Taylor moument of Sennacherib's Annals in the British Museum
(כח) וַֽיַּעֲמֹד֙ רַבְשָׁקֵ֔ה וַיִּקְרָ֥א בְקוֹל־גָּד֖וֹל יְהוּדִ֑ית וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר וַיֹּ֔אמֶר שִׁמְע֛וּ דְּבַר־הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ הַגָּד֖וֹל מֶ֥לֶךְ אַשּֽׁוּר׃ (כט) כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ אַל־יַשִּׁ֥א לָכֶ֖ם חִזְקִיָּ֑הוּ כִּי־לֹ֣א יוּכַ֔ל לְהַצִּ֥יל אֶתְכֶ֖ם מִיָּדֽוֹ׃ (ל) וְאַל־יַבְטַ֨ח אֶתְכֶ֤ם חִזְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙ אֶל־יְהֹוָ֣ה לֵאמֹ֔ר הַצֵּ֥ל יַצִּילֵ֖נוּ יְהֹוָ֑ה וְלֹ֤א תִנָּתֵן֙ אֶת־הָעִ֣יר הַזֹּ֔את בְּיַ֖ד מֶ֥לֶךְ אַשּֽׁוּר׃ (לא) אַֽל־תִּשְׁמְע֖וּ אֶל־חִזְקִיָּ֑הוּ כִּי֩ כֹ֨ה אָמַ֜ר מֶ֣לֶךְ אַשּׁ֗וּר עֲשֽׂוּ־אִתִּ֤י בְרָכָה֙ וּצְא֣וּ אֵלַ֔י וְאִכְל֤וּ אִישׁ־גַּפְנוֹ֙ וְאִ֣ישׁ תְּאֵנָת֔וֹ וּשְׁת֖וּ אִ֥ישׁ מֵי־בֹרֽוֹ׃ (לב) עַד־בֹּאִי֩ וְלָקַחְתִּ֨י אֶתְכֶ֜ם אֶל־אֶ֣רֶץ כְּאַרְצְכֶ֗ם אֶ֩רֶץ֩ דָּגָ֨ן וְתִיר֜וֹשׁ אֶ֧רֶץ לֶ֣חֶם וּכְרָמִ֗ים אֶ֣רֶץ זֵ֤ית יִצְהָר֙ וּדְבַ֔שׁ וִֽחְי֖וּ וְלֹ֣א תָמֻ֑תוּ וְאַֽל־תִּשְׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־חִזְקִיָּ֔הוּ כִּֽי־יַסִּ֤ית אֶתְכֶם֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר יְהֹוָ֖ה יַצִּילֵֽנוּ׃ (לג) הַהַצֵּ֥ל הִצִּ֛ילוּ אֱלֹהֵ֥י הַגּוֹיִ֖ם אִ֣ישׁ אֶת־אַרְצ֑וֹ מִיַּ֖ד מֶ֥לֶךְ אַשּֽׁוּר׃ (לד) אַיֵּה֩ אֱלֹהֵ֨י חֲמָ֜ת וְאַרְפָּ֗ד אַיֵּ֛ה אֱלֹהֵ֥י סְפַרְוַ֖יִם הֵנַ֣ע וְעִוָּ֑ה כִּי־הִצִּ֥ילוּ אֶת־שֹֽׁמְר֖וֹן מִיָּדִֽי׃ (לה) מִ֚י בְּכׇל־אֱלֹהֵ֣י הָאֲרָצ֔וֹת אֲשֶׁר־הִצִּ֥ילוּ אֶת־אַרְצָ֖ם מִיָּדִ֑י כִּֽי־יַצִּ֧יל יְהֹוָ֛ה אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלַ֖͏ִם מִיָּדִֽי׃ (לו) וְהֶחֱרִ֣ישׁוּ הָעָ֔ם וְלֹא־עָנ֥וּ אֹת֖וֹ דָּבָ֑ר כִּֽי־מִצְוַ֨ת הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ הִ֛יא לֵאמֹ֖ר לֹ֥א תַעֲנֻֽהוּ׃ (לז) וַיָּבֹ֣א אֶלְיָקִ֣ים בֶּן־חִלְקִיָּ֣ה אֲשֶׁר־עַל־הַ֠בַּ֠יִת וְשֶׁבְנָ֨א הַסֹּפֵ֜ר וְיוֹאָ֨ח בֶּן־אָסָ֧ף הַמַּזְכִּ֛יר אֶל־חִזְקִיָּ֖הוּ קְרוּעֵ֣י בְגָדִ֑ים וַיַּגִּ֣דוּ ל֔וֹ דִּבְרֵ֖י רַבְשָׁקֵֽה׃
(28) And the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in Judean: “Hear the words of the Great King, the King of Assyria. (29) Thus said the king: Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you from my hands. (30) Don’t let Hezekiah make you rely on the LORD, saying: The LORD will surely save us: this city will not fall into the hands of the king of Assyria. (31) Don’t listen to Hezekiah. For thus said the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me and come out to me, so that you may all eat from your vines and your fig trees and drink water from your cisterns, (32) until I come and take you away to a land like your own, a land of grain [fields] and vineyards, of bread and wine, of olive oil and honey, so that you may live and not die. Don’t listen to Hezekiah, who misleads you by saying, ‘The LORD will save us.’ (33) Did any of the gods of other nations save his land from the king of Assyria? (34) Where were the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where were the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? [And] did they save Samaria from me? (35) Which among all the gods of [those] countries saved their countries from me, that the LORD should save Jerusalem from me?” (36) But the people were silent and did not say a word in reply; for the king’s order was: “Do not answer him.” (37) And so Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder came to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and they reported to him what the Rabshakeh had said.
(א) וַיְהִ֗י כִּשְׁמֹ֙עַ֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ חִזְקִיָּ֔הוּ וַיִּקְרַ֖ע אֶת־בְּגָדָ֑יו וַיִּתְכַּ֣ס בַּשָּׂ֔ק וַיָּבֹ֖א בֵּ֥ית יְהֹוָֽה׃
(1) When King Hezekiah heard this, he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the House of the LORD.
(5) 5. "Now when Sennacherib was returning from his Egyptian war to Jerusalem, he found his army under Rabshakeh his general in danger [by a plague], for God had sent a pestilential distemper upon his army; and on the very first night of the siege, a hundred fourscore and five thousand, with their captains and generals, were destroyed. So the king was in a great dread and in a terrible agony at this calamity; and being in great fear for his whole army, he fled with the rest of his forces to his own kingdom, and to his city Nineveh; and when he had abode there a little while, he was treacherously assaulted, and died by the hands of his elder sons, (3) Adrammelech and Seraser, and was slain in his own temple, which was called Araske. Now these sons of his were driven away on account of the murder of their father by the citizens, and went into Armenia, while Assarachoddas took the kingdom of Sennacherib." And this proved to be the conclusion of this Assyrian expedition against the people of Jerusalem.
(ישעיהו ט, ו) למרבה המשרה ולשלום אין קץ וגו' א"ר תנחום דרש בר קפרא בציפורי מפני מה כל מ"ם שבאמצע תיבה פתוח וזה סתום ביקש הקב"ה לעשות חזקיהו משיח וסנחריב גוג ומגוג אמרה מדת הדין לפני הקב"ה רבש"ע ומה דוד מלך ישראל שאמר כמה שירות ותשבחות לפניך לא עשיתו משיח חזקיה שעשית לו כל הנסים הללו ולא אמר שירה לפניך תעשהו משיח לכך נסתתם
§ Apropos Hezekiah, the Gemara cites that which is stated: “That the government may be increased [lemarbe] and of peace there be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it and uphold it through justice and through righteousness, from now and forever; the zeal of the Lord of hosts does perform this” (Isaiah 9:6). Rabbi Tanḥum says that bar Kappara taught in Tzippori: Due to what reason is it that every letter mem in the middle of a word is open and this mem, of the word lemarbe, is closed? In the Masoretic text, the letter mem in the word “lemarbe” is written in the form of a mem that appears at the end of a word, closed on all four sides. This is because the Holy One, Blessed be He, sought to designate King Hezekiah as the Messiah and to designate Sennacherib and Assyria, respectively, as Gog and Magog, all from the prophecy of Ezekiel with regard to the end of days (Ezekiel, chapter 38), and the confrontation between them would culminate in the final redemption. The attribute of justice said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, and if with regard to David, king of Israel, who recited several songs and praises before You, You did not designate him as the Messiah, then with regard to Hezekiah, for whom You performed all these miracles, delivering him from Sennacherib and healing his illness, and he did not recite praise before You, will You designate him as the Messiah? It is for that reason that the mem was closed, because there was an opportunity for redemption that was thwarted.