{"id":63894,"date":"2018-07-09T17:44:42","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:44:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-325\/"},"modified":"2023-05-04T16:39:30","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T13:39:30","slug":"wall-325","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-325\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Prophets-II Kings-16"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"325","date":"20261126","book":"II Kings","chapter":"16","chapter_main_number":"325","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"63708","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"JPS Audio Bible - 2 Kings Chapter 16      ","post_title":"JPS Audio Bible - 2 Kings Chapter 16","slug":"jps-audio-bible-2-kings-chapter-16","old_id":"63708","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"325","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"JPS Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"2 Kings Chapter 16","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"Hear the daily chapter","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/929-bible\/JPS_Audio_Bible_2_Kings_Chapter_16","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Kings","chapter":"16","chapter_main_number":"325","date":"20261126","wall_id":"325"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"114618","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Present Threats And Future Dangers ","post_title":"Present Threats And Future Dangers","slug":"present-threats-and-future-dangers","old_id":"114618","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. 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","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"325","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"King Ahaz sets the wheels in motion for future destruction and exile\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">King Ahaz of Judah, in trying to save his own kingdom, has no reservations inviting a foreign king to help him in his war against Israel:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria to say, \u2018I am your servant and your son; come and deliver me from the hands of the king of Aram and from the hands of the king of Israel, who are attacking me\u2019 (verse 7).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He raided the Temple to bribe the greatest power in the Near East to attack the Northern Kingdom. He even went to Assyria to meet with the king to bribe him to come to attack the Israel. While in Assyria, Ahaz is impressed by the massive altar to the Assyrian gods. He instructs the priests to build an exact replica of the altar in the Temple in Jerusalem. He removes the copper altar and puts it to the side as a showpiece replaced by this larger altar.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But then he does something odd. He starts removing other parts of the Temple, including the oxen under the large basin that Solomon built. The text explains that he did this \u201cbecause of the king of Assyria\u201d (verse 18). During his meeting with the king, there is no indication that Tiglat-Pelasar instructed him to remove these items from the Temple. The commentators explain that he did so in case the king of Assyria came to the Temple and saw these ornate objects. Ahaz was concerned the king would want to take everything away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is of course some irony in that fear. Ahaz had no problem welcoming the king of Assyria into a war in Israel. Ahaz\u2019s action will eventually lead to the defeat and exile of the Northern Kingdom. Perhaps this is why the text includes the fact that he hid things in the Temple. Without this additional piece of information, one might think that he did not consider that this action could lead to such a horrible end. But, Ahaz knew what Tiglat-Pelasar was capable of, for Ahaz feared it happening to him. 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we learn the lessons of the past?","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">King Ahab and King Pekah ruled Israel for 20-22 years each. Both of them did what was displeasing to the LORD and did not depart from the sins which Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit. Also both of them committed a murder \u2013 Ahab against his citizen Naboth and Pekah against his king Pekahiah. But there was an important difference between these two kings. Ahab cooperated with the king of Judah against the king of Aram. Pekah cooperated with the king of Aram against the King of Judah.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In response to Pekah's cooperation with a foreign army against his brothers in Judah, King Ahaz of Judah did the same. Ahaz cooperated with the foreign King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria against King Pekah of Israel. King Tiglath-pileser came and captured Gilead, Galilee and Naphtali and he deported the inhabitants to Assyria. The northern and the eastern parts of Israel Kingdom were no longer Israelite.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The historical lesson of this disastrous policy wasn't learned. A few hundreds of years later Prince Judah Aristobulus the Second competed on the throne against his elder brother High Priest Prince John Hyrcanus the Second. After the two brothers had reached an agreement regarding giving the elder the High Priesthood and the younger the throne, the elder had second thoughts about it. John Hyrcanus the Second decided to cooperate with foreign armies \u2013 Idumaean, Nabataean and Roman \u2013 against his own brother. As a result the Edomites and the Nabataeans and the Romans took Judah's territories, killed tens of thousands of Jews and put an end to the independence of Judah's Kingdom.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Will the lesson be learned in the future? Only time will tell.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image: The Triumph of Judas Maccabeus, Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1635 \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":64173,"alt":"","title":"2kings16-Rubens-Judah","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Rubens-Judah.jpg","width":438,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Rubens-Judah-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Rubens-Judah-219x300.jpg","medium-width":219,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Rubens-Judah.jpg","medium_large-width":438,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Rubens-Judah.jpg","large-width":438,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Rubens-Judah.jpg","1536x1536-width":438,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Rubens-Judah.jpg","2048x2048-width":438,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Rubens-Judah.jpg","post_full_size-width":438,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Rubens-Judah-307x420.jpg","home_baner-width":307,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Wars Between Brothers","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Will we learn the lessons of the past?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":64173,"alt":"","title":"2kings16-Rubens-Judah","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Rubens-Judah.jpg","width":438,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Rubens-Judah-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Rubens-Judah-219x300.jpg","medium-width":219,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Rubens-Judah.jpg","medium_large-width":438,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Rubens-Judah.jpg","large-width":438,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Rubens-Judah.jpg","1536x1536-width":438,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Rubens-Judah.jpg","2048x2048-width":438,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Rubens-Judah.jpg","post_full_size-width":438,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Rubens-Judah-307x420.jpg","home_baner-width":307,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Kings","chapter":"16","chapter_main_number":"325","date":"20261126","wall_id":"325"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"432","name":"Exile","old_id":"832"},{"term_id":"434","name":"War","old_id":"834"}]},{"order":4,"id":"64175","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Ahaz     ","post_title":"Ahaz","slug":"ahaz","old_id":"64175","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33877,"post_title":"Marc Bregman","slug":"marc-bregman","old_id":"33877","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Bregman","description":"Marc Bregman received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1991. He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"325","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Oy-vay!","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our chapter relates the reign of King Ahaz of Judah (743\u2013727 BCE). Unlike his forefather, King David, Ahaz did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Most prominently, \u201ceven his son he passed through the fire [sacrificed]\u2026He sacrificed and made offerings at the shrines, on the hills, and under every leafy tree\u201d (II Kings 16:1-4, II Chronicles 28). Ahaz joined forces with the Assyrian king, Tiglath-Pileser III, whose altar he saw in Damascus and had copied in the Temple in Jerusalem (II Kings 16:10-16). Ahaz reigned in the time of Isaiah (see Isaiah 7-9). Isaiah counsels Ahaz to trust in God rather than foreign allies (Isaiah 7:11) and gives Ahaz the sign of the birth of a child, whose mother will call him Immanuel, meaning \"God-is-with-us\" (Isaiah 7:13-14).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Rabbinic Sages (see Midrash Genesis Rabbah 42:3 and parallels) compare Ahaz to the tutor of a king\u2019s son who plotted to kill the son. He reasoned that if he himself did the deed he would be executed by the king. So, he separated the son from his wet-nurse in order to let him die by malnutrition. Similarly, Ahaz reasoned that if there are no children there will be no disciples who will become sages. And if there are no sages, there will be no prophets. And if there are no prophets, the Holy One, blessed be He, will have no one upon whom to cause His divine presence to dwell. The Midrash goes on to explain that this evil king was called Ahaz (literally \u201che seized\u201d), because he \u201cseized\u201d the synagogues and study-houses to close them. When he did this evil deed, everyone began to cry out \u201cWoe\u201d (\u201cVay\u201d), as it says: And (Vay \u2013 Woe) it came to pass in the days of Ahaz (Vay-yehi biyemey Ahaz)\u2026 (Isaiah 7:1).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indeed, according to Scripture, it seems Ahaz had only one son, Hezekiah, who ruled Judah after him (II Kings 18:1). His mother was Abi (II Kings 18:2), also called Abijah (11 Chronicles 29:1). According to Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 63b, the son whom Ahaz \u201cpassed through the fire\u201d was none other than his only son Hezekiah. But Hezekiah was saved by his mother, who daubed him with the blood of the salamander, whose blood was a legendary fire-retardant (see Aristotle, History of Animals V, 19).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 1873 a clay tablet was discovered in the ancient Assyrian palace at Nimrud on which Tiglath-Pileser III boasts of the tribute paid to him by Ahaz as mentioned in II Kings 16:8. In part, the inscription reads: \u201cFrom these I received tribute \u2026 Jehoahaz [Ahaz] of Judah \u2026 including gold, silver, iron, fine cloth and many garments made from wool that was dyed in purple\u2026\u201d. In the mid-1990\u2019s a bulla (clay seal) came to light bearing the inscription \u201cBelonging to Ahaz (son of) Yehotam, King of Judah\u201d. Most recently, in 2015, another such bulla was discovered that reads \"Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz king of Judah\".<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image: Alabaster wall relief, the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III stands over an enemy, from the Central Palace at Nimrud,\u00a0 Neo-Assyrian period, circa 728 BCE \/ The British Museum \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":64189,"alt":"","title":"2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy-1.jpg","width":729,"height":418,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy-1-300x172.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":172,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy-1.jpg","medium_large-width":729,"medium_large-height":418,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy-1.jpg","large-width":729,"large-height":418,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":729,"1536x1536-height":418,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":729,"2048x2048-height":418,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy-1.jpg","post_full_size-width":729,"post_full_size-height":418,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy-1.jpg","home_baner-width":729,"home_baner-height":418}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Ahaz","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Oy-vay!","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":64189,"alt":"","title":"2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy-1.jpg","width":729,"height":418,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy-1-300x172.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":172,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy-1.jpg","medium_large-width":729,"medium_large-height":418,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy-1.jpg","large-width":729,"large-height":418,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":729,"1536x1536-height":418,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":729,"2048x2048-height":418,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy-1.jpg","post_full_size-width":729,"post_full_size-height":418,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-Tiglath-pileser_III_stands_over_an_enemy-1.jpg","home_baner-width":729,"home_baner-height":418}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Kings","chapter":"16","chapter_main_number":"325","date":"20261126","wall_id":"325"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"444","name":"History","old_id":"844"},{"term_id":"555","name":"Archaeology","old_id":"955"}]},{"order":5,"id":"64181","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Details Details    ","post_title":"Details Details","slug":"details-details-2","old_id":"64181","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"325","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"When the sources differ: triangulating the biblical reality","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is high time to review the fact that the Book of Kings is not our only biblical source for the history of the Judean and Samarian monarchies. There is also the Book of Chronicles. In most cases, the narratives of these two books differ largely in their perspectives (we will have more to say about this when we reach Chronicles), but occasionally\u2014as in the case of this chapter\u2014they differ in their recitation of factual information, as well.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to our chapter, Ahaz \u201cfollowed the ways of the kings of Israel. He even consigned (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">he`evir<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) his <\/span><b>son<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to the fire, in the abhorrent fashion of the nations which the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites\u201d (3). Chronicles, however, reports <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201che made offerings in the Valley of Ben-hinnom and burned (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">vayav`er<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) his <\/span><b>sons<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in fire\u201d (2 Chr. 28:3). Which was it: One son or many sons?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Malbim, characteristically, noted that there is a distinction between burning something, and consigning it to the flames\u2014 the former suggesting the possibility of partial burning and the latter implying its total consumption. Hence, we may infer that Ahaz had placed more than one son into the fire, one of whom was completely consumed while the other emerged yet alive. Indeed, the Talmud stipulates that \u201cHezekiah\u2019s father [i.e., Ahaz] sought to do so to him, but his mother protected him as a salamander\u201d (BT Sanhedrin 63b), which, according to rabbinic lore, was fireproof.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Furthermore, whereas Kings reports that the coalition of Aram and Israel \u201cbesieged Ahaz, but could not overcome [him]\u201d (5), Chronicles states explicitly that Aram \u201cdefeated him and took many of his men captive\u201d (2 Chr. 28:5). In this case, we actually have a third biblical source, the Book of Isaiah, which seems to side with Kings, stating that the coalition \u201cmarched upon Jerusalem to attack it; but they were not able to attack it\u201d (Isaiah 7:1). Malbim, ever intent upon preserving the literal integrity of Scripture, saw the two versions as congruent, explaining that whereas Jerusalem withstood assault, an initial, successful, Aramean attack took place elsewhere in Judah.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We shall shortly (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.929.org.il\/lang\/en\/page\/327\/post\/64349\">chapter 18<\/a>) have another occasion to compare these three biblical sources in the matter of Sennacherib\u2019s invasion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":64182,"alt":"","title":"2kings16-trig2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-trig2.jpg","width":990,"height":684,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-trig2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-trig2-300x207.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":207,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-trig2-768x531.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":531,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-trig2.jpg","large-width":990,"large-height":684,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-trig2.jpg","1536x1536-width":990,"1536x1536-height":684,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-trig2.jpg","2048x2048-width":990,"2048x2048-height":684,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-trig2.jpg","post_full_size-width":990,"post_full_size-height":684,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-trig2-608x420.jpg","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Details Details","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"When the sources differ: triangulating the biblical reality","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":64182,"alt":"","title":"2kings16-trig2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-trig2.jpg","width":990,"height":684,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-trig2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-trig2-300x207.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":207,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-trig2-768x531.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":531,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-trig2.jpg","large-width":990,"large-height":684,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-trig2.jpg","1536x1536-width":990,"1536x1536-height":684,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-trig2.jpg","2048x2048-width":990,"2048x2048-height":684,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-trig2.jpg","post_full_size-width":990,"post_full_size-height":684,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings16-trig2-608x420.jpg","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Kings","chapter":"16","chapter_main_number":"325","date":"20261126","wall_id":"325"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"720","name":"Chronology","old_id":"1120"},{"term_id":"721","name":"Text","old_id":"1121"},{"term_id":"939","name":"Chronicles","old_id":"1339"}]},{"order":6,"id":"64184","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Short Term Gain; Long Term Disaster    ","post_title":"Short Term Gain; Long Term Disaster","slug":"short-term-gain-long-term-disaster","old_id":"64184","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33992,"post_title":"Bradley Shavit Artson","slug":"rabbi-dr-bradley-shavit-artson","old_id":"33992","first_name":"Bradley Shavit ","last_name":"Artson","description":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson holds the Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean's Chair of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles, and is professor of philosophy there. Artson is married to Elana Shavit Artson, and they are the parents of twins, Shira and Jacob.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson is the Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33993,"alt":"","title":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","width":204,"height":199,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-256x300.png","medium-width":256,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","medium_large-width":204,"medium_large-height":199,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","large-width":204,"large-height":199,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","1536x1536-width":204,"1536x1536-height":199,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","2048x2048-width":204,"2048x2048-height":199,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","post_full_size-width":204,"post_full_size-height":199,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","home_baner-width":204,"home_baner-height":199}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"325","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The enemy of my brother becomes - my destroyer?\u00a0","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s war once more, a pretty frequent occurrence in the Biblical world (actually pretty frequent in today\u2019s world as well). This time, Ahaz, the King of Judah, is fighting against the allied forces of King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah of Israel. Both Kings have taken turned their aggression against the southern kingdom, and they are pursuing the war with great advantage, hoping to conquer Jerusalem.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In desperation the King of the Judeans turns to the great regional superpower, to Assyria, to intervene on his behalf and on behalf of his realm: \u201cCome up and save me from the clutches of the king of Aram and from the clutches of the king of Israel who are rising up against me.\u201d To entice the Assyrian emperor to intervene, Ahaz sweetens the deal by collecting whatever silver and gold was still to be found in the Temple treasury and in the monarch\u2019s own possession and offers that horde to the dangerous overlord.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bribe worked, and the Assyrian king invaded Damascus, routing the armies of the Aramean king, sending its population into exile, and assassinating King Pekah in the process.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the short term, King Ahaz\u2019s strategy worked well. He stopped the two attacking kings, he protected Jerusalem from their invasion, and he maintained the relative independence of his own kingdom. All good, right?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well, not so much in the long run. By inviting in the Assyrians, King Ahaz plundered his own treasury and that of the Holy Temple. No longer with resources of his own, his impoverished kingdom would struggle under his successors to hold at bay the very empire that he had lured onto his own territory. In rapid succession, those same Assyrians would overrun and exile the Northern Kingdom of Israel, sundering the 12 tribes in a way that has never been repaired, and removing a buffer state in the north that had served to shield the Kingdom of Judah and occasionally to ally with them as well.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The clout of marauding empires now proceeds in full force, invited and encouraged by a Jewish king! The notion that one can pillage the Temple and survive is now a real option, invented by the Jewish king. And the reliance on pagan powers who intervene not for some idealistic vision of good but in raw pursuit of their own power and control is now the reality which all subsequent Judean communities must confront.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The challenge for us all is not to fall for the misguided allure of short-term advantage at the expense of long-term security and peace. Like any addiction, the repeated hits will fall short of solving the problem, at ever greater cost. 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","post_title":"Biblical Snapshots: Ahaz: Just How Bad Was He?","slug":"biblical-snapshots-ahaz-just-how-bad-was-he","old_id":"63914","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38102,"post_title":"929-English","slug":"929-english","old_id":"38102","first_name":"","last_name":"929-English","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38333,"alt":"","title":"\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","width":1513,"height":860,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-300x171.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":171,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-768x437.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":437,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1024x582.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":582,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","1536x1536-width":1513,"1536x1536-height":860,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","2048x2048-width":1513,"2048x2048-height":860,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1200x682.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":682,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-739x420.png","home_baner-width":739,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"325","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/AlGmVgoxSpY ","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Biblical Snapshots","tile_main_caption":"2 Kings 16 - Ahaz: Just How Bad Was He?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"with Adam Mintz ","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/AlGmVgoxSpY","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Kings","chapter":"16","chapter_main_number":"325","date":"20261126","wall_id":"325"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"369","name":"Visual Arts","old_id":"769"}]},{"order":9,"id":"64122","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Leaving Eilath     ","post_title":"Leaving Eilath","slug":"leaving-eilath","old_id":"64122","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54356,"post_title":"Robert Alter","slug":"robert-alter","old_id":"54356","first_name":"Robert ","last_name":"Alter","description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has written over twenty books, focusing on such topics as the European novel from the 18th century to the present, contemporary American fiction, and modern Hebrew literature. He has also written extensively on the literary aspects of the Bible. His most recent work is his monumental three volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019 -  from which the selections in 929 are taken. ","short_description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and author of the three-volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54357,"alt":"","title":"robert alter","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","width":184,"height":275,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium-width":184,"medium-height":275,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium_large-width":184,"medium_large-height":275,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","large-width":184,"large-height":275,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","1536x1536-width":184,"1536x1536-height":275,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","2048x2048-width":184,"2048x2048-height":275,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","post_full_size-width":184,"post_full_size-height":275,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","home_baner-width":184,"home_baner-height":275}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"325","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The Judeans were too busy in Jerusalem. But who took their place?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">16:6 \u201cAt that time Rezin king of Aram restored Eilath to Aram and drove out the Judeans from Eilath, while the Edomites came to Eilath and dwelled there till this day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is puzzling that Rezin, in the midst of laying siege against Jerusalem, should have gone on an expedition to Eilath in the far south. This difficulty is compounded by the fact that the consonantal text has Arameans settling in Eilath, but the Masoretic marginal gloss corrects this to Edomites. (The graphic difference in Hebrew between \u201cAram\u201d and \u201cEdom\u201d is minimal because the letters <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reish<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dalet<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are similar in appearance.) The original verse may have read: The king of Edom restored Eilath to Edom. The Edomites could easily have taken advantage of the fact that the Judahite forces were distracted by the siege of Jerusalem.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From: Robert Alter, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Hebrew Bible<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton &amp; Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"Leaving Eilath","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The Judeans were too busy in Jerusalem. But who took their place?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Kings","chapter":"16","chapter_main_number":"325","date":"20261126","wall_id":"325"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"64123","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Ahaz: Destroyer of Judaism      ","post_title":"Ahaz: Destroyer of Judaism","slug":"ahaz-destroyer-of-judaism","old_id":"64123","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33692,"post_title":"Alex Israel","slug":"33692-2","old_id":"33692","first_name":"Alex","last_name":"Israel","description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem. His first book \"I Kings - Torn in Two\" was published in 2013. See his website www.alexisrael.org, and his podcasts at https:\/\/elmad.pardes.org\/ and https:\/\/tanachstudy.com\/ \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33693,"alt":"","title":"alex israel","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","width":1657,"height":2500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-199x300.jpg","medium-width":199,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-679x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":679,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-679x1024.jpg","large-width":679,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","1536x1536-width":1018,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","2048x2048-width":1357,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-795x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":795,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-278x420.jpg","home_baner-width":278,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"325","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"To hear the rabbis tell it, he was one of the worst\u2026\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The biblical depiction limits Ahaz's offenses to the sphere of idolatry and the Temple; the sages, however, spread the net farther afield:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\"And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz.\" This may be compared to the son of a king against whom his tutor plotted, desiring to kill him. He said to himself, \"If I slay him now, my life will be forfeited to the king. Rather, I will withdraw his wet-nurse from him and he will die of himself.\" Ahaz...reasoned thus to himself: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\"If there are no children, there will be no students; <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">if there are no students, there will be no scholars; <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">if there are no scholars, there will be no elders; <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">if there are no elders, there will be no prophets; <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and if there are no prophets, the Holy One Blessed be He will not cause His Shekhina to rest upon them\" .... <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">R. Hunia said in R. Eleazer's name: \"Why was he called Ahaz? Because he closed (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ahaz<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) the synagogue and houses of study.\" (Genesis Rabba 42:3)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above passage paints Ahaz as intent on destroying Judaism. This midrash is intriguing, but where do the sages see this in the biblical story? How might the notion that Ahaz seeks to eliminate God's presence by denying a religious education to schoolchildren be understood within the storyline of Kings? The midrash might be suggesting that Ahaz made Assyrian norms and fashions so attractive, so desirable, that the younger generation found Judaism dull and outdated. With Assyria as a superior military and economic power \u2014 the national patron \u2014 and with the adoption of Assyrian culture at every level \u2014 \"altars on every hill and under every tree\" \u2014 pagan alternatives seemed far more enticing for the average person than worship of God. Schools taught Assyrian myths, history, and literature rather than the parochial Judahite lore. In this way Ahaz eroded loyalty to God at the popular level. The effect of such a shift would certainly have been devastating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Ahaz, Assyria is a source of strength and enlightenment; he is attracted to everything Assyrian. This attitude seeps into the public sphere as idolatrous worship becomes the norm and the Temple is transformed into an Assyrian shrine. The story of Ahaz underscores the powerful impact of strategic and political alliances in the cultural and religious realm. Ahaz's military pact with Assyria significantly altered the cultural texture of society. In consequence, he may be seen as one of the most damaging kings of Judah that we have yet encountered in the book of Kings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alex Israel, <em>II Kings: In a Whirlwind,<\/em> Maggid Books, 2019, King Ahaz: Religious Capitulation\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":63310,"alt":"","title":"Alex Israel - 2_kings_cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover.jpg","width":1711,"height":1821,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-282x300.jpg","medium-width":282,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-768x817.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":817,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-962x1024.jpg","large-width":962,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1443,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1711,"2048x2048-height":1821,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-1128x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1128,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-395x420.jpg","home_baner-width":395,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Excerpts from: II Kings - In A Whirlwind","tile_main_caption":"Ahaz: Destroyer of Judaism","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"To hear the rabbis tell it, he was one of the worst\u2026","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":63310,"alt":"","title":"Alex Israel - 2_kings_cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover.jpg","width":1711,"height":1821,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-282x300.jpg","medium-width":282,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-768x817.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":817,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-962x1024.jpg","large-width":962,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1443,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1711,"2048x2048-height":1821,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-1128x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1128,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Alex-Israel-2_kings_cover-395x420.jpg","home_baner-width":395,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Kings","chapter":"16","chapter_main_number":"325","date":"20261126","wall_id":"325"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"667","name":"Judaism","old_id":"1067"}]},{"order":11,"id":"63789","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Sefaria Source Sheets - 2 Kings 16      ","post_title":"Sefaria Source Sheets - 2 Kings 16","slug":"sefaria-source-sheets-2-kings-16","old_id":"63789","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":42228,"post_title":"Sefaria","slug":"sefaria","old_id":"42228","first_name":"","last_name":"Sefaria","description":"Sefaria is a non-profit organization dedicated to building the future of Jewish learning in an open and participatory way. We are assembling a free living library of Jewish texts and their interconnections, in Hebrew and in translation. With these digital texts, we can create new, interactive interfaces for Web, tablet and mobile, allowing more people to engage with the textual treasures of our tradition.","short_description":"Sefaria is a non-profit organization dedicated to building the future of Jewish learning in an open and participatory way. \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":42230,"alt":"","title":"Sefaria Logo2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2.png","width":1200,"height":1200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-768x768.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-1024x1024.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2.png","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":1200,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2.png","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":1200,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Sefaria-Logo2-420x420.png","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"325","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sefaria.org\/sheets\/151738?lang=bi\">\u201cWho are the People of Israel?\u201d<\/a> by Michael Howald: Explore sources on Jewish identity.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Source Sheets - 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2 Kings 16     ","post_title":"Points to Ponder - 2 Kings 16","slug":"points-to-ponder-2-kings-16","old_id":"64120","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38102,"post_title":"929-English","slug":"929-english","old_id":"38102","first_name":"","last_name":"929-English","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38333,"alt":"","title":"\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","width":1513,"height":860,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-300x171.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":171,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-768x437.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":437,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1024x582.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":582,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","1536x1536-width":1513,"1536x1536-height":860,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","2048x2048-width":1513,"2048x2048-height":860,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1200x682.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":682,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-739x420.png","home_baner-width":739,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"325","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"<ol>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Interpretation and interests<\/em>. The chapter tells of the actions of the kings, but not their intent, and leaves room for interpretation. Why did Aram and Israel attack Judah? Was it because of territorial aspirations, or did they want to apply military pressure to try to force Judah to join them in a united front against Assyria?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Did he have any other choices?<\/em> In this chapter Ahaz is between a rock - Israel and Aram, and a hard place - Assyria. He chooses to surrender and be subjugated to Assyria. Was there a way out? In 16 more chapters, (Isaiah 7), we will hear the opinion of Isaiah son of Amotz about the matter.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>New altar: mandatory, or just a gesture of good will?<\/em> The instructions for building the altar are sent to Uriah the priest from Ahaz, during his diplomatic meeting with the king of Assyria. So was he implementing Assyrian policy? Was it Ahaz\u2019s attempt to curry favor? Or were the instructions just stylistic, and not theological. Note that the altar was part of the Temple cult, and not for idolatrous worship, and there is no criticism expressed in the chapter against Ahaz for these actions.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Cutbacks<\/em>. \u201cKing Ahaz cut off the insets\u2014the laver stands\u2014and removed the lavers from them. He also removed the tank from the bronze oxen that supported it and set it on a stone pavement\u2014 \u2026on account of the king of Assyria\u201d (16:17-18). He had to sell off some assets to pay the foreign tax imposed.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"2 Kings 16","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Kings","chapter":"16","chapter_main_number":"325","date":"20261126","wall_id":"325"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/63894"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}