How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master’s servants…?: The question in this verse is a taunt. The implication is that there is no way that Hezekiah can raise the two thousand men mentioned in the previous verse. While the Assyrians often used cavalry in warfare, the people of Judah and Israel seldom did. So it would have been very difficult for them to find two thousand men capable of strenuous horseback riding. So the implied response to the proposed deal in verse 23 is that Hezekiah cannot possibly fulfill his part of the bargain. If that is the case, then the taunting question of verse 24 follows logically. But in many languages the question will be better translated as an emphatic statement as in Good News Translation. In the same way Knox has the Assyrian official state what he considers to be an indisputable fact: “Why, thou art no match even for a city prefect, the least of my master’s servants….”
Repulse is literally “cause to turn face.” Some other possible renderings are “defeat” (New Century Version, Contemporary English Version) and “repel” (New Jerusalem Bible). But certain commentators suggest that the idiom used here has no military overtones as these renderings would suggest. It must rather mean “turn down” according to American Bible, which has “And so, how could you turn down one of my master’s minor servants…?” In 1 Kgs 2.16, 17 and 20, the idiom “to cause to turn face” means “to refuse.” So here New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh probably expresses the sense correctly by saying “So how could you refuse anything even to the deputy of one of my master’s lesser servants…?” The Assyrian official has offered to provide Hezekiah with 2,000 horses, and now he is asking how Hezekiah can refuse to accept this offer. Compare NET Bible for the whole verse: “Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen.”
The Hebrew word translated captain is considered to be a scribal addition or scribal error by some interpreters, and this conjecture is followed in some modern translations, which omit this word (New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, Osty-Trinquet, Gray). New Jerusalem Bible, for example, says “How could you repel a single one of the least of my master’s soldiers?” But there is no support in the ancient manuscripts for this omission, and since there is no textual basis for omitting the word, Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament does not bother to give a rating to the reading in the Masoretic Text. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text.
The Hebrew word for captain is a loanword from Akkadian. It was used to refer to two different positions: (1) a military officer who commanded a provincial army (so Revised Standard Version) and (2) an administrative official who was responsible for a province (so Nouvelle Bible Segond “governor”). Either meaning makes sense in this context, although reference to a military officer seems to fit the context better.
When you rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen: For the theme of reliance or confidence, see verses 5 and 19.
NET Bible has an excellent note on verses 23-24, which says, “His [the Assyrian official] reasoning seems to be as follows: ‘In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.’ ”
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .