Bible Strands
Isaiah 36:11
Then 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.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah address the Rabshakeh during the Assyrian siege, immediately after he claims his campaign is divinely authorized.
The words — דַּבֶּר (da.ber) = speak [H1696] and רַב שָׁקֵה (rav sha.Keh) = chief commander [H7262] frame the officials’ plea for a private, intelligible dialogue.
The thread — The same encounter is recorded in 2 Kings 18:26, while Ezra 4:7 and Daniel 2:4 simply document Aramaic as the administrative tongue without repeating this tactical request.
Why it lands — The text shows the officials attempting to shield the garrison from psychological warfare by restricting the Rabshakeh’s audience to those who can process his threats without panicking.
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 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.
Cross-references
- 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 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.”
- 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 hearing of the people on the wall.”