379

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

.Hewers
Hezekiah

Heymann has written many essays in the medical

seum. In the interest of science he undertook
several journeys, going in turn to England, Ger- journals, mainly on laryngoscopy, tuberculosis, and
many, and Holland, and visiting Montpellier and diseases of the nose and throat. He is also the editor of " Handbuch der Laryngologie und RhinoloVienna.
Heyman succeeded in organizing instruction in gie," Berlin, 1896-1900.
hygiene in Sweden, and had hardly completed this BIBLIOGRAPHY : Pagel, Biographisches Lexikon.
s.
F. T. H.
work when he died suddenly while delivering an
address on that subject. Heyman wrote volumiHEZEKIAH (Hebr. rrptn, wpm, uvptrv =
nously on scientific and practical hygiene, his works "my strength is Jah"; Assyrian, "Hazakiau"): 1.
treating of vital statistics (1877), sanitation (1877), King of Judah (726-697 B.C.).Biblical Data: Son
ventilation (1880), working men's dwellings, temper- of Ahaz and Abi or Abijah; ascended the throne
ance, school hygiene, etc.
at the age of twenty-five and reigned twenty-nine
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Svensk LUkare-Matrikel, pp. 373, 1188,years (II Kings xviii. 1-2; II Chron. xxix. 1). HezeStockholm, 1889,1899.
kiah was the opposite of his father, Ahaz; and no
s.
N. A.
king of Judah, among either his predecessors or his
HEYMANN, ISAAC H.: Dutch cantor and successors, could, it is said, be compared to him (II
composer; born about 1834; son of Phinehas Hey- Kings xviii. 5). His first act was to repair the
mann. After having made several tours through Temple, which had been closed during the reign of
Hungary, Heymann was cantor successively at Ahaz. To this end he reorganized the services of the
Filehne, Graudenz, and Gnesen. In 1856 he went to priests and Levites, purged the Temple and its vesAmsterdam as chief cantor, which position he still sels, and opened it with imposing sacrifices (II Chron.
(1903) occupies. Heymann is generally called the xxix. 3-36). From the high places he removed the
fanes which had been tolerated even by the pious
"Gnesener hazzan."
Of his many compositions he has published (1898) kings among his predecessors, and he made the Tem"Shire Todah la-El," a collection which he ded- ple the sole place for the cult of YHWH. A still more
icated to Queen Wilhelmina on the day of her coro- conspicuous act was his demolition of the brazen
nation. Most of the melodies now sung by the con- serpent which Moses had made in the wilderness and
gregation and by the synagogal choruses which he which had hitherto been worshiped (II Kings xviii.
4). He also sent messengers to Ephraim and Manashas organized have been composed by him.
Heymann has a son, Karl HEYMANN, a pianist and seh inviting them to Jerusalem for the celebration
composer; and three daughters, Louise, Sophia, of the Passover. The messengers, however, were
and Johanne, of whom the first two are singers not only not listened to, but were even laughed at;
only a few men of Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun
and the last is a pianist.
Nevertheless the Passover was
BIBLIOGRAPHY : Frank, Kleines TonkUnstlerlexicon; M.came
Herz- to Jerusalem.
celebrated
with great solemnity and such rejoicing as
veld, Isaac Heymann, Vienna, 1881; Allg. Zeit. des Jud.
May 26,1863: Oesterr.-Ung. Cantoren Zettung, July 1,1899:
had not been in Jerusalem since the days of Solomon
Der Israelit, AUK. 14,1901 (with portrait); Neue Zeitschrift
Chron. xxx.). The feast took place in the second
fUr Musik, Oct. 2, 1901; Joodsche Courant, May 29,(II1903
(with portrait).
month instead of the first, in accordance with the
s.
E. SL.
permission contained in Num. ix. 10, 11.
HEYMANN, KARL: German pianist; born
Hezekiah was successful in his wars against the
at Filehne, Posen, Oct. 6, 1853; son of Isaac Philistines, driving them back in a series of victoriH. Heymann. He received his early musical edu- ous battles as far as Gaza (II Kings xviii. 8). He
cation at the Cologne Conservatorium, where he thus Dot only retook all the cities that his father
was a pupil of Hiller, Gernsheim, and Breuning, had lost (II Chron. xxviii. 18), but even conquered
and later studied at Berlin under Friedrich Kiel (in others belonging to the Philistines. Josephus rethorough-bass and composition). He had become cords ("Ant." ix. 13, 3) that Hezekiah captured all
famous as a pianist when ill health compelled him
their cities from Gaza to Gath. Hezeto retire from the concert stage. In 1872, however,
"Under the kiah was seconded in his endeavors by
he accompanied Wilhelmj on a tour, and then beInfluence the prophet Isaiah, on whose prophecame musical director at Prague, where he preferred
of Isaiah, cies he relied, venturing even to revolt
to reside. He later received an appointment as court
against the King of Assyria by refupianist to the Landgrave of Hesse, and from 1877 to sing to pay the usual tribute (II Kings xviii. 7).
1880 he was instructor of pianoforte at Dr. Hoch's Still, Hezekiah came entirely under Isaiah's influConservatorium in Frankfort-on-the-Main. His prin- ence only after a hard struggle with certain of his
cipal compositions are a pianoforte concerto; " Elfen- ministers, who advised him to enter into an alliance
spiel"; " Mummenschanz "; and " Phantasiesttlcke." with Egypt. This proposal did not please Isaiah,
BIBLIOGRAPHY : Ehrlich, Celebrated Pianists of the Pastwho
and saw in it a defection of the Jews from God;
Present; Baker, Biog. Diet, of Musicians, s.v.
and it was at his instigation that Shebna, the miniss.
J. So.
ter of Hezekiah's palace and probably his counselor,
HEYMANN, PAUL : German laryngoscopist; working for the alliance with Egypt, was deposed
born at Pankow, near Berlin, 1849; studied medi- from office (Isa. xxii. 15-19).
cine at Berlin and Heidelberg (M.D., Berlin, 1874).
As appears from II Kings xviii. 7-13, Hezekiah
After taking a postgraduate course at Heidelberg, revolted against the King of Assyria almost immeVienna, Prague, and Tubingen, he in 1878 estab- diately after ascending the throne. Shalmaneser inlished himself in Berlin, where in 1894 he became vaded Samaria in the fourth year of Hezekiah's
privat-docent and in 1899 assistant professor.
reign, and conquered it in the sixth, while Sennach-

Hezekiah

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

erib invaded Judah in the fourteenth. The lastmentioned fact is also recorded in Isa. xxxvi. 1; but
it would seem strange if the King of Assyria, who
had conquered the whole kingdom of Israel, did
not push farther on to Judah, and if the latter
remained unmolested during ten years. In II
Chron. xxxii. 1 the year in which Sennacherib invaded Judah is not given, nor is there any mention
of Hezekiah's previous revolt.
There is, besides, an essential difference between
II Kings, on the one hand, and Isaiah and II Chron.,
on the other, as to the invasion of Sennacherib.
According to the former, Sennacherib first invaded
Judah in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah, and took
all the fortified cities (the annals of Sennacherib report forty-six cities and 200,000 prisoners). Hezekiah acknowledgedliis fault and parleyed with Sennacherib about a treaty. Sennacherib imposed upon
Hezekiah a tribute of three hundred talents of silver
and thirty talents of gold; and in order to pay it
Hezekiah was obliged to take all the silver in the
Temple and in his own treasuries, and even to "cut
off the gold from the doors of the Temple " (II Kings
xviii. 13-16). Sennacherib, however,
Invasion of acted treacherously. After receiving
Senthe gold and the silver he sent a large
nacherib. army under three of his officers to besiege Jerusalem, while he himself with
the remainder of 'his troops remained at Lachish
(ib. xviii. 17). The contrary is related in II Chronicles. After Sennacherib had invaded Judah and
marched toward Jerusalem, Hezekiah decided to defend his capital. He accordingly stopped up the
wells; diverted the watercourse of Gihon, conducting
it to the city by a subterranean canal (II Chron.
xxxii. 30; Ecclus. [Sirach] xlviii. 17);- strengthened
the walls; and employed all possible means to make
the city impregnable (II Chron. xxxii. 1-8). Still
the people of Jerusalem were terror-stricken, and
maDy of Hezekiah's ministers looked toward Egypt
for help. Isaiah violently denounced the proceedings of the people, and derided their activity in fortifying the city (Isa. xxii. 1-14).
The account from the arrival of Sennacherib's
army before Jerusalem under Rabshakeh till its destruction is identical in II Kings, Isaiah, and II
Chronicles. Rabshakeh summoned Hezekiah to surrender, derided his hope of help from Egypt, and
endeavored to inspire the people with distrust of
Hezekiah's reliance on providential aid. But Sennacherib, having heard that Tirhakah, King of Ethiopia, had marched against him, withdrew his army
from Jerusalem. He sent messages to Hezekiah informing him that his departure was only temporary
and that he was sure of ultimately conquering Jerusalem. Hezekiah spread open the letters before God
and prayed for the delivery of Jerusalem. Isaiah
prophesied that Sennacherib would not again attack
Jerusalem; and it came to pass that the whole army
of the Assyrians was destroyed in one night by " the
angel of the Lord " (II Kings xviii. 17-xix.; Isa.
xxxvi.-xxxvii.; II Chron. xxxii. 9-22).
Hezekiah was exalted in the sight of the surrounding nations, and many brought him presents (II
Chron. xxxii. 23). During the siege of Jerusalem
Hezekiah had fallen dangerously ill, and had been

380

told by Isaiah that he would die. Hezekiah, whose

kingdom was in danger, because he had no heir
(Manasseh was not born till three years later) and
his death would therefore end his dynasty, prayed
to God and wept bitterly. Isaiah was ordered by
God to inform Hezekiah that He had heard his
prayer and that fifteen years should be added to his
life. His disease was to be cured by a poultice of
figs; and the divine promise was ratified by the
retrogression of the shadow on the sun-dial of Ahaz
(II Kings xx. 1-11; Isa. xxx viii. 1-8; II Chron.
xxxii. 24). After Hezekiah's recovery Merodachbaladan, King of Babylon, sent ambassadors with
presents ostensibly to congratulate Hezekiah on his
recovery and to inquire into the miracle (II Kings
xx. 12; II Chron. xxxii. 31). His real intention
may have been, however, to see how far an alliance with Hezekiah would be advantageous to the
King of Babylon. Hezekiah received the ambassadors gladly, and displayed before them all his treasures, showing them that an ally of so great importance was not to be despised. But he received a
terrible rebuke from Isaiah, who considered the act
as indicating distrust in the divine power; whereupon Hezekiah expressed his repentance (II Chron.
xx. 12-19, xxxii. 25-26; Isa. xxxix).
Hezekiah's death occurred, as stated above, after
he had reigned twenty-nine years. He was buried
with great honor amid universal mourning in the
chief sepulcher of the sons of David (II Chron.
xxxii. 33). He is represented as possessing great
treasures and much cattle (ib. xxxii. 27-29). He
is the only king after David noted for his organization of the musical service in the Temple (ib. xxix.
25-28). There is another similarity between him and
David, namely, his poetical talent; this is attested
not only by the psalm which he composed when
he had recovered from his sickness (Isa. xxxviii.
10-20), but also by his message to Isaiah and his
prayer (ib. xxxvii. 3, 4, 16-20). He is said to have
compiled the ancient Hebrew writings; and he
ordered the scholars of his time to copy for him the
Proverbs of Solomon (Prov. xxv. 1).
E. G. II.
M. SEL.
In Rabbinical Literature: Hezekiah is considered as the model of those who put their trust in
the Lord. Only during his sickness did he waver in
his hitherto unshaken trust and require a sign, for
which he was blamed by Isaiah (Lam. R. i.). The
Hebrew name " Hizkiyyah " is considered by the Talmudists to be a surname, meaning either "strengthened by YHWH " or " he who made a firm alliance
between the Israelites and YHWH "; his eight other
names are enumerated in Isa. ix. 5 (Sanh. 94a). He
is called the restorer of the study of the Law in
the schools, and is said to have planted a sword at
the door of the bet ha-midrash, declaring that he
who would not study the Law should be struck with
the weapon (ib. 94b).
Hezekiah's piety, which, according to the Talmudists, alone occasioned the destruction of the Assyrian army and the signal deliverance of the Israelites when Jerusalem was attacked by Sennacherib,
caused him to be considered by some as the Messiah
(ib. 99a). According to Bar Kappara, Hezekiah was
destined to be the Messiah, but the attribute of jus-

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THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

tice ("middat ha-din") protested against this, saying that as David, who sang so much the glory of
God, had not been made the Messiah, still less should
Hezekiah, for whom so many miracles had been
performed, yet who did not sing the praise of God
(ib. 94a).
Hezekiah's dangerous illness was caused by the
discord between him and Isaiah, each of whom desired that the other should pay him the
Hezekiah. first visit. In order to reconcile them
and Isaiah.. God struck Hezekiah with a malady
and ordered Isaiah to visit the sick
king. Isaiah told the latter that he would die, and
that his soul also would perish because he had not
married and had thus neglected the commandment
to perpetuate the human species. Hezekiah did not
despair, however, holding to the principle that one
must always have recourse to prayer. He finally
married Isaiah's daughter, who bore him Manasseh
(Ber. 10a). However, in Gen. R. lxv. 4, as quoted
in Yalk., II Kings, 243, it is said that Hezekiah
prayed for illness and for recovery in order that he
might be warned and be able to repent of his sins.
He was thus the first who recovered from illness.
But in his prayer he was rather arrogant, praising
himself; and this resulted in the banishment of his
descendants (Sanh. 104a). R. Levi said that Hezekiah's words, " and I have done what is good in thy
eyes" (II Kings xx. 3), refer to his concealing a
book of healing. According to the Talmudists,
Hezekiah did six things, of which three agreed with
the dicta of the Rabbis and three disagreed therewith (Pes. iv., end). The first three were these: (1)
he concealed the book of healing because people,
instead of praying to God, relied on medical prescriptions; (2) he broke in pieces the brazen serpent

Hezekiah

meal consisted only of a pound of vegetables (Sanh.

94b). The honor accorded to him after death consisted, according to R. Judah, in his bier being preceded by 36,000 men whose shoulders were bare
in sign of mourning. According to R. Nehemiah, a
scroll of the Law was placed on Hezekiah's bier.
Another statement is that a yeshibah was established on his gravefor three days, according to
some; for seven, according to others; or for thirty,
according to a third authority (Yalk., II Chron.
1085). The Talmudists attribute to Hezekiah the
redaction of the books of Isaiah, Proverbs, Song of
Solomon, and Ecclesiastes (B. B. 15a).
B. c.
M. SKL.
Critical View: The chronology of Hezekiah's
time presents some difficulties. The years of his
reign have been variously given as 727-696 B.C, 724696 (Kohler), 728-697 (Duncker, "Gesch. des Altertums"), while the modern critics (Wellhausen,
Kamphausen, Meyer, Stade) have 714-689. The
Biblical data are conflicting. II Kings xviii. 10 assigns the fall of Samaria to the sixth year of Hezekiah. This would make 728 the year of his accession. But verse 13 of the same chapter states that
Sennacherib invaded Judah in the fourteenth year
of Hezekiah. The cuneiform inscriptions leave no
doubt that this invasion took place in 701, which
would fix 715 as Hezekiah's initial year. The account of his illness (II Kings xix.) seems to confirm
this latter date. He reigned twenty-nine years (II
Kings xviii. 2). His illness was contemporaneous
with the events enumerated in II Kings xviii. (see
ib. xix. 1-6). The Lord promised that his life
should be prolongedfifteenyears (2915=14). His
fourteenth year being 701, the first
Chrono- must have been 715. This will neces(see BIBLICAL DATA, above); and (3) he dragged his
logical sitate the assumption that the statefather's remains on a pallet, instead of giving them Difficulties, ment in II Kings xviii. 9-10, that Sakingly burial. The second three were: (1) stopmaria was captured in the sixth year
ping the water of Gihon; (2) cutting the gold from of Hezekiah, is incorrect. The other alternative is
the doors of the Temple; and (3) celebrating the to look upon the date in verse 13 of the same chapPassover in the second month (Ber. 10b; comp. Ab. ter as a later assumption replacing an original " in
R. N. ii,, ed. Schechter, p. 11).
his days." Again, the number fifteen (ib. xix. 6)
The question that puzzled Ewald ("Gesch. des may have replaced, owing to xviii. 13, an original
Volkes Israel," iii. 669, note 5) and others, "Where "ten" (comp. the "ten degrees" which the shadow
was the brazen serpent till the time of Hezekiah? " on the dial receded; ib. xx. 10).
occupied the Talmudists also. They answered it in a
Another calculation renders it probable that Hezevery simple way: Asa and Joshaphat, when clear- kiah did not ascend the throne before 722. Jehu's
ing away the idols, purposely left the brazen ser- initial year is 842; and between it and Samaria's
pent behind, in order that Hezekiah might also destruction the7 numbers in the books of Kings give
be able to do a praiseworthy deed in breaking it for Israel 143T T years, for Judah 165. This discrep(Hul. 6b).
ancy, amounting in the case of Judah to 45 years
The Midrash reconciles the two different narra- (165-120), has been accounted for in various ways;
tives (II Kings xviii. 13-16 and II Chron. xxxii. 1-8) but every theory invoked to harmonize the data must
of Hezekiah's conduct at the time of Sennacherib's concede that Hezekiah's first six years as well as
invasion (see BIBLICAL DATA, above). It says that Ahaz's last two were posterior to 722. Nor is it defiHezekiah prepared three means of defense: prayer, nitely known how old Hezekiah was when called to
presents, and war (Eccl. R. ix. 27), so that the two the throne. II Kings xviii. 2 makes him twentyBiblical statements complement each other. The five years of age. It is most probable that " twentyreason why Hezekiah's display of his treasures to the five " is an error for "fifteen." His father (II Kings
Babylonian ambassadors aroused the anger of God (II xvi. 2) died at the age of thirty-six, or of forty, acChron. xxxii. 25) was that Hezekiah opened before cording to Kamphausen (in Stade's " Zeitschrift," iii.
them the Ark, showing them the tablets of the cove- 200, and "Qhronologie der Konigsbilcher," p. 20).
nant, and sayiug, "It is with this that we are victo- It is not likely that Ahaz at the age of eleven, or
even offifteen,should have had a son. Hezekiah's
rious" (Yalk., I.e. 245).
Notwithstanding Hezekiah's immense riches, his own son Manasseh ascended the throne twenty-nine

Hezekiah

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

years later, when he was twelve years old. This

places his birth in the seventeenth year of his father's
reign, or gives his father's age as forty-two, if he
was twenty-five at his accession. It is more probable that Ahaz was twenty-one or twenty-five when
Hezekiah was born, and that the latter was thirtytwo at the birth of his son and successor, Manasseh.
To understand the motives of Hezekiah's policy,
the situation in the Assyro-Babylonian empire must
be kept in mind. Sargon was assassinated in 705
B.C. His successor, Sennacherib, was
Policy of at once confronted by a renewed atHezekiah. tempt of Merodach-baladan to secure
Babylon's independence. This gave
the signal to the smaller western tributary nations
to attempt to regain their freedom from Assyrian
suzerainty. The account of Merodach-baladan's
embassy in II Kings xx. 12-13 fits into this period,
the Babylonian leader doubtless intending to incite
Judah to rise against Assyria. The motive adduced /
in the text, that the object of the embassy was to
felicitate Hezekiah upon his recovery, would be an
afterthought of a later historiographer. The censure of Hezekiah on this occasion by Isaiah could
not have happened literally as reported in this chapter. Hezekiah could not have had great wealth in
his possession after paying the tribute levied by the
Assyrians (ib. xviii. 14-16). Moreover, the prophecy of Isaiah should have predicted the deportation
of all these treasures to Nineveh and not to Babylon.
Underlying this incident, however, is the historical fact that Isaiah did not view this movement to
rebellion with any too great favor; and he must
have warned the king that if Babylon should succeed, the policy of the victor in its relations to Judah
would not differ from that of Assyria. If anything,
Babylon would show itself still more rapacious.
Isaiah's condemnation of the proposed new course
in opposition to Sennacherib is apparent from Isa.
xiv. 29-32, xxix., xxx.-xxxii. Hezekiah, at first
in doubt, was finally moved through the influence
of the court to disregard Isaiah's warning. He
joined the anti-Assyrian league, which included the
Tyrian and Palestinian states, Ammon, Moab, and
Edom, the Bedouin on the east and south, and the
Egyptians. So prominent was his position in this
confederacy that Padi, King of Ekron, who upon
his refusal to join it had been deposed, was delivered over to Hezekiah for safe-keeping.
The Biblical accounts of the events subsequent to
the formation of this anti-Assyrian alliance must be
compared with the statements contained in Sennacherib's prism-inscription. It appears that the Assyrian king, as soon as he had subdued the Babylonian uprising in 701, set out to reestablish his
authority over the western vassal states. Isaiah's
fears proved only too well founded.
The
Egypt, upon which Hezekiah had reAssyrian lied most to extricate him from the
Accounts, difficulties of the situation, proved, as
usual, unreliable. Perhaps in this instance H. Winckler's theory that not the Egyptians,
but the Musri and the Miluhha, little kingdoms in
northwestern Arabia, were the treacherous allies,
must be regarded as at least plausible. For Isa.
xxx. 6 pictures the difficulties besetting the embassy

382

sent to ask for aid; and as the road to Egypt was

open and much used it is not likely that a royal
envoy to Egypt would encounter trouble in reaching
his destination.
The consequence for Hezekiah was that he had to
resume the payment of heavy tribute; but Jerusalem was not taken by Sennacherib's army. As to
the details, the data in II Kings xviii. 13-xix. 37
and Isa. xxxvi.-xxxvii. are somewhat confusing.
II Kings xviii. 13 declares that Sennacherib first
captured all the fortified cities with the exception
of the capital. But this is supplemented by the
brief statement probably drawn from another
source in which the shorter form of the name rpptn
is consistently employedthat Hezekiah sent a petition for mercy to Sennacherib, then at Lachish, and
paid him an exorbitant tribute in consideration for
the pardon. Sennacherib nevertheless demanded
the surrender of the capital; but, encouraged by
Isaiah's assurance that Jerusalem could and would
not be taken, Hezekiah refused, and then the death
of 185,000 of the hostile army at the hands of the
angel of YHWH compelled Sennacherib at once to
retreat.
The story of Sennacherib's demand and defeat is
told in If Kings xviii. 17-xix. 37 (whence it passed
over into Isaiah, and not vice versa),
Defeat of which isnot by one hand. Stade and
Sennach- Meinhold claim this account to be comerib's
posed of two parallel narratives of one
. Army. event, and, as does also Duhm, declare
them both to be embellishing fiction.
Winckler's contention (" Gesch. Babyloniens und Assyrians," 1892, pp. 255-258, and " Alttestamentliche
Untersuchungen," 1892, pp. 26 et seq.) that two distinct expeditions by the Assyrian king are here
treated as though there had been but one solves the
difficulties (see also Winckler in Schrader, "K. A.
T."3d. ed., pp. 83, 273).
According to Biblical data, Sennacherib was assassinated soon after his return. But if 701 was the
year of his (only) expedition, twenty years elapsed
before the assassination (II Kings xix. 35 et seq.).
Again, Tirhakah is mentioned as marching against
the Assyrian king; and Tirhakah did not become
Pharaoh before 691. On thefirstexpedition against
Palestine (701, his third campaign; see Schrader,
"K. B." ii. 91 et seq.) Sennacherib, while with his
main army in Philistia, senta corpstodevastate Judea
and blockade Jerusalem. This prompted Hezekiah to
send tribute to Lachish and to deliver his prisoner
Padi, after the battle of Elteke (Altaku), where the
Egyptian army, with its Ethiopic and perhaps
Arabian contingents, was defeated. On the other
hand, after Ekron had fallen into Assyrian hands,
Sennacherib sent the Rabshakeh to force the surrender of Jerusalem. Baffled in this, the king had
to return to Nineveh in consequence of the outbreak of new disturbances caused by the Babylonians (II Kings xviii. 16).
Busied with home troubles till the destruction of
Babylon (700-689 B.C), Sennacherib lost sight of the
West. This interval Hezekiah utilized to regain
control over the cities taken from him and divided
among the faithful vassals of the Assyrian rulers.
This is the historical basis for the victory ascribed

383

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

Hezekiah

to him over the Philistines (II Kings xviii. 8). The

3. Son of Neariah, a descendant of the royal
interests of Sennacherib and those of Tirhakah soon family of Judah (I Chron. iii. 23).
clashed (II Kings xix. 9; Herodotus, ii. 141) in their
4. There is a Hezekiah mentioned in connection
desire to get control over the commerce of western with Ater (Ezra ii. 16; Neh. vii. 21, x. 18 [R. V. 17];"
Arabia (see Isa. xx. 3 et seq., xxx. 1-5, xxxi. 1-3). in the last two passages !Tp?n)- The relationship
This was for Hezekiah the opportunity to cease between them is not clearly indicated; in the first
paying tribute. Sennacherib's army marching two passages the reading is " Ater of Hezekiah ";
against Jerusalem to punish him spread terror and the Vulgate takes " Hezekiah " in the first passage
caused the king again to fear the worst; but as the name of a place, in the second as the father
Isaiah's confidence remained unshaken (II Kings xix. of Ater. In the third passage, " Hezekiah " comes
33). Indeed, in the meantime a great disaster had after " Ater " without any connecting preposition.
befallen Sennacherib's army (see Herodotus, ii. 141).
J.
M. SBL.
Memories of this catastrophe, intermingled with
HEZEKIAH
(Gaon)
:
Principal
of
the
academy
those of the blockade under the Tartan (701 B.C.),
are at the basis of the Biblical account of the mirac- at Pumbedita (1038-40). A member of an exilarchal
ulous destruction of Sennacherib before the walls of family, he was elected to the office of principal after
Jerusalem. The " plague " may have been the main the murder of Hai Gaon, but was denounced to the
factor in thwarting the Assyrian monarch's designs. fanatical government, imprisoned, and tortured to
His undoing then undoubtedly led to his assassin- death. With him ended his family, with the excepation. Nevertheless it seems that Hezekiah found tion of two sons who escaped to Spain, where they
it wise to resume tributary relations with Assyria. found a home with Joseph b. Samuel ha-Nagid.
Hence the report (in the Sennacherib inscription) of The death of Hezekiah also ended the line of the
the paying of tribute and the sending of an ambas- Geonim, which began four centuries before (see
HANAN OF ISKIYA), and with it the Academy of
sador to Nineveh.
Pumbedita.
There is no possible doubt that the credit given
B
IBLIOGRAPHY: Rabad, Seder ha-Kabbaldh; Gans, Zemah
to Hezekiah for religious reforms in the Biblical reDawid, i.; Gratz, Gesch. v. 428; Jost, Gesch. der Juden unit
Seiner Sekten, ii. 287.
ports is based on facts. Yet, as the
Hezekiah. idolatrous practises were revived most
5.
S. M.
as a
vigorously after his death, it is most
HEZEKIAH (the Zealot): A martyr whom
Reformer, probable that his reforms were not some scholars Identify with Hezekiah ben Garon of
quite as extensive or intensive as a the Talmud (Shab. 12a, 13b, 98b, 99a). He fought
later historiography would have it appear. Cer- for Jewish freedom and the supremacy of the Jewish
tainly the fate of Samaria must have been all the law at the time when Herod was governor of Galilee
more instructive as Jerusalem, by what in Isaiah's (47 B.C). When King Aristobulus, taken prisoner by
construction was the intervention of YHWH, had been the Romans, had been poisoned by the followers of
spared. To make the capital, thus marked as YHWH'S Pompey, Hezekiah ("Ezekias" in Josephus, "Ant."
holy, untakable city, the exclusive sanctuary was xiv. 9, 2 et seq.) gathered together the remnants of
a near thought. The "brazen serpent," probably that king's army in the mountains of Galilee and carau old totem-fetish, could not well be tolerated. ried on a successful guerrilla war against the Romans
Around Jerusalem the " high places " were also in- and Syrians, while awaiting the opportunity for a
hibited. But it must not be overlooked that Heze- general uprising against Rome. The pious men of
kiah's authority (or kingdom) did not extend over the country looked upon him as the avenger of their
much territory beyond the city proper (see, however, honor and liberty. Antipater, the governor of the
in opposition to the views that would limit Heze- country, and his sons, however, who were Rome's
kiah's influence as a religious reformer, Steuernagel, agents in Palestine, viewed this patriotic band dif" Die Entstehung des Deuteronomischen Gesetzes," ferently. In order to curry favor with the Romans,
pp. 100 et seq.; Kittel, "Gesch. der Hebraer," ii. 302 Herod, unauthorized by the king Hyrcanus, adet seq.).
vanced against Hezekiah, took him prisoner, and beThe Psalm ("Miktab ") of Hezekiah (Isa. xxx viii. headed him, without the formality of a trial; and he
9 et seq.) is certainly not by that king. Neither is also slew many of his followers. This deed excited
the superscription to Prov. xxv. based on historical the indignation of all the patriots. Hezekiah and
facts. It is more likely that the Siloam inscription his band were enrolled among the martyrs of the
speaks of the building of the aqueduct in Heze- nation.
kiah's days, though from the character of the let- BIBLIOGRAPHY: Schiirer, Gesch. i. 348; Mittheilungen der
ters a much more recent date (about 20 B.C) has
Oesterreichisch-Israelitischen Union, vii. (1895), No. 67, pp.
4 et seq.
been argued for it ("Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch." 1897,
B. c.
J. TA.
pp. 165-185).
HEZEKIAH
BEN
JACOB:
German
rabbi
and
BIBLIOGRAPHY : Baudissin, Konig, Kuenen, Smend; Monteflore
(Hibbert Lectures, London, 1892), on the history ot Israel's
tosafist;
martyred
at
Bacharach
in
1283.
He
was
religion ; Meinhold, J wsLyuatutue/i.; Schwartzkopff, Die Weis-an uncle and teacher of Mei'r of Rothenburg and a
sagungen Jesaia's Gegen Sanherib, Leipsic, n.d. (1903 ?).
pupil of Abraham Hladik, the Bohemian Talmudist.
E. G. H.
2. (rfprn: A. V. "Hizkiah"): Ancestor of the He succeeded his father in the rabbinate of Magprophet Zephaniah (Zeph. i. 1); identified by Ibn deburg; but, as a part of the community objected
Ezra and some modern scholars with the King of to his nomination, the intervention of Moses Taku
Judah; Abravanel, however, rejected this identifi- (= Tachau) was necessary to remove the difficulties.
He corresponded with Isaac Or Zarua', who called
cation.