2 Kings 20 - Introduction

2 Kings 18-20. The Reign of Hezekiah. These three Chapter s give an account of the reign of the best king of Judah, and a parallel but somewhat less full account is found in Isaiah 36-39. There is another account in 2 Chronicles 29 f. The annalistic tablets, etc., of the Assyrian kings give us more information about Hezekiah than about any other king. They confirm the good impression given in the Bible; but the chronology, if we follow them, has to be completely modified. To understand the history contained in 2 Kings 18-20 the following facts and dates should be borne in mind: (a) Samaria fell in the reign of Sargon, in 722 B.C. (b) Merodachbaladan (2 Kings 20:12) established himself as king in Babylon (721), and held his own against Sargon till 710. (c) Sargon's army overran Judah about 711 (Isaiah 20:1). (d) Sargon died 706 and his son Sennacherib invaded Judah 701. (e) Sennacherib died 681. Consequently (i.) the illness of Hezekiah and the mission of Merodach-baladan took place before 711, so that 2 Kings 20 really comes earlier than 2 Kings 18:13; (ii.) Sennacherib's invasion was near the end of the reign of Hezekiah; and (iii.), despite 2 Kings 19:37, Sennacherib lived nearly twenty years after the loss of his army. See further, p. 59.