SENNACHERIB’S FAILURE AT JERUSALEM

Fulfilling Hezekiah’s expectations, Sennacherib determined to attack Jerusalem. While Sennacherib was with his army besieging the strongly fortified city of Lachish, he sent a part of his army along with a deputation of military chiefs to demand capitulation of Jerusalem. The spokesman for the group was Rabshakeh (not the man’s name, but his military title), who spoke Hebrew fluently. He loudly ridiculed Hezekiah and taunted Jehovah, boasting that Jehovah could no more deliver Jerusalem than the gods of the other nations had been able to save the lands of their worshipers from the king of Assyria.—2 Ki. 18:13-35; 2 Chron. 32:9-15; Isa. 36:2-20.

Hezekiah was greatly distressed, but continued to trust in Jehovah and appealed to Him at the temple, also sending some of the head ones of the people to the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah’s reply, from Jehovah, was that Sennacherib would hear a report and would return to his own land, where he would be slain. (2 Ki. 19:1-7; Isa. 37:1-7) At this time Sennacherib had pulled away from Lachish to Libnah, where he heard that Tirhakah the king of Ethiopia had come out to fight against him. Nevertheless, Sennacherib sent letters by messenger to Hezekiah, continuing his threats and taunting Jehovah the God of Israel. On receipt of the highly reproachful letters, Hezekiah spread them before Jehovah, who again answered through Isaiah, taunting Sennacherib in return and assuring that the Assyrians would not enter Jerusalem, for Jehovah himself would “certainly defend this city to save it for my own sake and for the sake of David my servant.”—2 Ki. 19:8-34; Isa. 37:8-35.

During the night Jehovah sent his angel, who destroyed 185,000 of the cream of Sennacherib’s troops, “every valiant, mighty man and leader and chief in the camp of the king of Assyria, so that he went back with shame of face to his own land.”—Later “it came about that as he was bowing down at the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his own sons, struck him down with the sword.” Thus Sennacherib’s threat to Jerusalem was effectually removed.—2 Chron. 32:21; Isa. 37:36-38.

An inscription on a prism has been discovered describing Sennacherib’s defeat of the Ethiopian forces; it also says: “As to Hezekiah, the Jew, he did not submit to my yoke, I laid siege to 46 of his strong cities, . . . and conquered (them) . . . Himself I made a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage.” He does not claim to have captured the city. This supports the Bible account of Hezekiah’s revolt against Assyria and Sennacherib’s failure to take Jerusalem. In the custom of the inscriptions of the pagan kings, to exalt themselves, Sennacherib in this inscription exaggerates the amount of silver paid by Hezekiah, as 800 talents, in contrast with the Bible’s 300.

MIRACULOUS EXTENSION OF HEZEKIAH’S LIFE

Around the time of Sennacherib’s threats against Jerusalem Hezekiah was struck down with a malignant boil. He was instructed by the prophet Isaiah to arrange his affairs in preparation for death. At this time Hezekiah had not yet had a son, and it therefore appeared that the royal Davidic line was in danger of being broken. Hezekiah prayed to Jehovah fervently, with tears, whereupon Jehovah sent Isaiah back to inform Hezekiah that he would have fifteen years added to his life. A miraculous sign was given, the shadow of the sun being caused to move ten steps backward on “the stairs of Ahaz.” (See SUNDIAL). In the third year afterward Hezekiah had a son called Manasseh, who later succeeded him on the throne.—2 Ki. 20:1-11, 21; 21:1; Isa. 38:1-8, 21.

HEZEKIAH’S MISTAKE AND REPENTANCE

The Scripture record states that “according to the benefit rendered him Hezekiah made no return, for his heart became haughty and there came to be indignation against him and against Judah and Jerusalem.” (2 Chron. 32:25) The Bible does not say whether or not this haughtiness was connected with his unwise act in showing the entire treasure of his house and all his dominion to the messengers of the Babylonian king Berodach-baladan (Merodach-baladan) who were sent to Hezekiah after he recovered from his illness. Hezekiah may have displayed all this wealth to impress the king of Babylon as a possible ally against the king of Assyria. This, of course, could tend to excite the greed of the Babylonians. The prophet Isaiah was against any alliance with or dependence on God’s age-old enemy Babylon. When Isaiah heard how Hezekiah had treated the Babylonian messengers, he uttered the inspired prophecy from Jehovah that the Babylonians in time would carry away everything to Babylon, including some of Hezekiah’s descendants. Hezekiah, however, humbled himself and God kindly allowed that the calamity would not come in his days.—2 Ki. 20:12-19; 2 Chron. 32:26, 31; Isa. 39:1-8.

Hezekiah was favorably spoken of in the days of the prophet Jeremiah by some of the heads of the people in Jerusalem, because of his humble quality of giving attention to Micah of Moresheth, the prophet of Jehovah.—Jer. 26:17-19.

2. An ancestor of the prophet Zephaniah, possibly King Hezekiah.—Zeph. 1:1.

3. A man of Israel whose descendants returned with Zerubbabel from the Babylonian exile. He was probably not the same person as King Hezekiah. (Ezra 2:1, 2, 16; Neh. 7:6, 7, 21) It may have been a descendant of this Hezekiah who was one of the headmen of the people attesting by seal the “trustworthy arrangement” in Nehemiah’s day.—Neh. 9:38; 10:1, 14, 17.

HEZION

(Heʹzi·on) [vision].

Grandfather of the first King Ben-hadad of Syria mentioned in the Bible. (1 Ki. 15:18) Hezion is thought by some to be the person called Rezon at 1 Kings 11:23.

HEZIR

(Heʹzir) [pig, boar].

1. The priest whose paternal house was chosen by lot for the seventeenth of the twenty-four priestly service divisions organized toward the end of David’s reign.—1 Chron. 24:1, 3, 5-7, 15.

2. One of the “heads of the people” whose descendant, if not himself, in Nehemiah’s time supported the resolution to be true to Jehovah.—Neh. 9:38; 10:1, 14, 20.

HEZRO

(Hezʹro) [blooming].

A Carmelite; one of the mighty men of David’s military forces.—2 Sam. 23:8, 35; 1 Chron. 11:26, 37.

HEZRON

(Hezʹron) [enclosure].

1. Son of Reuben and ancestral head of the “Hezronites.”—Gen. 46:9; Ex. 6:14; Num. 26:4-6; 1 Chron. 5:3.

2. Son of Perez and family head of the Judean “Hezronites”; ancestor of King David and of Jesus Christ. (Gen. 46:12; Num. 26:20, 21; Ruth 4:18-22; Matt. 1:3; Luke 3:33) At the age of sixty, Hezron took the daughter of Machir as wife and by her became father to Segub. (1 Chron. 2:21) His sons Jerahmeel, Ram and Chelubai (Caleb) apparently were born earlier.—1 Chron. 2:9, 18, 25.

According to the reading of 1 Chronicles 2:24 in the Masoretic text, Hezron died at Caleb-ephrathah, and after this his widow Abijah bore Ashhur, the father of Tekoa. However, many scholars believe that the Masoretic text does not preserve the original reading, since the name “Caleb-ephrathah” is apparently of ungrammatical Hebrew construction and such a place is not referred to elsewhere in Scripture. Further, Hezron is listed among the seventy “souls of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt,” and therefore must have died in that land. (Gen. 46:12, 26, 27) It seems unlikely that a place in Egypt bore the Hebrew name “Caleb-ephrathah.” Hence, numerous