2 Kings 18:17
in 2 Kings 18Nevertheless, 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rab-saris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great army unto Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller’s field.
KJV
And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rab–shakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller’s field.
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This verse in 2 Kings 18
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
An interval of time must be placed between this verse and the last. Sennacherib, content with his successes, had returned to Nineveh with his spoil and his numerous captives. Hezekiah, left to himself, repented of his submission, and commenced negotiations with Egypt 2Ki 18:21, 2Ki 18:24; Isa 30:2-6; Isa 31:1, which implied treason against his Assyrian suzerain. It was under these circumstances that Sennacherib appears to have made his second expedition into Palestine very soon after the first.
This site's exposition
Tartan and Rabsaris and Rab–shakeh
on 2 Kings 18:17-18
Three Assyrian officers arrive together, Tartan the commander, Rabsaris a chief officer, and Rab-shakeh whose title means chief cupbearer, and it is the third, the propaganda officer rather than the general, who does all the speaking that follows. The delegation stops at the conduit of the upper pool, the very spot named at Isaiah 7:3 where Isaiah once met Ahaz with a word of trust that king refused to take. Three of Hezekiah's own officers come out to meet them, Eliakim over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the recorder, the same three names 2 Kings 19:2 will send to Isaiah once the speech below is heard.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris, and Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem,....
Those are wicked men indeed, and, let them be ever so great, we will call them so, whose principle it is not to make their promises binding any further than is for their interest.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
On the walls of the palace of Sennacherib, at Khorsabad, certain figures have been identified with the officers of that sovereign mentioned in Scripture. In particular, the figures, Rab-shakeh, Rab-saris, and Tartan, appear as full-length portraits of the persons holding those offices in the reign of Sennacherib.
The king of Assyria sent Tartan, etc. - Calmet has very justly remarked that these are not the names of persons, but of offices. Tartan, תרתן tartan or tantan, as in the parallel place in Isaiah, in the Greek version, signifies he who presides over the gifts or tribute; chancellor of the exchequer. Rabsaris - רב סריס, the chief of the eunuchs. Rab-shakeh, רב שקה master or chief over the wine cellar; or he who had the care of the king’s drink. From Lachish - It seems as if the Assyrian troops had been worsted before Lachish, and were obliged to raise the siege, from which they went and sat down before Libnah. While Sennacherib was there with the Assyrian army, he heard that Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, had invaded the Assyrian territories. Being obliged therefore to hasten, in order to succor his own dominions, he sent a considerable force under the aforementioned officers against Jerusalem, with a most fearful and bloody manifesto, commanding Hezekiah to pay him tribute, to deliver up his kingdom to him, and to submit, he and his people, to be carried away captives into Assyria! This manifesto was accompanied with the vilest insults, and the highest blasphemies. God interposed and the evils threatened against others fell upon himself. Manifestoes of this kind have seldom been honorable to the senders. The conduct of Rab-shakeh was unfortunately copied by the Duke of Brunswick, commander-in-chief of the allied army of the center, in the French revolution, who was then in the plains of Champagne, August 27, 1792, at the head of ninety thousand men, Prussians, Austrians, and emigrants, on his way to Paris, which in his manifesto he threatened to reduce to ashes! This was the cause of the dreadful massacres which immediately took place. And shortly after this time the blast of God fell upon him, for in Sept. […]
The words behind it
32 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁלַ֣ח | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אַשּׁ֡וּר | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| תַּרְתָּ֥ן | tartan | [the] commander in chief | H8661 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| רַב־ | rav- | [the] chief | H7249 → | |
| סָרִ֣יס׀ | saris | court-official | H7249 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| רַב־ | rav- | [the] chief | H7262 → | 32 times |
| שָׁקֵ֨ה | shakeh | commander | H7262 → | 32 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| לָכִ֜ישׁ | lakhish | Lachish | H3923 → | 24 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמֶּ֧לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| חִזְקִיָּ֛הוּ | chizkiyahu | Hezekiah | H2396 → | 127 times |
| בְּחֵ֥יל | becheil | with an army | H2428 → | 246 times |
| כָּבֵ֖ד | kaved | massive | H3515 → | |
| יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| וַֽיַּעֲלוּ֙ | vaiyaalu | and they went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ | vaiyavou | and they came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֔ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| וַיַּעֲל֣וּ | vaiyaalu | and they went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| וַיָּבֹ֗אוּ | vaiyavou | and they came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וַיַּֽעַמְדוּ֙ | vaiyaamdu | and they stood | H5975 → | 521 times |
| בִּתְעָלַת֙ | bitalat | at [the] conduit of | H8585 → | |
| הַבְּרֵכָ֣ה | haberekhah | the pool | H1295 → | |
| הָֽעֶלְיוֹנָ֔ה | haelyonah | <the> upper | H5945 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֕ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בִּמְסִלַּ֖ת | bimsilat | [is] on [the] highway of | H4546 → | |
| שְׂדֵ֥ה | sedeh | [the] field of | H7704 → | 334 times |
| כוֹבֵֽס׃ | khoves | [the] washer | H3526 → |
וַיִּשְׁלַ֣חand he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
אַשּׁ֡וּרAssyria
ʾashurH804 →151 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
תַּרְתָּ֥ן[the] commander in chief
tartanH8661 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
רַב־[the] chief
rav-H7249 →
סָרִ֣יס׀court-official
sarisH7249 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
רַב־[the] chief
rav-H7262 →32 times
שָׁקֵ֨הcommander
shakehH7262 →32 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
לָכִ֜ישׁLachish
lakhishH3923 →24 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַמֶּ֧לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
חִזְקִיָּ֛הוּHezekiah
chizkiyahuH2396 →127 times
בְּחֵ֥ילwith an army
becheilH2428 →246 times
כָּבֵ֖דmassive
kavedH3515 →
יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
וַֽיַּעֲלוּ֙and they went up
vaiyaaluH5927 →890 times
וַיָּבֹ֣אוּand they came
vaiyavouH935 →2568 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֔םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
וַיַּעֲל֣וּand they went up
vaiyaaluH5927 →890 times
וַיָּבֹ֗אוּand they came
vaiyavouH935 →2568 times
וַיַּֽעַמְדוּ֙and they stood
vaiyaamduH5975 →521 times
בִּתְעָלַת֙at [the] conduit of
bitalatH8585 →
הַבְּרֵכָ֣הthe pool
haberekhahH1295 →
הָֽעֶלְיוֹנָ֔ה<the> upper
haelyonahH5945 →
אֲשֶׁ֕רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בִּמְסִלַּ֖ת[is] on [the] highway of
bimsilatH4546 →
שְׂדֵ֥ה[the] field of
sedehH7704 →334 times
כוֹבֵֽס׃[the] washer
khovesH3526 →
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
Isaiah 7:3Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct that feeds the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,
it leads to
- 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…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 36:2
Through
Isaiah 36:2And 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…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 32:9–23
Later, as Sennacherib king of Assyria and all his forces besieged Lachish, he sent his servants to Jerusalem with a message for King Hezekiah of Judah and all the people of Judah who were…
- Isaiah 7:3
Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct that feeds the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,
- 2 Kings 18:17–37
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…
- 2 Chronicles 32:9–23
Through
2 Kings 20:20As for the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, along with all his might and how he constructed the pool and the tunnel to bring water into the city, are they not written in…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 3:16
Beyond him, Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of a half-district of Beth-zur, made repairs up to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool and the House of the…
- Isaiah 22:9–11
You saw that there were many breaches in the walls of the City of David. You collected water from the lower pool.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 32:4
Many people assembled and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land. “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” they said.
- 2 Chronicles 32:32
As for the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his deeds of loving devotion, they are indeed written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz in the Book of the…
- Nehemiah 3:16
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Kings
Who and where
4 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonDivided kingdomHezekiahThe reforming king of Judah who trusted Jehovah against Sennacherib, spread the Assyrian letter before the LORD, was granted fifte…
- PlaceUpper MesopotamiaAssyriaMesopotamian empire whose capital Nineveh repented at Jonah's preaching and fell to Nahum's burden in 612 BC; the rod of God's ang…
- PlaceShephelahLachishJudah's second city, besieged by Sennacherib in 701 BC, its siege carved on the walls of his palace at Nineveh and confirmed in th…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); F. W. Farrar, The Second Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.