a little before the invasion described earlier, and the strength of Judah's fortified cities at this time is born witness to archaeologically, making Hezekiah a worthy ally. (Even at the time of his flight back to Assyria Sennacherib, while occupying much of Judah, had not managed to cause Libnah to yield, and there were no doubt other cities also still holding out, especially in the hill country. Thus his forces were being tied up, and whilst being so, were therefore not available in such large numbers elsewhere. But by that time Merodach Baladan with his allies had already been initially defeated, so that it did not in the end help Babylon at all).
So we can see why Berodach-baladan (usually named Merodach-baladan i.e. Marduk-appla-iddina) was so keen to obtain his friendship at a time when he himself, having again obtained the throne of Babylon (for a period of around six months or so in 703-2 BC on the death of Sargon, having previously reigned there in 721-710 BC)), was anticipating a fresh onslaught from Assyria. The ‘b' instead of the ‘m' was a common labial variant in Akkadian, and may have been intended by the author to remove the name of Marduk, chief god of Babylon, from the name. ‘Son of Baladan', that is, of Bel-iddin.
‘And Hezekiah listened to them, and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious oil, and the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures. There was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah did not show them.'
It was also normal practise for kings to want to show off their wealth to visiting diplomats, and to make a great display in front of them. But it was not really wise to so rapacious a nation as Babylon. (Isaiah would have shown them nothing, but of course he sought glory from YHWH alone). But Hezekiah's vanity demanded that he demonstrate his own greatness. And thus he showed them ‘everything'.
That this was at a time of great prosperity in Judah (mainly destroyed by the forthcoming war) comes out in the nature of what was shown. Silver and gold a-plenty (but with the emphasis on the silver), and spices and precious oil from Arabia, indicating wide affluent trading. That they were in abundance comes out in that they were shown. You did not produce what would show you up. And he showed them his armaments in the House of the Forest of Lebanon (so-called because of its many pillars of timber from Lebanon) which was part of the king' palace complex. He wanted them to see that Judah could look after themselves. And besides this he showed them his other treasures, ivory-inlaid furniture, and so on. He put on as great a display as possible.
‘Then came Isaiah the prophet to king Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, even from Babylon.”
Isaiah had noted the coming of this foreign embassage, but had clearly not been invited to the celebrations. This in itself suggests that Hezekiah was aware that what he was doing would not be approved of by the prophet of YHWH. Thus when the embassage had moved off Isaiah came to Hezekiah and asked whom they were, and what they had said. Hezekiah, no doubt somewhat proudly declared that they had come from no less a place than Babylon.
‘And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah answered, They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.” '
But Isaiah, who was far more aware of the hearts of men (as well as the folly of men), was not impressed, rather he demanded what they had see of what Judah possessed. And his heart must have sank when Hezekiah somewhat boastfully declared that he had shown them all his treasures and armaments, and that he had left nothing out. he clearly felt that he had put on a good show.
‘And Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of YHWH.”
It actually did not need a prophet to foresee what the result of this would be, only a man of astute vision. Thus for a man like Isaiah it was so apparent that he probably could not believe that Hezekiah had been so foolish. And that was how it appeared to YHWH also,.for Isaiah brought to Hezekiah ‘the word of YHWH'. Such had been Hezekiah's arrogance and folly that it had to be punished, for it was a divine principle that those who exalt themselves will be brought low.
“Behold, the days come, that all that is in your house, and what your fathers have laid up in store to this day, will be carried to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says YHWH.”
The consequence for Judah was thus to be that all that they possessed would be carried off to Babylon. Nothing of it would remain in Judah. It would be stripped of everything. That is what happens when you put all that you have on display to potential robbers. Ostentation brings its own reward. And this was the word of YHWH.
This stripping away from Judah of all that it possessed has been a theme of Kings. The prophetic author clearly wanted to bring home the lesson of the temporary nature of earthly possessions.
“And of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will beget, will they take away, and they will be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
But even worse was to be that his own sons who he himself had begotten (which is stressed), would be taken away to become eunuchs/officials in the palace of the king of Babylon. This would not only be a cause for great shame, but a threat to the continuation of the house of David itself. And it would all be the consequence of Hezekiah's folly. That this did happen comes out in the fate of Manasseh, Hezekiah's trueborn son, who was himself carried away to Babylon, along no doubt with many of Manasseh's half-brothers and family, by Ashur-bani-pal of Assyria, whose father Esarhaddon had established himself at Babylon as its king. So Hezekiah had been indulging his fancies with a city which in the long term could only be a disaster for Judah and for his own family, and would in the end prove to be the greatest disaster of all. (It is noteworthy, however, that there is no mention of the destruction of Jerusalem. The prophetic author no doubt had it in mind, but that is not what Isaiah had at this stage prophesied, and the author (unlike certain scholars) would not alter prophetic words which he would hold sacred).
‘Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “Good is the word of YHWH which you have spoken.”. He said moreover, “Is it not so, if peace and truth will be in my days?” '
We may see this as Hezekiah seeking to make the best of a bad job, or even as an indication that he did not really believe it. Consideration for the prophet would have prevented him from expressing his incredulity. That is more probable than that he complacently considered that such a fate for his sons was acceptable in return for present peace. So he piously went along with Isaiah, and declared that the word of YHWH was, as always, good. And then sought to cover what might have appeared to be unconcern about the future of his family with an explanation that at least it meant that there would be peace and truth in his day. In those days the guarantee of peace was worth its weight in gold. Of course, as we know from the preceding narrative, he did not receive that either (and had not been promised it). So his rather complacent attitude would soon be revealed to be folly. But as he was at the time very much involved with alliances which had not been approved of by Isaiah, the disharmony between them would not be surprising. It is probable, however, that we are to see it as indicating that once Sennacherib had withdrawn Hezekiah was not troubled again. This would not be all that surprising. The amount of Judah which he now controlled was probably not seen as worth a major expedition against it, when other far more important issues remained to be resolved, and Sennacherib may well also have had a presentiment which prevented any further attack as a result of the mysterious disease which had destroyed his army. His son would have no such fears.