This chapter studies the piety and suffering of King Hezekiah of Judah in the context of the textual history of Isaiah 36 and its parallel text in 2 Kings 18. King Hezekiah is generally presented as a positive protagonist, and in Isaiah his personality is paradigmatic. Hezekiah’s faith in Yhwh’s deliverance from Assyria, or indeed from any life-threatening circumstances, points beyond his personal character on the stage of Judah’s history. On the other hand, the eighth-century prophecies, including those traditionally dated to Hezekiah’s era, are often critical of anti-Assyrian activities.
Ezékiás
This chapter studies the piety and suffering of King Hezekiah of Judah in the context of the textual history of Isaiah 36 and its parallel text in 2 Kings 18. King Hezekiah is generally presented as a positive protagonist, and in Isaiah his personality is paradigmatic. Hezekiah’s faith in Yhwh’s deliverance from Assyria, or indeed from any life-threatening circumstances, points beyond his personal character on the stage of Judah’s history. On the other hand, the eighth-century prophecies, including those traditionally dated to Hezekiah’s era, are often critical of anti-Assyrian activities.
The textual history of biblical pericopes preserved in more than one version is very complex. Although the stories in Isa 38 and 2 Kgs 20 appear to have originated with some distinctive accents, one can observe a later tendency to harmonise these parallel accounts. Against the background of ancient scribal practices, the current investigation places the wide range of available empirical data regarding Isa 38:8 and 2 Kgs 20:9–11 in a complex network of evidences.
