2 Kings 18


2 Kings 18 is the eighteenth chapter of the second part of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BCE, with a supplement added in the sixth century BCE. This chapter records the events during the reign of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, a part of the section comprising 2 Kings 18:1 20:21, with a parallel version in Isaiah 36–39.

Text

This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language. It is divided into 37 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis, Aleppo Codex, and Codex Leningradensis.
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus, Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Marchalianus.

Analysis

This chapter introduces Hezekiah as a 'ultra-righteous king' who relied on YHWH, the most David-like king since David. It is contrasted to the apostate northern kingdom which was then destroyed by the Assyrians. Prompting by Hezekiah's rebellion, Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, came to attack Judah, and even after given large amount of tribute still demanded Jerusalem to surrender with convincing argumentation.
The narrative of the Assyrian siege on Jerusalem in chapter 18 and 19 is presented in a parallel structure:
From 18:17 onwards the editors seem to insert another source, which is also used in the Book of Isaiah, that indicates the Assyrians breaking their word after receiving the tribute and putting further pressure on Hezekiah in Jerusalem.

Hezekiah, king of Judah (18:1–12)

This section highlights Hezekiah's religious reforms which may contribute to an exceptional evaluation: he and Josiah alone are comparable to David. The destruction of the Nehushtan, a snake-shaped cultic image traced back to Moses, can really be attributed to Hezekiah, despite little details were reported, among other acts of piety. Next are Hezekiah's early foreign political activities: he liberated the kingdom of Judah from Assyrian subservience and conducted successful campaigns against the Philistines. An Assyrian source noted that Hezekiah was the 'leader of an anti-Assyrian coalition from 705 BCE onwards', and he even 'arrested a pro-Assyrian king of Ekron in this capacity'. The editors included the description of the northern Israel kingdom's defeat to the Assyrians, as well as the cause of it, namely, the 'entire population's lack of loyalty to the Torah'.

Verse 1

The Assyrians stormed Judah, likely in response to Hezekiah's rebellion in 701 BCE. In a short time many cities of Judah were occupied and Jerusalem was besieged. King Sennacherib depicted his victory over Lachish in a stone relief in his palace at Nineveh and described Hezekiah's desperate situation on several victory monuments :
The Bible text records that Hezekiah initially tried to free himself from Assyrian pressure by conceding defeat and paying a heavy tribute, which also conforms with Sennacherib's record:

Verse 13

Sennacherib decided that the tribute from Judah is not enough, so he sent his "big guns", his main officers, consisting of: 'Tartan, Rabsaris, and Rabshakeh' to force the capitulation of Jerusalem verse 17). The Assyrians started by using psychological warfare, with Rabshakeh speaking directly to the people of Jerusalem at the wall of the city using the Hebrew language and employing shrewd rhetoric on Israelite faith while undermining it.
The Rabshakeh is not a common messenger, as he is a 'propagandist and skill negotiator' with the ability of speaking the 'language of diplomatic disputation', with a purpose to divide the people of Judah along calls lines. The envoy delivered two speeches: one directed to King Hezekiah and his officers/negotiators, including Shebna and Eliakim, and one to 'the people on the city walls'. Rabshakeh's well-crafted speeches alternate between promises of good things from the Assyrian king and warnings not to trust YHWH nor Hezekiah to protect them:
He states four seemingly excellent arguments for capitulation:
  1. Reliance on Egypt is foolish and dangerous, as already shown in history
  2. Reliance on God is unwise as Hezekiah has removed God's holy places
  3. Reliance on Judah's military power would be ridiculous
  4. Assyrians are the agents of God, charged with the mission to destroy Judah
Rabshakeh hammers on the issue of trust, which is a key issue in 2 Kings 17, as spoken by the prophets, but here he offers the theological challenge: Hezekiah's acts of destroying places of worship provoke the displeasure of YHWH, and the implication: neither Hezekiah nor Egypt nor YHWH can be trusted to deliver the people. He ends his speech with an audacious claim that Sennacherib, not Hezekiah, is doing the will of God and that the Assyrian king will be the shepherd-king for Israel, a composite of Moses, Joshua and Solomon, to bring the people to a land full of prosperity. Brueggemann observes a structure in the speech mocking YHWH's power to emphasize that 'YHWH is only one among many gods':
Rabshakeh's argument rises from the polytheistic worship system of the empire with the boast that Assyria has the king 'before whom no gods can stand'. This leads to the confrontation and the display of YHWH's power in chapter 19.

Verse 17

Ahaz

Other than in the Books of Kings, Ahaz is mentioned in the Book of Isaiah, Books of Chronicles, Gospel of Matthew, and Assyrian inscriptions, such as the " Nimrud Tablet K.3751", which is the first ancient record for the name "Judah" and "Ahaz".
Several bullae with the printed name of Ahaz have been found:
  1. a royal bulla with the inscription: “Belonging to Ahaz Jehotam, King of Judah.”
  2. stone seal in scarab beetle shape with the inscription: "Belonging to Ushna servant of Ahaz"
  3. a royal bulla with the inscription: "Belonging to Hezekiah Ahaz king of Judah".

    Hezekiah

Extra-biblical sources specify Hezekiah by name, along with his reign and influence. "Historiographically, his reign is noteworthy for the convergence of a variety of biblical sources and diverse extrabiblical evidence often bearing on the same events. Significant data concerning Hezekiah appear in the Deuteronomistic History, the Chronicler, Isaiah, Assyrian annals and reliefs, Israelite epigraphy, and, increasingly, stratigraphy". Archaeologist Amihai Mazar calls the tensions between Assyria and Judah "one of the best-documented events of the Iron Age" and Hezekiah's story is one of the best to cross-reference with the rest of the Mid Eastern world's historical documents.
Several bullae bearing the name of Hezekiah have been found:
  1. a royal bulla with the inscription in ancient Hebrew script: "Belonging to Hezekiah Ahaz king of Judah".
  2. seals with the inscription: "Belonging to servant of Hezekiah"
Other artifacts bearing the name "Hezekiah" include LMLK stored jars along the border with Assyria "demonstrate careful preparations to counter Sennacherib's likely route of invasion" and show "a notable degree of royal control of towns and cities which would facilitate Hezekiah's destruction of rural sacrificial sites and his centralization of worship in Jerusalem", with the evidence suggesting the use throughout Hezekiah's reign, and the Siloam inscription.

Shebna

An inscription bearing the name "Shebnayahu" was discovered on the lintel above the entrance of a rock-cut tomb which suggests the connection to Shebna, the court officer mentioned in and.

Sennacherib

The accounts of Sennacherib of Assyria, including his invasion into the Kingdom of Judah, especially the capture of Lachish and the siege of Jerusalem, are recorded in a number of ancient documents and artifacts: