Isaiah Thirty Nine
by Dr. Henry M. Morris
(taken from the Defender's Study Bible)
Isaiah 39:1 At that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered.
At that time. Isaiah 39 is essentially the same as 2 Kings 20:12-19. No explanation is given as to why the compiler of 2 Kings simply copied in 2 Kings 18-20 most of Isaiah's account in Isaiah 36-39. Whatever may have been the practical reasons for this duplication, as well as many similar duplications in the parallel accounts in the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles, the Holy Spirit was ultimately responsible because all of it was given by inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16). Perhaps His reasons were more applicable to the ancient readers of the as-yet-incomplete Scriptures than to us. There is also pedagogical merit in repetition in different settings. In any case, we can rest assured that the divine Author has good reason, whether or not we understand it yet.
Isaiah 39:2 And Hezekiah was glad of them, and showed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not.
Isaiah 39:3 Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon.
Isaiah 39:4 Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not showed them.
Isaiah 39:5 Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of hosts:
Isaiah 39:6 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD.
Isaiah 39:7 And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
eunuchs. See note on Daniel 1:3.
Isaiah 39:8 Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days.
in my days. This is supposed to be the end of the writings of the “first Isaiah,” with the “second Isaiah” being the author of the later chapters. However, this idea is a humanistic invention, with no warrant in the Hebrew text itself. Even the Dead Sea Scrolls, in common with other extant texts of the Hebrew Scriptures, show no break at all between Isaiah 39 and 40.
