Rabshakeh רַבְשָׁקֵה
A Babylonian official who taunted Hezekiah and Jerusalem's people
Who is Rabshakeh in the Bible?
Rabshakeh was a high-ranking Assyrian official who served as the spokesman for King Sennacherib during his military campaign against Judah around 701 BC (2 Kings 18-19; Isaiah 36-37). Sent along with two other officers to demand Jerusalem's surrender, he delivered threatening messages directly to King Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem, deliberately speaking in Hebrew rather than Aramaic to intimidate the citizens gathered on the city walls. Rabshakeh mocked Hezekiah's faith in God and boasted of Assyria's military power, attempting to convince the people that neither their king nor their God could save them from conquest. His psychological warfare campaign ultimately failed when Hezekiah sought God's help, leading to a miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem. Rabshakeh's role in Scripture exemplifies human arrogance against God's people and demonstrates the theme that trust in God's power surpasses trust in earthly military strength.
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
"Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field."
- 2 Kings 18:19
"The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is the basis of this confidence of yours?"
- 2 Kings 18:26
"Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, along with Shebnah and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak with us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”"
- 2 Kings 18:27
"But the Rabshakeh replied, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to you and your master, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are destined with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?”"
- 2 Kings 18:28
"Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria!"
Isaiah 5 verses
- Isaiah 36:2
"And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh, with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stopped by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field."
Study Isaiah → - Isaiah 36:4
"The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is the basis of this confidence of yours?"
Study Isaiah → - Isaiah 36:11
"Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”"
Study Isaiah → - Isaiah 36:12
"But the Rabshakeh replied, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to you and your master, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are destined with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?”"
Study Isaiah → - Isaiah 36:13
"Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!"
Study Isaiah →
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | רַבְשָׁקֵה | rabĕšāqēh | Rabshakeh , a Babylonian official |
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
ra'-ka, ra-ka'> (rhaka, Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in Greek with Codices Sinaiticus (corrected), Vaticanus, Codex E, etc.; rhacha, Tischendorf with Codices Sinaiticus (original hand) and Bezae; Aramaic reqa'