| Hezekiah | |
|---|---|
 King Hezekiah on a painting by unknown artist in the choir ofSt. Mary's Church, Åhus [sv], 17th century | |
| King of Judah | |
| Reign | Uncertain, reign ended c. 687 BC[a] |
| Predecessor | Ahaz |
| Successor | Manasseh |
| Born | c. 739/41 BC probablyJerusalem |
| Died | c. 687 BC (aged 51–54) probably Jerusalem |
| Burial | Jerusalem |
| Spouse | Hephzibah |
| Issue | |
| House | House of David |
| Father | Ahaz |
| Mother | Abijah (also called Abi) |
Hezekiah (/ˌhɛzɪˈkaɪ.ə/;Biblical Hebrew:חִזְקִיָּהוּ,romanized: Ḥizqiyyāhū), orEzekias[c] (bornc. 741 BC, sole rulerc. 716/15–687/86), was the son ofAhaz and the thirteenth king ofJudah according to theHebrew Bible.[2] He is described as "the best-attested figure in biblical history,"[3] due to the extensive documentation of his reign in biblical texts and external sources (notably Assyrian inscriptions). His reign was marked by his significant religious reforms and his revolt against theAssyrian Empire. He witnessed the destruction of the northernKingdom of Israel by the Assyrians underSargon II inc. 722 BC and later faced theAssyrian siege of Jerusalem by KingSennacherib in 701 BC.[4]
Hezekiah's changes to the official Yahweh worship,[not verified in body] especially his centralization of worship in Jerusalem and his efforts to rid Judah of the worship of other cult gods and goddesses,[not verified in body] are a major focus of biblical accounts.[3] He is considered a very righteous king in both theSecond Book of Kings and theSecond Book of Chronicles.[5][d] His efforts to consolidate worship around the God of Israel and his destruction of other cult objects, such as thebronze serpent made byMoses, are seen as his way of consolidating power and temple resources during a turbulent time.[3] His reign was marked by prophetic activity, with prophets such asIsaiah andMicah delivering their messages during his time.[2][3]
While Hezekiah's reign is well-documented, thehistorical accuracy of the events is debated by scholars.[6] He is also one of the more prominent kings of Judah mentioned in the Bible and is one of the kings mentioned in thegenealogy of Jesus in theGospel of Matthew.[7] He lived another fifteen years after the war and brought material prosperity to his kingdom before he died, and his sonManasseh succeeded him.[3] The Bible praises Hezekiah's reliance on God during the Assyrian siege, claiming divine intervention in Jerusalem's survival; according to2 Kings 18:5, "No king of Judah, among either his predecessors or his successors, could [...] be compared to him".[8]
The name Hezekiah means "Yahweh strengthens" in Hebrew.[9] Alternately it may be translated as "Yahweh is my strength".[10]
Based onEdwin R. Thiele's dating, Hezekiah was born in c. 741 BC and died in c. 687 BC at age 54. Thiele andWilliam F. Albright calculated his regnal years, arriving at figures very close to each other, c. 715/16 and 686/87BC.[11][12] However, Robb Andrew Young dates his reign to 725–696 BC[13] andGershon Galil to 726–697/6.[14] The Bible states that the fall ofSamaria happened in Hezekiah's 6th year of reign,[15] implying that he would have become king in c. 727 BC.Nadav Na'aman argues that several late 8th century BC seal impressions from the Kaufman collection, which mention some places later destroyed during Sennacherib's invasion and thus predate this event, corroborate this date as the inscriptions in the seal impressions include dates that go up to the 26th regnal year.[16]
According to the Bible, Hezekiah was the son of King Ahaz andAbijah (also called Abi),[8] daughter of the high priest Zechariah. Hezekiah marriedHephzibah,[17] died from natural causes in c. 687 BC aged 54, and was succeeded by his son,Manasseh.[18]
According to the Biblical narrative, Hezekiah assumed the throne of Judah at age 25 and reigned for 29 years.[19] Some writers[who?] have proposed that Hezekiah served ascoregent with his father Ahaz for about 14 years. Albright dates his sole reign as 715–687 BC, and by Thiele as 716–687 BC (the last ten years being a co-regency with his son Manasseh).[12]
According to the Bible, Hezekiah purified and repaired theSolomon's Temple, purged its idols, and reformed thepriesthood.[20] In an effort to abolish idolatry from his kingdom, he destroyed thehigh places (orbamot) and the "bronze serpent" (orNehushtan), recorded as being made byMoses, which had become objects of idolatrous worship. In place of the idolatry, Hezekiah centralized the worship of the sole God at the Temple in Jerusalem. Hezekiah also defeated thePhilistines, "as far as Gaza and its territory",[21] and resumed thePassover pilgrimage and the tradition of inviting thescattered tribes of Israel to take part in a Passover festival.
According to 2 Chronicles 30 (but not the parallel account in 2 Kings), Hezekiah sent messengers toEphraim andManasseh, inviting them to Jerusalem for a Passover celebration. The messengers were scorned, but a few men of the tribes ofAsher, Manasseh, andZebulun "were humble enough to come" to the city.[22] According to the Biblical account, the Passover was celebrated with great solemnity and such rejoicing as had not been seen in Jerusalem since the days ofSolomon.[8] The celebration took place during the second month,Iyar, because not enough priests had consecrated themselves in the first month.
Biblical studies writer H. P. Mathys suggests that Hezekiah, being unable to restore theUnited Monarchy by political means, used the invitation to the northern tribes as a final religious "attempt to restore the unity of the cult". He notes that this account "is often considered to contain historically reliable elements, especially since negative aspects are also reported on", although he questions the extent to which it may be considered historically reliable.[23]
In 701 BC, the recently anointed Assyrian king Sennacherib moved to quash a rebellion in the west of his empire, invading Judah and besieging Jerusalem.[24]
The Assyrians recorded that Sennacherib lifted his siege of Jerusalem after Hezekiah paid Sennacherib tribute. The Bible narrates that Hezekiah paid him three hundredtalents of silver and thirty of gold as tribute—even sending the doors of the Temple in Jerusalem to produce the promised amount—but, even after the payment was made, Sennacherib renewed his assault on Jerusalem.[25]
Knowing that Jerusalem would eventually be subject to a siege, Hezekiah had been preparing for some time by fortifying the capital's walls, building towers, and constructing a tunnel to bring fresh water to the city from a spring outside its walls.[20] He made at least two major preparations that would help Jerusalem to resist conquest: the construction of theSiloam Tunnel and construction of theBroad Wall.[26][27]
During theAssyrian siege of Jerusalem, the Bible claims that great losses were inflicted upon the Assyrian army, which Sennacherib's inscriptions do not mention. AsJack Finegan comments: "In view of the general note of boasting which pervades the inscriptions of the Assyrian kings, ... it is hardly to be expected that Sennacherib would record such a defeat."[28] The version of the matter that Sennacherib presents, as found inscribed on what is known as theSennacherib Prism preserved in theUniversity of Chicago Oriental Institute, in part says: "As to Hezekiah, the Jew, he did not submit to my yoke ... Hezekiah himself ... did send me, later, to Nineveh, my lordly city, together with 30 talents of gold, 800 talents of silver, ..."[29]
Herodotus mentions theAssyrian army of Sennacherib being overrun by mice when attacking Egypt.[30]Josephus gives a quote fromBerossus that is quite close to the Biblical account.[31]
Of Sennacherib's death, 2 Kings records:[32]
It came about as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him [Sennacherib] with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.
According to Assyrian records, Sennacherib was assassinated in 681 BC, twenty years after the 701 BC invasion of Judah.[33] A Neo-Babylonian letter corroborates with the Biblical account, a sentiment from Sennacherib's sons to assassinate him, an eventAssyriologists have reconstructed as historical. The sonArda-Mulissu, who is mentioned in the letter as killing anyone who would reveal his conspiracy, murdered his father in c. 681 BC,[34] and was most likely the Adrammelech in2 Kings, though Sharezer is not known elsewhere.[35]
Assyriologists posit the murder was motivated by Esarhaddon being chosen as heir to the throne instead of Arda-Mulissu, the next eldest son. Assyrian and Hebrew Biblical history corroborate thatEsarhaddon ultimately succeeded the throne. Other Assyriologists assert that Sennacherib was murdered in revenge for his destruction of Babylon, a city sacred to all Mesopotamians, including the Assyrians.[36]
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Later in his life, the Bible recounts that Hezekiah fell ill. According to theAggadah in theTalmud, this illness arose from a disagreement between him and Isaiah over who should visit whom, as well as Hezekiah's initial reluctance to marry and have children. Ultimately, Hezekiah did marry Isaiah's daughter. SomeTalmudists also considered that it might have come about as a way for Hezekiah to purge his sins or due to his arrogance in assuming his righteousness.[8]
Extra-biblical sources specify Hezekiah by name, along with his reign and influence. "Historiographically, his reign is noteworthy for the convergence of a variety of biblical sources and diverse extrabiblical evidence often bearing on the same events. Significant data concerning Hezekiah appear in theDeuteronomistic History, the Chronicler, Isaiah, Assyrian annals and reliefs, Israelite epigraphy, and, increasingly, stratigraphy".[37] ArchaeologistAmihai Mazar calls the tensions between Assyria and Judah "one of the best-documented events of the Iron Age". Hezekiah's story is one of the best to cross-reference with the rest of the Near Eastern world's historical documents.[38]
Storage jars with the so-called "LMLK seal" may "demonstrate careful preparations to counter Sennacherib's likely route of invasion" and show "a notable degree of royal control of towns and cities which would facilitate Hezekiah's destruction of rural sacrificial sites and his centralization of worship in Jerusalem".[37] Evidence suggests they were used throughout his 29-year reign.[39]
There are somebullae from sealed documents that may have belonged to Hezekiah himself.[40] In 2015,Eilat Mazar discovered abulla bearing an inscription in ancient Hebrew script that translates as: "Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz king of Judah."[41] This is the first seal impression of an Israelite or Judean king to come to light in a scientific archaeological excavation.[42] While another, unprovenanced bulla of King Hezekiah was known, this was the first time a seal impression of Hezekiah had been discoveredin situ in the course of actual excavations.[43]
Archaeological findings like theHezekiah seal led scholars to surmise that the ancient Judahite kingdom had a highly developed administrative system.[44] In 2018, Mazar published a report discussing the discovery of a bulla which she says may have to have belonged to Isaiah. She believes the fragment to have been part of a seal whose complete text might have read "Belonging to Isaiah the prophet."[45] Several other biblical archaeologists, including George Washington University'sChristopher Rollston, have pointed to the bulla being incomplete and the present inscription not enough to necessarily refer to the Biblical figure.[46]
According to the work of archaeologists and philologists, the reign of Hezekiah saw a notable increase in the power of the Judean state. At this time, Judah was the strongest nation on the Assyrian–Egyptian frontier.[47] There were increases in literacy and in the production of literary works. The massive construction of the Broad Wall was made during his reign, the city was enlarged to accommodate a large influx, and Jerusalem's population increased to an estimated 25,000, "five times the population under Solomon."[37] Mazar explains, "Jerusalem was a virtual city-state where the majority of the state's population was concentrated," compared to the rest of Judah's cities.[48]
ArchaeologistIsrael Finkelstein says, "The key phenomenon—which cannot be explained solely against the background of economic prosperity—was the sudden growth of the population of Jerusalem in particular, and of Judah in general."[48] He says the cause of this growth must be a large influx of Israelites fleeing from the Assyrian destruction of thenorthern state. It is "[t]he only reasonable way to explain this unprecedented demographic development."[48] This, according to Finkelstein, set the stage for motivations to compile and reconcile Hebrew history into a text at that time.[48] Mazar questions this explanation since, he argues, it is "no more than an educated guess."[48]
TheSiloam Tunnel was chiseled through 533 meters (1,750 feet) of solid rock[35] to provide Jerusalem underground access to the waters of theGihon Spring orSiloam Pool, which lay outside the city.
TheSiloam Inscription from the Siloam Tunnel is now in theIstanbul Archaeology Museum. It "commemorates the dramatic moment when the two original teams of tunnelers, digging with picks from opposite ends of the tunnel, met each other".[35] It is "[o]ne of the most important ancient Hebrew inscriptions ever discovered."[35] Finkelstein and Mazar cite this tunnel as an example of Jerusalem's impressive state-level power at the time.
Archaeologists likeWilliam G. Dever have pointed at archaeological evidence for theiconoclasm during the period of Hezekiah's reign.[49] The central cult room of the temple atArad, a royal Judean fortress, was deliberately and carefully dismantled, "with the altars and massebot" concealed "beneath a Str. 8 plaster floor". Thisstratum correlates with the late 8th century; Dever concludes that "the deliberate dismantling of the temple and its replacement by another structure in the days of Hezekiah is an archeological fact. I see no reason for skepticism here."[50]
UnderRehoboam,Lachish became the second-most important city of thekingdom of Judah. During King Hezekiah's revolt againstAssyria, Sennacherib captured it despite determined resistance (seeSiege of Lachish).
As theLachish relief attests, Sennacherib began his siege of the city of Lachish in 701 BC.[51] The Lachish Relief graphically depicts the battle and the city's defeat, including Assyrian archers marching up a ramp and Judahites pierced through on mounted stakes. "The reliefs on these slabs" discovered in the Assyrian palace at Nineveh "originally formed a single, continuous work, measuring 8 feet ... tall by 80 feet ... long, which wrapped around the room".[35] Visitors "would have been impressed not only by the magnitude of the artwork itself but also by the magnificent strength of the Assyrian war machine."[35]
Sennacherib's Prism was found buried in the foundations of the Nineveh palace. It was written incuneiform, the Mesopotamian form of writing of the day. The prism records the conquest of 46 strong towns[52] and "uncountable smaller places," along with the siege of Jerusalem where Sennacherib says he just "shut him up ... like a bird in a cage,"[35] subsequently enforcing a larger tribute upon him.
The Hebrew Bible states that during the night, the angel ofYHWH (Hebrew: יהוה) brought death to 185,000 Assyrians troops,[53] forcing the army to abandon the siege. Yet, it also records a tribute paid to Sennacherib of 300 silver talents following the siege. There is no account of the supernatural event in the prism. Sennacherib's account records his levying of a tribute from Hezekiah, a payment of 800 silver talents, which suggests a capitulation to end the siege. However, inscriptions describing Sennacherib's defeat of the Ethiopian forces have been discovered. These say: "As to Hezekiah, the Jew, he did not submit to my yoke, I laid siege to 46 of his strong cities ... and conquered (them). ... Himself I made a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage."[54]
He does not claim to have captured the city. This is consistent with the Bible account of Hezekiah's revolt against Assyria in that neither account indicates that Sennacherib ever entered or formally captured the city. In this inscription, Sennacherib claims that Hezekiah paid for tribute 800 talents of silver, in contrast with the Bible's 300. However, this could be due to boastful exaggeration, which was common among kings of the period. The annals[specify] record a list of booty sent from Jerusalem to Nineveh.[55] In the inscription, Sennacherib claims that Hezekiah accepted servitude, and some theorize that Hezekiah remained on his throne as a vassal ruler.[56] The campaign is recorded with differences in the Assyrian records and in the BiblicalBooks of Kings; there is agreement that the Assyrians have a propensity for exaggeration.[35][57]
One theory that takes the biblical view posits that a defeat was caused by "possibly an outbreak of the bubonic plague".[58] Another that this is a composite text which makes use of a 'legendary motif' analogous to that ofthe Exodus story.[59]
The Greek historianHerodotus (c. 484 BC – c. 425 BC) wrote of the invasion and acknowledges many Assyrian deaths, which he claims were the result of a plague of mice. The Jewish historianJosephus followed the writings of Herodotus.[37] These historians record Sennacherib's failure to take Jerusalem as "uncontested".[37]
While extrabiblical sources corroborate King Hezekiah's existence, the historicity of some biblical accounts of his reign is debated among scholars, particularly regarding his religious reforms and the Assyrian invasion.[6] While Hezekiah is traditionally credited with centralizing worship in Jerusalem and removing cultic sites, some argue these reforms were influenced by his successor, KingJosiah,[60] or may have been more about consolidating royal power than religious overhaul.[61] Other scholars argue that archaeological discoveries atTel Arad,Beersheba,Tel Motza,Lachish and theCity of David may provide evidence for the existence of Hezekiah's reforms.[49][62] The biblical account of the Assyrian siege led by KingSennacherib is also contested, with some scholars suggesting exaggeration or blending of multiple events.[6] Disagreements over the chronology of Hezekiah’s reign and the timing of his death further complicate the understanding of his historical legacy, withAssyrian inscriptions and biblical texts remaining key sources in these discussions.[6]
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Abijah saved the life of her son Hezekiah, whom her husband, Ahaz, had designated as an offering toMoloch. By anointing him with the blood of thesalamander, she enabled him to pass through the fire of Moloch unscathed (Sanhedrin 63b).[63]
Hezekiah is considered the model of those who put their trust in theLord. Only during his sickness did he waver in his hitherto unshaken trust and require a sign, for which he was blamed by Isaiah (Lamentations Rabbah 1). The Hebrew name Ḥizḳiyyah is considered by the Talmudists to be a surname, meaning either "strengthened by Yhwh" or "he who made a firm alliance between the Israelites and Yhwh"; his eight other names are enumerated in Isaiah 9:5, according to Sanhedrin 94a. He is called the "restorer of the study ofHalakha" in the schools and is said to have planted a sword at the door of thebeth midrash, declaring that he who would not studyHalakha should be struck with the weapon. As a result, no boy or girl in the kingdom of Judah was unfamiliar with the laws of impurity and purity (Sanhedrin 94b).
Hezekiah's piety, which, according to the Talmudists, alone occasioned the destruction of the Assyrian army and the signal deliverance of the Israelites when Sennacherib attacked Jerusalem, caused him to be considered by some as theMessiah (Sanhedrin 99a). According toBar Kappara, Hezekiah was destined to be the Messiah, but the attribute of justice (middat ha-din) protested against this, saying that as David, who sang so much of the glory of God, had not been made the Messiah, still less should Hezekiah, for whom so many miracles had been performed (and who did not sing the praise of God). It is also reported that Hezekiah missed this opportunity because he did not sing and give thanks for Sennacherib's downfall.[citation needed]
Menachot 109b tells of Hezekiah encouraging others to keep their faith:
לאחר מפלתו של סנחריב יצא חזקיה ומצא בני מלכים שהיו יושבין בקרונות של זהב הדירו שלא לעבוד עבודת כוכבים"After the fall of Sancheriv, Hezekiah encountered princes sitting in golden wagons [presumably the rich folks getting out of town] he made them promise not to worship stars [i.e., not to engage in idolatry]".
The Talmudists attribute to Hezekiah the redaction of the books of Isaiah, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes inBava Batra 15a.[64]
Understanding the biblically recorded sequence of events in Hezekiah's life as chronological or not is critical to the contextual interpretation of his reign. According to scholarStephen L. Harris, chapter 20 of2 Kings does not follow the events of chapters 18 and 19.[65] Rather, the Babylonian envoys precede the Assyrian invasion and siege. Chapter 20 would have been added during the exile, and Harris says it "evidently took place before Sennacherib's invasion" when Hezekiah was "trying to recruit Babylon as an ally against Assyria."[65] Consequently, "Hezekiah ends his long reign impoverished and ruling over only a tiny scrap of his former domain."[65]
Likewise, theArchaeological Study Bible says, "The presence of these riches' that Hezekiah shows to the Babylonians "indicates that this event took place before Hezekiah's payment of tribute to Sennacherib in 701 BC".[35] Again, "though the king's illness and the subsequent Babylonian mission are described at the end of the accounts of his reign, they must have occurred before the war with Assyria.[51]
There has been considerable academic debate about the actual dates of the Israelite kings' reigns. Scholars have endeavored to synchronize the chronology of events in theHebrew Bible with those derived from other external sources. In the case of Hezekiah, scholars have noted that the apparent inconsistencies are resolved by accepting the evidence that Hezekiah, like his predecessors for four generations in the kings of Judah, had a coregency with his father, and this coregency began in 729 BC.
As an example of the reasoning that finds inconsistencies in calculations when co-regencies area priori ruled out, 2 Kings 18:10 dates the fall ofSamaria (the Northern Kingdom) to the 6th year of Hezekiah's reign.[66] Albright has dated the fall of the Kingdom of Israel to 721 BC, while Thiele calculates the date as 723 BC.[67] If Albright's or Thiele's dating is correct, Hezekiah's reign would begin in 729 or 727 BC. On the other hand, 2 Kings 18:13[68] states that Sennacherib invaded Judah in the 14th year of Hezekiah's reign. Dating based on Assyrian records date this invasion to 701 BC, and Hezekiah's reign would therefore begin in 716/715 BC.[69]
Since Albright andFriedman, several scholars have explained these dating problems based on a coregency between Hezekiah and his father Ahaz between 729 and 716/715 BC. Assyriologists and Egyptologists recognize that coregency was a practice both in Assyria and Egypt.[70][71] After noting that coregencies were only used sporadically in the northern kingdom (Israel),Nadav Na'aman writes,[72]
In the kingdom of Judah, on the other hand, the nomination of a co-regent was the common procedure, beginning from David who, before his death, elevated his son Solomon to the throne. When taking into account the permanent nature of the co-regency in Judah from the time of Joash, one may dare to conclude that dating the co-regencies accurately is indeed the key for solving the problems of biblical chronology in the eighth century BC.
Among the numerous scholars who have recognized the coregency between Ahaz and Hezekiah is Kenneth Kitchen in his various writings,[73] Leslie McFall,[74] and Jack Finegan.[75] McFall, in his 1991 article, argues that if 729 BC—that is, the Judean regnal year beginning in Tishri of 729—is taken as the start of the Ahaz/Hezekiah coregency, and 716/715 BC as the date of the death of Ahaz, then all the extensive chronological data for Hezekiah and his contemporaries in the late eighth century BC are in harmony. Further, McFall found that notextual emendations are required among the numerous dates, reign lengths, and synchronisms given in the Hebrew Bible for this period.[76]
Scholars who accept the principle of coregencies note that abundant evidence for their use is found in the Biblical material itself.[77] The agreement of scholarship built on these principles with both Biblical and secular texts was such that the Thiele/McFall chronology was accepted as the best chronology for the kingdom period in Jack Finegan's encyclopedicHandbook of Biblical Chronology.[78]
This seal impression of Isaiah, therefore, is unique, and questions still remain about what it actually says. However, the close relationship between Isaiah and King Hezekiah, as described in the Bible, and the fact the bulla was found next to one bearing the name of Hezekiah seem to leave open the possibility that, despite the difficulties presented by the bulla's damaged area, this may have been a seal impression of Isaiah the prophet, adviser to King Hezekiah.
In the Biblical account, King Hezekiah initiated changes to centralize worship on the Temple Mount, leading to ritual sites around the Kingdom of Judah being abandoned. The find at the City of David was likely one of these abandoned centers, Shukron said.
Attribution:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1904)."Hezekiah".The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. pp. 379–383.
Hezekiah of Judah | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
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| Preceded by | King of Judah Coregent: 729–716 BC Sole reign: 716–697 BC Coregent: 697–687 BC | Succeeded by |
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