2 Kings 18:26
in 2 Kings 18Then 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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah, unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not with us in the Jews’ language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.
KJV
Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rab–shakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews’ language in the ears of the people that are on the wall.
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This verse in 2 Kings 18
Commentary
7 notes on this verseTalk not with us in the Jews’ language - The object of this blasphemous caitiff was to stir up the people to sedition, that the city and the king might be delivered into his hand.
This site's exposition
speak to your servants in Aramaic
on 2 Kings 18:26-27
Eliakim asks the Rabshakeh to speak "in Aramaic", the diplomatic language the officials share, so the people on the wall will not hear the threat. The request concedes how much the speech has landed. The threat aims at the common soldiers and turns the speech into public psychological warfare.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
As I have already said, Sennacherib is a type of the devil, and this hypothesis is perfectly confirmed by the words that in this passage the Rabshakeh boastfully speaks against God when he makes false promises to the people, trying to take away from [God] …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
This was a reasonable request, and agreeable to the custom of treaties, which is that the plenipotentiaries should settle matters between themselves before any thing be made public; but Hilkiah did not consider what an unreasonable man he had to deal with, else he would not have made this request, for it did but exasperate Rabshakeh, and make him the more rude and boisterous,
What an idol did he make of that prince whose creature he was! God is the great King, but Sennacherib was in his eye a little god, and he would possess them with the same veneration for him that he had, and thereby frighten them into a submission to him. But to those who by faith see the King of kings in his power and glory even the king of Assyria looks mean and little.
His great piety, which was the more wonderful because his father was very wicked and vile, one of the worst of the kings, yet he was one of the best, which may intimate to us that what good there is in any is not of nature, but of grace, free grace, sovereign grace, which, contrary to nature, grafts into the good olive that which was wild by nature ( Rom. xi.
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The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Syrian language - i. e., Aramaic; probably the dialect of Damascus, a Semitic language nearly akin to their own, but suffciently different to be unintelligible to ordinary Jews The people that are on the wall - The conference must have been held immediately outside the wall for the words of the speakers to have been audible.
The words behind it
26 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶלְיָקִ֣ים | ʾelyakim | Eliakim | H471 → | 12 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| חִ֠לְקִיָּהוּ | chilkiyahu | Hilkiah | H2518 → | 34 times |
| וְשֶׁבְנָ֨ה | veshevnah | and Shebna | H7644 → | 9 times |
| וְיוֹאָ֜ח | veyoach | and Joah | H3098 → | 11 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| רַב־ | rav- | [the] chief | H7262 → | 32 times |
| שָׁקֵ֗ה | shakeh | commander | H7262 → | 32 times |
| דַּבֶּר־ | daber- | speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| נָ֤א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עֲבָדֶ֙יךָ֙ | ʾavadeikha | servants your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| אֲרָמִ֔ית | ʾaramit | Aramaic | H762 → | |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שֹׁמְעִ֖ים | shomeim | [are] understanding | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֲנָ֑חְנוּ | ʾanachenu | we | H587 → | 120 times |
| וְאַל־ | veal- | and may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תְּדַבֵּ֤ר | tedaber | you speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| עִמָּ֙נוּ֙ | ʾimanu | with us | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| יְהוּדִ֔ית | yehudit | [in] Judean | H3066 → | |
| בְּאָזְנֵ֣י | beazenei | in [the] ears of | H241 → | 187 times |
| הָעָ֔ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [is] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַחֹמָֽה׃ | hachomah | the wall | H2346 → | 133 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֶלְיָקִ֣יםEliakim
ʾelyakimH471 →12 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
חִ֠לְקִיָּהוּHilkiah
chilkiyahuH2518 →34 times
וְשֶׁבְנָ֨הand Shebna
veshevnahH7644 →9 times
וְיוֹאָ֜חand Joah
veyoachH3098 →11 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
רַב־[the] chief
rav-H7262 →32 times
שָׁקֵ֗הcommander
shakehH7262 →32 times
דַּבֶּר־speak
daber-H1696 →1141 times
נָ֤אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עֲבָדֶ֙יךָ֙servants your
ʾavadeikhaH5650 →799 times
אֲרָמִ֔יתAramaic
ʾaramitH762 →
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
שֹׁמְעִ֖ים[are] understanding
shomeimH8085 →1159 times
אֲנָ֑חְנוּwe
ʾanachenuH587 →120 times
וְאַל־and may not
veal-H408 →724 times
תְּדַבֵּ֤רyou speak
tedaberH1696 →1141 times
עִמָּ֙נוּ֙with us
ʾimanuH5973 →1050 times
יְהוּדִ֔ית[in] Judean
yehuditH3066 →
בְּאָזְנֵ֣יin [the] ears of
beazeneiH241 →187 times
הָעָ֔םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עַל־[is] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַחֹמָֽה׃the wall
hachomahH2346 →133 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Daniel 2:4Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
it leads to
- 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…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 3:9
saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, may you live forever!
- Ezra 4:7
And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. It was written in Aramaic and then translated.
- Daniel 5:10
Hearing the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen entered the banquet hall. “O king, may you live forever!” she said. “Do not let your thoughts terrify you, or your face grow…
- Isaiah 36:11
Through
Ezra 4:7And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. It was written in Aramaic and then translated.
it leads to
- Daniel 2:4
Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
- Ezra 4:9
From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates—the judges and officials over Tripolis, Persia, Erech and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa,
- Ezra 4:17
Then the king sent this reply: To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of your associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in the region west of the Euphrates: Greetings.
- Daniel 2:4
Through
2 Kings 18:18Then they called for the king; and Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebnah the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder, went out to them.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 19:2
And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz
- 2 Kings 19:2
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 18:19; F. W. Farrar, The Second Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.