Bible Strands
Isaiah 36:22
Then 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.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Three court officials—Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah—approach King Hezekiah after the people obey his command to remain silent before the Assyrian commander. They arrive with torn garments to deliver a report of the Rabshakeh’s messages.
The words — The text highlights אֲשֶׁר־עַל־הַבַּיִת ('a.Sher-'al-Ha.ba.yit), literally "who [is] over the house," identifying Eliakim’s administrative authority. It also records וַיָּבֹא (va.ya.vo), "and he went," marking the officials’ physical movement to the king.
The thread — This report mirrors Isaiah 36:3, which lists the same three officials initially sent to negotiate with the Assyrian forces. The torn clothes function as a distress signal comparable to the reaction in 2 Kings 5:7, while the failed diplomacy aligns with the weeping envoys described in Isaiah 33:7.
Why it lands — The verse records the factual arrival of terrified messengers delivering unanswerable demands to a king who had ordered silence. It requires the reader to acknowledge how human authority operates under overwhelming threat and how the bearers of bad news physically manifest the crisis.
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 came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that 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.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 36:3 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder, went out to him.
- Isaiah 33:7 Behold, their valiant ones cry aloud in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
- 2 Kings 5:7 When 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 that he is seeking a quarrel with me!”
- Ezra 9:3 When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled out some hair from my head and beard, and sat down in horror.
- 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.”
- Isaiah 37:1 On hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.
- Matthew 26:65 At this, the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “He has blasphemed! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.