2 Kings 18:28
Then Rab-shakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria: Then Rab-shakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria:
The address stands in the history of Judah after the ten tribes had been carried away. It belongs to 2 Kings 17-18, studied with Psalm 143, within the story of transgression, war, strife, defeat, captivity and conspiracy that ends with the complete overthrow of the kingdom of the ten tribes by Shalmaneser IV and Sargon of Assyria in B.C. 721-722. It is part of 2 Kings 18-20, which continues the history running from 1 Kings 22 through 2 Kings 20. The books of Kings give a fuller history of Israel than of Judah, while Chronicles give a fuller history of Judah than of Israel.
It belongs to the reign of Hezekiah, one of the good kings of Judah whose devotion to God did not keep him from making mistakes. One mistake exalted man, stirred the desire of Babylon, and brought captivity upon his descendants. It is part of the account of Sennacherib's invasion of Palestine and siege of Jerusalem, an account also reflected on Sennacherib's cylinder. The cylinder omits the loss of 185,000 Assyrian soldiers but mentions a misfortune in his camp.
The speaker is the Assyrian king's envoy and commander, who stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language to deliver the message of the great king of Assyria publicly so the people and defenders on Jerusalem's wall would hear. He addressed Jerusalem's defenders directly in their own language to frighten and discourage them into surrendering the city. His message challenged their trust in God, treating the God of Jerusalem as powerless like gods represented by objects made by human hands. This public threat formed part of the trouble facing Hezekiah and set the occasion for his appeal to God.