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.
Parallel Translations
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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.
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And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field.
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And the king of Assyria sent Rab-shakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fullers' field.
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to Isaiah 36:2 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Chronicles 32:9-23 After this, Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem, (now he was before Lachish, and all his power with him), to Hezekiah king of Judah, and to all Judah who were at Jerusalem, saying, Sennacherib king of Assyria says, “In whom do you trust, that you remain under siege in Jerusalem? Doesn’t Hezekiah persuade you, to give you over to die by famine and by thirst, saying, ‘Yahweh our God will deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria?’ Hasn’t the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You shall worship before one altar, and you shall burn incense on it?’ Don’t you know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Were the gods of the nations of the lands in any way able to deliver their land out of my hand? Who was there among all the gods of those nations which my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of my hand? Now therefore don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you in this way. Don’t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of my hand, and out of the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you out of my hand?” His servants spoke yet more against Yahweh God, and against his servant Hezekiah. He also wrote letters insulting Yahweh, the God of Israel, and speaking against him, saying, “As the gods of the nations of the lands, which have not delivered their people out of my hand, so shall the God of Hezekiah not deliver his people out of my hand.” They called out with a loud voice in the Jews’ language to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten them, and to trouble them; that they might take the city. They spoke of the God of Jerusalem as of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men’s hands. Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz, prayed because of this, and cried to heaven. Yahweh sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty men of valor, and the leaders and captains, in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. When he had come into the house of his god, those who came out of his own body killed him there with the sword. Thus Yahweh saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria and from the hand of all others, and guided them on every side. Many brought gifts to Yahweh to Jerusalem, and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah; so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from then on.
- Isaiah 7:3 Then Yahweh said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you, and Shearjashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway of the fuller’s field.
- 2 Kings 18:17-37 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. When they had called to the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebnah the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder came out to them. Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘The great king, the king of Assyria, says, “What confidence is this in which you trust? You say (but they are but vain words), ‘There is counsel and strength for war.’ Now on whom do you trust, that you have rebelled against me? Now, behold, you trust in the staff of this bruised reed, even in Egypt. If a man leans on it, it will go into his hand, and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust on him. But if you tell me, ‘We trust in Yahweh our God;’ isn’t that he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?’ Now therefore, please give pledges to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. How then can you turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? Have I now come up without Yahweh against this place to destroy it? Yahweh said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’ ” ’ ” 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.” 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?” 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. The king says, ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you out of his hand. Don’t let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, “Yahweh will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” Don’t listen to Hezekiah.’ For the king of Assyria says, ‘Make your peace with me, and come out to me; and everyone of you eat from his own vine, and everyone from his own fig tree, and everyone drink water from his own cistern; until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and of honey, that you may live, and not die. Don’t listen to Hezekiah, when he persuades you, saying, “Yahweh will deliver us.” Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that Yahweh should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’ ” But the people stayed quiet, and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Don’t answer him.” Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, came with Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him Rabshakeh’s words.
- Isaiah 22:9-11 You saw the breaches of David’s city, that they were many; and you gathered together the waters of the lower pool. You counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. You also made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you didn’t look to him who had done this, neither did you have respect for him who planed it long ago.
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John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish…
And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto King Hezekiah with a great army,.... Notwithstanding he had taken Hezekiah's money to withdraw his army out of his country, yet sends it out to his very capital; along with this Rabshakeh he sent two other generals, Tartan and Rabsaris, Kg2 18:17 though they are not mentioned, only Rabshakeh, because he was the principal person, however the chief speaker. Lachish was a city in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:39, which Sennacherib was now besieging, Ch2 32:9. This message was sent, Bishop Usher says, three years after the former expedition:
and he stood by the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fullers' field; where they spread their clothes, as the Targum, having washed them in the pool, of which see Isa 7:3. Ben Melech thus describes the pool, conduit, and highway: the pool is a ditch, built with stone and lime, where rainwater was collected, or where they drew water from the fountain, and the waters were gathered into this pool; and there was in this pool a hole, which they stopped, until the time they pleased to fetch water, out of the pool: and the conduit was a ditch near to the pool, and they brought water out of the pool into the conduit, when they chose to drink, or wash garments: the highway was a way paved with stones, so that they could walk upon it in rainy days; and here they stood and washed their garments in the waters of the conduit, and in the field they spread them to the sun. This pool lay outside the city, yet just by the walls of it, which showed the daring insolence of Rabshakeh to come so very nigh, for he was in the hearing of the men upon the walls, Isa 36:12, this Rabshakeh is by the Jewish writers thought to be an apostate Jew, because he spoke in the Jews' language; and some of them, as Jerome says, will have him to be a son of the Prophet Isaiah's, but without any foundation, Procopius, in Kg2 18:18, thinks it probable that he was a Hebrew, who either had fled on his own accord to the Assyrians, or was taken captive by them.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh - In…
And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh - In 2Ki 18:17, it is said that he sent Tartan, and Rabsaris, and Rabshakeh. In regard to Tartan, see the note at Isa 20:1. It is probable that Rabshakeh only is mentioned in Isaiah because the expedition may have been mainly under his direction, or more probably because he was the principal speaker on the occasion to which he refers.
From Lachish - This was a city in the south of the tribe of Judah, and was southwest of Jerusalem Jos 10:23; Jos 15:39. It was situated in a plain, and was the seat of an ancient Canaanite king. It was rebuilt and fortified by Rehoboam 2Ch 11:9. It was in some respects a border town, and was a defense against the incursions of the Philistines. It was therefore situated between Jerusalem and Egypt, and was in the direct way of Sennacherib in his going to Egypt, and on his return. It lay, according to Eusebius and Jerome, seven Roman miles from Eleutheropolis toward the south. No trace of the town, however, is now to be found (see Robinson’s “Bib. Researches,” vol. ii. pp. 388, 389).
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With a great army - Sennacherib remained himself for a time at Lachish, though he followed not long after. It is probable that he sent forward a considerable portion of his immense army, retaining only so many forces as he judged would be necessary to carry on the siege of Lachish. In 2Ch 32:9, it is said that Sennacherib, while he sent his servants to Jerusalem, ‘laid siege to Lachish and all his power with him;’ but this must mean that he retained with him a considerable part of his army, and doubtless all that contributed to his magnificence and splendor. The word ‘power’ in 2Ch 32:9, means also ‘dominion’ (see the margin), and denotes all the insignia of royalty: and this might have been retained while a considerable part of his forces had been sent forward to Jerusalem.
And he stood - He halted; he encamped there; He intended to make that the point of attack.
By the conduit ... - (See the notes at Isa 7:3)
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Rab-shakeh--In Kg2 18:17, Tartan and Rab-saris are joined with…
Rab-shakeh--In Kg2 18:17, Tartan and Rab-saris are joined with him. Rab-shakeh was probably the chief leader; Rab is a title of authority, "chief-cup-bearer."
Lachish--a frontier town southwest of Jerusalem, in Judah; represented as a great fortified city in a hilly and fruitful country in the Koyunjik bas-reliefs, now in the British Museum; also, its name is found on a slab over a figure of Sennacherib on his throne.
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upper pool--the side on which the Assyrians would approach Jerusalem coming from the southwest (see on Isa 7:3).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 2. Sent Rabshakeh — In 2Ki_18:17, Tartan and Rabsaris…
2. Sent Rabshakeh — In 2Ki_18:17, Tartan and Rabsaris are added. These are not personal, but official, names; Rabshakeh means cupbearer. The Jews have a tradition that he was a renegade, or apostate Jew, as he spoke their language.
With a great army — Probably only a portion of Sennacherib’s army.
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By the conduit — The aqueduct of the upper pool — The upper Gihon “pool,” just a little northwest of the present Jaffa gate. [See illustrative map on page 158.] This was the place of conference on the terms of the city’s capitulation to the Assyrian. The highway is still in its old place, passing, as of old, the Gihon pool; and the washing places are also there. Roads in Palestine at present are little better than bridle paths. They have never changed in plan or condition since the Roman occupation of the country.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 2. Rabshakeh is not a proper name, but an…
2. Rabshakeh is not a proper name, but an official designation, like the Tartan (see ch. Isa_20:1) and the Rab-saris (chief eunuch) who are mentioned along with him in 2Ki_18:17. The Assyrian word is Rab-saq, said to mean “chief of the officers.”
from Lachish] The most important Judæan fortress in the Shephelah, commanding the road from Egypt. Recent excavations by Mr Flinders Petrie have identified its site with Tell-el-Hesy, a few miles distant from the modern Umm Lakis.
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the conduit of the upper pool …] See on ch. Isa_7:3.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (2) The king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh.—The word is…
(2) The king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh.—The word is a title (the Rabshakeh) probably the chief officer or cup-bearer. In 2 Kings 18; 2 Chronicles 32, we have the previous history of the war. Hezekiah, on hearing Sennacherib’s reproach, began to strengthen the fortifications of Jerusalem, called his officers and troops together, and made an appeal to their faith and courage. In Isaiah 22 we have the prophet’s view of those preparations. Probably by Isaiah’s advice, who put no confidence in this boastful and blustering courage, Hezekiah sent to Sennacherib, who was then besieging Lachish, to sue for peace, acknowledging that he had offended. A penalty of three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold was imposed and paid, Hezekiah being reduced to empty his own treasury and that of the Temple, and even to strip the Temple doors and pillars of the plates of gold with which they were overlaid. Peace, however, was not to be had even at that price. Encouraged, perhaps, by this prompt submission, and tearing up the treaty (the breach of covenant of which Isaiah complains in Isa_35:1), Sennacherib sent his officers, the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh (the names are all official titles) to demand an unconditional surrender.
He stood by the conduit of the upper pool.—The spot was the same as that at which Isaiah had addressed Ahaz thirty or more years before (Isa_7:3). It was probably chosen by the Rabshakeh as commanding one end of the aqueduct which supplied the city with water, and thus enabling him to threaten that he would cut off the supply (Isa_36:12).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And the King of Assyria sent Rabshakeh... with a…
And the King of Assyria sent Rabshakeh... with a great army. (comp. 2Ki_18:13-17, where we find sufficient ground for believing that this expedition is entirely distinct from that of ver. 1, which was conducted by Sennacherib in person, and led to Hezekiah"s submission and the payment of a large tribute) It is inconceivable that, immediately after the grant of terms of peace and their acceptance, Sennacherib should have renewed the war; there must have been an interval, and a fresh provocation. The interval can have been only a short one, since Hezekiah died in B.C. 697. It may have been a couple of years, or perhaps no more than a year, or possibly only a few months. The fresh provocation probably consisted in an application for aid, made by Hezekiah to Tir-hakah, or to the subordinate Egyptian kings, which is glanced at in ver. 6. The Assyrian annals, which never record any reverse or defeat, are wholly silent as to this second expedition. The only profane confirmation of it is to be found in Herodotus (2:141). From Lackish. Laehish, an ancient city of the Amorites, (Jos_10:5) was assigned by Joshua to the tribe of Judah, (Jos_15:39) and seems to have been still a Jewish possession. (2Ki_14:19) It occupied "a low round swell or knoll" in the Shefelch, or low tract between the Judaean highland and the Mediterranean, and lay near, if not directly on, the direct route which armies commonly followed in their march from Syria into Egypt. The site is now known as Um-Lakis; it lies between Gaza and Ajlan (Eglon), about two miles west of the hitter. Sennacherib represents himself as engaged in its siege on a bas-relief in the British Museum (see Layard, "Monuments of Nineveh," second series, pl. 21). The conduit of the upper pool. (see the comment on Isa_7:3) The spot was that at which Isaiah had been commanded to meet Ahaz some forty years previously. It was probably on the north side of Jerusalem, not tar from the Damascus gate.
Right attitude in times of threatening.
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This general of the Assyrian army seems to have been a rude, violent, boastful man, who thought to do his work by means of great swelling words. He was big in threatening; and it is not often that such men prove big in deeds. Dean Plumptre says that "his words, in their brutal coarseness, have hardly a parallel in history, till we come to Bismarck"s telling the Parisians that they may "stew in their own gravy. The Rabshakeh, it should be observed, stood in the position, while he thus threatened, which intimated his power to destroy the aqueduct which supplied the city with water. Times of threatening are to be clearly distinguished from times of actual calamity. Trouble threatened is apt to relax our natures and weaken us with fears. Trouble actually come calls out our powers of endurance, and braces us for bearing and battling. And so, sometimes, trouble threatened, taking bigger shape in appearance than it ever can take in reality, has a special work of testing to do. He must be well centred in God who holds fast his calmness and trust, even in times of fright. Society is peculiarly liable more especially highly civilized society to sudden fears, which very easily become helpless panic. A few criminals in a great city get an hour"s licence, and loot the shops in one district, and the whole city goes into a panic, stops its business, and pours its wealth into a fund to quiet the people who had little or nothing to do with the looting. So it has been again and again in the world"s history. Threatenings have been more morally mischievous than actual calamity. The godly man should be easily master even of such circumstances.
I HE KNOWS WELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BOAST AND PERFORMANCE, Observation teaches him that the man who threatens much accomplishes little; the man who swears and yields to passion is always weak in action. There is "sound, and nothing more." There is always room for this good advice, "Let not him that putteth on his armour boast as he that putteth it off.
II HE KNOWS THAT THIS CONDITION APPLIES TO ALL THREATENINGS AND ALARMS: "IF THE LORD WILL." Men cannot, any more than tidal waves, go beyond their appointed bounds. Threats may do the Lord"s will, but they can do nothing beyond the Lord"s will. The godly man, therefore, waits to read God"s will behind the threats or the fears, and can afford to be quite calm, and master of all circumstances.
III HE KNOWS THAT GOD IS ALWAYS ON THE SIDE OF THE PERMANENTLY GOOD, AND IS ALWAYS WORKING TOWARDS IT. The way to the good is often like the twisting and winding of the stream of Jordan; but the godly man does not make too much of the rushes and rapids in the twists and falls he knows Jordan moves steadily on to the sea, and life, however ruffled may be its surface, moves on to fulfil the good purpose of God. We may do as did the apostolic company when its leaders were threatened we may bend before our God, and pray, "Now, Lord, behold their threatenings". R.T. (Act_4:29, Act_4:30)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain And the King of Assyria sent Rabshakeh
Isa_36:2
And the King of Assyria sent Rabshakeh
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Invasion of Judah by Assyria
In chaps, 36-39, a historical part follows, which retiring from the ideal distances of chaps, 34.
, 35. into the historical realities of chap. 33., begins with the statement that at the conduit of the upper pool in the road of the fullers field, where Ahaz preferred the help of Assyria to that of Jehovah (Isa_7:3), stands anembassy of the King of Assyria with a section of his army. (F. Delitzsch, D.D.)
Rabshakeh
Rabshakeh or Rab-Sak, the chief cup-bearer, or general staff-officer in the Assyrian service, entrusted with diplomatic business. It is the title of an office, and not the name of a person. The Tartan was the supreme military officer, or commander-in-chief, while the Rab Saris was the chief of the Eunuchs, and a confidential officer. Rab-chief. (B. Blake, B.D.)
The Rabshakeh,
Sennacheribs Bismarck. (Prof. G. A. Smith, D.D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 36:2 Lachish was a city overlooking the low-lying hills…
36:2 Lachish was a city overlooking the low-lying hills to the west of Jerusalem. It had to be taken before the final attack on Jerusalem could be launched. • the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool: This was a pool on the north side of Jerusalem, not the Gihon Spring in the Kidron valley. • Isaiah had met Ahaz on this same road leading to the field where cloth is washed some thirty-three years earlier (see Isa 7:3). At that time he had challenged Ahaz to trust God. However, Ahaz trusted Assyria instead, and this desperate situation was a result. Now the challenge to trust God came from mocking, foreign lips (see 28:11-13).
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