Hezekiah ruled Judah well (715-687) according to the Deuteronomistic Historian. Judged on the basis of his piety and religious reforms, he was one of the best kings of Judah.
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Siloam Tunnel Inscription
This early Hebrew inscription once marked the spot of the completion of the tunnel Hezekiah had built in 701 B.C.E. in anticipation of an Assyrian invasion. It linked the Gihon spring with the city of David (2 Kings 20:20). |
During his reign, the Assyrian empire kept the pressure on Judah. Sennacherib attacked Jerusalem in 701 B.C.E. The account of this invasion in chapters 18-20 is closely paralleled by Isaiah 36-39. The outcome of this confrontation differed from that of the siege of Samaria. The Assyrian army departed after a disaster, attributed to the work of the angel of Yahweh, decimated the army and prompted the Assyrians to leave Canaan. According to the story, 185,000 soldiers died. The biblical text hints that problems back home might have cooperated in forcing Sennacherib and his army to return to Assyria. Shortly after his return to Nineveh, Sennacherib was assassinated by two of his sons.
Numbers. These large numbers are troublesome. 185,000 men is a massive amount to lose in any campaign, dwarfing U.S. losses in the entire Vietnam War, when some 55,000 American soldiers were killed. Perhaps we should resort to the alternate understanding of the term "thousand." It can designate a company of fighting men, perhaps a squad of ten or so men; then the text may be saying 185 squads died in the camp.
But the real deliverance was attributed to the piety of Hezekiah. When surrounded by Sennacherib's army he did not react in desperation as Ahaz did under similar circumstances, looking for outside military help. Hezekiah immediately brought the matter to his God. Hezekiah took the Assyrian letter demanding surrender into the Jerusalem temple, laid it out before Yahweh, and prayed for guidance. Isaiah delivered an oracle of salvation on behalf of Yahweh in response to Hezekiah's plea for help. Hezekiah becomes the model for appropriate response in time of national crisis.
Assyrian Royal Annals. Documents from Assyria provide independent witness to many biblical events. The Assyrian account of Sennacherib's invasion of Judah claims victory and boasts he shut up Hezekiah in Jerusalem "like a bird in a cage." For the Assyrian royal annals see Pritchard 1969: 274-301.
Hezekiah was followed by Manasseh (687-642), a king as bad as Hezekiah was good. Although the Deuteronomistic writer does not try, it would be difficult to explain how such a wicked king could reign so long if there is in fact a correlation between righteousness and blessing. Manasseh is spared no condemnation for rebuilding the Baal shrines that his father Hezekiah had eliminated. His breach of covenant was so serious that the ultimate blame for the destruction of Jerusalem was laid at his feet. His son Amon reigned only two years and was assassinated by opponents within his own court circle.
