1 (compare 2 Kings xviii. 4).
Destruction of Idolatrous Symbols.
¹Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake in pieces the pillars¹, and hewed down the Asherim, and brake down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.
1. the pillars ... the Asherim] Compare xiv. 3 (note).
in Ephraim also] It is obviously assumed that the Northern Kingdom had come to an end; compare xxx. 6, 9.
2–21 (not in 2 Kings).
Organisation of the Priests. Tithe.
If the Temple had been desecrated and closed by Ahaz, it would follow that the organisation of its Priests and Levites had fallen into confusion. The Chronicler therefore makes Hezekiah the restorer of the system inaugurated by David, and treats this edifying topic at some length.
²And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites after their courses, every man according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord.
2. the courses] Compare 1 Chronicles xxiv. 1 ff.
to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates] Better, as LXX., altering the order, to give thanks and to praise and to minister in the gates. “To minister in the gates,” i.e. to be doorkeepers, compare 1 Chronicles xxvi. 1.
the camp of the Lord] i.e. (in the language of Deuteronomy) “the place which the Lord chose,” Jerusalem or, more exactly, the Temple area. Compare 1 Chronicles ix. 18, note.
³He appointed also the king’s portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the Lord. ⁴Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves¹ to the law of the Lord.
3. the burnt offerings] Compare viii. 12, 13.
⁵And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel gave in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly.
5. and honey] Honey (Hebrew dĕbhash) is not elsewhere mentioned as subject to tithe; perhaps grape syrup (modern Arabic dibs) is meant here, as in Genesis xliii. 11 and Ezekiel xxvii. 17 (according to some commentators). Honey (like leaven) was forbidden for sacrificial use (Leviticus ii. 11).
⁶And the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of dedicated things which were consecrated unto the Lord their God, and laid them by heaps.
6. And the children of Israel] Compare xi. 16.
the tithe of dedicated things] a strange phrase without parallel. Read probably the dedicated things.
⁷In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. ⁸And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord, and his people Israel. ⁹Then Hezekiah questioned with the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.
7. the third month] The Feast of Harvest took place at the beginning of this month and seven weeks later the Feast of Ingathering followed.
¹⁰And Azariah the chief priest, of the house of Zadok, answered him and said, Since the people began to bring the oblations into the house of the Lord, we have eaten and had enough, and have left plenty: for the Lord hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great store.
10. Azariah the chief priest] Not mentioned in connection with Hezekiah’s previous arrangements.
of the house of Zadok] Compare 1 Chronicles xxiv. 1–4. Tradition spoke of two main families of priests, (1) the descendants of Eleazar the third son of Aaron, whose chief representative in David’s day was Zadok (hence they are here called “the house of Zadok”), (2) the descendants of Ithamar the fourth son of Aaron, represented in David’s time by Ahimelech (Saul’s victim) or by Abiathar (David’s protégé). The Chronicler prefers to name the descendants of Ithamar after Ahimelech (1 Chronicles xxiv. 3, where see note).
the oblations] “The Hebrew word, tĕrūmāh, denotes properly what is ‘taken off’ from a larger mass and so separated from it for sacred purposes.” The word is sometimes rendered heave offering, but this is due to a mistaken impression that a rite of elevation was involved (see the full note in Driver, Exodus, p. 263).
hath blessed his people] Compare Malachi iii. 10.
and that which is left is this great store] The Hebrew requires some correction. Read as the LXX., καὶ κατελίπομεν ἐπὶ τὸ πλῆθος τοῦτο, “we leave (‘have left’) this great store and more.”
11–13. The offerings mentioned in verses 5–10 were placed in charge of Conaniah, Shimei and their subordinates for storage in the Temple treasuries.
¹¹Then Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in the house of the Lord; and they prepared them.
11. chambers] compare 1 Chronicles ix. 26, note.
¹²And they brought in the oblations and the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully: and over them Conaniah the Levite was ruler, and Shimei his brother was second.
12. the dedicated things] Compare xxix. 33 (note on the consecrated things).
¹³And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were overseers under the hand of Conaniah and Shimei his brother, by the appointment of Hezekiah the king, and Azariah the ruler of the house of God.
13. the ruler of the house of God] Compare 1 Chronicles ix. 11, note.
14–19. Distribution of the stores referred to in verses 11–13 was the duty of Kore and his subordinates. The exact meaning and sequence of these verses is hard to follow, and probably the obscurity is due to faults in the Hebrew text. The simplest view is as follows: verse 15 states that the distribution was to be made to priestly and levitical persons resident in the priestly cities but (verse 16) not to those who were for the time being on duty at the Temple, since these no doubt would receive their share at the Temple itself. Then verses 17–19 seem to refer to the manner of the registration of priests and Levites respectively for the purpose of the distribution; but it must be confessed that the precise sense and connection are uncertain, particularly as regards verse 19.
¹⁴And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the porter at the east gate, was over the freewill offerings of God, to distribute the oblations of the Lord, and the most holy things.
14. the most holy things] To this class belonged the shewbread (Leviticus xxiv. 9), the meal offering (Leviticus ii. 2, 3, vi. 14–18 [7–11, Hebrew]), the sin offering (Leviticus vi. 25–30), and the trespass offering (Leviticus vii. 1–7). These could be eaten by the priests only and in the holy place only.
¹⁵And under him were Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, in their set office¹, to give to their brethren by courses, as well to the great as to the small:
15. in the cities] The priestly cities are given 1 Chronicles vi. 54–60.
to the great as to the small] i.e. to old and to young alike.
¹⁶beside them that were reckoned by genealogy of males, from three years old and upward, even every one that entered into the house of the Lord, as the duty of every day required¹, for their service in their charges according to their courses;
16. beside] i.e. with the exception of.
as the duty of every day required] Or, as margin, for his daily portion.
¹⁷and them that were reckoned by genealogy of the priests by their fathers’ houses, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their charges by their courses;
17. and them that] Render probably and as for the registration of the priests it was made by their families....
¹⁸and them¹ that were reckoned by genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation: for in their set office² they sanctified themselves in holiness:
18. and them that] Render, and the registration included all their little ones, etc. The connection of the last part of the verse is very obscure.
their set office] Or, as margin, their trust (so also above verse 15).
they sanctified themselves in holiness] Or, they busied themselves with the distribution of the sanctified things. No reliance can be placed on the soundness of the text.
¹⁹also for the sons of Aaron the priests, which were in the fields of the suburbs of their cities, in every several city, there were men that were expressed by name, to give portions to all the males among the priests, and to all that were reckoned by genealogy among the Levites. ²⁰And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah; and he wrought that which was good and right and faithful¹ before the Lord his God. ²¹And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
19. Again a most obscure verse, apparently meaning that the priests had certain special officers, other than Kore and his subordinates, who were charged with superintending the distribution in the outlying districts. Text and interpretation are alike uncertain. Kittel regards verses 17–19 as a late addition.
the suburbs] compare 1 Chronicles v. 16 (margin “pasture lands”), vi. 55, 57 [40, 42, Hebrew].
1–8 (compare 2 Kings xviii. 13–16).
Sennacherib’s threatened Invasion.
Hezekiah’s Precautions.
The Chronicler introduces us somewhat abruptly to the Assyrian crisis. From 2 Kings we learn that Hezekiah renounced the suzerainty of Assyria (xviii. 7), which his father Ahaz had acknowledged (2 Kings xvi. 7). Thereupon Sennacherib invaded Judah, and Hezekiah was obliged to acknowledge with a heavy payment of tribute his dependence on the Assyrian king (2 Kings xviii. 13–16). Sennacherib having discovered the weakness of Judah, next demanded an unconditional surrender, intending to transport the Jews to another country (2 Kings xviii. 31, 32). This demand Hezekiah resisted, being strengthened thereto by Isaiah. The Chronicler does not refer to the earlier invasion or to the tribute—such a humiliation of the pious and devoted king being in his belief unthinkable. That any invasion should have taken place “after these things and this faithfulness” was sufficiently astonishing, until the issue showed that the anxiety and distress were only for the greater glory of Israel’s God and for the further proof of Hezekiah’s trust in Him.
¹After these things, and this faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them¹ for himself. ²And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed² to fight against Jerusalem,
1. After these things, and this faithfulness] The phrase is a hendiadys and stands for, “After these faithful dealings.”
Sennacherib] This king (Sanḥērib in Hebrew, Sin-aḥi-irib [-irba] in Assyrian, the Σαναχάριβος of Herod. II. 141) reigned 705–681 B.C. He was the son of Sargon (Isaiah xx. 1), father of Esar-haddon (2 Kings xix. 37; Ezra iv. 3), and grandfather of Asshur-bani-pal, the well-known Σαρδανάπαλλος of Herod. II. 150, who is commonly identified with Osnappar (compare Ezra iv. 10). Under this dynasty Assyria reached the height of its power. The empire included Babylonia (which, however, was frequently in revolt), Assyria proper, Syria as far north as Cilicia (inclusive), and (under Esar-haddon and Asshur-bani-pal) Egypt. After Asshur-bani-pal’s death (about 626 B.C.) the Assyrian power was speedily destroyed. The form Sennacherib is derived from the LXX. through the Vulgate.
to win them] Literally to make breaches in them. According to 2 Kings xviii. 13 Sennacherib took these cites; and the Assyrian account on the “Prism Inscription” of Sennacherib which is preserved in the British Museum states that they were forty-six in number (compare Driver in Hogarth, Authority and Archaeology, pp. 104–107; or Handcock, Latest Light on Bible Lands, pp. 153 ff.).
³he took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city; and they helped him.
3. to stop the waters] Compare 2 Kings xx. 20 “[Hezekiah] made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city,” and Isaiah xxii. 9, 11.
At the present day there is an underground tunnel cut through the rock leading from St Mary’s Well down to the Lower Pool of Siloam (Bädeker, Palestine⁵, pp. 25, 83). It is rudely constructed and owing to its windings is 586 yards long, though the distance in a straight line is only 368 yards. As therefore the Lower Pool was probably within the ancient walls, while St Mary’s Well was outside, this tunnel may be Hezekiah’s conduit. If the well were stopped, the besiegers would lose the water, which would collect in the Pool for the use of the besieged. An inscription in ancient Hebrew characters (“The Siloam Inscription”) discovered in situ describes briefly the digging of the tunnel, but does not enable us to fix the date of it with certainty. For the original text and an English translation see G. A. Smith, Jerusalem, I. 95 f., or Driver, Notes on Hebrew Text of Samuel, viii. ff.
⁴So there was gathered much people together, and they stopped all the fountains, and the brook that flowed through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?
4. the brook that flowed] The Hebrew verb means “flow with strong stream” (as a flood). We naturally look for such a brook either east of Jerusalem in the valley of Kidron or south in the valley of the son of Hinnom, but no perennial stream runs in either valley now. Possibly (owing to physical changes in the configuration of the country) the waters which fed such a brook in the Chronicler’s day now lose themselves in the soil.
⁵And he took courage, and built up all the wall that was broken down, and raised it up to the towers¹, and the other² wall without, and strengthened Millo in the city of David, and made weapons and shields in abundance.
5. broken dozen] Compare xxv. 23 (note).
raised it up to the towers] Hebrew vayya‘al ‘al. Read and he heightened the towers, i.e. omitting the second ’al as a dittography.
the other wall] In Isaiah xxii. 9–11 the preparations to meet the Assyrian attack are described by the prophet who speaks of a “ditch” (Revised Version “reservoir”) made at this time between “the two walls.” In Excavations at Jerusalem, 1894–1897, Dr Bliss describes a buttressed wall (pp. 96 ff.) built without lime (see his frontispiece for an illustration of it) and enclosing the pool of Siloam on the south-east, which, he says, “may date back as far as Hezekiah” (pp. 325 f.). Dr Bliss also, following up a clue given by earlier explorers, found a second wall (running at an angle to the first) enclosing the pool on the west. This second wall was probably due to Herod, but Dr Bliss suggests that the line it follows may have been defended by a wall as early as Hezekiah’s day (p. 326). For further discussion see G. A. Smith, Jerusalem, I. 182, 207.
Millo] compare 1 Chronicles xi. 8, note.
weapons and shields] Properly, darts and shields. These were meant, not for such trained soldiers as Hezekiah could collect, but for the levy en masse with which the king proposed to man the walls. A dart to throw and a shield to protect the thrower as he threw were all that the citizen-soldier needed. The Hebrew word (shelaḥ) means “dart, missile”; the more general rendering “weapons” obscures the precise nature of Hezekiah’s preparations.
⁶And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the broad place at the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying, ⁷Be strong and of a good courage, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there is a greater¹ with us than with him:
6. in the broad place at the gate] Compare xxix. 4; Nehemiah viii. 16. There is nothing here to show which of the two broad places mentioned in Nehemiah is meant, or whether some third place is intended.
⁸with him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
8. an arm of flesh] Compare Jeremiah xvii. 5. Contrast the frequent phrase “a mighty hand and a stretched out arm” (of Jehovah). An “arm” is an ally or helper.
with us is the Lord] Compare xv. 2, xx. 17; Isaiah viii. 10.
9–19 (compare 2 Kings xviii. 17–35).
Sennacherib’s Threatening Messages.
In this section Chronicles briefly and freely summarises 2 Kings.
⁹After this did Sennacherib king of Assyria send his servants to Jerusalem, (now he was before Lachish, and all his power with him,) unto Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah that were at Jerusalem, saying,
9. his servants] Three of these are specified in 2 Kings by their titles, viz. the Tartan (“Commander-in-chief”), the Rabsaris (perhaps “Chief of the Princes”), and the Rabshakeh (“Chief of the officers or cup-bearers”).
now he was before Lachish] The capture of Lachish by Sennacherib and its spoliation are shown on an Assyrian relief now in the British Museum. The king himself besieged Lachish because it was of more importance for the main object of the campaign than Jerusalem. Sennacherib’s objective was Egypt (Herodotus II. 141), and Lachish (Tell el-Ḥesi, Bädeker, Palestine⁵, p. 118) lay directly in his path (compare Handcock, Latest Light on Bible Lands, p. 151).
¹⁰Thus saith Sennacherib king of Assyria, Whereon do ye trust, that ye abide the siege¹ in Jerusalem?
10. in Jerusalem] Isaiah promised deliverance in Jerusalem; e.g. in Isaiah xxix. 8, xxx. 19.
¹¹Doth not Hezekiah persuade you, to give you over to die by famine and by thirst, saying, The Lord our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
11. persuade] Or “entice”; compare 1 Chronicles xxi. 1 (“provoked” for the same Hebrew word).
¹²Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and upon it shall ye burn incense?
12. Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away] Besides this appeal to the religious prejudices of the people, Sennacherib’s servants employed two other arguments, according to 2 Kings—(1) the paucity of Hezekiah’s soldiers (2 Kings xviii. 23) and (2) possible reliance on Egyptian help (2 Kings xviii. 21, 25). These two arguments are passed over by the Chronicler doubtless because they seemed inconsistent both with the power and the character of a king so God-fearing as Hezekiah.
his high places] compare 2 Kings xviii. 4. The “high places” (bāmōth) were properly sanctuaries of Jehovah, and not necessarily idolatrous in themselves. But since originally all, or almost all, of these bāmōth had been sacred places of the Canaanite gods, old idolatrous symbols (e.g. the ashērah) and old idolatrous ideas and rites persisted in the worship there offered. When finally the Jews restricted sacrificial worship to Jerusalem, the odium attaching to these “high places” became greater than ever, and hostility towards them came to be regarded as the mark of any pious monarch. Hezekiah removed the bāmōth throughout the country.
¹³Know ye not what I and my fathers have done unto all the peoples of the lands? Were the gods of the nations of the lands any ways able to deliver their land out of mine hand? ¹⁴Who was there among all the gods of those nations which my fathers utterly destroyed¹, that could deliver his people out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand? ¹⁵Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you on this manner, neither believe ye him: for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God² deliver you out of mine hand? ¹⁶And his servants spake yet more against the Lord God, and against his servant Hezekiah.
13. the peoples of the lands] In 2 Kings xviii. 34 the lands are specified and include Samaria.
¹⁷He wrote also letters¹, to rail on the Lord, the God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, As the gods of the nations of the lands, which have not delivered their people out of mine hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of mine hand.
17. to rail on] Or, to defy (the same Hebrew word as in 2 Kings xix. 4, 16, 22, 33, and there rendered “reproach”).
¹⁸And they cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language unto the people of Jerusalem that were on the wall, to affright them, and to trouble them; that they might take the city.
18. in the Jews’ language] i.e. in Hebrew. From the parallel passage, 2 Kings xviii. 26 ff., it is evident that the language of diplomacy at this time in Western Asia was Aramaic (“Syrian,” 2 Kings); and that, whilst understood by the Jewish leaders and officials, it was not yet intelligible to the common people. In the negotiations the Rabshakeh showed clearly that his object was not to treat with Hezekiah, but to excite a revolt among the Jews against Hezekiah and so gain possession of the city.
¹⁹And they spake of the God of Jerusalem, as of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men’s hands.
19. the God of Jerusalem] For this designation compare Psalms cxxxv. 21.
20–23 (compare 2 Kings xix. 1–4, 14–19, 35–37).
Hezekiah and Isaiah pray. The
Deliverance.
This section is a very brief summary of 2 Kings xix.
²⁰And Hezekiah the king, and Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz, prayed because of this, and cried to heaven.
20. And Hezekiah ... and Isaiah ... prayed] According to Kings, Hezekiah prayed, and was answered by God through the medium of a message delivered by Isaiah the prophet (2 Kings xix. 20–34).
heaven] Here used reverently for “God”; compare xxviii. 9; Daniel iv. 26; Luke xv. 21.
²¹And the Lord sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains, in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him¹ there with the sword.
21. all the mighty men] In number 185,000 according to 2 Kings xix. 35 and Isaiah xxxvii. 36. The agency was probably the plague, which is pictured as a destroying angel in 2 Samuel xxiv. 16.
And when he was come] The murder of Sennacherib did not occur till some 20 years after his Judean expedition (circa 701 B.C.), i.e. not till 681 B.C.
they that came forth] The Chronicler no doubt follows Isaiah xxxvii. 38, “Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him”; but the accuracy of the present text of this passage of Isaiah is doubtful, for in the parallel passage (2 Kings xix. 37, Kethīb) the words his sons are missing. The only notice of Sennacherib’s death known to us at present from the inscriptions reads “Sennacherib king of Assyria was slain by his son (singular) in a revolt.” No name is given to this son. (Driver in Hogarth, Authority and Archaeology, p. 109.)
²²Thus the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side.
22. guided them on every side] Read, as the LXX., gave them rest on every side; compare xx. 30.
²³And many brought gifts unto the Lord to Jerusalem, and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from thenceforth.
23. brought gifts] Compare Psalms lxviii. 29; Isaiah xviii. 7; Haggai ii. 7, 8.
24–33 (compare 2 Kings xx.; Isaiah xxxviii., xxxix.).
Hezekiah’s Sickness. The Ambassadors
from Babylon. Hezekiah’s Death.
²⁴In those days Hezekiah was sick even unto death: and he prayed unto the Lord; and he spake unto him, and gave him a sign¹.
24. Remark that this single verse epitomises 2 Kings xx. 1–11.
In those days] The phrase is taken over from 2 Kings xx. 1, and it cannot be determined what date is intended, though we may conclude from 2 Kings xx. 6 that it was a time at which the Assyrian danger was not yet past, and that it was about the fourteenth year of Hezekiah (compare Barnes on 2 Kings xx. 1).
he spake] The Hebrew word means, in certain connections, “to promise,” and the idea of “promise” is present here, the sense being “God made him a promise and confirmed it by a wonder”; compare 2 Kings xx. 5, 6, 8–11.
a sign] Rather, a wonder (margin), as in verse 31.
²⁵But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.
25. his heart was lifted up] Compare verse 31; 2 Kings xx. 12–15.
wrath] Hebrew ḳeṣeph, a visitation of Divine wrath; compare xix. 2, 10, xxiv. 18, xxix. 8.
²⁶Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride¹ of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.
26. humbled himself] Compare 2 Kings xx. 19.
²⁷And Hezekiah had exceeding much riches and honour: and he provided him treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all manner of goodly vessels;
27. riches and honour] Compare 2 Kings xx. 13 (= Isaiah xxxix. 2).
shields] Hebrew māginnōth, i.e. small round shields. Perhaps, like Solomon’s (ix. 15, 16), they were overlaid with gold or silver. Barnes suggested the reading migdānōth, “precious things” (as in verse 23), instead of māginnōth. LXX. ὁπλοθήκας, i.e. “armouries”; Peshitṭa (text being doubtful here) “shields” or “pearls” or “precious gifts.”
²⁸storehouses also for the increase of corn and wine and oil; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and flocks in folds.
28. flocks in folds] The “folds” were enclosures with high stone walls as a defence against robbers and wild beasts. The text is probably faulty; Peshitṭa omits the clause.
²⁹Moreover he provided him cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance: for God had given him very much substance.
29. cities] The context suggests that these cities were meant chiefly as places of refuge for the flocks and herds in time of war; but again it is probable that the text is corrupt, and that this word should be omitted.
³⁰This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper spring of the waters of Gihon, and brought them straight down on the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.
30. stopped] Compare verses 3, 4.
Gihon] The upper spring of Gihon is represented to-day by St Mary’s Well; compare Bädeker, Palestine⁵, pp. 25, 83, and note on verse 3 above.
on the west side of the city] Render, westwards to the city. The direction followed by the tunnel through which Hezekiah brought the waters from the upper spring of Gihon (St Mary’s Well outside the city) to the Pool of Siloam within the walls is roughly west or south-west; see G. A. Smith, Jerusalem, 1. 102 f.
³¹Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors¹ of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.
31. who sent] Read rather, with LXX., who had been sent.
to inquire of the wonder] According to 2 Kings xx. 12; Isaiah xxxix. 1, the ostensible reason of the embassy was to congratulate Hezekiah on his recovery. The real object was to gain over Judah to an alliance against Assyria, from which Babylon was constantly seeking to revolt.
to try him, that he might know, etc.] The phrase is based on Deuteronomy viii. 2.
³²Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his good deeds, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz, in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
32. his good deeds] Compare xxxv. 26 (of Josiah); Nehemiah xiii. 14 (of Nehemiah).
the vision of Isaiah ... in the book of the kings] The reference is apparently to Isaiah xxxvi. 2–xxxix. 8 = 2 Kings xviii. 17–xx. 21.
³³And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the ascent of the sepulchres of the sons of David: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honour at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.
33. in the ascent of the sepulchres of the sons of David] What is implied by “the ascent of the sepulchres,” the phrase being found only here? Some hold that it means a place outside the royal burying-ground, and that, since exclusion from the royal sepulchres was a mark of dishonour otherwise confined to the bodies of wicked kings (xxi. 20, xxiv. 25, xxvi. 23, xxviii. 27) the statement could hardly emanate from the Chronicler himself but must be derived from some old and presumably trustworthy source: an unsatisfactory view. Certainly the Chronicler cannot have understood the phrase to mean anything derogatory to Hezekiah, and there is, in fact, no necessity to interpret it as some place outside the royal sepulchres. On the contrary, it is reasonable to suppose that it means a definite part of this royal cemetery, the lower slopes (“ascent”) or possibly the higher part.
did him honour] compare xvi. 14, xxi. 19.