What does Isaiah 22:16 mean?
The words of this verse are given through Isaiah to Shebna, the steward of the king's house (Isaiah 22:15). A man with the same name is called Hezekiah's secretary in 2 Kings 18:18. Jerusalem was faced with certain death at the hands of the Assyrians once the city walls were breached. Shebna doesn't seem to have joined the rest of Jerusalem in mind-numbing pleasures (Isaiah 22:1–2). Instead, he seems to focus on finishing his crypt. This might have been to secure some kind of legacy after death: to be a man buried in an expensive, noteworthy tomb.Isaiah finds Shebna and challenges him about this choice. Why has he done this? Shebna seems to have cared more about his reputation as an important person than turning to the Lord in repentance in a time of need. He would rather future generations remember him for his impressive crypt, instead of being on his knees quietly seeking help from the Lord. Even though he was not partying as others in Jerusalem had been, his reaction was still one not of faith in their God.
In fact, the gravesite may have already been finished. A tomb was found in southeastern Jerusalem in 1870 in the village of Silwan. It included an inscription: "This is the tomb of […iah] who is over the house. There is no silver or gold here, just his bones and the bones of his maidservant with him. Cursed is the man who opens this." Other verses in the Bible (Nehemiah 9:4; 1 Chronicles 15:24) suggest that Sebnā, or Shebna, might be a shorter version of Sebanyāhu, or Shebaniah. Based on context, the inscription may have been recorded around the time of Hezekiah and Isaiah. Scholars are split on whether this is likely to mark Shebna's actual tomb.
Also interesting is that Isaiah's is about to suggest that Shebna was never buried in his intended crypt (Isaiah 22:17).