2 Kings 18:37
in 2 Kings 18Then Hilkiah’s son Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and Asaph’s son Joah the recorder came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and they relayed to him the words of the Rabshakeh.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
KJV
Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rab–shakeh.
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This verse in 2 Kings 18
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThen came Eliakim - and Shebna - and Joah - to Hezekiah with their clothes rent - It was the custom of the Hebrews, when they heard any blasphemy, to rend their clothes, because this was the greatest of crimes, as it immediately affected the majesty of God, and it was right that a religious people should have in the utmost abhorrence every insult offered to the object of their religious worship. These three ambassadors lay the matter before the king as God’s representative; he lays it before the prophet, as God’s minister; and the prophet lays it before God, as the people’s mediator.
This site's exposition
held their peace, and answered
on 2 Kings 18:36-37
The king's own command, answer him not, holds the people silent under a speech built to provoke exactly that kind of answer, and the silence is obedience rather than defeat. Eliakim, Shebna and Joah return to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, the ordinary sign of grief and dismay used across the book of Kings for news too heavy for words. The chapter ends without Hezekiah's reply; 2 Kings 19 opens with what he does instead, spreading the matter before the Lord in the temple he had just stripped to pay Assyria's price.
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 Awakening1 voice
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 words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֣א | vaiyavo' | and he went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶלְיָקִ֣ים | ʾelyakim | Eliakim | H471 → | 12 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| חִלְקִיָּ֣ה | chilkiyah | Hilkiah | H2518 → | 34 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [was] over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַ֠בַּיִת | habayit | the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וְשֶׁבְנָ֨א | veshevna' | and Shebna | H7644 → | 9 times |
| הַסֹּפֵ֜ר | hasofer | the scribe | H5608 → | 159 times |
| וְיוֹאָ֨ח | veyoach | and Joah | H3098 → | 11 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָסָ֧ף | ʾasaf | Asaph | H623 → | |
| הַמַּזְכִּ֛יר | hamazkir | the recorder | H2142 → | 230 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| חִזְקִיָּ֖הוּ | chizkiyahu | Hezekiah | H2396 → | 127 times |
| קְרוּעֵ֣י | keruei | torn of | H7167 → | 63 times |
| בְגָדִ֑ים | vegadim | clothes | H899 → | 217 times |
| וַיַּגִּ֣דוּ | vaiyagidu | and they told | H5046 → | 370 times |
| ל֔וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| דִּבְרֵ֖י | divrei | [the] words of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| רַב־ | rav- | [the] chief | H7262 → | 32 times |
| שָׁקֵֽה׃ | shakeh | commander | H7262 → | 32 times |
וַיָּבֹ֣אand he went
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
אֶלְיָקִ֣יםEliakim
ʾelyakimH471 →12 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
חִלְקִיָּ֣הHilkiah
chilkiyahH2518 →34 times
אֲשֶׁר־who
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
עַל־[was] over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַ֠בַּיִתthe house
habayitH1004 →2046 times
וְשֶׁבְנָ֨אand Shebna
veshevna'H7644 →9 times
הַסֹּפֵ֜רthe scribe
hasoferH5608 →159 times
וְיוֹאָ֨חand Joah
veyoachH3098 →11 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אָסָ֧ףAsaph
ʾasafH623 →
הַמַּזְכִּ֛ירthe recorder
hamazkirH2142 →230 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
חִזְקִיָּ֖הוּHezekiah
chizkiyahuH2396 →127 times
קְרוּעֵ֣יtorn of
kerueiH7167 →63 times
בְגָדִ֑יםclothes
vegadimH899 →217 times
וַיַּגִּ֣דוּand they told
vaiyagiduH5046 →370 times
ל֔וֹto him
lo
דִּבְרֵ֖י[the] words of
divreiH1697 →1440 times
רַב־[the] chief
rav-H7262 →32 times
שָׁקֵֽה׃commander
shakehH7262 →32 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
2 Kings 5:7When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and asked, “Am I God, killing and giving life, that this man expects me to cure a leper? Surely you can see…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 2:6
The LORD brings death and gives life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
- 1 Kings 20:7
Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, “Please take note and see that this man is looking for trouble, for when he demanded my wives, my children,…
- Genesis 30:2
Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?”
- Deuteronomy 32:39
See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My…
- 1 Samuel 2:6
Through
Isaiah 33:7Behold, their valiant ones cry aloud in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 18:18
Then 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 18:18
Through
2 Kings 18:26Then 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…
it leads to
- 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.
- Ezra 4:7
Through
2 Kings 22:11When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes
it leads to
- Joel 2:13
So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.
- 2 Chronicles 34:19
When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes
- Joel 2:13
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 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
