Who was the Rabshakeh?
Rabshakeh is an Assyrian title of a high officer, used here as a name for the spokesman Sennacherib sends to Jerusalem. He speaks Hebrew, the language of Judah, which shows he knew well the people he was trying to persuade.
Isaiah · chapter 36 of 66
Isaiah 36: Summary, Key Verses and Study Questions
Updated on
What happens in Isaiah 36?
Isaiah 36 tells how in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib of Assyria captures the fortified cities of Judah and sends his spokesman, the Rabshakeh, with a large army to Jerusalem. By the conduit, the Rabshakeh mocks Hezekiah's trust in Egypt and in the Lord and tries to persuade the people to surrender. The people of Jerusalem stay silent, as the king commanded, and the envoys report to Hezekiah with torn clothes.
With chapter 36 the book of Isaiah changes genre. After the oracles of chapters 1-35, chapters 36-39 are historical narratives about King Hezekiah, almost identical to 2 Kings 18:13-20:19. Sennacherib's invasion in 701 BC is the greatest test of faith of Hezekiah's reign and shows whether the people will trust the Lord, as Isaiah had urged.
Isaiah 36 summary
In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria goes up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captures them. From Lachish he sends the Rabshakeh with a large army to Jerusalem. The Rabshakeh stands by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Fuller's Field, the same place where Isaiah had gone out to meet Ahaz in chapter 7. Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who is over the household, Shebna the secretary and Joah son of Asaph the recorder come out to meet him.
The Rabshakeh speaks in the name of the great king and mocks Hezekiah's trust. He asks what he trusts in, and says that Egypt is a broken reed that pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it. If they say they trust in the Lord, was it not Hezekiah who removed his high places and altars? He challenges them to a wager of two thousand horses if they can put riders on them, and claims that the Lord himself told him to go up against this land and destroy it. Eliakim, Shebna and Joah ask him to speak in Aramaic so that the people on the wall will not understand, but he answers in the language of Judah, in a loud voice.
The Rabshakeh warns the people not to be deceived by Hezekiah: he promises that if they surrender, each will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink from his own cistern, until he comes and takes them to a land like their own. He warns them not to let Hezekiah persuade them that the Lord will deliver them, and asks where the gods of Hamath and Arpad and Sepharvaim are, and whether they delivered Samaria from his hand. The people are silent, because the king had commanded them not to answer. Eliakim, Shebna and Joah return to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and report the words of the Rabshakeh.
Chapter outline
- vv. 1-3: Sennacherib invades Judah and the Rabshakeh comes to Jerusalem; Hezekiah's three officials go out.
- vv. 4-10: The Rabshakeh ridicules trust in Egypt and in the Lord.
- vv. 11-12: They ask him to speak in Aramaic, but he speaks loudly before the people.
- vv. 13-20: He promises benefits if they surrender and compares the Lord to the gods of other nations.
- vv. 21-22: The people stay silent and the officials report to Hezekiah with torn clothes.
Key verses in Isaiah 36
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Isaiah 36:1
In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib captures all the fortified cities of Judah. With this sentence the historical narrative begins and the great test of Hezekiah's reign is set.
Isaiah 36:4
The Rabshakeh asks what Hezekiah trusts in, presenting himself as spokesman for the great king of Assyria. His whole strategy is to undermine the people's confidence, not only in their human allies but in the Lord.
Isaiah 36:15
The Rabshakeh tells the people not to let Hezekiah make them trust in the Lord by saying the Lord will deliver them. It is a direct temptation: presenting trust in God as a deception.
Isaiah 36:20
The Rabshakeh asks which of the gods of those lands delivered their country from his hand, so that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem. By equating the Lord with the gods of the nations, he poses a challenge that chapter 37 will answer.
Main themes
- The test of faith
- Propaganda and demoralization
- Trust in Egypt or in God
- Obedient silence
- The Lord against the gods of the nations
People and places
- Sennacherib
- The Rabshakeh
- Hezekiah
- Eliakim
- Shebna
- Joah
- The people on the wall
- Lachish
Isaiah 36 study questions and answers
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
1. In which year of Hezekiah's reign did Sennacherib invade?
Answer: In the fourteenth year. — Isaiah 36:1
2. From where did Sennacherib send the Rabshakeh to Jerusalem?
Answer: From Lachish. — Isaiah 36:2
3. What does the Rabshakeh compare Egypt to?
Answer: A broken reed that pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it. — Isaiah 36:6
4. What did Eliakim, Shebna and Joah ask the Rabshakeh?
Answer: To speak in Aramaic and not in the language of Judah, so the people on the wall would not hear. — Isaiah 36:11
5. What does the Rabshakeh promise the people if they surrender?
Answer: That each will eat from his vine and fig tree and drink from his cistern, until he takes them to another land. — Isaiah 36:16-17
6. How did the people respond?
Answer: They were silent and said nothing, because the king had commanded them not to answer. — Isaiah 36:21
Application for today
Isaiah 36 shows how pressure aimed at weakening faith works: it ridicules, exaggerates the enemy's power, promises benefits if trust in God is abandoned and compares the Lord with idols. In a Sunday school class you can identify how those arguments appear today and how to answer them with the truth of the Word.
It also teaches the care of silence and wisdom. The people did not respond, because the king had commanded it. Not every attack deserves an immediate reply, and sometimes the most faithful response is to bring the matter before the Lord, as Hezekiah will do in the next chapter. In a small group you can pray for those who face mockery for their faith.
Isaiah 36 ends with Hezekiah's officials before the king, with torn clothes, carrying Sennacherib's threat. Chapter 37 will show what Hezekiah does with those words: he takes them to the temple, spreads them out before the Lord and receives an answer from Isaiah.
Frequently asked questions about Isaiah 36
Why does the Rabshakeh say the Lord told him to destroy the land?
It is part of his rhetoric. The text does not confirm that the Lord gave that order to the king of Assyria; the narrator presents the claim as an attempt to undermine the people's confidence. In chapter 37 we will see that the Lord defends Jerusalem.
How does Isaiah 36 relate to 2 Kings 18?
Isaiah 36-39 is almost parallel to 2 Kings 18:13-20:19. Readers have debated which account depends on the other. What matters is that both tell the same story: Sennacherib's invasion and Hezekiah's faith.