{"id":66814,"date":"2019-12-11T14:30:32","date_gmt":"2019-12-11T12:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=66814"},"modified":"2023-07-04T08:20:02","modified_gmt":"2023-07-04T05:20:02","slug":"whos-right-about-hezekiah-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/whos-right-about-hezekiah-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Who\u2019s Right about Hezekiah? (Part 1)"},"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":[366,898,575,721],"acf":{"old_id":"66814","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34243,"related_cahpter":"370","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"With three versions of the same story - who\u2019s right?","content":"

Malbim* (v.1) noted that the opening verse of our chapter has not one but two parallels in Tanakh and that the three sources do not tell the identical story.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n

\u00a02 Kings 18:13<\/span><\/p>\n

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched against all the fortified towns of Judah and seized them.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Isaiah 35:1\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched against all the fortified towns of Judah and seized them.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\u00a02 Chronicles 32:1<\/span><\/p>\n

After these faithful deeds, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah and encamped against its fortified towns with the aim of taking them over.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n


\n<\/span>Note the similarities and distinctions. On the one hand, all three texts acknowledge that the fortified cities of Judah came under Assyrian attack. On the other hand, whereas 2 Kings and Isaiah explicitly acknowledge that those cities fell to Sennacherib (<\/span>vayitp\u2019sem<\/span><\/em>), 2 Chronicles allows only that it was his intent to breach them\u2014allowing for the possibility that he failed.<\/span><\/p>\n

At this point, the three narratives diverge. According to 2 Kings 18 (14-16), Hezekiah capitulated to the Assyrian demand for tribute, even tearing down the gilded doors of the Temple to meet the payment. 2 Chronicles 32 (2-8) features a brave Hezekiah who sealed the breaches in the city walls, augmented the armory and made a rousing speech urging defiance against the invaders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Isaiah 36, however, reports neither version; it is silent until all three sources resume an otherwise identical account commencing with the dispatch of Rabshakeh (2 Kings 18:17 ff., 2 Chronicles 32:9 ff., Isaiah 36:2).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0We shall address four questions to these correspondences and divergences and answer them in part 2.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Was Hezekiah the craven tributary portrayed in 2 Kings or the stalwart defender depicted in 2 Chronicles?<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Whichever narrative we prefer, how can we reconcile the alternative?<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Why is Isaiah completely silent on the matter of Hezekiah\u2019s behavior?<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Is the assortment of narratives accidental, or the result of editorial design?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0<\/span>*For the significance of Malbim\u2019s commentary to the Book of Isaiah,<\/span> see our introduction to chapter 1.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

    Image: Hezekiah, woodcut by Rudolf Schaefer, 1929.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":66815,"id":66815,"title":"is36-hezekiah1","filename":"is36-hezekiah1.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/whos-right-about-hezekiah-part-1\/is36-hezekiah1\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is36-hezekiah1","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":66814,"date":"2019-12-11 12:30:18","modified":"2023-07-09 15:57:30","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":622,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1-300x289.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":289,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","medium_large-width":622,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","large-width":622,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","1536x1536-width":622,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","2048x2048-width":622,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","post_full_size-width":622,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1-435x420.jpg","home_baner-width":435,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"Part 1 - 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