ישעיהו, פרק ל״ז, פסוק כ״ה

Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, delivers an arrogant speech boasting of his limitless military power and absolute control over nature and nations. He uses the imagery of water—both finding it and destroying it—to illustrate that no geographic obstacle or military strategy can stand in his way.

The primary approach among commentators is that the king's claim of digging and drinking water serves as a metaphor for absolute success. Just as a person digs a well and immediately finds water, the Assyrian king boasts that he initiates military campaigns, completes them, and effortlessly achieves victory [רש״י, מצודת דוד, אברבנאל]. Other scholars view this as an illustration of the king's expanding empire. In this light, he began as a small, bursting spring, but as he flowed onward, he consumed other streams, growing into a massive force as he conquered and annexed surrounding nations [שד״ל]. Drawing on parallel accounts that mention foreign waters, this imagery also suggests that the king aggressively consumes the wealth and resources of other nations [אבן עזרא, אברבנאל].

In the direct historical context of his conflict with the Kingdom of Judah, this boast is a sharp response to King Hezekiah's defense strategy. Hezekiah had famously sealed the water springs outside Jerusalem to deprive the invading army of resources. Sennacherib mocks this effort, declaring that he does not need the local water because he possesses the power to uncover new sources wherever he pleases [מלבי״ם].

Transitioning from his ability to succeed, the king then boasts of his destructive power, presenting it as his constant and natural state [רש״י]. The commentators agree that his claim of drying up rivers with the soles of his feet illustrates the colossal size of the Assyrian army. When he marches to besiege a city that relies on rivers for natural defense, the sheer number of his soldiers and their animals is so immense that their mere footsteps and drinking are enough to completely drain the rivers dry [רש״י, מצודת דוד]. This serves as another direct taunt aimed at Hezekiah, who had gathered water within Jerusalem's walls to outlast a siege. Sennacherib confidently declares that the march of his troops will be enough to dry up even these protected reservoirs [מלבי״ם].

When describing the specific bodies of water he destroys, there are two main interpretations. The primary approach understands these waters as the rivers and moats surrounding strong, fortified cities that can only be conquered through a prolonged siege [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ, אברבנאל]. Alternatively, some identify the terminology used for these rivers as a reference to Egypt. According to this view, Sennacherib is either boasting that he already dried up the mighty Nile before marching on Jerusalem, or he is simply using the great Egyptian river as a symbol for any massive, powerful body of water that he can effortlessly eliminate [שד״ל, אברבנאל].