Verse 4. - And Rabshakeh said. Of the three Assyrian envoys Rabshakeh alone obtains mention in Isaiah, probably because he was the spokesman (comp. 2 Kings 18:19, 26, 27, 37; 2 Kings 19:4). He was probably chosen for spokesman because he could speak Hebrew fluently (infra, vers. 11, 13). The great king. "The great king" (sarru rabbu) is the most common title assumed by the Assyrian monarchs in their inscriptions. It is found as early as B.C. 1120.

36:1-22:See 2Ki 18:17-37, and the commentary thereon.And Rabshakeh said unto them,.... The three ministers above mentioned:

say ye now to Hezekiah; tell him what follows; he does not call him king, as he does his own master:

thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria; this he said boastingly of his master, and in order to terrify Hezekiah and his subjects; whom he would represent as little in comparison of him, who had subdued many kingdoms, and aimed at universal monarchy; so the eastern kings used to be called, as now the Grand Signior with the Turks, and the French call their king the great monarch; but the title of a great king suits best with God himself, Psalm 95:3,

what confidence is this wherein thou trustest? meaning, what was the ground and foundation of his confidence? what was it that kept him in high spirits, that he did not at once submit to the king of Assyria, and surrender the city of Jerusalem to him?