Isaiah 39:8 Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days. The history contained in this chapter is related in the same words,
2 Kings 20:12, &c., only he who here is called
Merodach
is there called
Berodach, merely by the change of one letter, which is very usual in the Hebrew language, especially in proper names, as
Dimon
is put for
Dibon,
Isaiah 15:9, and the same man is called
Nebuchadnezzar
and
Nebuchadrezzar. This king is called
Merodach
from the idol so called,
Jeremiah 1:2, and
Baladan
from his father’s name. But whether this man was an Assyrian, or a Mede, or a Babylonian, it is not easy to determine, nor worth while to inquire. But this is certain, that about this time there were wars between the Assyrians and the Babylonians, the issue whereof was, that the latter subdued the former.