Bible Strands
Isaiah 36:2
And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh, with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stopped by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The king of Assyria sends the Rabshakeh with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. The force halts at the aqueduct of the upper pool on the road to the Launderer’s Field, establishing a forward position outside the city.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַ/יִּשְׁלַ֣ח (va/i.yish.Lach) literally means "and he sent," marking the commencement of the military advance. The title רַב־שָׁקֵ֨ה (rav-sha.Keh) translates as "chief commander," identifying the official rank of the envoy.
The thread — The text records the same Assyrian deployment in 2 Kings 18:17, which lists the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh advancing from Lachish. The geographic marker of the upper pool aqueduct parallels Isaiah 7:3, where royal agents previously met the prophet at the same water infrastructure.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to track the precise movement of an invading army and its strategic halt at a known Jerusalem landmark. It demands recognition of how the text uses specific geography to ground a historical confrontation without embellishment.
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The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 32:9 Later, as Sennacherib king of Assyria and all his forces besieged Lachish, he sent his servants to Jerusalem with a message for King Hezekiah of Judah and all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem:
- Isaiah 7:3 Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct that feeds the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,
- 2 Kings 18:17 Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.
- Isaiah 22:9 You saw that there were many breaches in the walls of the City of David. You collected water from the lower pool.