Fuller’s Field
Summary
A location near Jerusalem where fullers practiced their trade, notable as the site where Isaiah met Ahaz and where the Assyrian Rabshakeh delivered his threatening message.
☩Location and Purpose
The fuller's field was a place near Jerusalem where fullers carried on their work of cleaning and whitening cloth. The trade required abundant water for washing and space for drying and bleaching cloth in the sun, necessitating a location outside the city walls. It was situated by 'the conduit of the upper pool' on the 'highway' or raised causeway (Isaiah 7:3, 36:2). Its exact location is debated, though it was close enough to the walls that a person speaking there could be heard on them.
☩Historical Significance
The fuller's field was the site of significant events in Israel's history. There God commanded Isaiah to meet King Ahaz during the Syro-Ephraimite crisis and deliver the prophecy of Immanuel (Isaiah 7:3-14). Later, during Hezekiah's reign, the Assyrian Rabshakeh stood at this location to deliver his threatening message demanding Jerusalem's surrender, speaking loudly enough to be heard by the people on the walls (2 Kings 18:17-37, Isaiah 36:2-22).
References
- 1.George Morrish, "Fuller's Field," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 2.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Fullers' Field," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 3.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Fullers Field," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).