2 Kings 19:9

Now Sennacherib had been warned about Tirhakah king of Cush: “Look, he has set out to fight against you.” So Sennacherib again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Sennacherib receives intelligence that Tirhakah, king of Cush, is mobilizing for war, which prompts him to dispatch another round of messengers to Hezekiah.

The words — The Hebrew יָצָא (ya.Tza') means "he has come out" or "set out," describing Tirhakah's military departure, while הִנֵּה (hi.Neh) functions as a deictic alert, "Look!" or "There!", marking the immediacy of the threat to Sennacherib.

The thread — The identical warning appears in Isaiah 37:9, while the urgent messenger dispatch mirrors the military reports in 1 Samuel 23:27 and the preceding Assyrian movement from Lachish in 2 Kings 18:17.

Why it lands — The text records how external geopolitical pressure directly triggers renewed diplomatic coercion, showing that the Assyrian demands to Hezekiah are reactive to battlefield developments rather than static theological claims.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַיִּשְׁמַ֗עva/i.yish.Ma'and/ he heard אֶל־'el-concerning תִּרְהָ֤קָהtir.Ha.kahTirhakah מֶֽלֶך־Me.lekh-[the] king of כּוּשׁ֙kushCush לֵאמֹ֔רle./Mor<to>/ saying הִנֵּ֥הhi.Nehthere!יָצָ֖אya.Tza'he has come out לְהִלָּחֵ֣םle./hi.la.Chemto/ do battle אִתָּ֑ךְ'i.Ta/khwith/ you וַיָּ֙שָׁב֙va/i.Ya.shovand/ he returned וַיִּשְׁלַ֣חva/i.yish.Lachand/ he sent מַלְאָכִ֔יםmal.'a.Khimmessengers אֶל־'el-to חִזְקִיָּ֖הוּchiz.ki.Ya.huHezekiah לֵאמֹֽר׃le./Mor<to>/ saying

King James Version

And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against thee: he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying,

Cross-references

1 Samuel 23:27 Then a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly, for the Philistines have raided the land!”
2 Kings 18:17 Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.
Isaiah 37:9 Now Sennacherib had been warned about Tirhakah king of Cush: “He has set out to fight against you.” On hearing this, Sennacherib sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

People named

HezekiahTirhakah