2 Kings Chapter 18

“Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, etc.] That is, in the third year of his rebelling against the king of Assyria, when he shook off his yoke, and refused to be tributary to him any longer, (see <121701>2 Kings 17:1), [that] Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign; having finished the account of the kingdom of Israel, and the captivity of the people, the historian returns to the kingdom of Judah, and the things of it.”

“HEZEKIAH'S GOOD REIGN. (Kg2 18:1-3) Hezekiah . . . began to reign. Twenty and five years old--According to this statement (compare Kg2 16:2), he must have been born when his father Ahaz was no more than eleven years old. Paternity at an age so early is not unprecedented in the warm climates of the south, where the human frame is matured sooner than in our northern regions. But the case admits of solution in a different way. It was customary for the later kings of Israel to assume their son and heir into partnership in the government during their lives; and as Hezekiah began to reign in the third year of Hoshea…”

“In the third year - If Hoshea ascended the throne toward the close of the 12th year of Ahaz 2 Kings 17:1, and if Ahaz reigned not much more than 15 years 2 Kings 16:2, the first of Hezekiah might synchronise in part with Hoshea’s third year. Hezekiah - The name given by our translators follows the Greek form, Ἐζεκίας Ezekias, rather than the Hebrew, which is Hizkiah. Its meaning is “strength of Yahweh.” return to 'Top of Page'”

“To reign - It is not certain that Ahaz lived only thirty six years, for those sixteen years which he reigned, may be computed, not from the first beginning of his reign, when he reigned with his father; which was at the twentieth year of his age, but from the beginning of his reigning alone. 4 Kings (2 Kings) 18:4”

“18:1-12 The accession statement concerning Hezekiah’s reign (18:1-2) is accompanied by a lengthy evaluation of Hezekiah’s spiritual commitment (18:3-7a), followed by background details of the political situation in his time (18:7b-12). 18:1-2 the third year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel: The date given for Hezekiah’s accession refers to his co-regency with his father, Ahaz. Since Hoshea began his reign in 732 BC, Hezekiah began to rule in about 728 BC, when he was twelve years old. When Ahaz died in 715 BC, Hezekiah began his sole reign at age twenty-five. This marks the start of his reign of twenty-nine years…”

“am 3278, bc 726 in the third: Kg2 18:9, Kg2 15:30, Kg2 17:1 Hezekiah: Kg2 16:20; Ch1 3:13; Ch2 28:27, Ch2 29:1; Mat 1:9, Mat 1:10, Ezekias 4 Kings (2 Kings) 18:2”

“Kg2 18:1-2 Length and character of Hezekiah's reign. (Note: On comparing the account of Hezekiah's reign given in our books (2 Kings 18-20) with that in 2 Chron 29-32, the different plans of these two historical works are at once apparent. The prophetic author of our books first of all describes quite briefly the character of the king's reign ( Kg2 18:1-8), and then gives an elaborate description of the invasion of Judah by Sennacherib and of his attempt to get Jerusalem into his power, together with the destruction of the proud Assyrian force and Sennacherib's hasty return to Nineveh and death ( Kg2 18:13-19,…”