2 Kings 18 is the eighteenth chapter of the second part of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BCE, with a supplement added in the sixth century BCE. This chapter records the events during the reign of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, a part of the section comprising 2 Kings 18:1 to 20:21, with a parallel version in Isaiah 36–39.
Text This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language. It is divided into 37 verses.
Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century).
Analysis This chapter introduces Hezekiah as a 'ultra-righteous king' who relied on YHWH (verses 1–8), the most David-like king since David (verse 3, cf. verse 7 with 1 Samuel 18:14). It is contrasted to the apostate northern kingdom which was then destroyed by the Assyrians (verses 9–12). Prompted by Hezekiah's rebellion (verse 7), Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, came to attack Judah, and even after given large amount of tribute (verses 13–16) still demanded Jerusalem to surrender with convincing argumentation (verses 17–37).
The narrative of the Assyrian siege on Jerusalem in chapter 18 and 19 is presented in a parallel structure: A Assyrians arrive at Jerusalem (18:13–16) B messengers from Assyria speak to the people (18:17–37) C Hezekiah seeks the prophet and prays (19:1–5) D Isaiah prophesies (19:6–7) A' Assyrians leave (19:8–9a) (break in text) B' Assyrian letter to Jerusalem (19:9b–13) C' Hezekiah responds by entering temple to pray (19:14–19) D' Isaiah prophesies (19:20–34) A" Assyrians leave for good (19:35–37) From 18:17 onwards the editors seem to insert another source, which is also used in the Book of Isaiah, that indicates the Assyrians breaking their word after receiving the tribute and putting further pressure on Hezekiah in Jerusalem (cf. for the equivalent chain of events).
Hezekiah, king of Judah (18:1–12) This section highlights Hezekiah's religious reforms which may contribute to an exceptional evaluation: he and Josiah () alone are comparable to David. The destruction of the Nehushtan, a snake-shaped cultic image traced back to Moses (cf. ), can really be attributed to Hezekiah, despite little details were reported, among other acts of piety (verses 6–7). Next are Hezekiah's early foreign political activities: he liberated the kingdom of Judah from Assyrian subservience and conducted successful campaigns against the Philistines (verses 7–8). An Assyrian source noted that Hezekiah was the 'leader of an anti-Assyrian coalition from 705 BCE onwards', and he even 'arrested a pro-Assyrian king of Ekron in this capacity'. The editors included the description of the northern Israel kingdom's defeat to the Assyrians (cf. verses 9–11 with ), as well as the cause of it, namely, the 'entire population's lack of loyalty to the Torah' (verse 12).
Verse 1 Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. KJV Cross references: 2 Chronicles 29:1 "In the 3rd year of Hoshea": According to Thiele's chronology,Thiele, Edwin R., 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). , 9780825438257 following "accession year method", Hezekiah became co-regent with his father, Ahaz, in the kingdom of Judah, in September 729 BCE. Based on Thiele-McFall chronology, Hoshea started to reign in Samaria between September 732 and April 731 BCE. "Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah": A bulla (seal) impression dating to 727–698 BCE with the inscription , meaning "belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz king of Judah", was uncovered in a dig at the Ophel in Jerusalem. The impression on this inscription was set in ancient Hebrew script.Alyssa Navarro, Archaeologists Find Biblical-Era Seal Of King Hezekiah In Jerusalem "Tech Times" December 6
Verse 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. ESV Cross references: 2 Chronicles 29:1 "Reigned 29 years": according to Thiele's chronology, Hezekiah became the sole king after his father died before 1 Nisan (April) 715 BCE, until his death between September 687 and September 686 BCE, for the total of 29 years. Prior to that, Hezekiah became co-regent with his father from September 729 BCE to sometime before 1 Nisan (April) 715 BCE.Kidner, F. D. "Review of Edwin R. Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings," Churchman 8 (1967) 68; Horn, "The Chronology of King Hezekiah's Reign," pp. 40-52; and Gleason L. Archer, Jr., "Review of Edwin R. Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings," Christianity Today, April 15, 1966, pp. 34-36.Owen C. Whitehouse, Isaiah I-XXXIX The New Century Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 1905), p. 23, and George W. Wade, The Book of the Prophet Isaiah (London: Methuen & Co., 1911), p. xlii. These works are noted in “The Chronology of King Hezekiah's reign,” p. 49 n. 15. "Abi": written as "Abijah" in the parallel verse 2 Chronicles 29:1.Note on 2 Kings 18:2 in NKJV and NET Bible
Verse 3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. ESV "He did what was right": a praise that is only assigned to two other kings of Judah: Asa (1 Kings 15:11) and Josiah (2 Kings 22:2); all three kings were the sons of wicked fathers. Since an early age, Hezekiah likely was taught by prophet Isaiah, who was on familiar terms with his father, king Ahaz (Isaiah 7:3-16).
Verse 4
He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan. NKJV "High places": are "places for pagan worship."Note [a] on 2 Kings 18:4 in NKJV "Wooden image": from Hebrew: Asherah, also the name of a leading Canaanite goddess.Note [b] on 2 Kings 18:4 in NKJV The term is singular in the Masoretic Text but plural in the Greek Septuagint texts and other ancient versions, but it is also possible to regard "the singular as a collective singular." The places of worship for Asherah were shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees or at places marked by wooden poles, all of which were to be burned or cut down by the Israelites (; ; , , ; 2 Kings 18:4).Note [a] on 2 Kings 18:4 in NET Bible "Nehushtan": literally, "Bronze Thing", also similar to Hebrew word nahash, meaning "serpent"Note [c] on 2 Kings 18:4 in NKJVNote on 2 Kings 18:4 in ESV or , nekhash hannekhoshet, meaning "bronze serpent."Note [c] on 2 Kings 18:4 in NET Bible Moses made the bronze serpent pole following the command of YHWH to stop the attack of "fiery serpents" after the Israelistes complaining against YHWH and Moses during the wandering in the wilderness ().Shanks, Hershel, "The Mystery of the Nechushtan", Biblical Archaeology Review, pp.58–63, March/April 2007. Jesus applied the event of Moses lifting up the bronze serpent pole as a foreshadowing of his own act of salvation through being lifted up on the cross, stating "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:14–16).Spurgeon, C. H., "The Mysteries of the Brazen Serpent", 1857.
Verse 5 He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. KJV "None like him among all the kings of Judah": similar words are used of Josiah in 2 Kings 23:25, but the context shows that the pre-eminence is not the same for the two kings: to Hezekiah is in the "trust in the Lord"; to Josiah is in the "exact observance of the Law".Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors). On "2 Kings 18". In: The Pulpit Commentary. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Accessed 24 April 2019.
Verse 6 He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. NIV
Verse 7 The Lord was with him, and wherever he went he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. HCSB
Verse 8 Hezekiah defeated the Philistines all the way to Gaza and its borders, including the watchtowers and the strong, walled cities. NCV
Verse 9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. MEV "In the 4th year of King Hezekiah": according to Thiele-McFall chronology was in the period of his co-regency between September 726 and September 725 BCE. The synchronism limit with the 7th year of Hoshea, the last king of Israel, places the start of Shalmaneser V's siege on Samaria between April and September 725 BCE.
Verse 10 And at the end of three years they took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is, the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. NKJV
"At the end of 3 years": according to Thiele-McFall chronology the siege on Samaria lasted from 725 to 723 BCE. "In the 4th year of King Hezekiah": according to Thiele-McFall chronology was in the period of his co-regency between Tishrei (September) 724 and Tishrei 723 BCE, and as "the 9th year of Hoshea" started in Nisan (April) 723 BCE, it means the fall of Samaria occurred between Nisan (April) and Tishrei (September) 723 BCE. Sargon II ascended the throne of Assyrian on 12 Tebet (end of December) 722 BCE, no less than 15 months after the last possible date of the fall of Samaria; so when it happened, Sargon was not a king, although he could have been the commander of the Assyrian army who took Samaria. "Samaria was taken": This event is also noted in one of the Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 1; "From Nabu-Nasir to Šamaš-šuma-ukin").ABC 1 (The Chronicle on the Reigns from Nabû-Nasir to Šamaš-šuma-ukin). Livius.org. Accessed on June 4, 2020. English translation was adapted from A.K. Grayson, Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (1975) and Jean-Jacques Glassner, Mesopotamian Chronicles (Atlanta, 2004). Quote: "[i.27] On the twenty-fifth of the month Tebêtu, Šalmaneser in Assyria. [i.28] and Akkad ascended the throne. He ravaged Samaria. [i.29] The fifth year: Šalmaneser went to his destiny in the month Tebêtu. [i.30] For five years Šalmaneser ruled Akkad and Assyria. [i.31] On the twelfth day of the month Tebêtu, Sargon ascended the throne in Assyria."
Verse 11 Then the king of Assyria carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and put them in Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, NASB1995
Verse 12 For they had refused to listen to the Lord their God or to do what he wanted them to do. Instead, they had transgressed his covenant and disobeyed all the laws given to them by Moses the servant of the Lord. TLB
The Assyrians attack and force tribute payment (18:13–16)