2 Chronicles 32


2 Chronicles 32 is the thirty-second chapter of the Second Book of Chronicles in the Old Testament in the Christian Bible or of the second part of the Books of Chronicles in the Hebrew Bible. The book is compiled from older sources by an unknown person or group, designated by modern scholars as "the Chronicler", and had its final shape in late fifth or fourth century BCE. This chapter belongs to the section focusing on the kingdom of Judah until its destruction by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II and the beginning of restoration under Cyrus the Great of Persia . The focus of this chapter is the reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah.

Text

This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language and is divided into 33 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Leningradensis.
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus, and Codex Alexandrinus.

Old Testament references

Owing to his diligence in performing the reform, Hezekiah was rewarded in the form of deliverance from Sennacherib, 'after these things and these acts of faithfulness'. Hezekiah made efforts on military defence measures, concentrating on securing the water supply, carrying out the necessary building works, acquiring required weaponry, and organizing his army. He repaired the infrastructure of Jerusalem, including the construction of Siloam water tunnel, and initiated a program of 'urban mobilization'.

Verse 3

  • "The fountains which were without the city": were identified as 'En Rogel, on the Ophel spur or very large mound, or fortified hill', on the southeast of the temple.

    Verse 5

  • "Built up all the wall that was broken": mentioned in that speaks of "many breaches" and about "houses were pulled down to fortify the wall."
  • "Millo" or "the landfills"
  • "Darts" or "javelins"

    Death of Sennacherib (32:20–23)

The Chronicler records a shorter report than the books of Kings and the book of Isaiah, generally focusing on the emphasis that Hezekiah's and Jerusalem's salvation is due to YHWH. The prophecy of Isaiah, the number of the Assyrians killed and the names of Sennacherib's sons were not recorded in the Chronicles. The text simply states that the whole Assyrian army was annihilated, so Sennacherib had to return with 'shame of face' to his land, where his sons slew him in the temple.

Verse 21

Herodotus wrote that the Assyrian army was overrun by mice when attacking Egypt. Some Biblical scholars take this to an allusion that the Assyrian army suffered the effects of a mouse- or rat-borne disease such as bubonic plague. Even without relying on that explanation, John Bright suggested it was an epidemic of some kind that saved Jerusalem. In What If?, a collection of essays on counterfactual history, historian Willian H. McNeill speculates that the accounts of mass death among the Assyrian army in the Tanakh might be explained by an outbreak of cholera due to the springs beyond the city walls having been blocked, thus depriving the besieging force of a safe water supply.

Hezekiah’s shortcomings (32:24–31)

Despite experiencing vast wealth and strong economy for being God-fearing, Hezekiah was not without faults, but like David, and Rehoboam, Hezekiah prayed and humbled himself before God, so that the wrath of God did not come during his reign.

Verse 30

  • Cross references:
  • "The upper watercourse of Gihon": one of the two streams from a rivulet near Jerusalem, the upper one was brought into the "upper pool" and the lower one to the "lower pool". Hezekiah diverted the upper stream through a tunnel into Jerusalem, straight down to the city of David.
The tunnel leads from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam. The curving tunnel is 583 yards long and by using the 12 inch altitude difference between its two ends, which corresponds to a 0.06 percent gradient, the engineers managed to convey the water from the spring to the pool. According to the Siloam inscription, the tunnel was excavated by two teams, one starting at each end of the tunnel and then meeting in the middle. The inscription is partly unreadable at present, and may originally have conveyed more information than this. It is clear from the tunnel itself that several directional errors were made during its construction. Support for the dating to Hezekiah's period is derived from the radiocarbon dates of organic matter contained in the original plastering.

Death of Hezekiah (32:32–33)

This section contains the concluding verdict on Hezekiah's reign, especially his 'good deeds', that are recorded in the book of Isaiah and the books of Kings. Hezekiah's burial was one of the most impressive among those given to kings in the Chronicles.

Verse 33

  • "Slept with his fathers": or "died and joined his ancestors".

    Extrabiblical documentation

Hezekiah

Extra-biblical sources specify Hezekiah by name, along with his reign and influence. "Historiographically, his reign is noteworthy for the convergence of a variety of biblical sources and diverse extrabiblical evidence often bearing on the same events. Significant data concerning Hezekiah appear in the Deuteronomistic History, the Chronicler, Isaiah, Assyrian annals and reliefs, Israelite epigraphy, and, increasingly, stratigraphy". Archaeologist Amihai Mazar calls the tensions between Assyria and Judah "one of the best-documented events of the Iron Age" and Hezekiah's story is one of the best to cross-reference with the rest of the Mid Eastern world's historical documents.
Several bullae bearing the name of Hezekiah have been found:
  1. a royal bulla with the inscription in ancient Hebrew script: "Belonging to Hezekiah Ahaz king of Judah".
  2. seals with the inscription: "Belonging to servant of Hezekiah"
Other artifacts bearing the name "Hezekiah" include LMLK stored jars along the border with Assyria "demonstrate careful preparations to counter Sennacherib's likely route of invasion" and show "a notable degree of royal control of towns and cities which would facilitate Hezekiah's destruction of rural sacrificial sites and his centralization of worship in Jerusalem". Evidence suggests they were used throughout his 29-year reign and the Siloam inscription.

Sennacherib

The accounts of Sennacherib of Assyria, including his invasion into the Kingdom of Judah, especially the capture of Lachish and the siege of Jerusalem, are recorded in a number of ancient documents and artifacts:
  • Lachish reliefs from his palace in Nineveh
  • Prisms containing the annals of the Assyrians
  • Traces of Assyrian siege around the location of ancient Lachish.and the uncovered walls near the Tel Lachish digs, which fit the descriptions shown in the Lachish reliefs.