Hezekiah

Hez´uh-ki´uh; Heb., “God strengthens”

The son of Ahaz and king of Judah (727–698 BCE). While opposing Sennacherib of Assyria, Hezekiah secured Jerusalem’s water supply in the event of siege by the drilling of the Siloam tunnel (2Kgs 20:20; 2Chr 32:3-4). Still, in 701, Jerusalem came under siege, and Hezekiah submitted to the Assyrian demands (2Kgs 18:13-16). The salvation of Jerusalem itself, however, was celebrated as divine intervention (2Kgs 19:35). Though Hezekiah is highly praised in the book of Kings (2Kgs 18:3-6) for his destruction of high places, a later generation criticized him for his Babylonian entanglements. In the NT, Hezekiah is listed in the genealogy of Jesus (Matt 1:9-10).