And when he heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he has come out to fight against you: he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying,
All Commentaries on 2 Kings 19:9 Go To 2 Kings 19
George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
When he, Sennacherib, though it would seem to refer to Rabsaces. (Haydock)
Tharaca, called The archon by Strabo, (i., and xv. p. 653.) extended his conquests as far as the pillars of Hercules. (Megasthenes)
The Egyptians seem to have called him Seth on, and assert that the god (Vulcan) appeared to him on the approach of Sennacherib, assuring him of his protection. He encamped near Pelusium, where the enemy's army on its arrival was infested with rats, which destroyed their armour, and made them an easy prey. (Herodotus ii. 141.) It is probable that Taphnes, near Pelusium, was the capital city of Tharaca, Isaias xviii., and xxx. 4. He does not appear to have joined battle with Sennacherib, whose army was destroyed on its march (Isaias x. 24.) the very night that the prophet promised Ezechias a deliverance.
