[568] Comp. Isa. xxx. 1-7; Ezek. xxix. 6. It seems to be an over-refinement to suppose that Sennacherib refers to the divisions between Egypt and Ethiopia.
[569] 2 Kings xviii. 23, A.V.: "Let Hezekiah give pledges."
[570] Heb., Arâmîth.
[571] 2 Kings xviii. 28, where stood should be rendered came forward.
[572] The coarse expression is softened down by the Chronicler (2 Chron. xxxii. 18).
[573] The kings of Assyria usually called themselves "great king, mighty king, king of the multitude, king of the land Assur."
[574] Every one must notice the glaring inconsistency between this defiance of Jehovah and the previous claim to the possession of His sanction. On Hamath, Arpad, etc., see Schrader, ii. 7-10.
[575] Isa. xxxiii. 8: "He hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man."
[576] 1 Kings xx. 32; 2 Kings vi. 30.
[577] Sennacherib had already carried off vast numbers. See Isa. xxiv. 1-12; Demetrius ap. Clem. Alex., Strom., i. 403.