Assyrian Exodus

In Isaiah 36, Sennacherib comes on the scene “ascending” ( ‘alah ). He “went up” to Jerusalem. At the end of the narrative, though, he returns, descending back to Nineveh where he came from. Jesus’ story is descent followed by ascent; other kings ascend first, then descend.

Isaiah 37:37 describes Sennacherib’s departure with four verbs: He departed, went, returned, dwelt. The fourfold repetition emphasizes the completeness of the departure; the whole land to the four corners weas cleared of Assyrians.

But the sequence also suggests an exodus motif. “Departed” translates nasa’ , used in the story of Israel’s journey from Egypt (Exodus 12:37; 13:20; 15:22; 16:1). “Went” translates the colorless and common verb yalak , “walk,” which also appears in the Exodus story (Exodus 12:28, 31, 32; 13:21; 15:22). In leaving Egypt, and especially in the second exodus from Babylon, Israel “returns” ( shub ) to the land of the fathers. And the whole point of the exodus is to go to the place where Yahweh dwells, to build the house for Yahweh at the foot of Sinai (cf. Exodus 15:17); so too Sennacherib “dwells” at Nineveh long enough to be killed in the “house of Nisroch his god” (Isaiah 37:38).

After the “Passover” at Jerusalem, when the angel of death kills 185,000 Assyrians, Assyria departs, goes, returns, dwells. It is an inverted exodus, not a march of triumph but a slinking away in defeat. Judah doesn’t move at all, yet they are the ones that are genuinely delivered, they “depart, go, return, dwell” in safety.