Isaiah 36:11
in Isaiah 36Then 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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews’ language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.
KJV
Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews’ language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.
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This verse in Isaiah 36
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language - Hebrew, ארמית 'ărâmı̂yt - ‘Aramean.’ Aram, or Aramea, properly meaning a high region, or the highlands, was of wider extent than Syria Proper, and comprehended not only Syria, but Mesopotamia. It usually denotes however, Syria Proper, of which the capital was Damascus. The language of all this country was probably the same - the Syrian or Aramean, a language of the same family as the Hebrew, and having a strong resemblance to that and to the Chaldee.
This site's exposition
Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh
on Isaiah 36:11-12
Hezekiah's officers ask Rabshakeh to use Aramaic, and to stop speaking Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall. He refuses in the crudest terms, saying his words are for the men sitting on the wall. His aim is the population over the heads of its leaders.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 11 and following) And Eliakim, Sobna, and Joah said to Rabshakeh, 'Speak to your servants in the Aramaic language, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in Judahite in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.' But Rabshakeh said to them, 'Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words? Has he not sent me to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?'
And as Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah humbly implore, 'Speak to your servants in the Syrian language, for we understand; and do not speak to us in the language of Judah in the hearing of the people who are on the wall,' it means: 'Why is it necessary to stir up the people with false terrors and boast of empty power?' Speak the language that the people do not understand. For if we have knowledge of your language: and we know the Syrian language, which is common to both. To which Rabshakeh replied arrogantly: Did my master send me to your lord and to you, and not rather to the men who sit on the wall? And he increased the threat, saying that they should eat their own feces and drink the urine of their own feet with them? By these means he showed that they were to be taken by hunger, scarcity, and thirst.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, the response of the others is set out: and Eliacim, and Sobna, and Joahe said to Rabsaces. In the hearing of the people, lest they be troubled, knowing what is said: in the blessing of the just, the city shall rejoice (Prov 11:10).
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The history related here, and in the three following chapters, is, almost in the same words contained 2 Kings 18, 19, 20. It is inserted here, to explain and confirm some of the foregoing predictions.
Then said Eliakim and Shebah and Joah unto Rabshakeh,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
"Aram" means a "high land," and includes parts of Assyria as well as Syria. Jews' language--The men of Judah since the disruption of Israel, claimed the Hebrew as their own peculiarly, as if they were now the only true representatives of the whole Hebrew twelve tribes. ears of . . . people on . . . wall--The interview is within hearing distance of the city.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Did..to your master (הַאֶל) This is the interrogative form. It is therefore vowelized with a ‘hataf pattah’ (not so in our editions). Did my master send me to you two alone?
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
24 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 |
| אֶלְיָקִים֩ | ʾelyakim | Eliakim | H471 → | 12 times |
| וְשֶׁבְנָ֨א | veshevna' | 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 |
| אֵלֵ֙ינוּ֙ | ʾeleinu | to us | H413 → | 5510 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 |
| הַחוֹמָֽה׃ | hachomah | the city wall | H2346 → | 133 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֶלְיָקִים֩Eliakim
ʾelyakimH471 →12 times
וְשֶׁבְנָ֨אand Shebna
veshevna'H7644 →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
אֵלֵ֙ינוּ֙to us
ʾeleinuH413 →5510 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
הַחוֹמָֽה׃the city 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
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
- 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…
- 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.
- Ezra 5:6
This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius.
- 2 Kings 18:26
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
- 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 3:9
saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, may you live forever!
- 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…
- Ezra 4:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.