Open English Translation 1 CHR Chapter 4

Hezekiah Strengthens Judah

2 Kings 18:1-12; 1 Chronicles 4:39-43; 2 Chronicles 29-31

Throughout his reign, Hezekiah strengthened Judah by restoring proper worship of the Lord and preparing the nation for revolt against Assyria. Though the Bible does not clearly say, both of these aspects of Hezekiah’s reign may have been borne out of a desire to undo the detrimental choices of his father, Ahaz, who had promoted idolatry through Judah (2 Chronicles 28:1-4) and made Judah a vassal to the king of Assyria in exchange for help against Israel and Aram (2 Kings 16-17; 2 Chronicles 28; Isaiah 7-8; see also “The Final Days of the Northern Kingdom of Israel” map). Later, when Hezekiah was a teenager, he witnessed Assyria’s grueling three year siege to capture Samaria (2 Kings 17:1-6; 18:9-12), perhaps cementing his resolve to throw off Judah’s yolk of servitude to Assyria (2 Kings 18:7). Whatever the reasons for his actions as king, Hezekiah spent considerable resources promoting the worship of the Lord and preparing for the inevitable Assyrian attack that would follow Judah’s refusal to submit to Assyria any longer. Hezekiah began by directing the priests and Levites to consecrate themselves and restore ritual purity to the Temple and all its furnishings (2 Chronicles 29). He sent word throughout all Israel and Judah to come and celebrate Passover together once again in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 30). Though only a few from Israel accepted Hezekiah’s invitation, the Passover was a time of great celebration and worship for all who did come from Israel and Judah. After this, the worshipers went throughout Israel and Judah and destroyed the pagan worship centers (2 Kings 18:4; 2 Chronicles 31:1). Hezekiah also conducted a series of actions to strengthen Judah against the coming Assyrian attack. On the west he attacked the Philistines as far as Gaza (2 Kings 18:8). Part of this effort may have included a Simeonite attack on some Meunites in the valley of Gerar (as in the Septuagint; the Hebrew reading Gedor is likely due to a misreading of the letter r as the similarly shaped letter d), which is recounted in 1 Chronicles 4:39-41. Elsewhere in Scripture the Meunites appear to have lived in the region of Seir (2 Chronicles 20), south of Judah, but a remnant of them may have fled toward Gerar during Uzziah’s time when he attacked them and likely took some of them captive to serve at the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem (Ezra 2:50; Nehemiah 7:52; also see “Resurgence of Israel and Judah” map). Other Simeonites attacked a remnant of Amalekites living in Seir, thus providing increased protection on Judah’s southern border (1 Chronicles 4:39-43). Hezekiah also fortified Jerusalem and redirected various sources of water away from enemies who might lay siege to the city (2 Chronicles 32:1-8). As part of these preparations Hezekiah commissioned the hewing of a tunnel that channeled water from the Gihon spring (probably also called the “waters of Shiloah” in Isaiah 8:6) away from the eastern side of the city and deposited it in the Lower Pool (also called the Pool of Siloam) further inside the city walls. Hezekiah also repaired portions of the wall that were broken down and built a second wall outside it, likely in the Kidron Valley. He also produced many weapons and shields. The writer of Chronicles appears to portray these preparations as being in keeping with Hezekiah’s other acts of faithfulness and righteousness. Some scholars, however, suspect that Isaiah 22:1-14 may reflect another perspective regarding Hezekiah’s preparations, though it is not certain that this passage refers to Hezekiah’s efforts.

Poster Map of the Towns and Clans of Eastern Judah, circa 1200 B.C.

As Israel invaded Canaan and conquered the land, the Israelite tribe of Judah was allotted a very large portion of it for their inheritance. Their territory was the southernmost allotment of all the tribes, stretching from Jerusalem in the north to Kadesh-barnea in the south. In reality, though, their primary area of occupation was limited to the region shown on this map, due to the Philistines’ occupation of the western coast and the extremely arid conditions of the land in the far south. Also, the Bible notes that the allotment of the tribe of Simeon “formed part of the territory of Judah; because the portion of the tribe of Judah was too large for them, the tribe of Simeon obtained an inheritance within their inheritance” (Joshua 19:9), and this is confirmed by the explicit mention of over twenty towns being allotted to both tribes (see Joshua 15:20-63; 19:1-9). The Kenites, who were not ethnic Israelites (they were descendants of Moses’ father-in-law; see Judges 1:16) but lived in peaceful coexistence with them, also occupied the arid land to the southwest of the Dead Sea.

Scripture further details many of the clans and sub-clans of Judah (1 Chronicles 2:1-55; 4:1-23). Most (or perhaps all) of these clan names corresponded with names of various towns in Judah, since towns in ancient Israel were often named after the ancestor of the clan that founded or predominantly occupied the town. It is interesting to note that an Israelite judge named Jair was descended from Judah by his father’s lineage, but his father’s mother was from the tribe of Manasseh, and when Jair conquered many towns in Manasseh’s territory of Gilead and Bashan (Numbers 32:40-42; Deuteronomy 3:14; Joshua 13:30; Judges 10:3-5; 1 Kings 4:13; 1 Chronicles 2:22-23; see “Bashan” map), those towns continued to be regarded as belonging to Manasseh. Perhaps this was in keeping with the tribe of Manasseh’s openness to inheritance by female descendants in certain cases, such as with Zelophahad’s daughters (Numbers 27; Joshua 17:1-6; see “Poster Map of the Tribe of Manasseh (West) and Its Surroundings, circa 1200 B.C.”).

Two centuries later the tribe of Judah gave rise to the enduring dynasty of King David, who initially ruled over only the tribe of Judah but eventually over all the Israelite tribes (2 Samuel 2-4; see “David and Ishbosheth” map). After the death of David’s son Solomon, however, the northern tribes revolted, leaving only Judah and Benjamin under the Davidic dynasty’s domain (1 Kings 12; 2 Chronicles 10; see “The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah” map). Several decades after the northern kingdom was exiled by the Assyrians (2 Kings 15:29; 1 Chronicles 5:26; see “Israelites Are Exiled to Assyria” map) the kingdom of Judah suffered a similar fate at the hands of the Babylonians (Daniel 1; 2 Kings 24-25; 2 Chronicles 36; Jeremiah 39; 52; see “Judah Is Exiled to Babylon” map). Unlike the northern kingdom, however, Judah was typically allowed to maintain their common identity and religious distinctives during their time in exile (see The Land of Exile map), thus fostering their sense of continuity with the past tribe and kingdom of Judah.