Talk:Hezekiah

Meaning of his name?

Wouldn't it better be translated as "The LORD has strengthened" or even "Yahweh has strengthened", given that the suffix is -yah[u], not -'el?

About the importance of this king not only for religious reforms but also for economics, scripture etc. with new archeological evidence you may look at Finkelstein/Silberman: David and Solomon. The Free Press, 2006. The transliteration of his name into English is wondrous for me (no native speaker of English).--charlandes 16:05, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes, and a reference for the translation would be good, too. Leadwind (talk) 15:14, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

Erroneous statement about coregencies

From Chronic2 (talk). On 2 Apr 2009, Ewawer entered this statement:

However, the scholars who accept coregency as a resolution to the dilemma fail to recognise that that position requires an emendation to the biblical material, with the reference in one biblical dating being to a sole reign of Hezekiah and to a coregency in the other.

This is an improper usage of the word emendation, and the statement is factually incorrect. Emendation imples that the text, as received and established by textual criticism, must be changed in order to correspond to some other criterion. But no texts need to be changed in order to support the coregency of Hezekiah. It is the texts themselves that give evidence of the coregency. This is the conclusion of such respected chronologists as Kenneth Kitchen, T. C. Mitchell (in Cambridge Ancient History), and Leslie McFall, plus a host of others. Read McFall's "Translation Guide" carefully. Nowhere does he introduce an emendation in order to support his chronology.

Both sentences in the following definitely needs some better documentation:

Some commentators[who?] note that there does not appear to be any justification to that approach on the basis of the biblical material itself. Other scholars discount the biblical material as being unreliable, and date events in a manner consistent with non-biblical sources

The method of treating Biblical coregencies by McFall and other scholars is consistent with ancient Near Eastern practice. Occasionally pharaohs, for example, date their reigns from the beginning of a sole reign, and some times from the beginning of a coregency (citations can be given). If it is stated that such well-documented ancient Near Eastern practices will not be allowed for the authors of Scripture, then for consistency the same principle should be applied to Egyptian history.
Chronic2 (talk) 00:38, 3 April 2009 (UTC)

The point I was making was that to synchronise with the non-biblical sources, one reference in 2 Kings must be taken to refer to a sole reign and the other to a co-regency. I believe that amounts to a emendation, and issues of consistency with principles in relation to Egyptian history is not relevant when the issue is the integrity of a source - which is to say, there is an inconsistency in the sources.Ewawer (talk) 02:18, 3 April 2009 (UTC)

From Chronic2 (talk). This then can be labeled an inconsistency, if you wish. It does not fit the definition of an emendation. I would hold however that it is an inconsistency not of fact, but of method of expressions. Even then I do not think that the word "inconsistency" is appropriate. It is just two different ways of measuring. For example, in the same area that is of interest to this chronology, 2 Kings 18, the fall of Samaria is given as occurring in Hezekiah's 6th year. It is also given as Hoshea's 9th year. These are two ways of measuring the same thing; they could be called an inconsistency because they are not the same way. But both make sense, and there is no necessity of speaking of an 'emendation', either here or in the two ways of measuring the reign of Hezekiah.

In 2 Kings 1:17, Joram of Israel is said to begin to reign in year 2 of Jehoram of Judah. In 2 Kings 3:1, he is said to begin in year 18 of Jehoshaphat. This could be called an 'inconsistency', but it is only two ways of measuring the same thing. Because of the coregency of Jehoshaphat with his son Jehoram, year 18 of Jehoshaphat was identical to year 2 of his son's reign. This provides us with the useful information that Jehoram of Judah was made coregent in his father's 17th year. It is misleading just to label this an 'inconsistency' without explaining that it is due to two different methods of reckoning that are basically compatible once we accept the principle of coregencies.

I am aware that various writers do not accept coregencies. But this is contrary to a knowledge of ancient Near Eastern practices. The kings of Judah would have been much more foolish than you or I if they did not see the wisdom of establishing their son as coregent during their reign, following the example of David with Solomon. Most of them did so; some were indeed foolish, but we should expect that coregencies were the rule, which they were. The writers whom you seem to favor do not give credence to this well-documented practice. Instead, they start with their presuppositions of how things 'should have been done' rather than an investigation of how things were actually done in the ancient Near East. Thus Wellhausen ruled out coregencies altogether, refusing to give credence to the plainly stated coregency of David with Solomon. His whole approach was presuppositional rather than based on studying ancient scribal methods. Another example: Gershon Galil accepts coregencies, and says that regnal years, when a coregency is involved, are always measured from the coregency and never from the sole reign. This is again presuppositional. A proper inductive approach would be to let the data determine whether a given synchronism is being given in terms of coregency or in terms of sole reign. That has been the approach of the scholars who have produced the most lasting results in this field (Coucke, Thiele, McFall, Kitchen, Finegan, Merrill, etc.)

The parallel with Egypt is appropriate. Here reigns of pharaohs are sometimes measured from the sole reign, and sometimes from a coregency. The pharaohs or their scribes generally did not tell us which method they were using. There was also something called the "repeating of births" that was used to date events in the reigns of a few of these pharaohs along with the usual count of years since coming to the throne. Egyptologists do not reject these data because of presuppositions, labeling everything that does not agree with their presupposition as an "inconsistency" requiring emendation of the ancient texts. Probably the most quoted authority on the chronology of ancient Egypt is Kenneth Kitchen; other Egyptologists, when attempting to date their findings in absolute terms, appeal to Kitchen more than anyone else, judging by what I have read. And Kitchen comes out solidly for the principle of coregencies in the chronology of the kings of Judah and Israel. He was one of the earlier scholars that published (with T. C. Mitchell) his conclusion that Hezekiah's coregency with his father Ahaz, beginning in 729 BC, explains both the Biblical data and the Assyrian data. Many other eminent scholars also believe this, including those I cited just now. It is not appropriate to discount the solid successes of these scholars by continually arguing that coregencies were not used in Israel, or that, if they were, their usage by the ancient scribes should always conform to our preconceptions. Chronic2 (talk) 20:15, 3 April 2009 (UTC)

I repeat my point that even if we accept a coregency, which I do, there is the fact that on the plain face value of the biblical text, there is no change in form from one reference to the 6th year of Hezekiah's reign to the other of the 14th year. If coregency is accepted, then one reference must be read as the 6th year from the start of sole reign, and 14th year from the coregency. (or is it the other way round?) Ewawer (talk) 07:40, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

From Chronic2 (talk). Good, then I think we agree. There is a change in reference when one set of Scriptures dates Hezekiah's reign from a coregency and another set dates from his sole reign. If I read between the lines, I think you also agree now that it is misleading to call this an inconsistency, and it is also inappropriate to say that it required an 'emendation'. No emendation is required. I have therefore replaced my original statement to that effect, and also amplified it somewhat, believing that it is helpful to the general reader to know that one approach -- the one that rules out coregencies -- requires emendations of the Biblical text, while the other requires no emendations, and is also consistent with the Assyrian data. This point should not be obscured for the general reader.

I do not think that the long sections on problems with the text when coregencies are not accepted are necessary. They could all be summarized in a sentence or two, saying that any system which does not accept a coregency between Ahaz and Hezekiah beginning in 729 BC has been unable to reconcile the various Scriptural texts related to the chronology of Hezekiah, and all such non-coregency solutions require emendations or rejections, in one place or another, of the pertinent Biblical texts. However, I have not excluded these sections. I know of some unscrupulous editors who delete wholesale viewpoints, properly referenced, that do not agree with their own bias, and I appreciate that you have not done that. Chronic2 (talk) 00:55, 5 April 2009 (UTC)

article needs work

I don't know how this talk page works. I couldn't figure out how to add a new topic. I was very surprised that my edits to make the language about the restoration of the temple to be neutral instead of using biased language. The edits were reversed. This is not a theological article, it is meant to be an encyclopedia article with standards of objectivity. Is there no over-riding authority? Can I reinstate the changes I made which were reverted? Unless Shemishata can explain themself. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cath reen (talk • contribs) 03:41, 6 October 2020 (UTC)

The lead is thin. It should summarize the topic; see wp:lede. The article shows the results of edit wars over historical versus scriptural interpretations. It needs good scholarly references. Leadwind (talk) 15:17, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

Disambiguation of "High Places"

Please be aware of a discussion regarding a need for disambiguation of the term "High Places", as used in the Political moves and Assyrian invasion section. 67.176.181.188 (talk) 17:44, 12 December 2009 (UTC)

Iconoclasm

The artcle claimed that William Dever says in this book that the narrative of iconoclasm by Hezekiah was wrong and that there was archeological evidence against it from Arad, Beersheba and Lachish. This couldn't be more wrong. He says that Arad's temple was most likely dismanteled by Hezekiah! About the altar at Beersheba he only says its destruction most likely took place under Josiah's reform. About Lachish' temple he never says Hezekiah build it or that it still functioned under his rule. This is the biggest mistake at wikipedia I've seen so far. Mismeret (talk) 08:53, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

2.2 Family and Life

Claim not substantiated "Abijah (also called Abi), was a daughter of the high priest Zechariah." Bold "the high priest" being contested, Zechariah was a popular name at this time so not necessarily "The High Priest". Could even be King Zechariah of Israel/Samaria, as marrying between the 2 kingdoms is not uncommon, see 2 Kings 8v18 (King of Judah Jehoram marries King of Israel Ahab's daughter Athaliah, later named in 2 Kings 8v26). Lack of given title might indicate the contrary, however, in aforementioned 2 Kings 8v18 no title is mentioned of Ahab, but later is present in v26.

Further, arguments against this suggestion would include Zechariah's very brief reign (and life) see 2 Kings 15v8-12, of a mere 6 months, this is disputed as being possibly 12 years. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zechariah_of_Israel). A more theological perspective may spread doubt on this suggestion because of the prophecy in 2 Kings 10v30 meaning that none of Jehu's descendants after the 4th generation would sit on the throne, this brings into the discussion whether it was confined to the Kingship of Israel and whether 'descendants' follows only the males. A more convincing argument would be that the completion of the prophecy, as previous said, was not only the assassination of Zechariah but of his whole family. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.221.239.65 (talk) 08:01, 20 April 2013 (UTC)

Original Research

Section on Biblical Sources relies directly on the Bible (primary source). We should be reporting what reliable sources say about it, not picking and choosing from primary sources themselves and presenting our take. Section needs to be revised to report what reputable authorities have said about the matter. That is the essence of NPOV and NOR. --128.205.153.107 (talk) 02:58, 27 June 2014 (UTC)

Using Questionable Images based on Artists' Imagination vs Verifiable Archaeological Evidence

I noticed that you have a 17th-century painting by unknown artist claiming it to be Hezekiah. Based upon what? Since when is the use of modern art being used as the sole source for an accurate portrayal of ancient history? The ancient Judeans were Hebrews, and the Hebrews are a very dark race of people, with curly hair, esp in that region of the world. Who is that person in the painting?2602:306:25E4:B229:519A:5B88:E8FE:A72E (talk) 04:33, 8 February 2015 (UTC)

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BCE rather than BC

@Tahc: It's a major character from the Hebrew (!) Bible, for Jahweh's sake! Keep BC (Before CHRIST!) and AD (anno domini = christi!) all you want for the New Testament, but leave some space for Jewish sensitivities, whether out of sympathy, hatred, PC, or common sense. Arminden (talk) 16:51, 5 December 2015 (UTC)ArmindenArminden (talk) 16:51, 5 December 2015 (UTC)

King James may have been British, but King Hezekiah certainly was not. Rlendog (talk) 21:02, 5 December 2015 (UTC)

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Original research

@Ganesha811: BlackDragonCasimir provided no WP:RS for their edits. If you find that it has a source, tell me which it is. tgeorgescu (talk) 18:08, 1 February 2022 (UTC)

Aren't the sources provided in the notes after each one? Except for the first, each one references a source text. They're not linked (or necessarily formatted correctly), but are there to be found. I can see the case that it's pulling directly from primary sources and therefore a form of WP:OR, but isn't it like how plot summaries don't need to be sourced for fiction because their implicit source is the work (i.e. can't the names in various languages be pulled directly from source documents in those languages)? Ganesha811 (talk) 19:54, 1 February 2022 (UTC)

@Ganesha811: There are no originals of the Bible, of any sort, in any language. BlackDragonCasimir admitted that's true. tgeorgescu (talk) 20:22, 1 February 2022 (UTC)

I agree, but there are certainly primary source documents that contain various portions of the Hebrew Bible in various languages, from ancient times right up to the present day. What's the issue with the translated names being pulled from those sources? Ganesha811 (talk) 20:26, 1 February 2022 (UTC)

I removed it again. The "sources" provided in the notes are not sources in the meaning of Wikipedia, i.e., authoritative academic texts available to the reader. In addition, almost three lines just about pronunciation is not reasonable. Achar Sva (talk) 23:16, 1 February 2022 (UTC)

Book of Isaiah

The article mentions that Isaiah prophesied during his reign. Shouldn't it say that Hezekiah plays a prominent role in the Book of Isaiah, in Isaiah 38-39? YTKJ (talk) 20:39, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

There is a section discussionHezekiah and Isaiah, it could go there. --יהואש (talk) 05:34, 5 September 2022 (UTC)

Childless Hezekiah to perpetuate CHRIST’S line

In the discussion of Isaiah visiting sick Hezekiah, it is somehow said Hezekiah’s lack of a son failed to preserve the line of “human(s)” - but in fact was a potential tragedy because it would fail to preserve the line from King David of a Jewish savior God had promised since Moses, and actually since God told Eve that “her seed” (offspring) would “crush [Satan, the serpent’s] head.”

David’s family would, God had promised David, through prophet Nathan, lead in an unbroken line (to Messiah, Christians hold), or eternity, as Jews avow. This being the case, when Hezekiah prayed, was healed, and had a son, good King Hezekiah gained a place in the genealogy of Jesus in the New Testament, and surely in the old also. I don’t know WHO would have suggested Hezekiah’s lack of a son would merely somehow end  “human life”, (though no savior —the one “coming after me,” as Moses said, or “Shiloh” as predicted elsewhere, to come, would have been a tragedy). One eventually leading to doom for all humans and the earth: no righteous eternal earthly ruler, no millennium, no salvation, no alternative to hell for humans, no “New heavens and earth” to come, etc. —AND would also make a perfect God into liar, regarding his promises to the Jews that David’s line was eternal & that made to Abraham, that all the world would be blessed by the Jews, which would of course have been a tragedy for humanity. Ednor Rowe (talk) 10:41, 3 August 2023 (UTC)

Hireq in Hezekiah

@Sinclairian The dagesh in the yodh does not indicate that it is also serving as a hireq-yodh. It occurs because the short hireq geminates the following yodh. The number of times that we assume a yodh dagesh represents assimilation of a long hireq is small and always the result of external evidence. For example, for Proverbs 5:4's כְּחֶרֶב פִּיּוֹת, although Loder's tool generates ḥereb piyyôt, scholars assume from comparison to Judges 3:16 חֶרֶב וְלָהּ שְׁנֵי פֵיוֹת that the length of the initial vowel is equivalent to a tsere. By contrast, in theophoric names the suffix יהו is always preceded by hireq or shewa. GordonGlottal (talk) 04:24, 17 July 2024 (UTC)