ישעיהו, פרק י׳, פסוק ל״ב

After a rapid and terrifying campaign of conquest, the mighty Assyrian army reaches its final stop before attacking Jerusalem. This moment represents the ultimate clash between human pride and Divine providence. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, arrives at Nov, a city of priests located just outside Jerusalem that offers a clear vantage point of the capital [מלבי"ם, מצודת דוד]. Here, the massive military force finally comes to a halt [מלבי"ם]. The primary approach among commentators is that Sennacherib drove his troops relentlessly, forcing them to complete a long journey in a single day just to reach the city before nightfall [רש"י, רד"ק, מצודת דוד]. This extreme haste was driven by the urgent warnings of his astrologers, who insisted that he had to attack Jerusalem that exact day in order to secure a victory.

On a spiritual level, this specific day was critical. The ancient sin of King Saul, who had murdered the priests of Nov, still hung heavily over the Israelites. Because of this lingering guilt, the Divine attribute of strict justice would have permitted the fall of Jerusalem if the attack occurred then. Furthermore, Sennacherib's window of opportunity was rapidly closing. Once night fell, the holiday of Passover would begin, bringing with it a shield of spiritual protection over the people. The evening would also mark the start of a new era of Divine guardianship over the life of King Hezekiah [רש"י, חומת אנך, אהבת יהונתן].

However, as Sennacherib stood at Nov and looked down upon Jerusalem, he was taken aback by its small size. In a display of profound arrogance, he raised his hand in a dismissive and mocking gesture. Looking at the tiny capital, he wondered why he had bothered to mobilize such a massive army for such an insignificant target, assuming its capture would be far easier than the heavily fortified cities he had already destroyed [רש"י, רד"ק, מצודת דוד, צאינה וראינה]. Blinded by overconfidence, he chose to ignore the dire warnings of his seers. He decided to postpone the invasion until the following morning, allowing his exhausted soldiers to rest while he savored the anticipation of what he believed was a guaranteed victory [רש"י, שד"ל]. This arrogant delay sealed his doom. As the sun set, the period of strict justice expired. A subtle tradition hints that the moment the day passed, the severe judgment threatening Jerusalem was entirely canceled [צוארי שלל, חומת אנך]. That very night, an angel of God went out and struck the entire Assyrian camp [צוארי שלל, חומת אנך].

Alternatively, a different perspective suggests that the dismissive gesture does not belong to Sennacherib, but rather to Mount Zion itself. In this poetic view, while all the surrounding cities trembled and fled from the approaching enemy, Mount Zion stood entirely firm. The mountain is depicted as mocking and waving its hand at the Assyrian camp, signaling that the enemy's ultimate downfall would take place right there in Nov [מלבי"ם, רד"ק]. The poetic repetition of Jerusalem's hills reinforces this steadfast image of Mount Zion [מצודת דוד, רד"ק], while also offering a promise that the refugees who fled in terror from Sennacherib would one day return to stand securely upon those very heights [רד"ק].