אמר רבי אבהו: אלמלא מקרא כתוב אי אפשר לאמרו דכתיב (ישעיהו ז, כ)
בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֡וּא יְגַלַּ֣ח אֲדֹנָי֩ בְּתַ֨עַר הַשְּׂכִירָ֜ה בְּעֶבְרֵ֤י נָהָר֙ בְּמֶ֣לֶךְ אַשּׁ֔וּר אֶת־הָרֹ֖אשׁ
וְשַׂ֣עַר הָרַגְלָ֑יִם וְגַ֥ם אֶת־הַזָּקָ֖ן תִּסְפֶּֽה.
אתא קודשא בריך הוא ואדמי ליה כגברא סבא.
א"ל: כי אזלת לגבי מלכי מזרח ומערב דאייתיתינהו לבנייהו וקטלתינהו מאי אמרת להו?
אמר להו: ההוא גברא בההוא פחדא
נמי יתיב. אמר ליה היכי נעביד?
א"ל: זיל ושני נפשך.
במאי אישני?
אמר ליה: זיל אייתי לי מספרא ואיגזייך אנא.
מהיכא אייתי?
א"ל: עול לההוא ביתא ואייתי.
אזל אשכחינהו אתו מלאכי שרת ואידמו ליה כגברי והוו קא טחני קשייתא.
א"ל: הבו לי מספרא.
א"ל: טחון חד גריוא דקשייתא וניתן לך. טחן חד גריוא דקשייתא ויהבו ליה מספרתא. עד דאתא איחשך.
א"ל: זיל אייתי נורא.
אזל ואייתי נורא.
בהדי דקא נפח ליה אתלי ביה נורא בדיקניה אזל גזייה לרישיה ודיקניה. אמרו היינו דכתיב (ישעיהו ז, כ) וגם את הזקן תספה.
Rabbi Abbahu says: Were the following verse not written, it would have been impossible to say it, since it appears to be a desecration of the name of God, as it is written: “On that day shall the Lord shave with a hired razor in the parts beyond the river the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the legs, and it shall also sweep away the beard” (Isaiah 7:20). The blasphemous indication is that the Holy One, Blessed be He, will Himself shave Sennacherib. Rather, this is the incident depicted in the verse: The Holy One, Blessed be He, came and appeared to Sennacherib as an old man. God said to him: When you go to the kings of the east and the west whose children you brought and killed, what will you say to them? Sennacherib said to the Holy One, Blessed be He: That man, referring to himself, also sits overcome with the same fear, as I do not know what to say to them.
Sennacherib said to the Holy One, Blessed be He: What should we do?
The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him: Go and change your appearance so that they will not recognize you.
Sennacherib asked him: With what shall I change it?
God said to him: Go bring me scissors and I will shear you Myself.
Sennacherib asked: From where should I bring the scissors?
The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him: Go to that house and bring them.
He went and found ministering angels, who came and appeared to Sennacherib as men; and the angels were grinding date pits. Sennacherib said to them: Give me scissors.
The ministering angels said to him: Grind
a se’a of pits and we will give it to you.
He ground a se’a of pits and they gave
him scissors. By the time he came back with the scissors it grew dark.
The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Sennacherib: Go and bring fire to provide light.
Sennacherib went and brought fire. While he was fanning it, the fire ignited his
beard and it spread and sheared his head and his beard.
The Sages said: This is the meaning of that which is written: “And it shall also destroy the beard” (Isaiah 7:20).