By the multitude of my chariots. — The words refer apparently to the taunt of Isaiah 36:8. The inscriptions of the Assyrian king are full of like boasts. Shalmaneser, “Trackless paths and difficult mountains ... I penetrated” (Records of the Past, iii. 85): and Assumacirpal, “Rugged mountains, difficult paths, which for the passage of chariots were not suited, I passed” (Ibid. p. 43).
To the sides of Lebanon. — The passage of Lebanon was not necessarily implied in Sennacherib’s invasion of Palestine. Possibly the words had become a kind of proverb for surmounting obstacles. Lebanon and Carmel are joined together, as in Isaiah 33:9.