{"id":64349,"date":"2019-10-15T00:54:20","date_gmt":"2019-10-14T21:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=64349"},"modified":"2023-05-07T10:02:19","modified_gmt":"2023-05-07T07:02:19","slug":"a-chip-off-the-davidic-block","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-chip-off-the-davidic-block\/","title":{"rendered":"A Chip Off The Davidic Block"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[898,429],"acf":{"old_id":"64349","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34243,"related_cahpter":"327","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"But still impotent in the face of the Assyrian threat?","content":"

In Hezekiah, we finally have a worthy successor to King David. He did \u201cwhat was pleasing to the Lord\u201d (3), \u201che abolished the shrines\u201d (4), i.e., the platforms (<\/span>bamot<\/span><\/em>) that had been the bane of every other king\u2019s existence (as we have been regularly observing), he even shattered Moses\u2019s bronze serpent (see Numbers 21:9), which had become an object of worship. In brief, \u201cHe trusted only in the LORD the God of Israel; there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those before him\u201d (5).<\/span><\/p>\n

God, in turn, \u201cwas always with him\u201d (7), this likely emboldening Hezekiah to rebel against the Assyrians. To his misfortune, however, this occurred at the same time that the Assyrians were besieging Samaria on account of its failure to submit to their rule. The result was that as soon as they exiled the ten northern tribes to places in Asia Minor, they were free to turn their attention to the recalcitrant Judeans.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hence, \u201cIn the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched against all the fortified towns of Judah and seized them\u201d (13). Hezekiah, rather than reaffirming his independence, as we might have expected given our introduction, caved in. Not only did he submit to the Assyrian demand for tribute, but in order to meet the payment he cut down the gilded doors and posts of the Temple.<\/span><\/p>\n

At this point, we would do well to pause and consider the following rabbinic source, compliments of the Mishnah (Pesahim 4:9): \u201cSix deeds were performed by Hezekiah King of Judah. Three were acceptable [to the Sages] and three were unacceptable.\u201d The aforementioned shattering of the bronze serpent was among the acceptable deeds; cutting down the Temple doors to pay the Assyrian tribute was unacceptable.<\/span><\/p>\n

In other words, while Hezekiah surpassed his predecessors and successors in his devotion to God, it is likely that they had set such a low standard that exceeding them still left him open to legitimate criticism in other regards and impotent before the Assyrian threat. We shall have occasion to return to this source and this observation anon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

image:\u00a0Remnants of the\u00a0Broad Wall<\/a>\u00a0of biblical Jerusalem, built during Hezekiah’s days against Sennacherib’s siege \/ wikipedia<\/p>\n","image":{"ID":64358,"id":64358,"title":"2kings18-broad wall","filename":"2kings18-broad-wall.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings18-broad-wall.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-chip-off-the-davidic-block\/2kings18-broad-wall\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"2kings18-broad-wall","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":64349,"date":"2019-10-14 21:59:33","modified":"2019-10-14 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