Isaiah 37:36
in Isaiah 37Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the angel of Jehovah went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.
KJV
Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
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This verse in Isaiah 37
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThen the angel - Before “the angel, “the other copy, 2Ki 19:35, adds “it came to pass the same night, that ” - The Prophet Hosea, Hos 1:7, has given a plain prediction of the miraculous deliverance of the kingdom of Judah: - “And to the house of Judah I will be tenderly merciful: And I will save them by Jehovah their God. And I will not save them by the bow; Nor by sword, nor by battle; By horses, nor by horsemen.” - L.
This site's exposition
struck down 185,000 men in the camp
Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, “there were all the dead bodies”, a report 2 Kings 19:35 carries as well. The promise of verse 33 is kept.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
Paschasius of DumiumQUESTIONS AND ANSWERS OF THE GREEK FATHERS 38:1 · Written before 600.
proposed
A brother asked Antony, "What shall I do for my sins?" He replied, "He who desires to be freed from his sins will be freed from them by tears and weeping. He who wishes to be strengthened in virtues will be strengthened by weeping and …
(Vrs. 36 seqq.) However, the Angel of God went out and struck down in the Assyrian camp 185,000 men; and when they arose in the morning, behold, all the dead bodies. Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned to Nineveh, and he lived there. And it came about as he was worshiping in the temple of Nesrach his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, killed him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Here he sets out the punishment which Sennacherib sustained from God. First, as to the slaughter of his army: and slew, above: at the voice of the angel the people fled (Isa 33:3).
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Here are 185,000 brave soldiers in an instant turned into so many dead corpses. Many think the 76th Psalm was penned upon occasion of this defeat, where from the spoiling of the stout-hearted, and sending them to sleep their long sleep (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Then the angel of the Lord went forth,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The mouse was the Egyptian emblem of destruction. The Greek Apollo was called Sminthian, from a Cretan word for "a mouse," as a tutelary god of agriculture, he was represented with one foot upon a mouse, since field mice hurt corn.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Then the angel of the Lord went forth - This verse contains the record of one of the most remarkable events which have occurred in history. Many attempts have been made to explain the occurrence which is here recorded, and to trace the agencies or means which God employed. It may be observed that the use of the word ‘angel’ here does not determine the manner in which it was done. So far as the word is concerned, it might have been accomplished either by the power of an invisible messenger of God - a spiritual being commissioned for this purpose; or it might have been by some second causes under the direction of an angel - as the pestilence, or a storm and tempest; or it might have been by some agents sent by God whatever they were - the storm, the pestilence, or the simoom, to which the name angel might have been applied. The word ‘angel’ (מלאך mal'âk) from לאך lâ'ak to send) means properly one sent, a messenger, from a private person Job 1:14; from a king 1Sa 16:19; 1Sa 19:11, 1Sa 19:14, 1Sa 19:20. Then it means a messenger of God, and is applied: (1) to an angel (Exo 23:20; 2Sa 14:16; et al.); (2) to a prophet Hag 1:13; Mal 3:1; (3) to a priest Ecc 5:5; Mal 2:7. The word may be applied to any messenger sent from God, whoever or whatever that may be. Thus, in Psa 104:4, the winds are said to be his angels, or messengers: Who maketh the winds (רוחות rûachôth) his angels (מלאכיו male'âkâyv); The flaming fire his ministers. The general sense of the word is that of ambassador, messenger, one sent to bear a message, to execute a commission, or to perform any work or service. It is known that the Jews were in the habit of tracing all events to the agency of invisible beings sent forth by God to accomplish his purposes in this world. […]
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּצֵ֣א׀ | vaiyetze' | and he went out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מַלְאַ֣ךְ | malakh | [the] angel of | H4397 → | 213 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיַּכֶּה֙ | vaiyakeh | and he struck down | H5221 → | 499 times |
| בְּמַחֲנֵ֣ה | bemachaneh | in [the] camp of | H4264 → | |
| אַשּׁ֔וּר | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
| מֵאָ֛ה | meah | one hundred | H3967 → | 581 times |
| וּשְׁמֹנִ֥ים | ushemonim | and eighty | H8084 → | |
| וַחֲמִשָּׁ֖ה | vachamishah | and five | H2568 → | 343 times |
| אָ֑לֶף | ʾalef | thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| וַיַּשְׁכִּ֣ימוּ | vaiyashkimu | and they rose early | H7925 → | |
| בַבֹּ֔קֶר | vaboker | in the morning | H1242 → | 214 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֥ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| כֻלָּ֖ם | khulam | all of them | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| פְּגָרִ֥ים | pegarim | [were] corpses | H6297 → | 22 times |
| מֵתִֽים׃ | metim | dead | H4191 → | 839 times |
וַיֵּצֵ֣א׀and he went out
vaiyetze'H3318 →1067 times
מַלְאַ֣ךְ[the] angel of
malakhH4397 →213 times
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיַּכֶּה֙and he struck down
vaiyakehH5221 →499 times
בְּמַחֲנֵ֣הin [the] camp of
bemachanehH4264 →
אַשּׁ֔וּרAssyria
ʾashurH804 →151 times
מֵאָ֛הone hundred
meahH3967 →581 times
וּשְׁמֹנִ֥יםand eighty
ushemonimH8084 →
וַחֲמִשָּׁ֖הand five
vachamishahH2568 →343 times
אָ֑לֶףthousand
ʾalefH505 →505 times
וַיַּשְׁכִּ֣ימוּand they rose early
vaiyashkimuH7925 →
בַבֹּ֔קֶרin the morning
vabokerH1242 →214 times
וְהִנֵּ֥הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
כֻלָּ֖םall of them
khulamH3605 →5413 times
פְּגָרִ֥ים[were] corpses
pegarimH6297 →22 times
מֵתִֽים׃dead
metimH4191 →839 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
2 Kings 19:35And that very night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 32:21–22
and the LORD sent an angel who annihilated every mighty man of valor and every leader and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he withdrew to his own land in…
- 2 Samuel 24:16
But when the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that…
- Exodus 12:29–30
Now at midnight the LORD struck down every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon,…
- Psalms 76:5–7
The valiant lie plundered; they sleep their last sleep. No men of might could lift a hand.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2–3
For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
- 2 Chronicles 32:21–22
Through
2 Samuel 24:16But when the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that…
it leads to
- Exodus 12:23
When the LORD passes through to strike down the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway; so He will not allow…
- Joel 2:13–14
So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.
- Exodus 12:23
Through
Isaiah 10:12So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 50:18
Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria.
- Jeremiah 50:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Paschasius of Dumium, QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS OF THE GREEK FATHERS 38:1 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.