2 Kings 20:12 - Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Book Notes

2 Kings 20:12

10 And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten¹ degrees; no, but let the shadow go backward ten degrees.”

11 So Isaiah the prophet cried out to the Lord, and ^aHe brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the sundial of Ahaz.

The Babylonian Envoys

12 ^aAt that time¹ Berodach-Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick.

13 And ^aHezekiah was attentive to them, and showed them all the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and¹ all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

14 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” So Hezekiah said, “They came from a far country, from Babylon.”

Book Notes:

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Book Notes

I & II Kings

THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF KINGS, in the ancient copies of the Hebrew Bible, constitute one book. Various titles have been given them; in the Septuagint and the Vulgate they are called the Third and Fourth Books of Kings. The authorship of these books is unknown; but the prevailing opinion is that they were compiled by Ezra, or one of the later prophets, from the ancient documents that are so frequently referred to in the course of the history as of public and established authority. Their inspired character was acknowledged by the Jewish Church, which ranked them in the sacred canon; and, besides, it is attested by our Lord, who frequently quotes from them (compare I Kings 17:9; II Kings 5:14 with Luke 4:24-27; I Kings 10:1 with Matthew 12:42).