Bible Strands
2 Kings 18:28
Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria!
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Rabshakeh positions himself outside Jerusalem and addresses both the city's officials and the soldiers on the wall. He shouts his message in Hebrew so the besieged population directly understands his challenge to King Hezekiah.
The words — The text highlights רַב שָׁקֵה (rav shaqeh), meaning "chief commander," and יְהוּדִ֑ית (yehudit), meaning "in Judean," noting his official rank and deliberate linguistic choice. He calls out with a גּדול (gadol) voice to project authority over the defenders.
The thread — This action matches Isaiah 36:13 and repeats the summons structure of 2 Kings 18:19, while 2 Chronicles 32:18 records the same campaign's psychological warfare against Jerusalem's people.
Why it lands — The text records how military intimidation uses familiar language to attack communal trust in leadership and divine protection. It requires the reader to recognize that psychological pressure targets faith before physical siege does.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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:
Cross-references
- Isaiah 36:13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!
- 2 Kings 18:19 The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is the basis of this confidence of yours?
- 2 Chronicles 32:18 Then the Assyrians called out loudly in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them in order to capture the city.
- Ezra 7:12 Artaxerxes, king of kings. To Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Greetings.
- Psalms 47:2 How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!
- Isaiah 10:8 “Are not all my commanders kings?” he says.
- Ezekiel 29:3 Speak 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, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it myself.’
- Ezekiel 31:3 Look at Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches that shaded the forest. It towered on high; its top was among the clouds.
- Revelation 19:6 And 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 Almighty reigns.