2 Kings 18:28
in 2 Kings 18Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and spake, saying, Hear ye the word of the great king, the king of Assyria.
KJV
Then Rab–shakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria:
⋯
This verse in 2 Kings 18
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAs 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] …
This site's exposition
cried with a loud voice
on 2 Kings 18:28-32
Rab-shakeh abandons diplomacy and shouts in the Jews' own language over the officials' heads, straight to the men on the wall, urging them to make an agreement, a pledge of surrender, and trade the siege for an ordinary harvest, his own vine, his own fig tree, his own cistern. The offer is a lie dressed as mercy: verse 32 admits the real plan is deportation, a land like your own land, the standard Assyrian policy of resettlement already carried out on Israel in verse 11. Let not Hezekiah deceive you and hearken not unto Hezekiah frame the whole appeal as a contest for the people's loyalty, king against invader, fought in words before either army moves.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Jews language - The tradition of the Jews is, that Rabshaketh was an apostate Jew. If so, his ignorance of the God of Israel was the less excusable, and his enmity the less strange: for apostates are usually the most bitter and spiteful enemies.
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.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Hear the word of the great king - of Assyria - This was all intended to cause the people to revolt from their allegiance to their king.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיַּעֲמֹד֙ | vaiyaamod | and he stood | H5975 → | 521 times |
| רַב־ | rav- | [the] chief | H7262 → | 32 times |
| שָׁקֵ֔ה | shakeh | commander | H7262 → | 32 times |
| וַיִּקְרָ֥א | vaiyikra' | and he called out | H7121 → | 733 times |
| בְקוֹל־ | vekol- | with a voice | H6963 → | 506 times |
| גָּד֖וֹל | gadol | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| יְהוּדִ֑ית | yehudit | [in] Judean | H3066 → | |
| וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר | vaydaber | and he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| וַיֹּ֔אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שִׁמְע֛וּ | shimu | hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| דְּבַר־ | devar- | [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הַגָּד֖וֹל | hagadol | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| מֶ֥לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אַשּֽׁוּר׃ | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
וַֽיַּעֲמֹד֙and he stood
vaiyaamodH5975 →521 times
רַב־[the] chief
rav-H7262 →32 times
שָׁקֵ֔הcommander
shakehH7262 →32 times
וַיִּקְרָ֥אand he called out
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
בְקוֹל־with a voice
vekol-H6963 →506 times
גָּד֖וֹלgreat
gadolH1419 →526 times
יְהוּדִ֑ית[in] Judean
yehuditH3066 →
וַיְדַבֵּ֣רand he spoke
vaydaberH1696 →1141 times
וַיֹּ֔אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שִׁמְע֛וּhear
shimuH8085 →1159 times
דְּבַר־[the] word of
devar-H1697 →1440 times
הַמֶּ֥לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
הַגָּד֖וֹל<the> great
hagadolH1419 →526 times
מֶ֥לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
אַשּֽׁוּר׃Assyria
ʾashurH804 →151 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
Revelation 19:6And I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude, like the rushing of many waters, and like a mighty rumbling of thunder, crying out: “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the…
it leads to
- Psalms 97:1
The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the distant shores be glad.
- Revelation 14:2
And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of many waters and the loud rumbling of thunder. And the sound I heard was like harpists strumming their harps.
- Psalms 97:1
Through
Psalms 47:2How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!
it leads to
- Psalms 95:3
For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods.
- Psalms 99:3
Let them praise Your great and awesome name— He is holy!
- Malachi 1:14
“But cursed is the deceiver who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord. For I am a great King,” says the…
- Psalms 68:35
O God, You are awesome in Your sanctuary; the God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God!
- Psalms 95:3
Through
Ezekiel 29:3Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies among his rivers, who says,…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 32:2
“Son of man, take up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: ‘You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas. You thrash…
- Isaiah 27:1
In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.
- Ezekiel 32:2
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 18:19; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.