Isaiah 36:9
in Isaiah 36For how can you repel a single officer among the least of my master’s servants when you depend on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
How then canst thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
KJV
How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
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This verse in Isaiah 36
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
How then wilt thou turn away the face - The most unimportant captain in the army of Assyria commands more horsemen than this, and how can you expect to oppose even him, much more how can you be able to resist all the mighty army of the Assyrians? One captain of the least - The word ‘captain’ here (פחת pachat, construct state from פחה pechâh) denotes a prefect or governor of a province less than a satrap, an officer who was under the satrap, and subject to him.
This site's exposition
We trust in the LORD our God
on Isaiah 36:7-10
Rabshakeh turns the king's own reform against him: is He not the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed? Then he claims the LORD sent him with the words, Go up against this land and destroy it, a claim the narrative exposes only later.
This site's exposition
a single officer among the least
The word for officer is pechah, a governor of a province under a greater lord, the same title later used of Nehemiah. Barnes notes that the least such officer in Assyria's army commanded more horsemen than Judah could mount. Judah's hope in Egyptian chariots is his proof of her weakness.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 36—Verse 1 and following) And it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the washer's field. And Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him. And Rabshakeh said to them, "Say to Hezekiah, 'Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours?' By what plan and courage do you prepare to rebel? On whom do you have confidence, because you have turned away from me? Look, you trust in this broken reed staff, in Egypt: if a man leans on it, it will enter into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to all who trust in him. But if you say to me, 'We trust in the LORD our God,' is it not he whose heights and altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, 'You shall worship before this altar'? And now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, and you will not be able to provide riders for them. And how will you withstand the face of one judge from my lord's servants? And if you rely on Egypt: and on chariots, and on horsemen: and now, did I ascend to this land without the Lord, to destroy it? The Lord said to me: Go up on this land and destroy it. The history is clear and does not require interpretation: and this same thing is reported more fully in the volumes of Kings and Chronicles. In the third year of Hosea the son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
And Rabsaces said to them. Here the discussion of the messengers is set out. And concerning this, he sets out two things: first, the preamble of Rabsaces to the Jewish messengers; second, to the others, where it says, then Rabsaces stood (Isa 36:13). Concerning the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The history related here, and in the three following chapters, is, almost in the same words contained 2 Kings 18, 19, 20. It is inserted here, to explain and confirm some of the foregoing predictions.
How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants,....
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֵ֣יךְ | veeikh | and how? | H349 → | 82 times |
| תָּשִׁ֗יב | tashiv | will you turn back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֵ֠ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פְּנֵ֨י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| פַחַ֥ת | fachat | [the] governor | H6346 → | |
| אַחַ֛ד | ʾachad | <of> one of | H259 → | 971 times |
| עַבְדֵ֥י | ʾavdei | [the] servants of | H5650 → | 799 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֖י | ʾadoni | master my | H113 → | 333 times |
| הַקְטַנִּ֑ים | haktanim | <the> little | H6996 → | 101 times |
| וַתִּבְטַ֤ח | vativtach | and you have been relying | H982 → | 120 times |
| לְךָ֙ | lekha | <for> yourself | ||
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִצְרַ֔יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| לְרֶ֖כֶב | lerekhev | for chariotry | H7393 → | 119 times |
| וּלְפָרָשִֽׁים׃ | ulefarashim | and for horsemen | H6571 → | 57 times |
וְאֵ֣יךְand how?
veeikhH349 →82 times
תָּשִׁ֗יבwill you turn back
tashivH7725 →1056 times
אֵ֠ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
פְּנֵ֨י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
פַחַ֥ת[the] governor
fachatH6346 →
אַחַ֛ד<of> one of
ʾachadH259 →971 times
עַבְדֵ֥י[the] servants of
ʾavdeiH5650 →799 times
אֲדֹנִ֖יmaster my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
הַקְטַנִּ֑ים<the> little
haktanimH6996 →101 times
וַתִּבְטַ֤חand you have been relying
vativtachH982 →120 times
לְךָ֙<for> yourself
lekha
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
לְרֶ֖כֶבfor chariotry
lerekhevH7393 →119 times
וּלְפָרָשִֽׁים׃and for horsemen
ulefarashimH6571 →57 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 21:31A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory is of the LORD.
it leads to
- Psalms 20:7
Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
- Isaiah 31:1
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy…
- Psalms 33:17–18
A horse is a vain hope for salvation; even its great strength cannot save.
- Psalms 147:10
He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legpower of the man.
- Psalms 68:20
Our God is a God of deliverance; the Lord GOD is our rescuer from death.
- Psalms 20:7
Through
Isaiah 20:5Those who made Cush their hope and Egypt their boast will be dismayed and ashamed.
it leads to
- Isaiah 30:5
everyone will be put to shame because of a people useless to them. They cannot be of help; they are good for nothing but shame and reproach.”
- Isaiah 30:3
But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame, and the refuge of Egypt’s shade your disgrace.
- Isaiah 30:5
Through
Isaiah 10:8“Are not all my commanders kings?” he says.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 18:24
For how can you repel a single officer among the least of my master’s servants when you depend on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
- 2 Kings 18:24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.