Chapter Eighteen

The history of the Kingdom of Judah, following the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel, until the Babylonian captivity. 1–7a. Hezekiah, the thirteenth king of Judah, his years of reign, and his pious character. 7b–37. Hezekiah’s defection from Assyria, the campaign of Sennacherib against Judah, and the siege of Jerusalem by his commanders.

2 Kings 18:1. In the third year of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, king of Judah, became king. 2 Kings 18:2. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Abi, daughter of Zechariah. 2 Kings 18:3. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done; 2 Kings 18:4. he removed the high places, broke the pillars, cut down the Asherah, and destroyed the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because the children of Israel had burned incense to it until those days, and called it Nehushtan. 2 Kings 18:5. He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; and there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either after him or before him. 2 Kings 18:6. And he held fast to the Lord and did not depart from Him, and he kept the commandments that the Lord had commanded Moses. 2 Kings 18:7. And the Lord was with him; wherever he went, he prospered. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 2 Kings 18:8. He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and within its territory, from the watchtower to the fortified city. Concerning the reign of the most pious Hezekiah, besides 2 Kgs 18-20 in the Bible there are two other extensive parallel accounts: in the book of Isa 36:1-39 and in 2 Chr 29:1. Compared to the account in the book of the prophet Isaiah, the account in the Fourth Book of Kings partly contains something not found in the prophet Isaiah, such as 2 Kgs 18:14-16, and partly lacks the prayer of King Hezekiah contained there (Isa 38:9-20), from which some scholars reasonably conclude that both accounts were taken by two sacred writers from one common source—a chronicle of the religious and social life of that time (sources of this kind are named in 2 Chr 32:33: “the vision of Isaiah, son of Amoz, the prophet”; here also are indicated the documents usually cited in the third and fourth books of Kings, “the chronicles of the kings of Judah and Israel”: for the history of Hezekiah both of these sources served; since his activity affected the Kingdom of Israel, the destruction of which occurred in the sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign (2 Kgs 18:10), though one may suppose a direct influence of the recension of the prophet Isaiah on the Fourth Book of Kings). The account of 2 Chr 29:1-32 examines Hezekiah’s reign not so much from a political and theocratic standpoint, as does the Fourth Book of Kings and the book of the prophet Isaiah, but from the perspective of this king’s ecclesiastical activity and therefore reports primarily about Hezekiah’s restoration of various religious and cultic observances, especially the feast of Passover, and thus significantly supplements the account of the Fourth Book of Kings. The date of Hezekiah’s accession is determined as 727 BC (cf. verse 2, compare 10: six years before the fall of Samaria). Concerning the reconciliation of the date of Hezekiah being twenty-five years old (2 Kgs 18:2) at his accession with the date of his reign and the years of his father Ahaz’s life, see the commentaries on 2 Kgs 16:2 (cf. Professor Gulyaev, p. 352). The general pious reign of Hezekiah and such direction of his reign (verse 5) the sacred writer, in his usual manner, indicates in relation to worship: Hezekiah was the first of all the kings of Judah who dared to remove even those ancient high places, sacred in the eyes of the common people, the worship at which God permitted even the pious kings of Judah (1 Kgs 3:2) 15, but which were not reconciled with the idea of the unity of the place of worship, with the law of centralization of the worship of Jehovah in the one temple in Jerusalem (Deut 12:5-6); in the name of this latter law, wishing, it seems, to destroy every semblance of polytheism in the worship of God’s people, Hezekiah “removed the high places and the altars” throughout the land (verse 22). Further, in his zeal for the purely spiritual worship of Jehovah, Hezekiah without hesitation destroyed even such a relic sacred in the eyes of the people as the bronze serpent—Nehushtan—once made by Moses as a saving symbol (Num 21:4-9; cf. Wis 16:10 and others; see “Commentary on the Bible”, vol. I, p. 557), preserved for many centuries, perhaps by the tabernacle and later by the temple, but then it became an object of pagan deification by the Jews (see in Palmov, cited work, pp. 143–152). Some, for instance, Kleinert in Riehm’s Handwörterbuch, II, 1425, connect this cult of Nehushtan among the Hebrews with the Egyptian worship of Serapis on the basis that in Num 21:6 poisonous snakes are called in Hebrew seraphim—“burning ones”. But it is far more probable that this superstition and idolatry arose among the Hebrews in connection with the pagan belief in the supernatural power of serpents, as this belief is found among the Phoenicians, Egyptians, and Assyro-Babylonians. The destruction of idolatry and superstition accomplished by Hezekiah (verses 3–4), however, would not yet give the right to recognize him alone in piety among all the descendants of David (verse 5), had he not carried out those reforms in the restoration of the temple worship in all its purity and splendor, of which the Second Book of Chronicles tells; namely: 1) the cleansing of the temple from all unclean pagan cults (2 Chr 29:1-19); 2) the restoration of the regular performance of true worship according to the law of Moses and according to the statutes of David and the contemporary prophets (2 Chr 29:20-36); 3) an unprecedented, in its solemnity, celebration of the Passover with the participation of even the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Israel (2 Chr 30:1) and 4) the restoration of the institutions established by David through the priesthood and the return to the priests of the means and sources of their support (from offerings to the temple), which had been taken from them during the time of the rule of idolatry. These deeds of piety earned for Hezekiah the mercy of Jehovah (verse 7), which manifested itself in two external successes of Hezekiah’s reign: a) Hezekiah’s defection from Assyria, to which Ahaz had subjected Judah (2 Kgs 16:7), this defection expressed itself, of course, in Hezekiah’s refusal to pay the known tribute to the Assyrian king (cf. 2 Kgs 17:3-4; see in Professor Gulyaev, p. 353) b) in Hezekiah’s victory over the Philistines (verse 8), who under Ahaz had made a series of conquests in the territory of the Kingdom of Judah (2 Chr 28:18).

2 Kings 18:9. In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, that is, the seventh year of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel, Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, came up against Samaria and besieged it, 2 Kings 18:10. and took it at the end of three years; in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is, the ninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel, Samaria was taken. 2 Kings 18:11. And the king of Assyria carried Israel away captive to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 2 Kings 18:12. because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God and violated His covenant, everything that Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded; they did not listen to it or do it. Here with almost complete accuracy is repeated what was said in 2 Kgs 17:3-6 about the fall of the Kingdom of Israel: perhaps the account of this memorable event was recorded not only in Israelite but also in Judean chronicles, and the purpose of the repetition was to indicate that the piety of Hezekiah and the religious reforms he carried out saved Judah from the fate of Samaria and gave the Kingdom of Judah the strength to withstand the pressure of the Assyrians.

2 Kings 18:13. In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. The campaign of the Assyrian king against Judah under Hezekiah was probably caused, among other things, by Hezekiah’s refusal to pay tribute (verse 7) to the new king of Assyria, Sennacherib (Hebrew Sanhérib; Assyrian sin-ahi-riba; in Herodotus II, 141: Σαναχάριβος), son and successor of the conqueror of Samaria, Sargon. According to Assyrian chronology (the so-called “canon of eponyms”), Sennacherib reigned 705–681 BC, which is why his campaign against Judah is now commonly dated to 701 BC. According to biblical chronology, the years of Hezekiah’s reign are 727–698 BC, in view of the testimony of 2 Kgs 20:6 that Hezekiah after Sennacherib’s campaign and his own contemporary illness lived another 15 years, the event of Sennacherib’s invasion falls approximately on 713 BC (cf. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 10:1, 1, 16). Given that Sennacherib sent his messengers to Hezekiah from Lachish (verse 17, cf. 2 Kgs 14:17, Onomasticon, 647), which lay to the southwest of Jerusalem, one may conclude that the purpose of the campaign was also the land of the Philistines and perhaps the border regions of Egypt; one may also think that at this time, as before the fall of Israel, there was again a coalition of various small Asiatic kingdoms against Assyria, awaiting help from Egypt: Judah under Hezekiah, as is evident from the reproachful speeches of the prophet Isaiah (Isa 31:1-3), was strongly inclined toward an alliance with Egypt, and according to Assyrian monuments, entered into alliance with Sidon, Ascalon, and others; connected with this, probably, stands the mentioned in the history of Hezekiah the embassy to him from the Babylonian king Merodach-Baladan, 2 Kgs 20:12 and further, Isa 39:1 and further. In general, Sennacherib’s invasion was a typical conquest campaign. First under the arms of Sennacherib fell, according to Assyrian data, Sidon, and after it the surrounding cities; then Sennacherib along the seacoast reached the Philistine cities of Ekron (Acaron) and Ascalon and, conquering them, came to the Judean city of Lachish (Schrader op. cit., s. 291 ff. cf. in Bishop Platon, “The Ancient East in the Light of Divine Revelation”, Kiev, pp. 236 ff.), Hezekiah and his officials awaited help from Egypt (verse 21), but at the same time strongly fortified Jerusalem and in case of a prolonged siege plugged up the springs outside the city (2 Chr 32:2-5).

2 Kings 18:14. And Hezekiah, king of Judah, sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have offended; withdraw from me; whatever you impose on me I will pay.” And the king of Assyria imposed upon Hezekiah, king of Judah, three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 2 Kings 18:15. And Hezekiah gave all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house. 2 Kings 18:16. At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the house of the Lord and from the door posts, which Hezekiah, king of Judah, had overlaid with gold, and gave it to the king of Assyria. In view of the devastations which the Assyrian armies had inflicted within the Kingdom of Judah (Isa 33:8-9), Hezekiah, acknowledging his guilt before the Assyrian king, decided to pay Sennacherib an enormous tribute (according to Professor Gulyaev, p. 354, 300 talents of silver = 450,000 rubles in silver, and 30 talents of gold = 45,000 rubles in gold; the exact amount of all the tribute is difficult to determine in view of the unknown proportional value of gold and silver among the ancient Hebrews), for the collection of which Hezekiah had to resort to compromising the integrity of the temple, something which even his impious predecessors had not done: Joash (2 Kgs 12:19)—he gave to Hazael only the donations to the temple) and Ahaz (2 Kgs 18:17): who parted with only some of the temple vessels). However, this great sacrifice did not save Jerusalem from further encroachments by the Assyrians.

2 Kings 18:17. And the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rab-saris, and the Rab-shakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a large army to Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem; and when they had come, they took up a position by the conduit of the upper pool, which is on the road to the Fuller’s Field. 2 Kings 18:18. And they called for the king. And there came out to them Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder. Josephus Flavius (Jewish Antiquities 10:1, 1) completes the biblical account in this way: “the Assyrian took the money, but did not think of keeping his promise, but going himself to war against the Egyptians and Ethiopians, left his military commander (στρατηγόν) with two other generals in command of a huge army under Jerusalem for its destruction.” Tartan, Rab-saris, and Rab-shakeh are appellative, not proper names, of Assyrian military commanders and courtiers. Tartan (cf. Isa 20:1), Assyrian turtanu, is the highest general or commander; Rab-saris, from Hebrew: chief of eunuchs (cf. 2 Kgs 25:19, cf. Gen 37:36); from Hebrew the name Rab-shakeh is also explained: chief of the cupbearers (Gen 40:2). The place where the Assyrian commanders took their stand—by the conduit of the upper pool (verse 17, Isa 36:2), according to common opinion, lay to the west of Jerusalem in the Valley of Hinnom and is now identified with the pool Birket-Mamilla (in distinction from the “lower pool”, Isa 22:9), identified with the present Birhet-Sultan to the southwest of Jerusalem, cf. Stade, Geschichte I, 591–593 Anmerk); here likewise one should probably look for the field of the fuller or washer (kóbes). “Jerusalem was surrounded by settlements of artisans. Thus, to the south of it was the settlement of the potters. To the east and west were settlements of the fullers. There were, of course, others, of which there was no occasion to mention in the holy books. The fullers not only fashioned rough woolen materials, but also engaged in the washing of goods previously made. Their settlements, by necessity, were placed near streams or significant water flows” (Prof. Gulyaev, pp. 354–355). Regarding this blockade of Jerusalem by a part of the Assyrian army, Sennacherib in his inscription says that he “shut up Hezekiah in Jerusalem, like a bird in a cage.” Proud of their lord’s successes, the commanders of Sennacherib demanded for negotiations the king of Judah himself, but Hezekiah, considering this beneath his dignity (according to Josephus, ὑπό δειλίας, out of cowardice), sent to them three of his highest officials for this purpose (on the significance of the positions of the household manager, secretary, and clerk see the remark from 1 Kgs 4:3 and following), concerning Eliakim and Shebna see Isa 22:15 and further.

2 Kings 18:19. And the Rab-shakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah: Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: What is this confidence in which you trust? 2 Kings 18:20. “You say you have strategy and might for war, but these are mere words. In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me? 2 Kings 18:21. “Behold, you are relying on Egypt, on that broken reed of a staff, which, if a man leans on it, will pierce his hand. Such is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all who rely on him. 2 Kings 18:22. “But if you say to me, ‘We rely on the Lord our God,’ is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’? 2 Kings 18:23. “Now make an agreement with my lord the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders upon them. 2 Kings 18:24. “How then can you turn back a single captain of the least of my lord’s servants? Yet you rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen! 2 Kings 18:25. “Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’ Verses 27–35. The speech of the Rab-shakeh—a specimen of ancient diplomatic oratory, is constructed with great skill. It was delivered in the Hebrew language (yehudit—in the Judean manner, verse 26—as applied to the Kingdom of Judah), not in the usual diplomatic language of that time, Aramaic—deliberately—in order to produce the appropriate impression on the largest possible mass of people (most of whom did not understand Aramaic speech, verses 26–27). The rabbis and blessed Theodoret (question 52) believed that the Rab-shakeh was a Hebrew or one devoted to the Assyrians, or taken by them as a captive and later raised to the position of an official. The indication of the Rab-shakeh to the weakness of Egypt and the uselessness of an alliance with it or even its harm (verse 21) even in the letter reminds one of the prophetic comparison (Ezek 29:6 and following), and in substance completely coincides with one of the speeches of the prophet Isaiah (Isa 30:1-7). Very skillful is also the reference to the removal of the high places of the altars of Jehovah by Hezekiah (verse 22): expressing an actual fact (verse 4), the Rab-shakeh by this reference wished to cast a shadow on the sincerity of Hezekiah’s religiosity, his devotion to Jehovah (2 Chr 32:7), to shake his authority in the eyes of the people, for whom those high places had always been dear. In verses 23–24 is indicated the complete disproportion between the forces of the Assyrians and the Judeans, especially the cavalry; the latter from the days of Solomon (1 Kgs 4:27 following) was among the Hebrews (Isa 2:7), but, compared to the Assyrian cavalry and chariots, appeared insignificant. The mention by the Rab-shakeh, verse 25, that he is an instrument in the hands of Jehovah, though it reminds one of the speech of the prophet Isaiah (Isa 10:5 following), yet one cannot suppose that the Assyrian commander (if he was not a Hebrew) was acquainted with this prophecy or that he attributed the Assyrian victories to the help of Jehovah (cf. verse 35). Wishing to incline the inhabitants of Jerusalem toward surrender and complete submission to Sennacherib, the Rab-shakeh, on the one hand, points out to the people the threatening or already approaching extremity of hunger (verse 27, cf. 2 Kgs 6:25 and following), on the other—paints a picture of prosperity in case of Jerusalem’s surrender, though at the same time hints that the Assyrian king, by custom, will resettle part of the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Judah in another country (verses 31–32); the speech concludes with a sacrilegious apotheosis of the power and might of Assyria, before which the glory fades and the might of the gods of all nations comes to nothing: in proof of this he refers to indisputable facts of the fall of various cities and kingdoms (verses 33–35). Concerning Hamath, Ivvah (Avvah), and Sepharvaim see the commentaries on 2 Kgs 17:24. Arpad (verse 34) (LXX: ῾Αρφάδ, Vulgate: Arphad, Slavonic: “Arfad” in cuneiform inscriptions Arpadda) is mentioned in the Bible always in connection with Hamath (2 Kgs 19:13; Isa 10:9; Иер.99:23) and therefore, probably, lay in northern Syria, near Shapha, and to it, perhaps, corresponds the present Tell-Erfad, to the north of Damascus, near Carchemish, in 7 hours from Aleppo (Onomast. 133. Palestinian Miscellany vol. 37, p. 169). Ena (Hebrew Gena, LXX: Ανα, Slavonic: “Ana”), also in 2 Kgs 19:13; Isa 37:13) mentioned in connection with Ivvah, probably, like the latter, lay in Mesopotamia, on the Euphrates, perhaps identical with the present Ana (Onomast. 91). The mockery contained in the last words of the Rab-shakeh of Jehovah (verse 35; cf. blessed Theodoret, question 52), quite contradictory to what he expressed earlier (verse 25), had an especially depressing effect on the people and on Hezekiah’s messengers, completing the painful impression of the whole speech. Deathly silence was the answer to the Rab-shakeh, who perhaps expected direct action on the minds and wills of the listeners. The people were silent—simply under the heavy impression of what they had heard, and the king’s messengers, moreover, had a special royal command not to give any answer to the Rab-shakeh (Hezekiah, perhaps, reserved the decision for himself and feared that by opening negotiations on his part his messengers would increase the demands of the Assyrians). In torn garments—as a sign of deep national mourning (cf. 2 Kgs 6:30)—they appeared before Hezekiah and communicated to him the speech of the Rab-shakeh. * * * Notes A comprehensive historical-archaeological sketch of “Worship on the High Places” among the ancient Hebrews is given in the book by Palmov “Idolatry among the Ancient Hebrews”, pp. 152–176 Concerning the difference between biblical and Assyrian chronology in the question of the time of the Palestinian campaign of Sennacherib. See in Bishop Platon, The Ancient East in the Light of Divine Revelation. Kiev, 1898, p. 256, note 1