Hezekiah: Whom Jehovah has strengthened. Son of Ahaz
(2 Kings 18:1; 2 Chronicles 29:1) whom
he succeeded on the throne of the kingdom of Judah. He reigned
twenty-nine years (B.C. 726-797) The history of this king is contained
in
(2 Kings 18:20; Isaiah 36:1-39:8; 2 Chronicles 29:1-32:33). He is spoken of as a great
and good king. In public life he followed the example of his great-
granfather Uzziah. He set himself to abolish idolatry from his kingdom,
and among other things which he did for this end, he destroyed the
"brazen serpent," which had been removed to Jerusalem, and had become
an object of idolatrous worship
(Numbers 21:9) A great reformation was
wrought in the kingdom of Judah in his day
(2 Kings 18:4; 2 Chronicles 29:3-36) On
the death of Sargon and the accession of his son Sennacherib to the
throne of Assyria, Hezekiah refused to pay the tribute which his father
had paid, and "rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him
not," but entered into a league with Egypt
(Isaiah 30:1-31:1)ff
(Isaiah 36:6-9) This led to the invasion of Judah by Sennacherib
(2 Kings 18:13-16) who took forty cities, and besieged Jerusalem with
mounds. Hezekiah yielded to the demands of the Assyrian king, and
agreed to pay him three hundred talents of silver and thirty of gold
(2 Kings 18:14) But Sennacherib dealt treacherously with Hezekiah
(Isaiah 33:1) and a second time within two years invaded his kingdom
(2 Kings 18:17; 2 Chronicles 32:9; Isaiah 36:1)ff This invasion issued in the
destruction of Sennacherib's army. Hezekiah prayed to God, and "that
night the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the
Assyrians 185,000 men." Sennacherib fled with the shattered remnant of
his forces to Nineveh, where, seventeen years after, he was
assassinated by his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer
(2 Kings 19:37)
(See SENNACHERIB)
The narrative of Hezekiah's sickness and miraculous recovery is found
in
(2 Kings 20:1; 2 Chronicles 32:24; Isaiah 38:1) Various ambassadors came to
congratulate him on his recovery, and among them Merodach-baladan, the
viceroy of Babylon
(2 Chronicles 32:23; 2 Kings 20:12) He closed his days in peace
and prosperity, and was succeeded by his son Manasseh. He was buried in
the "chiefest of the sepulchres of the sons of David"
(2 Chronicles 32:27-33)
He had "after him none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any
that were before him"
(2 Kings 18:5)
