2 Kings 20:12 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
2 Kings 20:12
At that time Berodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.
time · preposition with the article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
Berodach-baladan
בְּרֹאדַ֣ךְbe.ro.Dakh
H1255
Berodak-Baladan · proper noun, a man's name
son
בֶּֽןben-
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Baladan
בַּלְאֲדָ֧ןbal.'a.Dan
H1081
Baladan · proper noun, a man's name
king
מֶֽלֶךְMe.lekh-
H4428
a king · noun, common masculine singular construct
Babylon
בָּבֶ֛לba.Vel
H894
Babel (i.e. Babylon) · proper noun, a place name
sent
שָׁלַ֡חsha.Lach
H7971
to send away · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
letters
סְפָרִ֥יםse.fa.Rim
H5612
properly · noun, common masculine plural absolute
present
וּמִנְחָ֖הu.min.Chah
H4503
a donation · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular absolute
Hezekiah
חִזְקִיָּ֑הוּchiz.ki.Ya.hu
H2396
Chizkijah · proper noun, a man's name
heard
שָׁמַ֔עsha.Ma'
H8085
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Hezekiah
חִזְקִיָּֽהוּchiz.ki.Ya.hu
H2396
Chizkijah · proper noun, a man's name
sick
חָלָ֖הcha.Lah
H2470
properly · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
2 Chronicles 32:31 Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land,…
Isaiah 39:1-8 At that time Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had bee…
Genesis 10:10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Genesis 11:9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD sc…
2 Samuel 8:10 Then Toi sent Joram his son unto king David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer, and smitten him: for…
2 Samuel 10:2 Then said David, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by…
Isaiah 13:1 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.
Isaiah 13:19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 20:12–end
Here is, I. An embassy sent to Hezekiah by the king of Babylon, to congratulate him on his recovery, Kg2 20:12. The kings of Babylon had hitherto been only deputies and tributaries to the kings of Assyria, and Nineveh was the royal city. We find Babylon subject to the king of Assyria, Kg2 17:24. But this king of Babylon began to set up for himself, and by degrees things were so changed that Assyria became subject to the kings of Babylon. This king of Babylon sent to compliment Hezekiah, and ingratiate himself with him upon a double account. 1. Upon the account of religion. The Babylonians worshipped the sun, and, perceiving what honour their god had done to Hezekiah, in going back for his sa…
Berodach-baladan-- (Isa 39:1), the first king of Babylon mentioned in sacred history; formerly its rulers were viceroys of the Assyrian monarchs. This individual threw off the yoke, and asserting his independence, made with varying success, a long and obstinate resistance [RAWLINSON, Outlines]. The message of congratulation to Hezekiah, was, in all likelihood, accompanied with proposals for a defensive alliance against their common Assyrian enemy. The king of Judah, flattered with this honor, showed the ambassadors all his treasures, his armory and warlike stores; and his motive for this was evidently that the Babylonian deputies might be the more induced to prize his friendship.
Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 20:12
At that time Berodach-baladan - He is called Merodach-Baladan, Isa 39:1, and by the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, and by several of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS.; and also by the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds. The true reading seems to be Merodach; the מ mem and ב beth might be easily interchanged, and so produce the mistake.
Sent letters and a present - It appears that there was friendship between the king of Babylon and Hezekiah, when the latter and the Assyrians were engaged in a destructive war. The king of Babylon had not only heard of his sickness, but he had heard of the miracle; as we learn from Ch2 32:31.
John Gill
Dictionary and topics
Assyria — The name derived from the city Asshur on the Tigris, the original capital of the country, was originally a colony from Babylonia, and was ruled by viceroys from that kingdom. It was a mountainous…
Babylon, kingdom of — Called “the land of the Chaldeans” (Jer. 24:5; Ezek, 12:13), was an extensive province in Central Asia along the valley of the Tigris from the Persian Gulf northward for some 300 miles. It was famed…
Baladan — He has given a son, the father of the Babylonian king (2 Kings 20:12; Isa. 39:1) Merodach-baladan (q.v.).
Berodach-baladan — The king of Babylon who sent a friendly deputation to Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:12). In Isa. 39:1 he is called Merodach-baladan (q.v.).
Hezekiah — Whom Jehovah has strengthened. (1.) Son of Ahaz (2 Kings 18:1; 2 Chr. 29:1), whom he succeeded on the throne of the kingdom of Judah. He reigned twenty-nine years (B.C. 726-697). The history of this…
Merodach-baladan — Merodach has given a son, (Isa. 39:1), “the hereditary chief of the Chaldeans, a small tribe at that time settled in the marshes at the mouth of the Euphrates, but in consequence of his conquest of…
Merodachbaladan — (worshipper of Baal) is mentioned as king of Babylon in the days of Hezekiah both in the second hook of Kings, ch. (2 Kings 20:12) and in Isaiah. ch. (Isaiah 39:1) In the former place he is called…
Ambassadors · Berodach to Hezekiah — Berodach to Hezekiah
Babylon · Governed by Kings — Governed by Kings
Condolence · .King of Babylon, to Hezekiah — .King of Babylon, to Hezekiah
on 2 Kings 20:12
At that time Berodachbaladan,.... He is called Merodachbaladan, Isaiah 39:1, so here in the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions; See Gill on Isaiah 39:1; and by Metasthenes (z) his father is called Merodach, and he Ben Merodach, who reigned twenty one years, and his father fifty two; from hence to the end of 2 Kings 20:12 the same account is given in the same words as in Isaiah 39:1 throughout, except in 2 Kings 20:13, where it is, "hearkened unto them", and there, "glad of them"; heard the letter the ambassadors brought with pleasure; see the notes there. See Gill on Isaiah 39:1 and following.
(z) Ut supra. (De Judicio Temp. fol. 221. 2.)
Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Kings 20:12-19
The Babylonian embassy, and Hezekiah's imprudence (cf. Isa 39:1-8). - Kg2 20:12. "At that time Berodach Baladan, king of Babel, sent a letter and a present to Hezekiah, because he had heard that Hezekiah was sick." By ההיא בּעת the arrival of these ambassadors is merely assigned in the most general manner to the period following Hezekiah's recovery. But from the object of their mission, it is evident that they did not arrive in Jerusalem till after the overthrow and departure of Sennacherib, and therefore at least half a year after Hezekiah's recovery. The ostensible reason given is, that Berodach Baladan had heard of Hezekiah's illness, and therefore sent to congratulate him on his recovery…
Merodach-baladan reigned over Babylon from 721 to 710 BC, when Sargon of Assyria forced him to flee. He ruled again briefly in 703 BC. This visit was likely during his exile; he probably sent envoys bearing his best wishes and a gift because he needed an ally against Assyria. • There was nothing . . . that Hezekiah did not show them: Hezekiah showed the Babylonian envoys his vast treasuries, which had not yet been sent to Sennacherib (18:13-16). However, his attempt to impress his visitors was misguided (20:16-18).
Rashi on 2 Kings 20:12
For he heard that Chizkiyohu was ill. And until that day no person who had ever been ill, had become well. Now, how did he hear? He was accustomed to eat after three hours [had elapsed] in the day, and he would sleep until the ninth [hour of the day]. Because the cycle of the sun had gone backwards on account of Chizkiyohu, he awoke after nine hours [of the day] and found that it was morning, and he wanted to kill his servants. He said, ”You let me sleep a day and a night!” They replied, “The sun's cycle went backwards.” He asked them, “Who brought it back?” They said to him, “The God of Chizkiyohu,”11He then sent messengers to inquire about this great event and eventually heard about Chizki…
Isaiah · commissioners from Babylon — commissioners from Babylon
Merodach-Baladan · Sends congratulatory letters and a present to Hezekiah — Sends congratulatory letters and a present to Hezekiah
Presents · Were given: On recovering from sickness — Were given: On recovering from sickness
Rich, The · .Hezekiah — .Hezekiah
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
