2 Kings 18

2 KINGS CHAPTER 18

The Last Era of the Southern Kingdom (18:1-25:21)

Hezekiah’s Reign in Judah (18:1-20:21)

Judah’s King Hezekiah

      • In the 3rd year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea, who was Elah’s son, Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became the king of Judah. He was 25 years old when he began to reign and he reigned for 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Zechariah’s daughter, Abi. He did what was right in Yahweh’s eyes, just as his ancestor David had done. He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also broke the bronze serpent that Moses had made into pieces because, up until that time, the Israelites had been burning incense to it. It was called Nehushtan. He trusted in Yahweh, the God of Israel, and in this regard there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to Yahweh and didn’t turn from following Him. He kept the commandments Yahweh had given Moses. Yahweh was with him and he succeeded in everything he did. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to serve him. He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.

Image via NLT Illustrated Study Bible

        • NLT Illustrated Study Bible writes, “The date given for Hezekiah’s accession refers to his co-regency with his father, Ahaz. Since Hoshea began his reign in 732 BC, Hezekiah began to rule in about 728 BC, when he was twelve years old. When Ahaz died in 715 BC, Hezekiah began his sole reign at age twenty-five. This marks the start of his reign of twenty-nine years (715-686 BC).”

        • On his removal of the high places, the ESV Study Bible notes, “This is significant accomplishment because even the most righteous of Judean kings prior to Hezekiah in 1-2 Kings failed to do this…Hezekiah also destroys the pillars and the Asherah…Hezekiah takes further action against the bronze serpent named Nehushtan, which Moses had made in the wilderness (Num 21:4-9) and which had recently itself become an object of worship…”

        • The same source continues, “Hezekiah’s trust was unparalleled in Judean history…, and was evidenced in the way that he held fast to God (Hb dabaq) throughout his life…in contrast to Solomon, who in his old age ‘held fast’ (Hb dabaq…) to foreign wives and broke the Law of Moses. The consequence of Hezekiah’s religious faithfulness was that his military exploits paralleled David’s in a unique way: the Lord was with him (cf 1 Sam 16:18; 18:12, 14; 2 Sam 5:10); he prospered in war (cf 1 Sam 18:5, 14, 15); and he struck down the Philistines (cf 1 Sam 18:27; 19:8). He was quite unlike his father Ahaz, for he rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him (cf 2 Kgs 16:7). His rebellious acts may have begun as early as 720 BC, when one of the inscriptions of the Assyrian king Sargon II describes the Assyrian as ‘the subduer of the country of Judah which lies far away’; but the authors mainly have in mind the events following Sargon’s unexpected death on the battlefield in 705, when widespread revolt broke out in Syria-Palestine, leading to an Assyrian invasion of Palestine in 701…Hezekiah’s attack on the Philistines was in fact a preemptive strike against Assyrian allies in advance of this invasion.”

        • NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible has this to say about Nehushtan, “The bronze snake that Moses made in the desert…had perhaps been deposited in the temple of Jerusalem, like other religious items from the Mosaic age (cf 1 Kgs 8:1-9). Nehushtan is not presented in the OT tradition as having originally made for worship…; nor is is likely that the authors of Kings meant that it was, in fact, worshiped continually even in the monarchic period, but it eventually became in practice a focal point of idolatry, perhaps because of the association of snakes with the goddess Asherah. Snakes fashioned from copper alloy or bronze used as cultic images have been found throughout the ancient Near East, and in general the snake was a popular religious symbol that adorned many artifacts…Snakes often appear in this religious iconography in the hands of a god or goddess; among these is the goddess Asherah, who is sometimes called Qds in the Ugaritic texts and is attested by this name in Egypt, where she appears on reliefs and amulets and is characteristically holding snakes in one hand and sometimes both hands…”

        • ESV Archaeology Study Bible adds, “Several extrabiblical references to the Judean king Hezekiah have survived. His name appears on two bullae (clay seals) that appeared in private collections. The inscriptions and iconography are nearly identical. The first example, decorated with a winged scarab and an Egyptian ankh (a cross-like symbol), reads, ‘Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz, king of Judah.’ The second bulla, bearing a similar scarab beetle, is missing the name ‘Ahaz’ but is otherwise the same. The only other Judahite king whose seal impression has been found is Ahaz…Hezekiah is also named in Sennacherib’s Prism…”

Image via Biblical Archaeology, King Hezekiah in the Bible: Royal Seal of Hezekiah Comes to Light

Review of Israel’s Fall

      • In the 4th year of Hezekiah’s reign, which was the 7th year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea, who was Elah’s son, Assyria’s King Shalmaneser marched up against Samaria and besieged it. At the end of 3 years the Assyrians took it. So Samaria was captured in the 6th year of Hezekiah’s reign, which was the 9th year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea. The Assyrian king deported the people of Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes. This happened because they didn’t listen to the voice of Yahweh their God and broke His covenant with them- all that Moses, the servant of Yahweh, commanded. They didn’t listen or obey.

        • NLT Illustrated Study Bible writes, “The narrator introduces the fall of Samaria as a reminder that Assyria was the prevailing power of the era and that Samaria fell because of Hoshea’s apostasy, thus setting the stage for the account of Hezekiah’s demonstration of spiritual fiber and God’s dealing with him (18:19-19:19).”

        • Guzik remarks, “The people of the Northern Kingdom were not any less Israelites and descendants of Abraham by blood than were the people of the Southern Kingdom. Therefore, this clearly showed Judah that when they also stopped hearing and doing the commandments of God, they would also face judgment.”

Sennacherib Invades Judah

      • In the 14th year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Assyria’s King Sennacherib attacked the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. Judah’s King Hezekiah sent this message to the Assyrian king, who was in Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong. Withdraw from me and I will pay whatever you demand of me.” So Assyria’s king demanded that Judah’s King Hezekiah pay 11 tons of silver and 1 ton of gold. So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of Yahweh and in the treasuries of the king’s house. At that time Judah’s King Hezekiah stripped off the gold with which he had overlaid the doors and doorposts of the temple of Yahweh and gave it to the king of Assyria.

        • ESV Study Bible explains:

          • “A six-sided prism has been found that contains the annals of Sennacherib, king of Assyria (704-681 BC). It dates to 689 BC and recounts eight military campaigns. One of these describes Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem in the following way (referring to Hezekiah): ‘Himself I made a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence like a bird in a cage.’ Although this is Sennacherib’s account o the siege, it is noteworthy that no Assyrian record mentions any capture of Jerusalem, so these sources are not in conflict with the record of Sennacherib’s departure and death in 19:36-37.”

“Sennacherib’s Annals of his military campaign (704–681 BC), including his invasion into the Kingdom of Judah” via wikipedia

          • “In 701 BC Sennacherib, king of Assyria, launched a major assault against Judah. Archaeology sheds significant light on this event. The Sennacherib Relief found at Nineveh depicts the Assyrian attack on the Judean city of Lachish. Sennacherib built a siege ramp on the southwestern corner of the city and destroyed its defenses by using archers, infantry, and seige machines. The Judeans responded by erecting a countersiege ramp to bolster their defenses. It was to no avail: Sennacherib conquered Lachish. Both of the actual ramps have been uncovered.”

        • “After Sargon II’s death, the new Assyrian king Sennarcherib (704-681 BC) first campaigned in southern Mesopotamia (703-702) against the king of Babylon, Marduk-apla-iddina II (see 20:12), before turning his attention to Syria-Palestine in 701…The rebellion there quickly collapsed, and Hezekiah found himself without effective allies and without fortresses…”

        • “Hezekiah’s first response to the crisis is to bargain- a disappointing prologue to what will eventually turn out to be his finest hour….As one of Judah’s most important cities, Lachish received particular attention from Sennacherib during his campaign, and after siege it was eventually captured and burned to the ground. When Sennacherib later constructed his royal palace at Nineveh, he commissioned a set of stone reliefs to commemorate his famous conquest of the city. The choice of the assault on Lachish for this impressive artistic representation is interesting, in that it serves to underline (without intending to do so) that Sennacherib did not conquer Jerusalem.”

        • HCSB adds, “An almost word-for-word parallel for this passage in 18:13-20:21 can be found in Is 36:1-39:8. This is not surprising, since Isaiah was a contemporary of Hezekiah. Clearly they were using the same source document of Hezekiah’s reign. It is also possible that the author of 2 Kg used Isaiah as his source. The ‘fourteenth year’ was 701 BC.”

      • The king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rab-saris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. They came up to Jerusalem and stopped at the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, which is located on the road leading to field where they wash and dry cloth. They called for the king, but Hilkiah’s son Eliakim, who was the palace supervisor, Shebna, who was the court secretary, and Asaph’s son Joah, who was the court historian, went out to meet them.

        • NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible writes:

          • “While still besieging Lachish and having apparently decided after not to accept Hezekiah’s attempt to persuade him to withdraw (vv. 14-15), Sennacherib sent an army to Jerusalem to pressure Hezekiah into full surrender…The turtanu (Hebrew tartan), one of the two persons in the Assyrian army with this title who often led campaigns on behalf of the emperor. The rab-saris (lit. ‘chief eunuch’), who was often dispatched on campaigns at the head of Assyrian forces; the title itself does not necessarily indicate that he himself was physically a eunuch. The rab-shakeh (lit. ‘chief cupbearer) did not normally take part in military campaigns, but he would have accompanied the emperor as a personal attendant. His presence in this delegation is no doubt to be explained in terms of his linguistic abilities, as he spoke the local language. He may well himself have been of Aramean or Israelite origin, for although his first speech in vv. 19-35 reveals many parallels with the Neo-Assyrian annals, he clearly not only knew the local language, but also displayed a good knowledge of Judahite customs.”

        • “Three of the most important of the Judahite officials went out to parley with the three Assyrian officials…”

        • NLT Illustrated Study Bible adds, “The meeting place of the two delegations is believed to be a location on Jerusalem’s northwestern wall; this spot had also served as the meeting place between Isaiah and Ahaz (Isa 7:3-16).”

      • Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: ‘What are you trusting in that makes you so confident? Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. On whom are you trusting, that you would rebel against me? Look, you must be trusting Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it. That is what Pharoah king of Egypt does to all who trust in him. Maybe you’ll say to me, “We are trusting in Yahweh our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who has removed His high places and altars, telling Jerusalem and Judah: “You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem.” So now make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I’ll give you 2,000 horses if you can do your part and find riders for them. How can you refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? What’s more, do you think I have attacked this place to destroy it without Yahweh? Yahweh has said to me, “Attack this land and destroy it.”’”

        • ESV Study Bible writes, “The matter of Hezekiah’s trust…lies at the heart of this speech…Sennacherib reasons that trust in Egypt would be futile, but so also would trust in the Lord, for it is his high places and altars that Hezekiah has removed, and indeed it is the Lord who has sent Assyria to destroy Judah because of this sacrilege!”

        • On Sennacherib’s argument beginning in v. 24, NET Bible’s textual notes read, “Heb ‘How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?’ In vv. 23-24 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 21. His reasoning seems to be as follows: ‘In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.’”

        • Guzik remarks, “The Rabshakeh knew that King Hezekiah had implemented broad reforms in Judah, including the removal of the high places (2 Kings 18:3-4). Yet in the Rabshakeh’s thinking, Hezekiah’s reforms had really displeased God, so he should not expect help from the LORD God of Israel. The Rabshakeh would say, “Look at all the places there used to be where people would worship the LORD God of Israel. Now, since Hezekiah came in, there is only one place. More is always better, so the LORD God of Israel must be pretty sore at Hezekiah!” He then cites Grogan, Isaiah Commentary, “The theological misunderstanding shown by the field commander at this point argues for the authenticity of the speech, which many critics have dubbed a free creation by the author of the narrative.”

      • Then Hilkiah’s son Eliakim, Shebnah, and Joah said to the Rabshekah, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic- we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” But the Rabshekah replied, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to you and your master only? His message is also for those sitting on the wall, for they will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you.”

        • NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible explains, “Aramaic was the language of the Assyrian Empire west of the Euphrates and would have been understood by the educated royal officials, but not by the ordinary people on the city wall. The Assyrians are trying to appeal to the people over the heads of their rulers, however, so their choice of Hebrew is understandable. They want the people to be fully aware of the hopelessness of their situation and the consequences of a long siege (they will ‘eat their own excrement and drink their own urine’…). Perhaps the people will even turn on their leaders.”

      • Then the Rabshekah stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. This is what he says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in Yahweh when he says, “Yahweh will certainly deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”’ Don’t listen to Hezekiah because this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern until I come and take you away to a land like your own- a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Then you will live and not die. Don’t listen to Hezekiah because he is misleading you when he says, “Yahweh will deliver us.” Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who among all the gods of the countries have delivered their lands from my hand? So how can Yahweh deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’” The people were silent and did not respond because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”

        • Guzik says, “The Rabshakeh’s speech was intended to make surrender an attractive option. Here, the Rabshakeh referred to the policies of ethnic cleansing and forced resettlement practiced by the Assyrians. When they conquered a people, they forcibly resettled them in faraway places, to keep their spirits broken and their power weak. The Rabshakeh’s speech was intended to make this terrible fate seem attractive. The Rabshakeh’s speech was intended to destroy their trust in God. His message was simple, and brilliant in its Satanic logic: ‘The gods of other nations have not been able to protect them against us. Your God is just like one of them, and can’t protect you either.’ For anyone who had the spiritual understanding to see it, Judah could have started planning the victory party right then. It is one thing to speak against Judah, its people and leaders. It was another thing altogether to mock the LORD God of Israel this way, and count Him as ‘just another god.’”

      • Then Hilkiah’s son Eliakim, who was the palace supervisor, Shebna, who was the court secretary, and Asaph’s son Joah, who was the court historian, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and reported to him what the Rabshakeh had said.

        • NLT Illustrated Study Bible says, “This action could have been both a sign of sorrow over the situation in Jerusalem…and an indication of grief over the blasphemous insults of the Assyrian official…”

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