2tn Heb “the name of his mother.”

3tn The parallel passage in 2 Chr 29:1 has “Abijah.”

4tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord, according to all which David his father had done.”

5tn The term is singular in the MT but plural in the LXX and other ancient versions. It is also possible to regard the singular as a collective singular, especially in the context of other plural items.

sn Asherah was a leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles. These were to be burned or cut down (Deut 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).

6tn Heb “until those days.”

7tn In Hebrew the name sounds like the phrase נְחַשׁ הַנְּחֹשֶׁת (n˙khash hann˙khoshet), “bronze serpent.”

8tn Heb “and after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, and those who were before him.”

9tn Heb “he hugged.”

10tn Heb “and did not turn aside from after him.”

11tn Heb “had commanded.”

12tn Heb “in all which he went out [to do], he was successful.”

13tn Heb “and did not serve him.”

14sn See the note at 2 Kgs 17:9.

15tn Heb “went” (also in v. 13).

16map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.

17tn The Hebrew text has simply “Israel” as the object of the verb.

18tn Heb “listen to the voice of.”

19tn Heb “his covenant.”

20tn Heb “all that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded, and they did not listen and they did not act.”

21tn Or “I have done wrong.”

22tn Heb “Return from upon me; what you place upon me, I will carry.”

23tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 22,500 pounds of silver and 2,250 pounds of gold.

24tn Heb “that was found.”

25tn Heb “At that time Hezekiah stripped the doors of the Lord’s temple, and the posts which Hezekiah king of Judah had plated.”

26sn For a discussion of these titles see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 229-30.

27map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

28tn Heb “and they went up and came.”

29tn Heb “the field of the washer.”

30tn Heb “What is this object of trust in which you are trusting?”

31tn Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.

32tn Heb “exchange pledges.”

33tn Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 23-24 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 21. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”

34tn Heb “Go.”

35sn In v. 25 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 22. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.

36sn Aramaic was the diplomatic language of the empire.

37tn Or “Hebrew.”

38tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.

39tn Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”

sn The chief adviser alludes to the horrible reality of siege warfare, when the starving people in the besieged city would resort to eating and drinking anything to stay alive.

40tn The Hebrew text also has, “and he spoke and said.”

41tc The MT has “his hand,” but this is due to graphic confusion of vav (ו) and yod (י). The translation reads “my hand,” along with many medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, Targum, and Vulgate.

42tn Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”

43tn Heb “Have the gods of the nations really rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the main verb. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”

44tn The parallel passage in Isa 36:19 omits “Hena and Ivvah.” The rhetorical questions in v. 34a suggest the answer, “Nowhere, they seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”

45map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.

46tn Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 33, 35).

47tn Heb “that the Lord might rescue Jerusalem from my hand?” The logic runs as follows: Since no god has ever been able to withstand the Assyrian onslaught, how can the people of Jerusalem possibly think the Lord will rescue them?