Rabshakeh רַבְשָׁקֵה
A Babylonian official who taunted Hezekiah and Jerusalem's people
Biography
Rabshakeh was a high-ranking Assyrian official who served as the spokesman for King Sennacherib during his campaign against Judah (2 Kings 18-19; Isaiah 36-37). He was sent, along with Tartan and Rab-saris, to intimidate King Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem. Rabshakeh delivered a threatening message, urging them to surrender and not trust in Hezekiah or God to deliver them. He spoke in Hebrew, intending to frighten the people on the city wall. Hezekiah's representatives, Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah, asked Rabshakeh to speak in Aramaic, but he refused and continued to speak in Hebrew to undermine the people's morale. Rabshakeh mocked Hezekiah's faith in God and boasted of Assyria's power. When Hezekiah heard the report, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the temple to pray. Isaiah the prophet reassured Hezekiah that God would protect Jerusalem. Rabshakeh returned to Sennacherib, who had left Lachish to fight against Libnah. Despite Rabshakeh's threats and Sennacherib's letter, Hezekiah trusted in God, and the Assyrian army was ultimately defeated by divine intervention.
In Scripture
2 biblical books ; 1 with study content2 Kings 5 verses
- 2 Kings 18:17
"The king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great army to Jerusalem. They went up and came to Jerusalem. When they had come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller’s field."
- 2 Kings 18:19
"Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘The great king, the king of Assyria, says, “What confidence is this in which you trust?"
- 2 Kings 18:26
"Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah, said to Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in the Syrian language, for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Jews’ language, in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”"
- 2 Kings 18:27
"But Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you, to speak these words? Hasn’t he sent me to the men who sit on the wall, to eat their own dung, and to drink their own urine with you?”"
- 2 Kings 18:28
"Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and spoke, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria."
Isaiah 5 verses Study available
- Isaiah 36:2
"The king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to king Hezekiah with a large army. He stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool in the fuller’s field highway."
Study Isaiah → - Isaiah 36:4
"Rabshakeh said to them, “Now tell Hezekiah, ‘The great king, the king of Assyria, says, “What confidence is this in which you trust?"
Study Isaiah → - Isaiah 36:11
"Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah said to Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Don’t speak to us in the Jews’ language in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”"
Study Isaiah → - Isaiah 36:12
"But Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you, to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”"
Study Isaiah → - Isaiah 36:13
"Then Rabshakeh stood, and called out with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!"
Study Isaiah →
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Strong's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | רַבְשָׁקֵה | H7262 |
Rabshakeh
nection and elsewhere, according to later discoveries, an extended significance, and meant chief officer, i.e. chief of the heads or captains.
Rabshakeh was one of the officers sent by Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, with the Tartan and the Rabsaris to demand the surrender of Jerusalem, which was under siege by the Assyrian army (2Ki 18:17,19,26,27,28,37; 19:4,8; Isa 36:2,4,11,12,13,22; 37:4,8). The three officers named went from Lachish to Jerusalem and appeared by the conduit of the upper pool. Having called upon King Hezekiah, his representatives Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, the scribe, and Joah, the recorder, appeared. Rabshakeh sent through them a message to the king in which he represented himself as the spokesman for the king of Assyria. He derided King Hezekiah in an insolent fashion in representing his trust in Egypt as a bruised reed which would pierce the hand. Likewise his confidence in Yahweh was vain, for He also would be unable to deliver them. Then the officers of the king replied, requesting him to speak in the Syrian language-which they understood, and not in the Jews' language which the people on the wall understood. This he refused to do, speaking still more loudly in order that they might hear and be persuaded. By bribery and appeal, by promise and by deception he exhorted them to turn traitor to Hezekiah and surrender to him. The people, however, true to the command of Hezekiah (2Ki 18:36), "held their peace, and answered him not a word." Afterward Rabshakeh returned and "found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah". (2Ki 19:8). From this description it is inferred that Rabshakeh was a man of considerable literary attainment, being able, in all probability, to speak in three languages. He had, in addition to his official power, dauntless courage, an insolent spirit and a characteristic oriental disregard for veracity.
Walter G. Clippinger
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