Hebrew word · H7262

רַבְשָׁקֵה

rav-

Rabshakeh

A loanword from Akkadian rab šāqê, "chief cupbearer" (from rab, "chief," and šāqû, "cupbearer," one who gives drink; compare the Hebrew verb hishqah, "give to drink"). Holders of the title commanded armies in the field, governed a province, and acted as the king's personal representative.

Appears 32 times in 16 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 2Ki.18.17

1) chief cupbearer, chief of the officers?

2) Rabshakeh

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 36:2

Range of meaning

A loanword from Akkadian rab šāqê, "chief cupbearer" (from rab, "chief," and šāqû, "cupbearer," one who gives drink; compare the Hebrew verb hishqah, "give to drink"). It began as a palace office, but in the Neo-Assyrian empire (9th–7th centuries BC) the rab šāqê was one of the highest officers of state. Holders of the title commanded armies in the field, governed a province, and acted as the king's personal representative.

Against the English

KJV, NASB and WEB print "Rabshakeh" with no article, so readers take it as a man's name. BSB and ESV write "the Rabshakeh," which signals a title. NIV's "field commander" and NLT's "chief of staff" turn it into a role a modern reader understands, but lose the specific Assyrian office. A literal "chief cupbearer" would mislead the other way, suggesting a butler or wine steward.

How it drifted

English Bibles from Tyndale and the KJV on transliterated the word as if it were a name, because the title was not understood. The Assyrian administrative records that identify the office were deciphered only in the 19th century.

Used elsewhere in the period

Rab šāqê appears in Neo-Assyrian administrative documents and in the lists of officials after whom years were named. The parallel account in 2 Kings 18:17 lists him alongside two other Assyrian titles, the Tartan (Akkadian turtānu, commander-in-chief) and the Rab-saris (Akkadian rab ša rēši, chief officer). The Septuagint transliterates the word (Rapsakēs), and so does Josephus in his retelling (Antiquities 10).

From the study of 2 Kings 18:17

Range of meaning

From Assyrian rab šāqê, 'chief cupbearer'. The title began as a royal steward's but by the 8th century BC was a senior state and military office. The rab šāqê could command troops and govern provinces.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'Rab-shakeh' (as a name); YLT 'the chief of the butlers' (literally correct); NIV 'field commander' (describes what he does here, but drops the court title). BSB/ESV keep 'the Rabshakeh'.

How it drifted

Read as a personal name in the KJV tradition. Many readers still take 'Rabshakeh' as the man's name.

Used elsewhere in the period

Neo-Assyrian letters and administrative records list the rab šāqê among the great officials. In Hebrew the second half sounds like mashqeh, 'cupbearer', the word in Genesis 40 ('chief cupbearer', sar hammashqîm), so a Hebrew audience could hear what the title meant. In vv. 26–28 he speaks Judean Hebrew fluently. Some modern scholars suggest he was of Israelite origin, and later Jewish tradition made him an apostate Israelite, but neither can be proved.

From the study of 2 Kings 19:4

Range of meaning

A loanword for the Assyrian title rab šāqê, 'chief cupbearer'. By the 8th century BCE this was one of the empire's top officials, who could lead armies and negotiate for the king.

Against the English

KJV, BSB and WEB print 'Rabshakeh' as if it were a name; YLT translates it 'chief of the butlers'. Some modern versions add 'the field commander' or 'chief of staff'.

How it drifted

Older translators left the title untranslated, so it reads like a personal name.

Used elsewhere in the period

Neo-Assyrian administrative and royal texts list the rab šāqê among the highest officers, alongside the turtanu (commander-in-chief, 'Tartan', 18:17) and the rab ša rēši ('Rabsaris'). See Cogan & Tadmor, II Kings (Anchor Bible).

Where it appears

2 Kings · 16

  1. 2 Kings 18:17 רַב־ שָׁקֵ֨ה [the] chief, commander

    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.

    Here: First half of the title Rab-shakeh, written here as two words joined by a hyphen-like mark; elsewhere it is written as one word.

  2. 2 Kings 18:19 רַב־ שָׁקֵ֔ה [the] chief, commander

    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?

  3. 2 Kings 18:26 רַב־ שָׁקֵ֗ה [the] chief, commander

    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.”

  4. 2 Kings 18:27 רַב־ שָׁקֵ֗ה [the] chief, commander

    But the Rabshakeh replied, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to you and your master, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are destined with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?”

  5. 2 Kings 18:28 רַב־ שָׁקֵ֔ה [the] chief, commander

    Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria!

  6. 2 Kings 18:37 רַב־ שָׁקֵֽה׃ [the] chief, commander

    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.

  7. 2 Kings 19:4 רַב־ שָׁקֵ֗ה [the] chief, commander

    Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to defy the living God, and He will rebuke him for the words that the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives.”

    Here: First half of an Assyrian title. Rav means 'chief' or 'great one'.

  8. 2 Kings 19:8 רַב־ שָׁקֵ֔ה [the] chief, commander

    When the Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.

Isaiah · 16

  1. Isaiah 36:2 רַב־ שָׁקֵ֨ה [the] chief, commander

    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.

    Here: The first half of the title Rab-shakeh. Hebrew rav, like Akkadian rab, means "chief" or "head of."

  2. Isaiah 36:4 רַב־ שָׁקֵ֔ה [the] chief, commander

    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?

  3. Isaiah 36:11 רַב־ שָׁקֵ֗ה [the] chief, commander

    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.”

  4. Isaiah 36:12 רַב־ שָׁקֵ֗ה [the] chief, commander

    But the Rabshakeh replied, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to you and your master, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are destined with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?”

  5. Isaiah 36:13 רַב־ שָׁקֵ֔ה [the] chief, commander

    Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!

  6. Isaiah 36:22 רַב־ שָׁקֵֽה׃ ס [the] chief, commander

    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.

  7. Isaiah 37:4 רַב־ שָׁקֵ֗ה [the] chief, commander

    Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to defy the living God, and He will rebuke him for the words that the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives.”

    Here: The first half of an Assyrian title (Akkadian rab, 'chief'). It is not a personal name.

  8. Isaiah 37:8 רַב־ שָׁקֵ֔ה [the] chief, commander

    When the Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.