2 Kings 18:17
And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rab-shakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller’s field.
After capturing Judah's fortified cities and exacting tribute from Hezekiah at Lachish, Sennacherib sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rab-shakeh with a great host to confront Hezekiah at Jerusalem, where they took their stand outside the city by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field. Their arrival opened the Assyrian crisis of Hezekiah's reign, when in distress he brought his trouble before God in prayer and patiently relied on the God of Israel, showing God as a friend to His people in trouble. When the envoys failed to persuade Hezekiah to surrender and insulting letters against Judah's God were sent, God delivered Jerusalem by miraculous intervention when the angel of the Lord destroyed 185,000 Assyrians in one night, showing the God of heaven mightier than the gods of the nations, after which Sennacherib returned to Nineveh where his own sons killed him while he worshiped his idol. Though Jerusalem was the city of the Great King, evil still came to it, for in sending a great host Sennacherib was lifting puny hands against God's mighty plans and setting himself against the Rock of the word, so that Assyria's origin, career and end bear witness to the truth of the Bible.
History and Geography
The verse stands in the history of Judah's remaining kingdom after the ten tribes had been swept away. It belongs to the eight-chapter record that hastens from the breakup of Samaria to Judah's Babylonian captivity under Nebuchadnezzar, covering the reigns of Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah.
It records the next stage of Sennacherib's invasion of Palestine and Judah and siege of Jerusalem. After capturing Judah's principal fortified cities, and after the siege of Lachish and the tribute exacted from Hezekiah, Sennacherib at Lachish sent his officials Tartan, Rabsaris and Rab-shakeh with a great host to confront Hezekiah at Jerusalem. Their coming from Lachish toward Jerusalem began the direct threat against the city and its people.
The officers took their stand by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field. That was where Rabshakeh took his position outside Jerusalem. The Upper Pool was a large Jerusalem reservoir, 316 feet long, 218 feet wide and 18 feet deep. It lay near the city's northwest corner, where the Crusaders attacked in 1099.
The invasion is corroborated by contemporary Assyrian records. An Assyrian cylinder records Sennacherib's invasion of Palestine and siege of Jerusalem. Sennacherib's own account and inscriptions, and a palace relief depicting his victory and siege at Lachish and his receiving the city's spoils, provide evidence for the campaign against Judah and the cities in the western lands. The inscriptions record the tribute Hezekiah was forced to pay, whose differing silver totals are reconciled by different-sized talents, and figures of Assyrian officers may include Rab-shakeh.
Deliverance and Meaning
The verse introduces the Assyrian crisis of Hezekiah's reign and belongs to the account of his remarkable experiences. It shows God as a friend to His people in trouble and provides the setting in which Hezekiah brought his distress before God in prayer. When Jerusalem was threatened by the great army sent against Hezekiah, he remained hopeful and patiently relied on God. His trust in the God of Israel led to victory.
Their arrival from Lachish began the threat against the city and its people, coming after the conquest of the cities of Judah. When the envoys failed to persuade Hezekiah to surrender, insulting letters attacking Judah's God were sent. God afterward delivered Jerusalem by miraculous intervention, showing that the God of heaven was mightier than the gods of the nations. The angel of the Lord destroyed 185,000 Assyrians in one night, and Sennacherib returned to Nineveh, where his own sons killed him while he worshiped his idol.
The army was not near Jerusalem when the angel killed the 185,000 men, but was with the king of Assyria at Libnah. For that reason the destruction did not fulfill Isaiah's prophecy about Tophet.
The threat made clear that Jerusalem's standing as the city of the Great King did not keep evil from coming to it. Assyria is one of the empires whose origin, career, and end are predicted in the Bible, so its history bears witness to the truth of the Bible. Sennacherib's sending of a great host against Jerusalem was the lifting of puny hands against God's mighty plans and precepts. He set himself against the Rock of the word and now lives only in infamy, while the Rock stands.
The verse belongs to the eight-chapter record hastening from the breakup of Samaria to Judah's Babylonian captivity under Nebuchadnezzar, covering the reigns of Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. Five of these chapters are given to the two good kings Hezekiah and Josiah. Hezekiah was a devoted man of God notwithstanding his mistakes. His mistake exalted man, aroused the cupidity of Babylon, and brought captivity upon his own seed. The Assyrian threat to Judah stands within the wider history of Assyria's conquest of Israel and removal of its people, and Judah later went into captivity after following Israel's departure from God.