And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, will be taken away to be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
Here is, I. An embassy sent to Hezekiah by the king of Babylon, to congratulate him on his recovery, Kg2 20:12. The kings of Babylon had hitherto been only deputies and tributaries to the kings of Assyria, and Nineveh was the royal city. We find Babylon subject to the king of Assyria, Kg2 17:24.
Commenting on 2 Kings 20:12-21
They shall be eunuchs - Perhaps this means no more than that they should become household servants to the kings of Babylon. See the fulfillment, Kg2 24:13-15, and Dan 1:1-3.
2Ki 20:12-19 The Babylonian embassy, and Hezekiah’s imprudence (cf. Isa 39:1-8). - 2Ki 20:12. “At that time Berodach Baladan, king of Babel, sent a letter and a present to Hezekiah, because he had heard that Hezekiah was sick.” By ההיא בּעת the arrival of these ambassadors is merely assigned in the most general manner to the period following Hezekiah’s recovery.
Commenting on 2 Kings 20:12-19