Hezekiah (; born , sole ruler ), also known as Ezekias, was the son of Ahaz and the thirteenth king of Judah. He is described as "the best-attested figure in biblical history," 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 the Assyrian Empire. He witnessed the destruction of the northern Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians under Sargon II in and later faced the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem by King Sennacherib in 701 BCE.Encyclopædia Britannica (2009), Hezekiah, Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 12 November 2009.
Hezekiah's changes to the official Yahweh worship, especially his centralization of worship in Jerusalem and his efforts to rid Judah of the worship of other cult gods and goddesses, are a major focus of biblical accounts. He is considered a very righteous king in both the Second Book of Kings and the Second Book of Chronicles.; His efforts to consolidate worship around the God of Israel and his destruction of other cult objects, such as the bronze serpent made by Moses, are seen as his way of consolidating power and temple resources during a turbulent time. His reign was marked by prophetic activity, with prophets such as Isaiah and Micah delivering their messages during his time.Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "Glossary", pp. 367–432
While Hezekiah's reign is well-documented, the historical accuracy of the events is debated by scholars. He is also one of the more prominent kings of Judah mentioned in the Bible and is one of the kings mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew.Matthew 1:10 He lived another fifteen years after the war and brought material prosperity to his kingdom before he died, and his son Manasseh succeeded him. The Bible praises Hezekiah's reliance on God during the Assyrian siege, claiming divine intervention in Jerusalem's survival; according to 2 Kings 18:5, "No king of Judah, among either his predecessors or his successors, could [...] be compared to him".Jewish Encyclopaedia, Hezekiah, accessed 15 April 2012
Etymology The name Hezekiah means "Yahweh strengthens" in Hebrew. Alternately it may be translated as "Yahweh is my strength".The Contemporary Shilo Pocket Dictionary, Edited by Zevi Scharfstein
Biblical narrative
Dating of Biblical chronology
Based on Edwin R. Thiele's dating, Hezekiah was born in c. 741 BC and died in c. 687 BC at age 54. Thiele and William F. Albright calculated his regnal years, arriving at figures very close to each other, c. 715/16 and 686/87 BC.See William F. Albright for the former; for the latter, Edwin Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, (1st ed.; New York: Macmillan, 1951; 2d ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965; 3rd ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan/Kregel, 1983). , p. 217. However, Robb Andrew Young dates his reign to 725–696 BC and Gershon Galil to 726–697/6. The Bible states that the fall of Samaria happened in Hezekiah's 6th year of reign, 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.
Family and life According to the Bible, Hezekiah was the son of King Ahaz and Abijah (also called Abi), daughter of the high priest Zechariah. Hezekiah married Hephzibah,Hebrew-English Bible died from natural causes in c. 687 BC aged 54, and was succeeded by his son, Manasseh.Hebrew-English Bible
Reign over Judah According to the Biblical narrative, Hezekiah assumed the throne of Judah at age 25 and reigned for 29 years.Hebrew-English Bible , Edwin R. Thiele, Leslie McFall, and William F. Albright proposed that Hezekiah served as coregent 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).
Restoration of the Temple According to the Bible, Hezekiah purified and repaired Solomon's Temple, purged its idols, and reformed the priesthood. In an effort to abolish idolatry from his kingdom, he destroyed the high places (or bamot) and the "bronze serpent" (or Nehushtan), recorded as being made by Moses, 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. He resumed the Passover pilgrimage and the tradition of inviting the 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 to Ephraim and Manasseh, inviting them to Jerusalem for a Passover celebration. The messengers were scorned, but a few men of the tribes of Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun "were humble enough to come" to the city.2 Chronicles 30:11: Jerusalem Bible 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 of Solomon. 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 the United 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.Mathys, H. P., 1 and 2 Chronicles in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary , p. 302
Assyrian invasion
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.
The Assyrians recorded that Sennacherib lifted his siege of Jerusalem after Hezekiah paid Sennacherib tribute. The Bible narrates that Hezekiah paid him three hundred talents 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.Peter J. Leithart, "1 & 2 Kings," Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible, p. 255–256, Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, MI (2006)
Hezekiah's construction 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. The construction of the Siloam Tunnel to help Jerusalem to resist conquest is attributed to Hezekiah.
Battle with Sennacherib's army
During the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem, the Bible claims that great losses were inflicted upon the Assyrian army, which Sennacherib's inscriptions do not mention. As Jack 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."See Light From the Ancient Past, 1959, p. 213 The version of the matter that Sennacherib presents, as found inscribed on what is known as the Sennacherib Prism preserved in the University 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".Ancient Near Eastern Texts, p. 288
Herodotus mentions the Assyrian army of Sennacherib being overrun by mice when attacking Egypt.The History Of Herodotus, Book 2, Verse 141 Josephus gives a quote from Berossus that is quite close to the Biblical account.Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 10, chapter 1, section 5
Death of Sennacherib Of Sennacherib's death, 2 Kings records:Hebrew-English Bible
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.J. D. Douglas, ed., New Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1965) 1160. A Neo-Babylonian letter corroborates with the Biblical account, a sentiment from Sennacherib's sons to assassinate him, an event Assyriologists have reconstructed as historical. The son Arda-Mulissu, who is mentioned in the letter as killing anyone who would reveal his conspiracy, murdered his father in c. 681 BC,The New Oxford Annotated Bible. 4th ed. New York: Oxford Press, 2010. and was most likely the Adrammelech in 2 Kings, though Sharezer is not known elsewhere.Archaeological Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005. Print.
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 that Esarhaddon 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.Georges Roux. Ancient Iraq.
Later illness
Later in his life, the Bible recounts that Hezekiah fell ill. According to the Aggadah in the Talmud, 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. Some Talmudists 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.
Extra-biblical records 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 the Deuteronomistic History, the Chronicler, Isaiah, Assyrian annals and reliefs, Israelite epigraphy, and, increasingly, stratigraphy"."Hezekiah". The Anchor Bible Dictionary. 1992. Print. Archaeologist Amihai 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.
Archaeological record
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". Evidence suggests they were used throughout his 29-year reign.
There are some bullae from sealed documents that may have belonged to Hezekiah himself.Grena 2004, p. 26, Figs. 9 and 10. In 2015, Eilat Mazar discovered a bulla bearing an inscription in ancient Hebrew script that translates as: "Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz king of Judah." This is the first seal impression of an Israelite or Judean king to come to light in a scientific archaeological excavation. While another, unprovenanced bulla of King Hezekiah was known, this was the first time a seal impression of Hezekiah had been discovered in situ in the course of actual excavations.