35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. 37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.
Isaiah’s first prophecy had predicted that Sennacherib would return home because of some news he gets. So far, he’s only received a report in verse nine about the king of Cush marching against him and this caused him to threaten Jerusalem again. Isaiah’s second prophecy, in verse 28, spoke again of Sennacherib leaving, saying that God would force him to return home. In this passage we finally see his departure and learn why. The great army outside Jerusalem suffers great casualties, possibly because of a plague, although it is only said that the angel of the Lord moved among them.
In spite of this, Sennacherib refuses to accept that the Lord is God and we are told that one day he goes to worship his god Nisrok. He had earlier told the people of Judah that their God was powerless before him, the great Sennacherib, and that the Lord could not protect them. However, it turns out that it is Sennacherib who is inadequately protected by his god and two of his sons murder him. They flee to Ararat (modern Armenia) after the murder and another son succeeds him. So Isaiah’s prophecy comes true in a very bloody way. Jerusalem is saved and Sennacherib punished for his presumption.
In spite of this, Sennacherib refuses to accept that the Lord is God and we are told that one day he goes to worship his god Nisrok. He had earlier told the Judeans that their God was powerless before him, the great Sennacherib, and that the Lord could not protect them. However, it turns out that it is Sennacherib who is inadequately protected by his god and two of his sons murder him. They flee to Ararat (modern Armenia) after the murder and another son succeeds him. So Isaiah’s prophecy comes true in a very bloody way. Jerusalem is saved and Sennacherib punished for his presumption.
To provide some historical background here, the siege of Jerusalem ended in 701 BC and Sennacherib’s murder took place in 681. Interestingly enough, Sennacherib’s account of events has survived. In it he brags about conquering many towns in Judah, forcing Hezekiah to pay him tribute and laying siege to Jerusalem. However, he clearly did not take Jerusalem which corroborates the story in Kings. Note that another consequence of this episode is that many Jews began to think that Jerusalem could not be conquered which would give them false confidence later when Jeremiah tried to warn them.
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