And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
Tirhakah (see notes, Isaiah 17:12-14; Isaiah 18:1-6) - written in the hieroglyphics 'TEHARKA:' Taracus in Manetho. He succeeded Shebok II, and ruled over Egypt and Ethiopia, holding his court in the latter. Egypt was in part governed By three successive Ethiopian monarchs, for 40 or 50 years: Sabacho, Sevechus and Tirhakah. Sevechus retired from Lower Egypt, owing to the resistance of the priests, whereupon Sethos, a prince-priest obtained supreme power, with Tanis (Zoan, in Scripture), or Memphis, as his capital. The Ethiopians retained Upper Egypt under Tirhakah, with Thebes as the capital. Tirhakah's fame as a conqueror rivaled that of Sesostris. His deeds are recorded in a temple at Medineet Haboo, but the jealousy of the Memphites (Wilkinson, 1: 141, 'Ancient Egypt') concealed his assistance, and attributed the deliverance of Sethos to an army of mice (Herodotus, 2: 141: a mouse being the emblem of destruction, 1 Samuel 6:18). He and one at least of the Pharaoh's of Lower Egypt (Sethos, the king-priest of Pthah) were Hezekiah's allies against Assyria. The tidings of his approach made Sennacherib the more anxious to get possession of Jerusalem before his arrival. It was through fear of him that Sennacherib raised the seige of Pelusium; and was now on his way homeward when he "dealt treacherously" with Hezekiah by attacking the stronghold of Lachish (Isaiah 33:1). This was the commencement of that second invasion respecting which the full details are given here (Isaiah 36:1-22; Isaiah 37:1-38; 2 Kings 18:1-37; 2 Kings 19:1-37; 2 Chronicles 32:9-10). That there were two invasions is clear from the details of the first given in the Assyrian monuments (Farrar in Smith's 'Dictionary of the Bible'). Compare Rawlinson, Herodotus, 1: 477.
Sent - 2 Kings 19:9 more fully expresses Sennacherib's eagerness by adding "again."