And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh 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. (2 Kings 18:17)
There is some uncertainty as to the site of this pool. Some think that it was at the south of the city, near the Kidron Valley, and others think that it was at the north. Some years before, Isaiah and his son Shear-jashub met with Ahaz at this pool (Isa. 7:3), which apparently existed before the days of Hezekiah and the aqueduct he constructed (see p. 87).
Rab-shakeh.
The Rabshakeh was another important Assyrian official, the chief cupbearer. In this instance he was the spokesman for the Assyrian envoys (see vs. 19, 26-28). Only he is mentioned as having returned to Sennacherib (ch. 19:8). In Assyrian texts this official title appears as rab-shâqû.
Rabsaris.
This was the title of a high officer of the Assyrian court, probably the “chief eunuch.” Nebuchadnezzar’s rabsaris was present at Jerusalem when the city fell to the Babylonians (Jer. 39:3, 13). The title has been found in an old Aramaic inscription.
Tartan.
This is the title of the chief general of the Assyrian armies. Sargon sent his tartan with the Assyrian armies to fight against Ashdod (see Isa. 20:1). In Assyrian the word here given as “Tartan” is turtânu or tartânu.