2 Kings 18:1-8

Hezekiah Becomes King of Judah

18:1 In the third year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became king over Judah. 18:2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. ¹  His mother ²  was Abi, ³  the daughter of Zechariah. 18:3 He did what the Lord approved, just as his ancestor David had done. ⁴  18:4 He eliminated the high places, smashed the sacred pillars to bits, and cut down the Asherah pole. ⁵  He also demolished the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for up to that time ⁶  the Israelites had been offering incense to it; it was called Nehushtan. ⁷  18:5 He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; in this regard there was none like him among the kings of Judah either before or after. ⁸  18:6 He was loyal to ⁹  the Lord and did not abandon him. ¹⁰  He obeyed the commandments which the Lord had given to ¹¹  Moses. 18:7 The Lord was with him; he succeeded in all his endeavors. ¹²  He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to submit to him. ¹³  18:8 He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from the watchtower to the city fortress. ¹⁴ 

[18:2]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[18:2]  ² tn Heb “the name of his mother.”

[18:2]  ³ tn The parallel passage in 2 Chr 29:1 has “Abijah.”

[18:3]  ¹ tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord, according to all which David his father had done.”

[18:4]  ¹ tn The term is singular in the MT but plural in the LXX and other ancient versions. It is also possible to regard the singular as a collective singular, especially in the context of other plural items.

[18:4]  ² tn Heb “until those days.”

[18:4]  ³ tn In Hebrew the name sounds like the phrase נְחַשׁ הַנְּחֹשֶׁת (nÿkhash hannÿkhoshet), “bronze serpent.”

[18:5]  ¹ tn Heb “and after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, and those who were before him.”

[18:6]  ¹ tn Heb “he hugged.”

[18:6]  ² tn Heb “and did not turn aside from after him.”

[18:6]  ³ tn Heb “had commanded.”

[18:7]  ¹ tn Heb “in all which he went out [to do], he was successful.”

[18:7]  ² tn Heb “and did not serve him.”

[18:8]  ¹ sn See the note at 2 Kgs 17:9.