Chapter 36 – FAMILIA MUNDIAL
1 [⇒ 36:1-⇒ 39:8] Except for ⇒ 38:9-20 this historical appendix describing the siege, etc., is paralleled in ⇒ 2 Kings 18:13-⇒ 20:19 which, however, has certain details proper to itself. The events are also recorded in substantially the same way in the cuneiform inscriptions of Sennacherib.
2 [7] The Assyrians pretend that Hezekiah’s removal of the high places and altars (illegal sanctuaries) was taken by the Lord as an insult. They declare to Jerusalem’s emissaries that the city therefore no longer has a right to the Lord’s protection and that they are the ones who truly carry out his will (⇒ Isaiah 36:10).
3 [11] The Jewish emissaries ask that the conversation be carried on in Aramaic, not in Judean, for they fear the effect of the Assyrian claims upon the morale of the people.