Isaiah 39:1

The phrase "At that time" (cf. Isaiah 38:1) anticipates a specially significant event and ties it to what preceded in chapter 38. As this verse explains, the events that follow happened after Hezekiah had recovered from his illness (Isaiah 38:5). This was most likely during the year 701 B.C. before Sennacherib’s invasion of Jerusalem (chs. 36-37; cf. Isaiah 38:6; 2 Kings 18:16).

Merodach-baladan (Cuneiform "Marduk-apal-iddina," lit. the god Marduk has given a son) raised Babylon to a position from which it threatened and eventually overthrew Assyrian dominance in the ancient Near East (cf. Isaiah 21:1-10). He was the first king of Babylon, and he led that nation during two periods: 721-710 B.C. and 703-702 B.C. The historians vary in their dating of the ancient Near Eastern kings’ reigns by a few years, but I believe the dates above are fairly accurate. In 710 B.C. Sargon, another Babylonian leader, ousted him, but in 702 B.C. the Assyrians defeated Merodach-baladan. After this defeat, he continued to foment revolt against Assyria in the Fertile Crescent. This seems to have been his motivation for cultivating Hezekiah’s friendship by sending letters and a present when he heard of Hezekiah’s recovery.