{"id":64418,"date":"2019-10-17T12:12:09","date_gmt":"2019-10-17T09:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=64418"},"modified":"2023-05-09T12:49:57","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T09:49:57","slug":"the-vicissitudes-of-hezekiah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-vicissitudes-of-hezekiah\/","title":{"rendered":"The Vicissitudes Of Hezekiah"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/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":[898,940],"acf":{"old_id":"64418","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34243,"related_cahpter":"329","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"And why the bizarre show-and-tell with the Babylonians?","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this chapter, Hezekiah experienced some notable ups and downs. First, he became critically ill. Then, after reciting what\u2014to all appearances\u2014was a very brief prayer (it takes up barely two thirds of v. 3), Isaiah returned to forecast his recovery and that God would even grant him 15 extra years. So far, so good. But then, Hezekiah asked the prophet to provide a sign to establish the credibility of his prediction, which seemed to jeopardize his situation by giving an indication that his faith was somehow imperfect. However, the prophet acceded to his request and even granted him his choice of signs, which was realized in practice (\u201clet the shadow recede ten degrees\u201d 10-11).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So far, so good\u2014again. But then, the Babylonians made their initial appearance as an up and coming world power and presented Hezekiah with yet another challenge. After receiving a Babylonian delegation bearing him a gift (on account of his illness), Hezekiah took them on a tour of all the treasuries and storehouses in his kingdom (which must have been replenished since he emptied them in tribute to Assyria in chapter 18). One can easily imagine how the Judean king, ruling over a very small territory, was captivated by the attention shown him by the Babylonian king and reciprocated by proudly showing off his own wealth and importance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then, Isaiah made yet another appearance and rebuked the king for his extravagant openness and predicted that those same Babylonians would empty those treasuries and take Hezekiah\u2019s royal descendants captive, as, in fact, they eventually did, although not for another century. The chapter closes with a somewhat oblique statement: \u201cHezekiah declared to Isaiah, \u2018The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good\u2019. For he thought, it meant that safety is assured for my time\u201d (19). Once again, we are challenged to determine whether this statement is entirely self-serving or\u2014as in the case of the receding shade\u2014another attempt by Hezekiah to set the terms of his own destiny.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image: King Hezekiah showing off his wealth to Babylonian envoys in a 1789 oil painting by Spanish artist Vicente L\u00f3pez Porta\u00f1a \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":64419,"id":64419,"title":"2kings20-hez and babylons","filename":"2kings20-hez-and-babylons.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings20-hez-and-babylons.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-vicissitudes-of-hezekiah\/2kings20-hez-and-babylons\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"2kings20-hez-and-babylons","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":64418,"date":"2019-10-17 09:11:56","modified":"2022-01-26 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Vicissitudes Of Hezekiah","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"And why the bizarre show-and-tell with the Babylonians?","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":{"ID":64419,"id":64419,"title":"2kings20-hez and babylons","filename":"2kings20-hez-and-babylons.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings20-hez-and-babylons.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-vicissitudes-of-hezekiah\/2kings20-hez-and-babylons\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"2kings20-hez-and-babylons","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":64418,"date":"2019-10-17 09:11:56","modified":"2022-01-26 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