Rabshake

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Rabshake was the title of an official of the Assyrian king who was not known by name and who was sent to Hezekiah , king of Judah , together with Tartan and Rabsaris at the end of the 8th century BC .

title

The Assyrian word Rab šaqē means “ chief cupbearer .” Originally a court official, the Rabshake became the commander of the royal bodyguard. Further military tasks were added in the course of time. Within the delegation to Hezekiah, however, the rabshakeh had the lowest position, because tartan ( turtānu ) had the military supreme command and Rabsaris had a high military rank.

The speech given by Rabschake corresponds to contemporary diplomatic methods and is compared with the mockery of the Hyksos king Apophis by Kamose or with the Nimrud letter ND 2632, which was intended to intimidate the Aramaic tribal leader Ukin-zēr . The intention was to spare one's own military and, if possible, to achieve one's goals without a fight by intimidating the enemy.

Mentions in the Bible

In the 18th chapter of the 2nd book of kings  LUT it is reported how the king of Assyria sent Tartan, Rabsaris and Rabshake from Lachish to Jerusalem to king Hezekiah. This was part of a campaign to this, in the hope of Egyptian help, the supremacy of Assyria to make apostate Judah back to an Assyrian vassal. After they reached Jerusalem and representatives of Hezekiah came to them in front of the city wall, Rabshake gave a speech. In this he tried to convince Hezekiah that the hope of Egyptian help was deceptive and to induce the people of Jerusalem to fall away from Hezekiah. The same process is reported in the 36th chapter of the Isaiah book EU and in the 32nd chapter of the 2nd chronicle book LUT (whereby Rabshake is explicitly mentioned only in Isaiah, however not in the 2nd chronicle book).

literature

  • Erasmus Gaß : In the vortex of the Assyrian crisis (2 Kings 18-19): An example of biblical interpretation of history. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2016. ISBN 978-3-7887-3072-7 , pp. 186-234.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Erasmus Gaß: In the vortex of the Assyrian crisis . S. 186 .
  2. ↑ Erasmus Gaß: In the vortex of the Assyrian crisis . S. 187-188 .
personal data
SURNAME Rabshake
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Messenger of the Assyrian king to Jerusalem
DATE OF BIRTH 8th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 8th century BC BC or 7th century BC Chr.