2 Kings 18:31

Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern:

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(31) Make an agreement with me by a present.—Literally, make with me a blessing, i.e. (according to the Targum and Syriac), “make peace with me.” The phrase does not elsewhere occur. Perhaps it is grounded on the fact that the conclusion of peace was generally accompanied by mutual expressions of goodwill. (Gesenius says peace is a conception akin to blessing, weal.)

Come out to me.—From behind your walls; surrender (1Samuel 11:3; Jeremiah 21:9).

And then eat ye.—Omit then. The country-folk who had taken refuge in Jerusalem are invited to return to their farms, and dwell in peace, “until Sennacherib has brought his Egyptian campaign to a close; then, no doubt, they will be removed from their home, but a new home will be given them equal to the old” (Cheyne). We might, however, render, according to a well-known Hebrew idiom, so shall ye eat, every man of his own vine, &c., i.e., If ye surrender at once, no harm shall befall you; but ye shall enjoy your own land, until I remove you to a better. (Comp. 1Kings 5:5.) Thenius denies the reference to the Egyptian campaign, and makes Sennacherib pose as a father who wishes to make the necessary preparations for the reception of his dear children (!).

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

18:17-37 Rabshakeh tries to convince the Jews, that it was to no purpose for them to stand it out. What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? It were well if sinners would submit to the force of this argument, in seeking peace with God. It is, therefore, our wisdom to yield to him, because it is in vain to contend with him: what confidence is that which those trust in who stand out against him? A great deal of art there is in this speech of Rabshakeh; but a great deal of pride, malice, falsehood, and blasphemy. Hezekiah's nobles held their peace. There is a time to keep silence, as well as a time to speak; and there are those to whom to offer any thing religious or rational, is to cast pearls before swine. Their silence made Rabshakeh yet more proud and secure. It is often best to leave such persons to rail and blaspheme; a decided expression of abhorrence is the best testimony against them. The matter must be left to the Lord, who has all hearts in his hands, committing ourselves unto him in humble submission, believing hope, and fervent prayer.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Make an agreement ... - Rather, "Make peace with me." The word, which primarily means "blessing," and secondarily "a gift," has also the meaning, though more rarely, of "peace." Probably it acquired this meaning from the fact that a peace was commonly purchased by presents.

eat ... drink - A picture of a time of quiet and prosperity, a time when each man might enjoy the fruits of his land, without any fear of the spoiler's violence. The words are in contrast with the latter part of 2 Kings 18:27.

Cistern - Rather, "well" Deuteronomy 6:11. Each cultivator in Palestine has a "well" dug in some part of his ground, from which he draws water for his own use. "Cisterns," or reservoirs for rain-water, are comparatively rare.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

27. that they may eat, &c.—This was designed to show the dreadful extremities to which, in the threatened siege, the people of Jerusalem would be reduced.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Make an agreement with me by a present, to redeem yourselves from all the calamities of a close siege, and that death which certainly will follow on them. Or, procure, or purchase a blessing from me, i.e. a blessed peace; whereby you may be delivered out of your distressed and cursed condition, and receive from me the blessings of protection and provision, which your king cannot give you.

Then eat ye every man of his own vine; upon these terms I will give you no disturbance, but quietly suffer each of you to enjoy his own possessions.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris, and Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem,.... Notwithstanding he took the above large sum of money of him, so false and deceitful was he: these were three generals of his army, whom he sent to besiege Jerusalem, while he continued the siege of Lachish; only Rabshakeh is mentioned in Isaiah 36:2 he being perhaps chief general, and the principal speaker; whose speech, to the end of this chapter, intended to intimidate Hezekiah, and dishearten his people, with some circumstances which attended it, are recorded word for word in Isaiah 36:1 throughout; See Gill on Isaiah 36:1 and notes on that chapter.

Geneva Study Bible

Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern:

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

31. Make an agreement with me by a present] R.V. make your peace with me. The noun is that which is often rendered ‘blessing’ in the sense of a ‘present’ (see note on 2 Kings 5:15 above). And there is no example in the Bible exactly parallel to this. But the cognate verb is used of salutations (e.g. 2 Kings 4:29), ‘If any man salute thee’, literally ‘bless thee’, ‘wish thee peace’. Hence it is not difficult to see how such a noun would come to have the sense of ‘peace’, exactly like shalôm, which is the more usual word in such salutations.

and come out to me] i.e. Open your gates and submit yourselves instead of staying within to die of starvation.

and then [R.V. omits then] eat ye every man [R.V. one] of his own vine] Cf. above 1 Kings 4:25 where the description applies to the most prosperous days of the reign of Solomon.

cistern] This was a pit or well dug for collecting water, not the sort of manufactured tank to which the name is now usually given.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 31. - Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the King of Assyria. Rabshakeh, before concluding, tries the effect of blandishments. The King of Assyria is no harsh lord, as he has been represented to them. He will be a kinder master than Hezekiah. Hezekiah condemns them to all the hardships of a siege; and then, if they survive it, to a wasted land, ruined homes, broken cisterns. Sennacherib, if they will but yield to him, promises them peace and prosperity, a time of quiet enjoyment in their own land, and then removal to another equally good, where they will "live and not die," be happy and not miserable. It will be observed that none but material inducements are held out to them. They are expected to barter freedom, independence, religious privileges, country, home, for the sake of creature comforts - for ease, quiet, and security. Setting aside the question whether they could count on the performance of the promises made them, it will be felt that they did well not to be tempted. Better vigorous national life, with any amount of hardship, struggle, and suffering, than the gilded chains of the most peaceful servitude. Make an agreement with me by a present - rather, make peace with me, or "make terms with me" (Knobel, Thenius, Keil, Bahr); in other words, give in your submission - and come out to me; i.e. quit the town, surrender it (see 1 Samuel 11:3; Jeremiah 21:9; Jeremiah 38:17), place yourselves at my mercy, "and then" see what great things I will do for you." The tone, as Bahr says, is one of "wheedling" and cajolement. And then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree. Proverbial expressions for a peaceful, happy time (see 1 Kings 4:25; Micah 4:4; Zechariah 3:10), when there are no inroads, no ravages, no disturbances. Rabshakeh promises, in the name of Sennacherib, that they shall rest in their own land for a term - an indefinite term - in a blissful state of peace and quietness before any new resolution is taken about them. And drink ye every one the waters of his cistern; rather, of his well (בר). Every man who had a field or a vineyard was sure to have a well in it. Cisterns for the storage of rain-water were comparatively uncommon. 2 Kings 18:31

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

"Make peace with me and come out to me (sc., out of your walls, i.e., surrender to me), and ye shall eat every one his vine, ... till I come and bring you into a land like your own land..." בּרכה is used here to signify peace as the concentration of weal and blessing. The imperative ועכלוּ expresses the consequence of what goes before (vid., Ewald, 347, b.). To eat his vine and fig-tree and to drink the water of his well is a figure denoting the quiet and undisturbed enjoyment of the fruits of his own possession (cf. 1 Kings 5:5). Even in the event of their yielding, the Assyrian would transport the Jewish people into another land, according to the standing custom of Asiatic conquerors in ancient times (for proofs see Hengstenberg, De rebus Tyriis, pp. 51, 52). To make the people contented with this thought, the boaster promised that the king of Assyria would carry them into a land which was quite as fruitful and glorious as the land of Canaan. The description of it as a land with corn and new wine, etc., recalls the picture of the land of Canaan in Deuteronomy 8:8 and Deuteronomy 33:28. יצהר זית is the olive-tree which yields good oil, in distinction from the wild olive-tree. וגו וחיוּ: and ye shall live and not die, i.e., no harm shall befall you from me (Thenius). This passage is abridged in Isaiah 36:17.