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2 Kings 18:1–12 — Hezekiah Destroys Idolatry in Judah. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

The name in this form means, “My strength is Jah” ( Psalm 18:2 ), and its special appropriateness is exemplified by Hezekiah’s history.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

We can see from this that the sixteen years of Ahaz must have been made up of fourteen complete years, and a broken year at the commencement, and another at the close of his reign.

Cambridge is reconstructing, not reporting: the broken-year scheme is an inference offered to reconcile 2 Kings 16:2, 17:1 and 18:1, and the commentators in this unit do not agree on it.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

There can scarcely be any doubt of this synchronism, which is in close accordance with the dates in vers. 9,10 of this chapter, and agrees well with the Assyrian inscriptions.

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In the third year of the reign of Hoshea son of Elah over Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz became king of Judah.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

way·hî šā·lōš biš·naṯ me·leḵ lə·hō·wō·šê·a‘ ben- ’ê·lāh yiś·rā·’êl ḥiz·qî·yāh ḇen- ’ā·ḥāz mā·laḵ me·leḵ yə·hū·ḏāh

Word by word14 · parsed

וַֽיְהִי֙way·hîH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

hâyâh: to exist, to come to pass The consecutive-imperfect opener that the English drops. It is the seam of Hebrew narrative, and here it stitches chapter 18 directly onto the ruin of chapter 17: the same sentence that begins Hezekiah's reign is still counting Hoshea's years.

שָׁלֹ֔שׁšā·lōšIn the thirdH7969

√ shâlôwsh — threeNumberfeminine singular

בִּשְׁנַ֣תbiš·naṯyearH8141

√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Preposition-bNounfeminine singular construct

מֶ֣לֶךְme·leḵof the reignH4428

√ melek — a kingNounmasculine singular construct

לְהוֹשֵׁ֥עַlə·hō·wō·šê·a‘of HosheaH1954

√ Hôwshêaʻ — Hoshea, the name of five IsraelitesPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular

בֶּן־ben-sonH1121

√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine singular construct

אֵלָ֖ה’ê·lāhof ElahH425

√ ʼÊlâh — Elah, the name of an Edomite, of four Israelites, and also of a place in PalestineNounpropermasculine singular

יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לyiś·rā·’êlover IsraelH3478

√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular

חִזְקִיָּ֥הḥiz·qî·yāhHezekiahH2396

√ Chizqîyâh — Chizkijah, a king of Judah, also the name of two other IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular

Chizqîyâh: Hezekiah, a king of Judah Ellicott glosses the name in this form as “My strength is Jah,” and K&D gives the full form Yᵉchizqîyâhû, “whom Jehovah strengthens.” The whole unit is an argument about where strength is located: not in the Nehushtan (v. 4), not in Assyrian patronage (v. 7), but in the LORD in whom he trusted (v. 5).

בֶן־ḇen-sonH1121

אָחָ֖ז’ā·ḥāzof AhazH271

√ ʼÂchâz — Achaz, the name of a Jewish king and of an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular

מָלַ֛ךְmā·laḵbecame kingH4427

√ mâlak — to reignVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

mâlak: to reign Qal perfect, fronted before the subject. Judah's chronicler dates Hezekiah by the reign of a king whose own kingdom is about to end (vv. 9 to 11), so the verse quietly sets two reigns side by side and lets verse 12 explain why only one of them survives.

מֶ֥לֶךְme·leḵ. . .H4428

√ melek — a kingNounmasculine singular construct

יְהוּדָֽה׃yə·hū·ḏāhof JudahH3063

√ Yᵉhûwdâh — Jehudah (or Judah), the name of five IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular

Yᵉhûwdâh: Judah The surviving kingdom. The repetition of melek in vv. 1, 9 and 11 (of Judah, of Israel, of Assyria) is the unit's political grammar: three crowns, one verdict.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-it-came-to-pass in-year-of three of-Hoshea son-of-Elah, king-of Israel: reigned Hezekiah son-of-Ahaz, king-of Judah.

Where the English smooths the original

וַֽיְהִי֙ וַֽיְהִי֙ (way·hî, Qal consecutive imperfect of hâyâh, H1961) is left untranslated by the BSB. In Hebrew it is the narrator's hinge, the standing formula that ties this reign into the chain of what has gone before. The English opens with a bare date; the Hebrew opens with a verb of happening, so that Hezekiah's accession arrives as the next link in a story, not as a fresh heading.
מָלַ֛ךְ מָלַ֛ךְ (mā·laḵ, H4427) is a finite verb, “he reigned / became king,” and in the Hebrew it stands before its subject Hezekiah. BSB's “became king of Judah” places the accent on the title; the Hebrew places it on the act, and then repeats the noun melek to state the office.
בִּשְׁנַ֣ת בִּשְׁנַ֣ת (biš·naṯ, construct of shâneh, H8141, with prefixed b) is “in-the-year-of,” a construct chain bound to the numeral. Every dating formula in this unit is built this way, which is why Hezekiah's years and Hoshea's years have to be read as overlapping, not as tidy calendar blocks. Cambridge reckons the overlap from the broken years of Ahaz; K&D from an accession late in Hoshea's third year.
לְהוֹשֵׁ֥עַ לְהוֹשֵׁ֥עַ (lə·hō·wō·šê·a‘, H1954) carries the preposition l, “belonging to Hoshea,” the idiom for regnal years. BSB smooths it to “of the reign of Hoshea.” The name itself means deliverance, and it is worn by the last king of Israel, in whose third year the deliverer of Judah takes the throne.

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Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

it is absurd to conclude that a true resolution cannot be found because it is not yet found;

Poole is defending the integrity of the text against those who treat the chronological difficulty as proof of fiction. His own four proposed solutions precede this sentence; the sentence itself concedes that none of them may be right.

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

perhaps the daughter of the same that was taken by Isaiah for a witness, Isaiah 8:3 who very probably was a very good woman, and took care to give her son a religious education, though he had so wicked a father.

The identification of Abi's father with the Zechariah of Isaiah 8:2 is Gill's conjecture, and he marks it as such with “perhaps.”

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

Abi. —This should probably be Abijah, as in Chronicles and a few MSS.

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He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

hā·yāh ‘eś·rîm wə·ḥā·mêš ben- šā·nāh ḇə·mā·lə·ḵōw mā·laḵ bî·rū·šā·lim wə·‘eś·rîm wā·ṯê·ša‘ šā·nāh ’im·mōw wə·šêm ’ă·ḇî baṯ- zə·ḵar·yāh

Word by word16 · parsed

הָיָ֣הhā·yāhHe wasH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

עֶשְׂרִ֨ים‘eś·rîmtwenty-fiveH6242

√ ʻesrîym — twentyNumbercommon plural

וְחָמֵ֤שׁwə·ḥā·mêš. . .H2568

√ châmêsh — fiveConjunctive wawNumberfeminine singular

בֶּן־ben-years oldH1121

bên: a son, in the widest sense Used here for age, not parentage. The arithmetic it produces (Ahaz a father at about eleven) is the hardest knot in the unit, and the brief preserves four different untanglings of it, from Poole, Gill, JFB and Cambridge, with Barnes and Benson suspecting a corrupted numeral instead.

שָׁנָה֙šā·nāh. . .H8141

√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular

בְמָלְכ֔וֹḇə·mā·lə·ḵōwwhen he became kingH4427

√ mâlak — to reignPreposition-bVerbQalInfinitive constructthird person masculine singular

מָלַ֖ךְmā·laḵand he reignedH4427

√ mâlak — to reignVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑םbî·rū·šā·limin JerusalemH3389

√ Yᵉrûwshâlaim — Jerushalaim or Jerushalem, the capital city of PalestinePreposition-bNounproperfeminine singular

Yᵉrûwshâlaim: Jerusalem Twenty-nine years in the one city, twenty-three of them after Samaria fell (Gill).

וְעֶשְׂרִ֤יםwə·‘eś·rîmtwenty-nineH6242

√ ʻesrîym — twentyConjunctive wawNumbercommon plural

וָתֵ֙שַׁע֙wā·ṯê·ša‘. . .H8672

√ têshaʻ — nine or (ordinal) ninthConjunctive wawNumberfeminine singular

שָׁנָ֔הšā·nāhyearsH8141

√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular

אִמּ֔וֹ’im·mōwHis mother’sH517

√ ʼêm — a mother (as the bond of the family)Nounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine singular

ʼêm: a mother, as the bond of the family The queen mother is named in almost every Judahite accession notice. Gill connects this Zechariah with the witness Isaiah summoned in Isaiah 8:2, and credits Abi with her son's religious upbringing. That is inference, not record, but it is old inference.

וְשֵׁ֣םwə·šêmnameH8034

√ shêm — an appellation, as amark or memorial of individualityConjunctive wawNounmasculine singular construct

אֲבִ֖י’ă·ḇîwas AbiH21

√ ʼĂbîy — Abi, Hezekiah's motherNounproperfeminine singular

ʼĂbîy: Abi, Hezekiah's mother A name that is nearly a sentence: “my father.” If Ellicott, Cambridge, Pulpit and K&D are right that the full form is Abijah, the mother of the king who trusted the LORD bore a name confessing the LORD as Father, in a generation that had just seen Ahaz burn his own son (2 Kings 16:3).

בַּת־baṯ-the daughterH1323

√ bath — a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively)Nounfeminine singular construct

זְכַרְיָֽה׃zə·ḵar·yāhof ZechariahH2148

√ Zᵉkaryâh — Zecarjah, the name of twenty-nine IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

Son-of twenty and-five year he-was in-his-reigning, and-twenty and-nine year he-reigned in-Jerusalem; and-name-of his-mother Abi, daughter-of Zechariah.

Where the English smooths the original

בֶּן־ בֶּן־ (ben, H1121) is literally “son of twenty and five year,” the Hebrew idiom for age. BSB reads “twenty-five years old.” The same word ben does double duty in this verse and the last (son of Ahaz, son of Elah), so that age, descent and dynasty are all spoken with one noun.
בְמָלְכ֔וֹ בְמָלְכ֔וֹ (ḇə·mā·lə·ḵōw, H4427) is an infinitive construct with prefix and suffix: “in his becoming-king,” not a clause with a finite verb. English must supply “when he.” The infinitive leaves the moment undefined, which is precisely the ambiguity Poole, Gill, JFB and Cambridge all exploit when they try to reconcile the ages of Ahaz and his son.
אֲבִ֖י אֲבִ֖י (’ă·ḇî, H21) is a feminine proper noun that reads as “my father.” Ellicott, Cambridge and Pulpit all judge it a contraction of Abijah, “Jah is my father,” the form in 2 Chronicles 29:1; K&D calls it “a strongly contracted form.” BSB prints the short form without comment.
וְשֵׁ֣ם וְשֵׁ֣ם (wə·šêm, H8034) heads the clause: “and the name of his mother was Abi.” The naming of the queen mother is the standing formula of the Judahite annals, and here it is not decoration: Gill reads it as the quiet credit given to the woman who raised a reformer under an idolatrous father.

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Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

It is thought that his reformation was preceded, and perhaps caused, by the prophecy of Micah

Barnes reports a scholarly opinion (“it is thought”) rather than a datum; the link to Micah 3:12 rests on the citation of that prophecy in Jeremiah 26:18.

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Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599

Although they of Judah were given to idolatry and impiety, as they of Israel were, yet God for the sake of his promise was merciful to the throne of David,

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

All these reforms appear to have been made at the very outset of Hezekiah’s reign. They embrace no doubt the matters mentioned in verse 4 below, but the Chronicler’s detail gives a more lively picture of the activity in reformation, which marked the opening of the new reign.

Cambridge is summarising 2 Chronicles 29 to 31, material the compiler of Kings compresses into v. 4; the fuller sequence is the Chronicler's, not this verse's.

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And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

way·ya·‘aś hay·yā·šār bə·‘ê·nê Yah·weh kə·ḵōl ’ă·šer- ’ā·ḇîw dā·wiḏ ‘ā·śāh

Word by word9 · parsed

וַיַּ֥עַשׂway·ya·‘aśAnd he didH6213

√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

הַיָּשָׁ֖רhay·yā·šār[what was] rightH3477

√ yâshâr — straight (literally or figuratively)ArticleAdjectivemasculine singular

yâshâr: straight, upright The measuring word of the Judahite annals. Barnes notes that this verdict is given without qualification of only three kings of Judah, Asa, Hezekiah and Josiah; Pulpit adds the observation that all three were sons of wicked fathers. The adjective is not about sincerity but about conformity to a line already drawn.

בְּעֵינֵ֣יbə·‘ê·nêin the eyesH5869

√ ʻayin — an eye (literally or figuratively)Preposition-bNouncdc

יְהוָ֑הYah·wehof the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

כְּכֹ֥לkə·ḵōljust asH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholePreposition-kNounmasculine singular

kôl: the whole, all The quantifier that turns a common formula into a superlative. Gill's reading is exact: others did right, but not according to all; the measure here is completeness, which is why v. 4 has to list what was torn down.

אֲשֶׁר־’ă·šer-H834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

אָבִֽיו׃’ā·ḇîwhis fatherH1

√ ʼâb — father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote applicationNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular

ʼâb: father Used of David, not of Ahaz. The covenant with David (2 Samuel 7:12 to 16) is the reason a Judahite king can be measured against an ancestor rather than a parent; Geneva says outright that God spared the throne of David for the sake of his promise.

דָּוִ֥דdā·wiḏDavidH1732

√ Dâvid — David, the youngest son of JesseNounpropermasculine singular

Dâvid: David The standard, not the ideal. The compiler of Kings never asks whether David was faultless, only whether the reigning son walks where he walked, and Gill records that Ben Gersom and Abarbanel would not even except David and Solomon from Hezekiah's superiority in v. 5, since David sinned in the matter of Uriah and Solomon fell into idolatry. The name works here as a covenant marker rather than a moral portrait: it invokes the promise Geneva says is the only reason this throne still stands while the northern one is emptied in vv. 9 to 11.

עָשָׂ֖ה‘ā·śāhhad doneH6213

√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-he-did the-right in-eyes-of YHWH, according-to-all that David his-father had-done.

Where the English smooths the original

הַיָּשָׁ֖ר הַיָּשָׁ֖ר (hay·yā·šār, H3477) is an articular adjective used as a noun: “the straight thing,” the standard itself, not a description of conduct. BSB's “what was right” supplies the noun clause. The root is a builder's word, straight as opposed to crooked, and it is measured “in the eyes of YHWH,” not in the eyes of the people.
כְּכֹ֥ל כְּכֹ֥ל (kə·ḵōl, H3605, with prefixed k) is “according to all,” a total measure, not the comparative “just as.” Gill makes the whole verdict turn on this word: other kings are said to have done right, but not according to all that David did. BSB's “just as” loses the quantifier.
אָבִֽיו אָבִֽיו (’ā·ḇîw, H1) calls David his father, though David is his ancestor many generations back and his actual father Ahaz was named in v. 1. The Hebrew makes the dynastic claim bluntly: the son of Ahaz is reckoned son of David. Henry hears it as the whole point, that after many bad kings God raised one up like David himself.
בְּעֵינֵ֣י בְּעֵינֵ֣י (bə·‘ê·nê, construct dual of ʻayin, H5869) is “in the eyes of,” an organ of judgment rather than a mere idiom of opinion. The verdict on a reign is rendered by a watching God, and the same formula with the opposite verdict has just condemned the north (2 Kings 17:2).

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

Though this serpent was made by Moses at God’s command, and was of singular use to the Israelites, and a special type of Christ; yet, the primary use of it having long since ceased, and being now abused to the purposes of superstition and idolatry, it was deservedly broken to pieces.

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Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706

All helps to devotion, not warranted by the word of God, interrupt the exercise of faith; they always lead to superstition and other dangerous evils.

Henry's note covers 18:1 to 8 as a block; the principle is drawn from this verse and then generalised well beyond it.

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

When Moses set up the Brasen Serpent, he taught the people by means suited to their then capacity that the power of healing lay in the God whose prophet he was—namely, Jehovah; and that they must look to Him, rather than to any of the gods of Egypt, for help and healing.

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

This epithet does not involve anything contemptuous, as the earlier commentators supposed,

K&D is contradicting Geneva, Gill and Poole, all quoted in this unit, who read Nehushtan as a term of scorn. The disagreement is real and the Hebrew does not decide it.

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He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

hū hê·sîr ’eṯ- hab·bā·mō·wṯ wə·šib·bar ’eṯ- ham·maṣ·ṣê·ḇōṯ wə·ḵā·raṯ ’eṯ- hā·’ă·šê·rāh wə·ḵit·taṯ han·nə·ḥō·šeṯ nə·ḥaš way·yiq·rā- lōw nə·ḥuš·tān ’ă·šer- mō·šeh ‘ā·śāh kî ‘aḏ- hā·hêm·māh hā·yū hay·yā·mîm ḇə·nê- yiś·rā·’êl mə·qaṭ·ṭə·rîm lōw

Word by word28 · parsed

ה֣וּא׀hūH1931

√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person masculine singular

הֵסִ֣ירhê·sîrHe removedH5493

√ çûwr — to turn off (literal or figurative)VerbHifilPerfectthird person masculine singular

çûwr: to turn off, remove (Hiphil) Causative: he made the high places depart. Barnes records how costly this was, since the bâmôwth had been tolerated by every good king before him and their removal was still resented a generation later, surfacing in Rabshakeh's taunt at v. 22 and in the reaction under Manasseh.

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

הַבָּמ֗וֹתhab·bā·mō·wṯthe high placesH1116

√ bâmâh — an elevationArticleNounfeminine plural

bâmâh: a high place, an elevation The standing compromise of Judah's religion, condemned by Deuteronomy 12 and winked at by Samuel, David and Solomon alike. Poole is honest that even Hezekiah did not get them all (2 Kings 23:13).

וְשִׁבַּר֙wə·šib·barshatteredH7665

√ shâbar — to burst (literally or figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbPielConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

הַמַּצֵּבֹ֔תham·maṣ·ṣê·ḇōṯthe sacred pillarsH4676

√ matstsêbâh — something stationed, iArticleNounfeminine plural

וְכָרַ֖תwə·ḵā·raṯand cut downH3772

√ kârath — to cut (off, down or asunder)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

הָֽאֲשֵׁרָ֑הhā·’ă·šê·rāhthe Asherah polesH842

√ ʼăshêrâh — Asherah (or Astarte) a Phoenician goddessArticleNounfeminine singular

ʼăshêrâh: Asherah, a Phoenician goddess Singular in the Hebrew here, though the versions and 2 Chronicles 31:1 read plural. Ellicott and Pulpit would emend to the plural; K&D keeps the singular and calls it collective. The brief preserves the disagreement rather than resolving it.

וְכִתַּת֩wə·ḵit·taṯHe also demolishedH3807

√ kâthath — to bruise or violently strikeConjunctive wawVerbPielConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular

הַנְּחֹ֜שֶׁתhan·nə·ḥō·šeṯthe bronzeH5178

√ nᵉchôsheth — copper, hence, something made of that metal, iArticleNounfeminine singular

נְחַ֨שׁnə·ḥašsnakeH5175

√ nâchâsh — a snake (from its hiss)Nounmasculine singular construct

nâchâsh: a serpent, from its hiss The object Moses was commanded to make (Numbers 21:8 to 9) and Hezekiah was right to destroy. Nothing in the verse faults Moses; the fault is in the incense. Benson states the principle the whole unit turns on: the primary use of it having ceased, and it being now abused, it was deservedly broken to pieces.

וַיִּקְרָא־way·yiq·rā-calledH7121

√ qârâʼ — to call out to (iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

ל֖וֹlōw

Prepositionthird person masculine singular

נְחֻשְׁתָּֽן׃nə·ḥuš·tānNehushtanH5180

√ Nᵉchushtân — something made of copper, iNounpropermasculine singular

Nᵉchushtân: something made of copper A name built on the sound of bronze and the sound of serpent at once. Geneva, Gill and Poole hear contempt in it, a mere piece of brass; K&D denies that the epithet is contemptuous at all, and Cambridge suggests it may simply have been the popular name the thing had acquired. The Hebrew alone cannot settle it.

אֲשֶׁר־’ă·šer-thatH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

מֹשֶׁ֗הmō·šehMosesH4872

√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular

עָשָׂ֣ה‘ā·śāhhad madeH6213

√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

ʻâsâh: to do or make The same verb used of Hezekiah in v. 3 (he did the right) and of Moses here (he made the serpent). What Moses made at God's word, Hezekiah unmade at God's word, and both are called doing right.

כִּ֣יkîforH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

עַד־‘aḏ-up toH5704

√ ʻad — as far (or long, or much) as, whether of space (even unto) or time (during, while, until) or degree (equally with)Preposition

הָהֵ֙מָּה֙hā·hêm·māhthatH1992

√ hêm — they (only used when emphatic)ArticlePronounthird person masculine plural

hêm: they, those (emphatic) Part of the phrase “until those days,” which fixes the end of the practice without fixing its beginning.

הָי֤וּhā·yū. . .H1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalPerfectthird person common plural

הַיָּמִ֤יםhay·yā·mîmtimeH3117

√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)ArticleNounmasculine plural

בְנֵֽי־ḇə·nê-the IsraelitesH1121

יִשְׂרָאֵל֙yiś·rā·’êl. . .H3478

√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular

מְקַטְּרִ֣יםmə·qaṭ·ṭə·rîmhad burned incenseH6999

√ qâṭar — to smoke, iVerbPielParticiplemasculine plural

ל֔וֹlōwto it

Prepositionthird person masculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

He it-was removed the-high-places and-shattered the-pillars and-cut-down the-Asherah, and-pulverized the-serpent-of the-bronze that Moses had-made; for until the-days those were sons-of-Israel burning-incense to-it, and-one-called-it Nehushtan.

Where the English smooths the original

ה֣וּא ה֣וּא (hū, H1931) is an independent pronoun standing before the verb, which Hebrew does not need. Ellicott renders it “He it was who removed.” It is emphatic and almost adversarial: of all the kings, this one. BSB's plain “He removed” drops the emphasis entirely, and with it the sense that the act was singular.
וְכִתַּת֩ וְכִתַּת֩ (wə·ḵit·taṯ, Piel of kâthath, H3807) is stronger than the neighbouring verbs: to beat or crush small. BSB says “demolished.” The Piel intensifies an already violent root, and the Jewish tradition Gill cites has Hezekiah grinding the relic to powder and scattering it to the wind. Three different verbs govern the four objects here, and this is the harshest.
מְקַטְּרִ֣ים מְקַטְּרִ֣ים (mə·qaṭ·ṭə·rîm, Piel participle of qâṭar, H6999) is a durative participle with hâyû: “were burning incense,” an ongoing practice, not a completed act. K&D presses exactly this point: the participle does not require unbroken worship since Moses, only a practice that lasted until Hezekiah ended it.
נְחֻשְׁתָּֽן נְחֻשְׁתָּֽן (nə·ḥuš·tān, H5180) puns on the two words standing beside it in this very verse, nᵉchôsheth (bronze, H5178) and nâchâsh (serpent, H5175). No English can carry it. The verse also reads impersonally, “and one called it,” which Ellicott, K&D and Cambridge all prefer to BSB's “called Nehushtan,” since it leaves open whether the name was contempt or custom.

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Alexander MaclarenExpositions of Holy Scripturec. 1905

The Old Testament is just as emphatic in declaring that there is no religion without trust, and that trust is the very nerve and life-blood of religion, as is the New.

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

the Targum is, he trusted in the Word of the Lord God; not in Nehushtan, but in him the brasen serpent was a type of, even in the Word and Son of God

The Targum's “Word of the LORD” is a reverential circumlocution in its own context; the identification with the Son is Gill's Christian reading laid over it, not a claim the Targumist makes.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

To Hezekiah is ascribed pre-eminence in trust ; to Josiah, pre-eminence in an exact observance of the Law: one excels in faith, the other in works

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Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. No king of Judah was like him, either before him or after him.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

bā·ṭāḥ Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·hê- yiś·rā·’êl lō- mal·ḵê yə·hū·ḏāh wa·’ă·šer hā·yū hā·yāh ḵā·mō·hū bə·ḵōl lə·p̄ā·nāw wə·’a·ḥă·rāw

Word by word14 · parsed

בָּטָ֑חbā·ṭāḥHezekiah trustedH982

√ bâṭach — figuratively, to trust, be confident or sureVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

bâṭach: to trust, to be confident The verb on which the whole verdict of this unit rests. K&D says explicitly that the superlative “none like him” refers to Hezekiah's bâṭach, his confidence in God, and that this is why there is no contradiction with the identical praise of Josiah at 2 Kings 23:25, where the ground is adherence to the law. Fronted before the divine name in the Hebrew, the object comes first: in YHWH he trusted.

בַּיהוָ֥הYah·wehin the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodPreposition-bNounpropermasculine singular

Yᵉhôvâh: the covenant name of God Set against the Nehushtan of the previous verse. Gill reports the Targum's paraphrase, that he trusted in the Word of the LORD God, and draws the line himself: not in Nehushtan, but in him whom the bronze serpent was a type of.

אֱלֹהֵֽי־’ĕ·lō·hê-the GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural construct

יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לyiś·rā·’êlof IsraelH3478

√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular

לֹא־lō-NoH3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle

מַלְכֵ֣יmal·ḵêkingH4428

√ melek — a kingNounmasculine plural construct

melek: a king Plural construct, “kings of Judah.” The comparison is deliberately restricted: Poole, JFB and Gill all note that David and Solomon reigned over all Israel and so fall outside the class being compared, though Gill also records Ben Gersom and Abarbanel as declining to except them.

יְהוּדָ֔הyə·hū·ḏāhof JudahH3063

√ Yᵉhûwdâh — Jehudah (or Judah), the name of five IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular

וַאֲשֶׁ֥רwa·’ă·šerH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatConjunctive wawPronounrelative

הָי֖וּhā·yūH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalPerfectthird person common plural

הָיָ֣הhā·yāhwasH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

כָמֹ֗הוּḵā·mō·hūlike himH3644

√ kᵉmôw — a form of the prefix 'k-', but used separately as, thus, soPrepositionthird person masculine singular

kᵉmôw: like, thus, so The particle of comparison that makes this a superlative. It recurs word for word at 2 Kings 23:25 of Josiah, which is why the two verdicts have been felt as a contradiction since at least Thenius, and why K&D answers that the two kings are praised for different things.

בְּכֹל֙bə·ḵōl. . .H3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholePreposition-bNounmasculine singular construct

לְפָנָֽיו׃lə·p̄ā·nāweither before himH6440

√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Preposition-lNouncommon plural constructthird person masculine singular

וְאַחֲרָ֞יוwə·’a·ḥă·rāwor after himH310

√ ʼachar — properly, the hind partConjunctive wawPrepositionthird person masculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

In-YHWH God-of-Israel he-trusted; and-after-him there-was-none like-him among-all kings-of Judah, and-those-who-were before-him.

Where the English smooths the original

בָּטָ֑ח בָּטָ֑ח (bā·ṭāḥ, H982) is not belief but leaning: to lie helpless upon, to be confident because the weight is carried elsewhere. BSB's “trusted in” is right but flat. The word is the political opposite of what Ahaz did when he hired Assyria (2 Kings 16:7), and Poole, JFB and Pulpit all read it as the refusal of foreign help.
לֹא־ לֹא־ (lō, H3808) negates a nominal clause with no verb: “not like him.” Hebrew states the superlative by simple denial. BSB's “No king of Judah was like him” has to insert a verb, which makes the claim sound like a measured historical judgment rather than the annalist's flat exclusion.
וְאַחֲרָ֞יו וְאַחֲרָ֞יו (wə·’a·ḥă·rāw, H310) is “and after him,” and it is paired with lə·p̄ā·nāw, “before his face.” The Hebrew brackets him with two prepositions of time built from body words, hind part and face. Cambridge notes the comparison is with individual kings, not with the line as a whole.
אֱלֹהֵֽי־ אֱלֹהֵֽי־ (’ĕ·lō·hê, H430) is construct: “God of Israel,” bound to the name Israel in the very verses where Israel the kingdom is being carried into exile (vv. 9 to 11). BSB keeps the phrase but cannot mark the irony of the title, since the God of Israel is at this moment trusted only in Judah.

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Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

Other good kings, as Solomon, Jehoshaphat, Joash, and Amaziah, had fallen away in their later years. Hezekiah remained firm to the last. The phrase "cleaving to God" is frequent in Deuteronomy, but rare elsewhere.

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

The context shows that the “commandments” specially in the writer’s mind were those against polytheism.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

Another indication that the compiler of Kings, or it may be the earlier authority from which he drew, accepted the Law as given by God to Moses.

Cambridge is making a source-critical observation about the compiler's assumptions, not a devotional point; it bears on how vv. 6 and 12 frame the whole unit.

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He remained faithful to the LORD and did not turn from following Him; he kept the commandments that the LORD had given Moses.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

way·yiḏ·baq Yah·weh lō- sār mê·’a·ḥă·rāw way·yiš·mōr miṣ·wō·ṯāw ’ă·šer- Yah·weh ’eṯ- ṣiw·wāh mō·šeh

Word by word12 · parsed

וַיִּדְבַּק֙way·yiḏ·baqHe remained faithfulH1692

√ dâbaq — properly, to impinge, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

dâbaq: to cleave, to cling, to impinge The second story of the house, as Maclaren puts it: trust is the foundation, and tenacious adherence is built on it. The verb is Deuteronomy's word for covenant loyalty (Deuteronomy 10:20; 11:22; 13:4), and Barnes is right that its appearance here is unusual outside that book. The Verifier confirms the shared lexeme with Deuteronomy 10:20.

בַּֽיהוָ֔הYah·wehto the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodPreposition-bNounpropermasculine singular

לֹא־lō-and did notH3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle

סָ֖רsārturnH5493

√ çûwr — to turn off (literal or figurative)VerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

çûwr: to turn off, turn aside Qal here, Hiphil in v. 4. The reformer who caused the idols to turn away never turned away himself, and Pulpit reads the clause as covering the whole length of the reign, unlike Asa and Azariah who fell at the end.

מֵאַֽחֲרָ֑יוmê·’a·ḥă·rāwfrom following HimH310

√ ʼachar — properly, the hind partPreposition-mthird person masculine singular

וַיִּשְׁמֹר֙way·yiš·mōrhe keptH8104

√ shâmar — properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

shâmar: to hedge about, to guard, to keep A verb of watchful custody, not mere compliance. Set against v. 12, where the north did not listen and did not do, this is the unit's positive pole: one king guarded what a whole kingdom let go.

מִצְוֺתָ֔יוmiṣ·wō·ṯāwthe commandmentsH4687

√ mitsvâh — a command, whether human or divine (collectively, the Law)Nounfeminine plural constructthird person masculine singular

אֲשֶׁר־’ă·šer-thatH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

יְהוָ֖הYah·wehthe LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

צִוָּ֥הṣiw·wāhhad givenH6680

√ tsâvâh — (intensively) to constitute, enjoinVerbPielPerfectthird person masculine singular

tsâvâh: to charge, to enjoin (Piel) The same Piel verb returns in v. 12 of what Moses the servant of the LORD commanded. Hezekiah keeps precisely what Israel transgressed, and the two verses use the identical vocabulary to say so.

מֹשֶֽׁה׃mō·šehMosesH4872

√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-he-clung to-YHWH, he-turned-not-aside from-after-him; and-he-kept his-commandments that YHWH commanded Moses.

Where the English smooths the original

וַיִּדְבַּק֙ וַיִּדְבַּק֙ (way·yiḏ·baq, H1692) means to cleave, to stick fast, the word used of a man cleaving to his wife (Genesis 2:24) and of bone clinging to skin. BSB's “remained faithful” is an abstraction; the Hebrew is physical adhesion. Barnes notes that the phrase “cleaving to God” is frequent in Deuteronomy and rare elsewhere, which makes this verse read as deliberate Deuteronomic language.
סָ֖ר סָ֖ר (sār, Qal of çûwr, H5493) is the same root that in v. 4 was Hiphil, “he removed” the high places. Here in the Qal it is “he did not turn aside.” The verse makes a pun of policy: what he made depart from Judah, he did not himself do from the LORD. BSB translates the two occurrences with unrelated English verbs and the echo is lost.
מֵאַֽחֲרָ֑יו מֵאַֽחֲרָ֑יו (mê·’a·ḥă·rāw, H310 with min) is “from after him,” the posture of a follower walking behind. BSB's “from following Him” is accurate but reads as metaphor; the Hebrew keeps the spatial picture of a man in a train, and it is the same ʼachar that measured the kings after him in v. 5.
מִצְוֺתָ֔יו מִצְוֺתָ֔יו (miṣ·wō·ṯāw, H4687) is “his commandments” with the pronoun bound to the noun, and the relative clause then names the mediator: which YHWH commanded Moses. Ellicott judges from the context that the commandments chiefly in view are those against polytheism; Gill takes them as moral, ceremonial and judicial together.

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

Indeed, that Hezekiah did not sin in revolting from the king of Assyria seems evident, because God owned and assisted him in it

Benson's argument is from silence: God did not rebuke the revolt, therefore it was no sin. Cambridge, quoted below, reads v. 14 as Hezekiah's own admission that he had offended.

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Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

that is, the yearly tribute his father had stipulated to pay, he, with imprudent haste, withdrew.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

The revolt of Hezekiah seems to have been made regardless of these terms. For when Sennacherib comes to attack him, he feels he must admit (verse 14) that he has offended

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And the LORD was with Hezekiah, and he prospered wherever he went. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to serve him.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

Yah·weh wə·hā·yāh ‘im·mōw yaś·kîl bə·ḵōl ’ă·šer- yê·ṣê way·yim·rōḏ bə·me·leḵ- ’aš·šūr wə·lō ‘ă·ḇā·ḏōw

Word by word12 · parsed

יְהוָה֙Yah·wehAnd the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

Yᵉhôvâh: the covenant name of God Fronted in the clause. The formula “the LORD was with him” is covenant shorthand carried from Exodus 3:12 and Joshua 1:5 through 2 Samuel 5:10; Pulpit's observation that it is used of no other king in these books is the single most weighted fact in the verse.

וְהָיָ֤הwə·hā·yāhwasH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular

עִמּ֔וֹ‘im·mōwwith [Hezekiah]H5973

√ ʻim — adverb or preposition, with (iPrepositionthird person masculine singular

יַשְׂכִּ֑ילyaś·kîland he prosperedH7919

√ sâkal — to be (causatively, make or act) circumspect and hence, intelligentVerbHifilImperfectthird person masculine singular

sâkal: to be circumspect, to act with insight, to prosper Hiphil. The word joins wisdom and success in one stem, which is why K&D can say the Lord gave him success in all his undertakings, including the revolt. Scripture attaches the same root to the charge that Solomon prosper by keeping the law (1 Kings 2:3), so the prospering here is not luck but the covenant working.

בְּכֹ֥לbə·ḵōlwhereverH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholePreposition-bNounmasculine singular

אֲשֶׁר־’ă·šer-H834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

יֵצֵ֖אyê·ṣêhe wentH3318

√ yâtsâʼ — to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proximVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular

וַיִּמְרֹ֥דway·yim·rōḏHe rebelledH4775

√ mârad — to rebelConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

mârad: to rebel The verse reports the revolt and then defines it: he did not serve him. The commentators split. JFB calls it imprudent haste; Benson and Poole defend it as resuming the independent sovereignty God settled in the house of David; Cambridge notes that Hezekiah himself admits at v. 14 that he has offended. The Hebrew takes no side.

בְּמֶֽלֶךְ־bə·me·leḵ-against the kingH4428

√ melek — a kingPreposition-bNounmasculine singular construct

אַשּׁ֖וּר’aš·šūrof AssyriaH804

√ ʼAshshûwr — Ashshur, the second son of ShemNounproperfeminine singular

ʼAshshûwr: Asshur, Assyria Named three times in this unit (vv. 7, 9, 11). The same power Hezekiah refuses to serve is the power that carries Israel away, so the unit sets refusal and submission side by side and lets the outcomes speak.

וְלֹ֥אwə·lōand refusedH3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absConjunctive wawAdverbNegative particle

עֲבָדֽוֹ׃‘ă·ḇā·ḏōwto serve himH5647

√ ʻâbad — to work (in any sense)VerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singularthird person masculine singular

ʻâbad: to work, to serve The verb of vassalage, and the verb of worship. Ahaz had said to Tiglath-pileser, I am your servant (2 Kings 16:7); his son will not say it.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-was YHWH with-him; in-all that he-went-out he-prospered. And-he-rebelled against-king-of Assyria and-served-him not.

Where the English smooths the original

יַשְׂכִּ֑יל יַשְׂכִּ֑יל (yaś·kîl, Hiphil imperfect of sâkal, H7919) is not primarily “prospered” but “acted with insight, dealt wisely,” and by extension succeeded. BSB gives only the outcome. The root is about circumspection, so the Hebrew claims both that he acted shrewdly and that it came off, the same word used of the charge to Solomon at 1 Kings 2:3.
יֵצֵ֖א יֵצֵ֖א (yê·ṣê, H3318) is “he went out,” and Ellicott notes that going forth denotes any external undertaking, especially going out to war. BSB's “wherever he went” domesticates it into travel. The imperfect is iterative: in everything he kept going out to, he kept succeeding.
וַיִּמְרֹ֥ד וַיִּמְרֹ֥ד (way·yim·rōḏ, H4775) is the blunt word for revolt, the same charge laid against Zedekiah later. The narrator uses it without apology and without praise, and then glosses it himself: “and he served him not.” Benson and Poole both argue that the word names a defection from subjection and does not by itself settle whether the act was sin.
וְהָיָ֤ה וְהָיָ֤ה ... עִמּ֔וֹ (wə·hā·yāh ‘im·mōw, H1961 with H5973) is the bare covenant formula, “and YHWH was with him.” Pulpit observes it is said of no other king of Judah or Israel but David (2 Samuel 5:10); it is the promise given to Moses (Exodus 3:12) and to Joshua (Joshua 1:5). BSB keeps the words but no English can mark that they are a quotation of a promise.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

must be regarded as Assyrian partisans, whom he chastised in the interests of the national party. He did not seek conquests in Philistia for himself.

Pulpit's reconstruction rests on Sargon's inscriptions, not on this verse; it is a historical hypothesis about motive, and K&D dates the same campaign differently.

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

He thus chastised these enemies for their invasion of Judah in the time of Ahaz, wrested from them the cities which they had taken at that time

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

When he had purged out the corruptions which his father had brought in, he might expect to recover the possessions which his father had lost.

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He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its borders, from watchtower to fortified city.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

hū- hik·kāh ’eṯ- pə·liš·tîm ‘aḏ- ‘az·zāh wə·’eṯ- gə·ḇū·le·hā mim·miḡ·dal nō·wṣ·rîm ‘aḏ- miḇ·ṣār ‘îr

Word by word13 · parsed

הֽוּא־hū-HeH1931

√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person masculine singular

הִכָּ֧הhik·kāhdefeatedH5221

√ nâkâh — to strike (lightly or severely, literally or figuratively)VerbHifilPerfectthird person masculine singular

nâkâh: to strike, lightly or severely Hiphil. The commentators cannot agree what the blow was for. K&D and Poole read it as recovering what Philistia seized from Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28:18); Barnes and Pulpit read it as a move against Assyrian client rulers rather than a war of conquest; Ellicott and K&D date it after Sennacherib's retreat, while Pulpit places it in the wake of Sargon's campaign of about 720. The verse itself gives no date.

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

פְּלִשְׁתִּ֛יםpə·liš·tîmthe PhilistinesH6430

√ Pᵉlishtîy — a Pelishtite or inhabitant of PeleshethNounpropermasculine plural

עַד־‘aḏ-asH5704

√ ʻad — as far (or long, or much) as, whether of space (even unto) or time (during, while, until) or degree (equally with)Preposition

עַזָּ֖ה‘az·zāhfar as GazaH5804

√ ʻAzzâh — Azzah, a place in PalestineNounproperfeminine singular

ʻAzzâh: Gaza The southernmost of the five Philistine cities, so naming it means the whole coast. Cambridge and Ellicott both take the reach to Gaza as shorthand for overrunning all Philistia.

וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker

גְּבוּלֶ֑יהָgə·ḇū·le·hāand its bordersH1366

√ gᵉbûwl — properly, a cord (as twisted), iNounmasculine plural constructthird person feminine singular

מִמִּגְדַּ֥לmim·miḡ·dalfromH4026

√ migdâl — a tower (from its size or height)Preposition-mNounmasculine singular construct

נוֹצְרִ֖יםnō·wṣ·rîmwatchtowerH5341

√ nâtsar — to guard, in a good sense (to protect, maintain, obey, etcVerbQalParticiplemasculine plural

nâtsar: to guard, to watch, to keep A participle, the watchers themselves, not an abstract tower. The root also means to keep in the sense of obeying, and it sits two verses away from shâmar in v. 6: the king who kept the commandments takes the towers of those who kept watch.

עַד־‘aḏ-toH5704

√ ʻad — as far (or long, or much) as, whether of space (even unto) or time (during, while, until) or degree (equally with)Preposition

מִבְצָֽר׃פmiḇ·ṣārfortifiedH4013

√ mibtsâr — a fortification, castle, or fortified cityNounmasculine singular

mibtsâr: a fortification, a fortified city The upper limit of the merism. The same pairing at 2 Kings 17:9 described how Israel built high places in every settlement from watchtower to fortified city; the phrase is borrowed and turned outward.

עִ֥יר‘îrcityH5892

√ ʻîyr — a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or post)Nounfeminine singular construct

Literal — word-for-word from the original

He it-was struck the-Philistines as-far-as Gaza and-her-borders, from-tower-of watchmen unto city-of fortification.

Where the English smooths the original

הֽוּא־ הֽוּא־ (hū, H1931) is again the fronted independent pronoun, exactly as in v. 4. Ellicott renders both the same way: “He it was who smote.” The two emphatic pronouns bracket the reign, one for what he tore down at home and one for what he drove back on the border. BSB flattens both to a plain “He.”
הִכָּ֧ה הִכָּ֧ה (hik·kāh, Hiphil of nâkâh, H5221) is to strike, and it covers everything from a blow to a slaughter. BSB's “defeated” reads it as a campaign outcome; the Hebrew verb itself does not say how far the striking went, which is why the commentators differ over whether this was conquest, chastisement or the support of a rebellion.
מִמִּגְדַּ֥ל נוֹצְרִ֖ים מִמִּגְדַּ֥ל נוֹצְרִ֖ים (mim·miḡ·dal nō·wṣ·rîm, H4026 with a participle of nâtsar, H5341) is “from the tower of watchers,” where nôtsᵉrîm is a participle, those who guard. BSB gives the single word “watchtower.” The phrase is a merism running from the smallest lookout post to the walled city, and K&D reads it as all the towns from the least to the greatest.
מִבְצָֽר מִבְצָֽר (miḇ·ṣār, H4013) is the fortified strongpoint, the other pole of the merism. The Hebrew phrase is identical to the one used of Israel's own scattered shrines at 2 Kings 17:9, so the formula that measured Israel's idolatry now measures Hezekiah's reach into Philistia.

The Voices✦ 3 public domain

Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

We may also see a contrast between the utter overthrow of the stronger kingdom and the deliverance of its smaller and weaker neighbour, because Hezekiah trusted in Jehovah

source ↗

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

Shalmaneser commenced the siege, but the city was not taken till the reign of his successor Sargon.

Cambridge's grounds are the Assyrian inscriptions (he cites Schrader), not the biblical text, which never names the captor.

source ↗

Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

is related once more according to the annals of the kingdom of Judah, in which this catastrophe is also introduced as an event that was memorable in relation to all the covenant-nation.

source ↗

In the fourth year of Hezekiah’s reign, which was the seventh year of the reign of Hoshea son of Elah over Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and besieged it.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

way·hî hā·rə·ḇî·‘îṯ baš·šā·nāh ḥiz·qî·yā·hū lam·me·leḵ hî haš·šə·ḇî·‘îṯ haš·šā·nāh me·leḵ lə·hō·wō·šê·a‘ ben- ’ê·lāh yiś·rā·’êl šal·man·’e·ser me·leḵ- ’aš·šūr ‘ā·lāh ‘al- šō·mə·rō·wn way·yā·ṣar ‘ā·le·hā

Word by word21 · parsed

וַֽיְהִ֞יway·hîH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

hâyâh: to come to pass The narrative seam, matching v. 1.

הָֽרְבִיעִית֙hā·rə·ḇî·‘îṯIn the fourthH7243

√ rᵉbîyʻîy — fourthArticleNumberordinal feminine singular

בַּשָּׁנָ֤הbaš·šā·nāhyearH8141

√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Preposition-b, ArticleNounfeminine singular

חִזְקִיָּ֔הוּḥiz·qî·yā·hūof Hezekiah’sH2396

√ Chizqîyâh — Chizkijah, a king of Judah, also the name of two other IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular

לַמֶּ֣לֶךְlam·me·leḵreignH4428

√ melek — a kingPreposition-l, ArticleNounmasculine singular

הִ֚יאhîwhichH1931

√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person feminine singular

הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔יתhaš·šə·ḇî·‘îṯwas the seventhH7637

√ shᵉbîyʻîy — seventhArticleNumberordinal feminine singular

הַשָּׁנָ֣הhaš·šā·nāhyearH8141

√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)ArticleNounfeminine singular

מֶ֣לֶךְme·leḵof the reignH4428

√ melek — a kingNounmasculine singular construct

לְהוֹשֵׁ֥עַlə·hō·wō·šê·a‘of HosheaH1954

√ Hôwshêaʻ — Hoshea, the name of five IsraelitesPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular

בֶּן־ben-sonH1121

אֵלָ֖ה’ê·lāhof ElahH425

√ ʼÊlâh — Elah, the name of an Edomite, of four Israelites, and also of a place in PalestineNounpropermasculine singular

יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לyiś·rā·’êlover IsraelH3478

√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular

שַׁלְמַנְאֶ֧סֶרšal·man·’e·serShalmaneserH8022

√ Shalmanʼeçer — Shalmaneser, an Assyrian kingNounpropermasculine singular

Shalmanʼeçer: Shalmaneser, an Assyrian king Named as the besieger, while v. 10 carefully avoids naming the captor. Cambridge and Pulpit both hold that Shalmaneser began the siege and his successor Sargon finished it, and that the text's plural verb in v. 10 preserves that fact.

מֶֽלֶךְ־me·leḵ-kingH4428

√ melek — a kingNounmasculine singular construct

אַשּׁ֛וּר’aš·šūrof AssyriaH804

√ ʼAshshûwr — Ashshur, the second son of ShemNounproperfeminine singular

עָלָ֞ה‘ā·lāhmarchedH5927

√ ʻâlâh — to ascend, intransitively (be high) or actively (mount)VerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

ʻâlâh: to ascend, to go up The same verb Hebrew uses for going up to worship is used for an army coming up against a city. Nothing in the word itself marks the invader as hostile to God's purpose; the annalist lets the later verdict of v. 12 supply the theology.

עַל־‘al-againstH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

שֹׁמְר֖וֹןšō·mə·rō·wnSamariaH8111

√ Shômᵉrôwn — Shomeron, a place in PalestineNounproperfeminine singular

וַיָּ֥צַרway·yā·ṣarand besiegedH6696

√ tsûwr — to cramp, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

tsûwr: to cramp, to press, to besiege Three years of this pressure (v. 10). The root pictures confinement rather than assault, which is what a siege actually was.

עָלֶֽיהָ׃‘ā·le·hāitH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPrepositionthird person feminine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-it-came-to-pass in-the-year the-fourth of-the-king Hezekiah, it the-year the-seventh of-Hoshea son-of-Elah king-of Israel: went-up Shalmaneser king-of-Assyria against Samaria and-besieged against-her.

Where the English smooths the original

עָלָ֞ה עָלָ֞ה (‘ā·lāh, H5927) is “he went up,” the ordinary verb of ascent used for pilgrimage, for sacrifice and for invasion alike. BSB's “marched against” supplies the military sense from the context. The Hebrew simply says the king of Assyria came up, and the same neutral verb will be used of every later Assyrian approach.
וַיָּ֥צַר וַיָּ֥צַר (way·yā·ṣar, H6696) is from a root meaning to cramp, to press, to bind tight. BSB's “besieged it” names the military operation; the Hebrew names the pressure. It governs the preposition ʻal with a feminine suffix, “pressed upon her,” the city being feminine throughout.
הִ֚יא הִ֚יא (hî, H1931) is the feminine pronoun doing the work of a copula: “it (that year) was the seventh.” BSB renders “which was.” Hebrew synchronises reigns by bare apposition, and the two dating systems are simply laid against each other with no verb between them.
וַֽיְהִ֞י וַֽיְהִ֞י (way·hî, H1961) again opens the sentence untranslated, exactly as in v. 1. The two occurrences are the unit's structural seams: v. 1 opens Hezekiah's reign, v. 9 opens the fall of the north, and both are dated by Hoshea.

And at the end of three years, the Assyrians captured it. So Samaria was captured in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

miq·ṣêh šā·lōš šā·nîm way·yil·kə·ḏu·hā šō·mə·rō·wn nil·kə·ḏāh šêš biš·naṯ- lə·ḥiz·qî·yāh hî tê·ša‘ šə·naṯ- lə·hō·wō·šê·a‘ me·leḵ yiś·rā·’êl

Word by word15 · parsed

מִקְצֵה֙miq·ṣêhAnd at the endH7097

√ qâtseh — an extremityPreposition-mNounmasculine singular construct

qâtseh: an extremity, an end An idiom of boundary, not of arithmetic.

שָׁלֹ֣שׁšā·lōšof threeH7969

√ shâlôwsh — threeNumberfeminine singular

שָׁנִ֔יםšā·nîmyearsH8141

√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine plural

וַֽיִּלְכְּדֻ֗הָway·yil·kə·ḏu·hāthe Assyrians captured itH3920

√ lâkad — to catch (in a net, trap or pit)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine pluralthird person feminine singular

lâkad: to catch in a net, trap or pit The verb is not a siege word but a hunting word, to take as prey. Used twice in this verse, active then passive, it turns the fortified capital into something snared. The plural form is a small piece of scrupulous reporting that the commentators have long noticed.

שֹׁמְרֽוֹן׃šō·mə·rō·wnSo SamariaH8111

√ Shômᵉrôwn — Shomeron, a place in PalestineNounproperfeminine singular

Shômᵉrôwn: Samaria Named here for the last time as a kingdom's capital; from v. 11 the people are simply Israel, and they are elsewhere.

נִלְכְּדָ֖הnil·kə·ḏāhwas capturedH3920

√ lâkad — to catch (in a net, trap or pit)VerbNifalPerfectthird person feminine singular

lâkad: to catch, Niphal passive The agentless passive. The annals of Judah record that Samaria was taken and decline to say by whom, and v. 12 then supplies the only cause the compiler thinks worth naming.

שֵׁ֖שׁšêšin the sixthH8337

√ shêsh — six (as an overplus beyond five or the fingers of the hand)Numberfeminine singular

בִּשְׁנַת־biš·naṯ-yearH8141

√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Preposition-bNounfeminine singular construct

לְחִזְקִיָּ֑הlə·ḥiz·qî·yāhof HezekiahH2396

√ Chizqîyâh — Chizkijah, a king of Judah, also the name of two other IsraelitesPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular

הִ֣יאhîwhichH1931

√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person feminine singular

תֵּ֗שַׁעtê·ša‘was the ninthH8672

√ têshaʻ — nine or (ordinal) ninthNumberfeminine singular

שְׁנַת־šə·naṯ-yearH8141

√ shâneh — a year (as a revolution of time)Nounfeminine singular construct

לְהוֹשֵׁ֙עַ֙lə·hō·wō·šê·a‘of HosheaH1954

√ Hôwshêaʻ — Hoshea, the name of five IsraelitesPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular

מֶ֣לֶךְme·leḵkingH4428

√ melek — a kingNounmasculine singular construct

יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לyiś·rā·’êlof IsraelH3478

√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-they-captured-her at-end-of three years; in-year-of six of-Hezekiah, it year-of nine of-Hoshea king-of Israel, Samaria was-captured.

Where the English smooths the original

וַֽיִּלְכְּדֻ֗הָ וַֽיִּלְכְּדֻ֗הָ (way·yil·kə·ḏu·hā, H3920) is third person masculine plural with a feminine suffix: “and they captured her.” BSB supplies a subject, “the Assyrians,” which the Hebrew withholds. Ellicott, Cambridge and Pulpit all treat the plural as deliberate, since the king who began the siege was not the king who ended it, and Cambridge notes that the Massoretes pointed it plural against the singular of the Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac.
נִלְכְּדָ֖ה נִלְכְּדָ֖ה (nil·kə·ḏāh, Niphal of the same root H3920) restates the fact in the passive: “Samaria was captured.” The verse says the thing twice, once with an unnamed plural actor and once with no actor at all. BSB keeps both, but the Hebrew repetition is the point: the record refuses to give the conqueror a name.
מִקְצֵה֙ מִקְצֵה֙ (miq·ṣêh, H7097) is “from the extremity of,” an idiom for the end of a period that need not mean a completed count. Poole and Gill both cite the parallel idioms of Deuteronomy 14:28 and 15:1 to argue that the siege ran into the third year rather than through three full years; Pulpit reckons the whole siege at about two and a half.
לְחִזְקִיָּ֑ה לְחִזְקִיָּ֑ה (lə·ḥiz·qî·yāh, H2396 with l) is “belonging to Hezekiah,” the regnal idiom again. The verse dates Samaria's fall twice, once by the king of Judah and once by the king of Israel, and sets them in that order. The reader is told whose calendar survives.

The king of Assyria exiled the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

me·leḵ- ’aš·šūr ’eṯ- way·ye·ḡel yiś·rā·’êl ’aš·šū·rāh way·yan·ḥêm baḥ·laḥ gō·w·zān ū·ḇə·ḥā·ḇō·wr nə·har wə·‘ā·rê mā·ḏāy

Word by word13 · parsed

מֶֽלֶךְ־me·leḵ-The kingH4428

√ melek — a kingNounmasculine singular construct

אַשּׁ֛וּר’aš·šūrof AssyriaH804

√ ʼAshshûwr — Ashshur, the second son of ShemNounproperfeminine singular

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

וַיֶּ֧גֶלway·ye·ḡelexiledH1540

√ gâlâh — to denude (especially in a disgraceful sense)Conjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

gâlâh: to denude, especially in a disgraceful sense; to carry into exile The root behind gôlâh, the exile. Its first sense is uncovering, so the noun Israel will carry for centuries is built on a word for being stripped. The Hiphil makes the king of Assyria the one who does the stripping, though v. 12 will name the real cause.

יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לyiś·rā·’êlthe IsraelitesH3478

√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular

אַשּׁ֑וּרָה’aš·šū·rāhto AssyriaH804

√ ʼAshshûwr — Ashshur, the second son of ShemNounproperfeminine singularthird person feminine singular

וַיַּנְחֵ֞םway·yan·ḥêmand settled themH5148

√ nâchâh — to guideConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singularthird person masculine plural

nâchâh: to guide, to lead Hiphil with a plural suffix. The verb of the shepherd and of the exodus guidance is here turned around: they are led, but eastward and away. Scripture uses this root for God leading Israel out of Egypt; the annalist uses it for Assyria leading Israel out of the land.

בַּחְלַ֧חbaḥ·laḥin HalahH2477

√ Chălach — Chalach, a region of AssyriaPreposition-bNounproperfeminine singular

גּוֹזָ֖ןgō·w·zānin GozanH1470

√ Gôwzân — Gozan, a province of AssyriaNounproperfeminine singular

Gôwzân: Gozan, a province of Assyria A rare name, in only five verses of the Hebrew Bible. Two of the others are Rabshakeh's own taunt at 2 Kings 19:12 and its double in Isaiah 37:12, where Gozan is named as proof that no god has saved a city from Assyria. The place of Israel's exile becomes the Assyrian argument against Hezekiah's trust.

וּבְחָב֛וֹרū·ḇə·ḥā·ḇō·wrby the HaborH2249

√ Châbôwr — Chabor, a river of AssyriaConjunctive waw, Preposition-bNounproperfeminine singular

נְהַ֥רnə·harRiverH5104

√ nâhâr — a stream (including the seaNounmasculine singular construct

וְעָרֵ֥יwə·‘ā·rêand in the citiesH5892

√ ʻîyr — a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or post)Conjunctive wawNounfeminine plural construct

מָדָֽי׃mā·ḏāyof the MedesH4074

√ Mâday — Madai, a country of central AsiaNounpropermasculine singular

Mâday: Madai, the Medes The far eastern edge of the empire. The list moves steadily away from the land of promise and stops.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-exiled king-of-Assyria Israel to-Assyria, and-he-led-them-to-settle in-Halah and-in-Habor, river-of Gozan, and-cities-of Medes.

Where the English smooths the original

וַיֶּ֧גֶל וַיֶּ֧גֶל (way·ye·ḡel, Hiphil of gâlâh, H1540) is causative of a root that means to uncover, to strip bare, and only by extension to deport. BSB's “exiled” is correct and colourless. The Hebrew word for going into captivity is the word for being laid naked, which is why the prophets can use the same root for shame and for exile in one breath.
וַיַּנְחֵ֞ם וַיַּנְחֵ֞ם (way·yan·ḥêm, Hiphil of nâchâh, H5148) is “and he led them,” from the root to guide. BSB's “settled them” gives the result. The verb is the one used of God guiding his people (Exodus 13:17; Psalm 78:14), and here the guide is the king of Assyria and the destination is the Habor. The reversal is in the vocabulary itself, not in any comment the narrator adds.
אַשּׁ֑וּרָה אַשּׁ֑וּרָה (’aš·šū·rāh, H804 with the directional ending) is “Assyria-ward,” a motion ending rather than a preposition. BSB writes “to Assyria.” Pulpit takes the name here to mean the empire rather than the land proper, since the places listed run out to the cities of the Medes.
וְעָרֵ֥י וְעָרֵ֥י (wə·‘ā·rê, construct plural of ʻîyr, H5892) is “and cities of the Medes,” with no article and no verb. The verse ends on a bare list of place names far to the east. The Hebrew simply stops there, and Cambridge notes the whole verse repeats 2 Kings 17:6 almost word for word.

This happened because they did not listen to the voice of the LORD their God, but violated His covenant—all that Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded—and would neither listen nor obey.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

‘al ’ă·šer lō- šā·mə·‘ū bə·qō·wl Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·hê·hem way·ya·‘aḇ·rū ’eṯ- bə·rî·ṯōw ’êṯ kāl- ’ă·šer mō·šeh ‘e·ḇeḏ Yah·weh ṣiw·wāh wə·lō šā·mə·‘ū wə·lō ‘ā·śū

Word by word21 · parsed

עַ֣ל׀‘al[This happened] becauseH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

אֲשֶׁ֣ר’ă·šerH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

לֹֽא־lō-they did notH3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle

שָׁמְע֗וּšā·mə·‘ūlistenH8085

√ shâmaʻ — to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etcVerbQalPerfectthird person common plural

shâmaʻ: to hear intelligently, with attention and obedience Twice in one verse, and negated both times. Hebrew has no separate word for obey; hearing and doing are one act, which is why the final clause can simply pair the two verbs and stop. Israel's confession at Sinai was we will do and we will hear (Exodus 24:3), and Gill puts this verse directly against it.

בְּקוֹל֙bə·qō·wlto the voiceH6963

√ qôwl — a voice or soundPreposition-bNounmasculine singular construct

יְהוָ֣הYah·wehof the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֔ם’ĕ·lō·hê·hemtheir GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine plural

וַיַּעַבְרוּ֙way·ya·‘aḇ·rūbut violatedH5674

√ ʻâbar — to cross overConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural

ʻâbar: to cross over, to pass through A boundary verb used of a covenant. The Hebrew does not say Israel broke the covenant, it says they walked across it, which is a picture of trespass rather than of shattering.

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

בְּרִית֔וֹbə·rî·ṯōwHis covenantH1285

√ bᵉrîyth — a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh)Nounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine singular

bᵉrîyth: a compact, from passing between pieces of flesh The heaviest noun in the unit and its explanation. Everything in vv. 9 to 11, the siege, the capture, the deportation to the Habor, is filed here under one cause. The compiler will not let Assyrian power stand as the reason; the reason is a crossed covenant.

אֵ֚ת’êṯH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

כָּל־kāl-allH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

אֲשֶׁ֣ר’ă·šerthatH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

מֹשֶׁ֖הmō·šehMosesH4872

√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular

עֶ֣בֶד‘e·ḇeḏthe servantH5650

√ ʻebed — a servantNounmasculine singular construct

ʻebed: a servant Moses' title, and the hinge against v. 7. One kingdom would not serve Assyria and kept what the LORD's servant commanded; the other would not keep it, and was carried to Assyria to serve.

יְהוָ֑הYah·wehof the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

צִוָּ֔הṣiw·wāhhad commandedH6680

√ tsâvâh — (intensively) to constitute, enjoinVerbPielPerfectthird person masculine singular

tsâvâh: to enjoin, to command (Piel) The identical Piel form that closed v. 6. What Hezekiah kept is what Israel transgressed, word for word.

וְלֹ֥אwə·lōand would neitherH3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absConjunctive wawAdverbNegative particle

שָׁמְע֖וּšā·mə·‘ūlistenH8085

√ shâmaʻ — to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etcVerbQalPerfectthird person common plural

וְלֹ֥אwə·lōnorH3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absConjunctive wawAdverbNegative particle

עָשֽׂוּ׃פ‘ā·śūobeyH6213

√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationVerbQalPerfectthird person common plural

ʻâsâh: to do, to make The unit's first verb of Hezekiah (v. 3, he did the right) is its last verb of Israel, negated: and they did not.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

Because that they-listened-not to-voice-of YHWH their-God, and-they-passed-over his-covenant, all that Moses servant-of YHWH commanded; and-they-listened-not and-they-did-not.

Where the English smooths the original

שָׁמְע֗וּ שָׁמְע֗וּ (šā·mə·‘ū, H8085) governs the preposition b: to listen in the voice, an idiom that means to obey, not merely to hear. BSB's “did not listen to the voice” keeps the words and loses the force. The same verb closes the verse a second time, and the Hebrew ends on the flat pair, they did not listen and they did not do.
וַיַּעַבְרוּ֙ וַיַּעַבְרוּ֙ (way·ya·‘aḇ·rū, H5674) is “and they crossed over,” the ordinary verb for fording a river, used here of a covenant. BSB says “violated.” The Hebrew picture is of a boundary stepped across, the root traditionally (though not certainly) connected with the name Hebrew, one who crosses over.
בְּרִית֔וֹ בְּרִית֔וֹ (bə·rî·ṯōw, H1285) is “his covenant,” and Strong's derives the noun from the rite of passing between severed pieces of flesh (Genesis 15:17). The word for cutting through and the verb for crossing over stand side by side in this clause. BSB's em dash makes what follows a parenthesis; Ellicott, followed by the Revised Version and Cambridge, reads “all that Moses commanded” as in simple apposition with “his covenant,” and would drop the conjunction with all the versions.
עֶ֣בֶד עֶ֣בֶד (‘e·ḇeḏ, H5650) is “servant,” the same root as the verb in v. 7 where Hezekiah would not serve the king of Assyria. Moses is the LORD's ʻebed; Israel refused that service and received another. Cambridge notes the title belongs chiefly to Deuteronomy and Joshua, which is where this verse's whole vocabulary comes from.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The son of Ahaz who is called the son of David — 18:1 to 18:3

The unit opens with an untranslated verb. וַֽיְהִי֙ (way·hî, H1961) ties Hezekiah's accession to the ruin just narrated in chapter 17, and the same seam reopens at v. 9. Ellicott reads the king's name as “My strength is Jah,” and K&D gives the full form as “whom Jehovah strengthens”; both are reporting the Hebrew, and the unit then spends twelve verses testing where strength actually lies. The chronology is the first honest difficulty. Cambridge reconstructs the sixteen years of Ahaz as fourteen complete years plus two broken ones, and concedes that even then Ahaz must have fathered this son at about ten. Poole offers four solutions and Gill three; JFB offers two; Barnes and Benson prefer to suspect a corrupted numeral. Pulpit, working from the Assyrian inscriptions, places the accession near 727. The brief records all of this and settles none of it, and v. 2 preserves a second small uncertainty beside it: Ellicott, Cambridge, Pulpit and K&D all judge that אֲבִ֖י (’ă·ḇî, H21) is a contraction of Abijah. Then v. 3 renders the verdict with a quantifier: כְּכֹ֥ל (kə·ḵōl, H3605), according to all that David his father did. Gill fixes on that word, since other kings were said to do right but not according to all. Barnes observes that this unqualified verdict falls on only three kings of Judah, and Pulpit adds that all three were sons of wicked fathers. Geneva supplies the reason the throne survived at all: God, for the sake of his promise, was merciful to the throne of David.

ii. Nehushtan, and what a relic becomes — 18:4

Four objects fall in one verse, under three different verbs, and the emphatic pronoun ה֣וּא stands in front of them all: Ellicott renders it “He it was who removed.” Barnes measures the cost of the high places, tolerated by Samuel, David and Solomon, and still resented a generation later in Rabshakeh's taunt at v. 22 and in the reaction under Manasseh. But the verse's weight falls on the bronze serpent. Benson states the principle most cleanly: made by Moses at God's command, of singular use, and a special type of Christ, yet the primary use having ceased and the thing being now abused, it was deservedly broken to pieces. Henry generalises it, that all helps to devotion not warranted by the word of God interrupt the exercise of faith. Cambridge argues from the durability of bronze that the object really was the Mosaic one, and Pulpit sets the record of the text against speculation about what was likely. The name itself is a pun the English cannot carry: נְחֻשְׁתָּֽן (nᵉchushtân, H5180) sounds at once like nᵉchôsheth, bronze, and nâchâsh, serpent, both of which stand in the same verse. Here the voices divide sharply, and we do not hide it. Geneva, Gill and Poole hear contempt in the name, a mere piece of brass that can do neither good nor hurt. K&D denies it outright: the epithet does not involve anything contemptuous, as the earlier commentators supposed. Cambridge takes a third road, that the word may simply have become the popular name. The Hebrew does not decide between them.

iii. Trust, and the cleaving that follows it — 18:5 to 18:8

Verse 5 fronts its object: in YHWH, God of Israel, he trusted. בָּטָ֑ח (bâṭach, H982) is not assent but leaning, lying with one's weight on another. Poole, JFB and Pulpit all read it politically, as the refusal to buy help, and they are reading it against Ahaz at 2 Kings 16:7 and Asa at 1 Kings 15:18. K&D is the one who ties the superlative to the verb: “none like him” refers to Hezekiah's bâṭach, which is why the same praise of Josiah at 2 Kings 23:25, grounded there in adherence to the law, is no contradiction. Pulpit puts it as a division of labour, one excels in faith, the other in works. Maclaren then draws the architectural line the Hebrew itself draws: trust is the foundation, and וַיִּדְבַּק֙ (dâbaq, H1692) in v. 6 is the second storey, tenacious adherence with all the tendrils of a man's nature. Barnes notices that this cleaving language is frequent in Deuteronomy and rare elsewhere, and the Verifier confirms the shared lexeme with Deuteronomy 10:20. Verse 6 also contains a pun of policy: the same root çûwr that was Hiphil in v. 4, he made the high places depart, is Qal here, he did not turn aside. Verse 7 then quotes a promise. “And YHWH was with him” is the word given to Moses at Exodus 3:12 and to Joshua at Joshua 1:5, and Pulpit observes that it is said of no other king in these books but David. On the revolt itself the brief preserves a live disagreement: JFB calls it imprudent haste; Benson and Poole defend it as resuming the independent sovereignty settled on the house of David; Cambridge answers that Hezekiah himself admits at v. 14 that he has offended. Verse 8 leaves the same question open about Philistia, where Pulpit, Barnes, K&D and Ellicott cannot agree on the date or the motive.

iv. The same years, counted from the other side — 18:9 to 18:12

The narrative seam of v. 1 reopens at v. 9, and the fall of Samaria is told a second time. K&D explains why: this catastrophe, already given from the annals of Israel at 2 Kings 17:3 to 6, is entered again from the annals of Judah, because it is an event memorable in relation to all the covenant nation. Ellicott draws the contrast the placement makes, between the overthrow of the stronger kingdom and the deliverance of its smaller neighbour, because Hezekiah trusted in Jehovah. The text is scrupulous in a way the versions were not. Verse 10 says “and they captured her,” a masculine plural with no named subject, and then repeats the fact in the agentless Niphal, Samaria was captured. Cambridge argues that the Masoretic plural pointing preserves a long tradition, and Pulpit that the writer knew Shalmaneser did not take the city but died during the siege. Ellicott adds the correction that the Septuagint, Syriac and Vulgate all read a singular here, and that the plural is preferable because it was Sargon who took it. Then v. 11 supplies the vocabulary of reversal without a word of comment: וַיַּנְחֵ֞ם (nâchâh, H5148), the verb of shepherding and of the exodus guidance, with Assyria as the guide and the Habor as the destination. Only at v. 12 does the compiler name a cause, and it is not Assyrian power. Twice the verb shâmaʻ is negated, and the covenant is not broken but crossed, וַיַּעַבְרוּ֙ (ʻâbar, H5674). Gill sets the closing pair of verbs against Exodus 24:3, where the fathers promised to do both; Poole traces the descent from one sin to the violation of all the commands. Ellicott, with the Revised Version and Cambridge, reads “all that Moses commanded” as apposition to “his covenant,” not as a separate item.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ This is the tool's own fallible reading, offered to be tested against the text. Two men in this unit are ruined by the same instinct, and the writer never says so out loud. Israel had a covenant and crossed it. Judah had a relic and burned incense to it. In both cases something God genuinely gave, a covenant cut at Sinai, a bronze serpent made at God's own command in Numbers 21, was kept in the hand and emptied of its object. The serpent had been right to look at for exactly as long as the looking went through it to God; the covenant had been right to hold for exactly as long as the holding was listening. The unit's verdict on Hezekiah is a single verb, bâṭach, and its verdict on Israel is a single verb twice negated, shâmaʻ. Trust and listening are the same posture named from two sides: both mean that the weight is somewhere other than in your own hand. That is why the king who smashed the relic and the king who kept the commandments are the same king, and why the destruction in v. 4 is filed under doing what is right, not under sacrilege. Nothing here says relics are the danger; Moses made this one. The danger is the moment a means becomes a terminus, and the one test the unit gives for telling the difference is whether the thing still sends you somewhere. Held that way, the harder question falls on us rather than on Hezekiah. We keep almost nothing in bronze. We keep it in habits, in translations we trust, in the commentaries quoted on this very page. Henry says all helps to devotion not warranted by the word interrupt the exercise of faith; that is a sharper knife than most readers want, and this tool, which is itself such a help, does not exempt itself from it.

Israel kept the covenant and crossed it; Judah kept the serpent and burned incense to it. The same failure, twice: a means made into a place to stop. (This line is the tool's own reading, not a verse of Scripture.)

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The fall of Samaria, entered twice in the record verbal / quotation: confirmed

Verses 9 to 12 repeat 2 Kings 17:3 to 6 at close to word-for-word length, and Cambridge states the verbal fact plainly of v. 11, that it “appears almost word for word” as 17:6. K&D explains the doubling as the same event entered once from the annals of Israel and once from the annals of Judah. The Verifier's basis is the rare proper name הוֹשֵׁעַ (Hôwshêaʻ, H1954), which stands in only fifteen verses of the Hebrew Bible and appears twice in each candidate, together with H804 ʼAshshûwr. Because the correspondence is textual repetition rather than an appeal to an authority, we tier it verbal on the strength of the rare lexeme and the recorded word-for-word overlap, not as a quotation.

2 Kings 17:6 · 2 Kings 17:3 · 2 Kings 17:1

basis: Verifier: shared Hebrew lexemes H1954 Hôwshêaʻ (rare, in 15 vv, twice in each candidate) and H804 ʼAshshûwr (in 138 vv); Cambridge records that 18:11 reproduces 17:6 almost word for word

Gozan, and the taunt that uses Israel's grave as an argument verbal / quotation: confirmed

גּוֹזָ֖ן (Gôwzân, H1470) stands in only five verses of the Hebrew Bible. Verse 11 puts Israel there. Two of the remaining occurrences are Rabshakeh's speech at 2 Kings 19:12 and its double at Isaiah 37:12, where Gozan heads the list of places whose gods did not deliver them, offered to Hezekiah as proof that trust in the LORD is futile. The Verifier records the shared rare lexeme and nothing more; the irony is ours to name, but the link itself is verbal and the rarity carries it. Note that the second reference lies outside this book, and that 2 Kings 19:12 and Isaiah 37:12 are themselves parallel texts, so the three passages are two witnesses, not three.

2 Kings 19:12 · Isaiah 37:12

basis: Verifier: shared Hebrew lexeme H1470 Gôwzân, rare (in 5 vv total), the sole shared basis in each pairing

Cleaving: a Deuteronomic word in a Judahite annal structural / thematic: confirmed

Barnes notes that the phrase “cleaving to God” is frequent in Deuteronomy and rare elsewhere, and the Verifier bears him out: וַיִּדְבַּק֙ (dâbaq, H1692) of v. 6 is shared with Deuteronomy 10:20, and the lexeme stands in fifty-two verses, which is uncommon but not rare enough to carry a verbal tier on its own. What the shared root shows is that the compiler is praising Hezekiah in the vocabulary of Deuteronomy, which is also where Cambridge locates the title “servant of the LORD” given to Moses in v. 12. The same book supplies both the commendation of the king and the indictment of the kingdom.

Deuteronomy 10:20

basis: Verifier pair check: shared Hebrew lexeme H1692 dâbaq (in 52 vv), a real verbal contact within a shared covenant-loyalty motif; too common for a quotation claim

The bronze serpent Moses made structural / thematic: confirmed

Verse 4 identifies the object it destroys by pointing back to an earlier narrative: the serpent of bronze that Moses had made, that is, Numbers 21:8 to 9. The Verifier's pair check on 2 Kings 18:4 and Numbers 21:9 returns three shared lexemes, נָחָשׁ (nâchâsh, H5175, in 28 verses), nᵉchôsheth (H5178, in 119) and Môsheh (H4872, in 704). None of the three is rare enough to establish a quotation, and the verse does not quote Numbers; it names its author and its material. Ellicott is candid that the compiler's authority for the identification may have been oral tradition or a written document, and that Kuenen doubted the relic's antiquity, while Cambridge and Pulpit both defend it. We therefore tier this structural rather than verbal, and record the doubt rather than suppressing it.

Numbers 21:8-9 · Deuteronomy 8:15

basis: Verifier pair check (2 Kings 18:4 / Numbers 21:9): shared Hebrew lexemes H5175 nâchâsh (in 28 vv), H5178 nᵉchôsheth (in 119 vv), H4872 Môsheh (in 704 vv); an explicit narrative back-reference, not a quotation, and Ellicott notes the compiler's source is unknown

Two kings, one superlative structural / thematic: confirmed

The praise of v. 5, that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah before or after, is repeated of Josiah at 2 Kings 23:25 in nearly the same words. Thenius pressed the pair as a contradiction; K&D answers that the ground differs, Hezekiah's bâṭach against Josiah's adherence to the Mosaic law, and Pulpit reaches the same resolution independently, one excelling in faith and the other in works. Benson, Poole and JFB add that Hezekiah began his reformation at once and removed the high places, which Josiah only followed. The Verifier's shared lexemes here are all common function words and titles, so the basis carries no verbal weight at all; the link is a shared formula.

2 Kings 23:25

basis: Verifier pair check: shared lexemes H3644 kᵉmôw (in 127 vv), H310 ʼachar (664), H6440 pânîym (1892), H4428 melek (1921), H3808 lôʼ (3967), all common; a repeated annalistic formula, with no rare lexeme to support a verbal claim

I will be with thee: the promise v. 7 repeats, and where the New Testament gets it flagged: verify source

Pulpit records the chain: “the LORD was with him” in v. 7 is said of no other king in these books but David (2 Samuel 5:10), and it is the promise given to Moses at Exodus 3:12 and to Joshua at Joshua 1:5. Hebrews 13:5 then assures Christians in nearly this language that God will never leave nor forsake them, and the provenance of that citation is genuinely disputed: it has been referred to Joshua 1:5, to Deuteronomy 31:6 and 31:8, and to Genesis 28:15, and it matches none of them exactly. Because this is a Greek text set against Hebrew ones, no shared Strong's lexeme can be computed in either direction, so no verbal tier is possible here on principle; and because the source of the New Testament wording is contested, we flag the link rather than confirm it. What stands without dispute is the internal Hebrew chain from Exodus through Joshua to this verse, which Pulpit states at v. 7.

Exodus 3:12 · Joshua 1:5 · 2 Samuel 5:10 · Hebrews 13:5

basis: Cross-Testament, Greek to Hebrew: shared Strong's numbers cannot be computed and no verbal claim is possible. The Hebrew side of the chain (Exodus 3:12, Joshua 1:5, 2 Samuel 5:10) is recorded by Pulpit at this verse; the Old Testament source of the Hebrews 13:5 wording is debated among Joshua 1:5, Deuteronomy 31:6 and 31:8, and Genesis 28:15, so the New Testament leg is flagged for verification

The prophet named Hoshea and the king named Hoshea structural / thematic: confirmed

The rare name הוֹשֵׁעַ (Hôwshêaʻ, H1954, in fifteen verses) that dates Hezekiah's accession in vv. 1, 9 and 10 is also the name of the prophet whose book is dated, at Hosea 1:1, by Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, the same kings. The Verifier records the shared lexemes H1954 and H271 ʼÂchâz. This is a coincidence of names and regnal dating, not a verbal allusion, and we claim nothing more from it than that the prophet who preached the end of the northern kingdom and the last king of that kingdom bore the one name, deliverance, and that the book of Kings and the book of Hosea are dating the same years from two sides.

Hosea 1:1

basis: Verifier: shared Hebrew lexemes H1954 Hôwshêaʻ (rare, in 15 vv) and H271 ʼÂchâz (in 39 vv); shared regnal dating and personal names, deliberately not tiered verbal since no quotation or allusion is claimed

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The thing lifted up, and the thing pulverised ancient/widely-held

⚙ The bronze serpent is the one object in Scripture that Moses was commanded to make, that healed those who looked at it, and that a righteous king was commended for grinding to powder. Both halves are the record. Benson, commenting on this verse, calls it “a special type of Christ” in the same breath in which he approves its destruction; Pulpit invokes John 3:14 explicitly, saying that considering what the serpent typified it is no surprise it was preserved; Gill, at v. 5, reports the Targum's “Word of the LORD” and reads Hezekiah's trust as resting not in Nehushtan but in him whom the bronze serpent was a type of. The apostolic warrant is Jesus' own, that as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. What v. 4 adds, and what the commentators keep saying in different words, is that the type is not the Saviour. The moment the sign was treated as the source it had to be destroyed, and the king who destroyed it is the king said to have trusted as no other king trusted. The reading is ancient and widely held; the sharp corollary, that the fate of Nehushtan is a standing judgment on every sign kept past its purpose, is Henry's and Benson's, not a novelty of ours.

John 3:14-15 · Numbers 21:8-9

Son of Ahaz, son of David, and a name in the genealogy ancient/widely-held

⚙ Verse 3 calls David the father of a man whose father was named in v. 1 as Ahaz. Geneva gives the reason the line survived at all, that God for the sake of his promise was merciful to the throne of David even when Judah was as given to idolatry as Israel. The book of Kings has just finished burying the northern kingdom, and it spends this unit showing that the southern one is still standing on a promise rather than on a performance. Matthew's genealogy makes the point in a list: Achaz begat Ezekias, and Ezekias stands in the line that runs to Joseph the husband of Mary. That is not a typological flourish, it is the register. The redemptive-historical weight of vv. 9 to 12 is exactly here: the kingdom that had no such promise was carried to the Habor and its calendar stopped, and the kingdom that did was dated on into the years where the promise was kept. The Davidic reading of Judah's survival is ancient and universal among the voices in this brief.

Matthew 1:9-10 · 2 Samuel 7:12-16

The LORD was with him: a formula that later becomes a name novel

⚙ Pulpit records the fact and we press it: “the LORD was with him” in v. 7 is said in these books of no king but David, and it is the promise given to Moses at Exodus 3:12 and to Joshua at Joshua 1:5. In Hezekiah's own generation Isaiah gave his father Ahaz a sign whose name is that same sentence made into a word, God with us, and Matthew applies it to the birth of Christ. We mark this one honestly as our own construction rather than a received reading: none of the commentators in this brief draws the line from v. 7 to Isaiah 7:14, and the Hebrew of v. 7 uses the ordinary preposition ʻim, not the form behind the name. What we claim is the shape, not a verbal link. The king whose name means “my strength is Jah,” of whom it is said that the LORD was with him, was reigning in the city where the sign of Immanuel had just been given to his father, who would not trust it.

Isaiah 7:14 · Matthew 1:23 · 2 Samuel 5:10

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (c. 1905)
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
Keil & Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1860s)
Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

⚙ Honesty notes for this unit. Text. The Hebrew is stable, but three places are contested and the brief preserves the contest rather than resolving it. First, the chronology of vv. 1 and 2: the ages given here, read with 2 Kings 16:2, require Ahaz to have fathered Hezekiah at about eleven. Poole, Gill, JFB and Cambridge each propose reconciliations from coregency or from the ancient practice of counting broken years; Barnes and Benson think it likelier that a numeral has been corrupted in transmission. No solution in this brief is demonstrated, and our notes do not choose one. Second, הָֽאֲשֵׁרָ֑ה in v. 4 is singular in the Masoretic text, while the versions and 2 Chronicles 31:1 read a plural; Ellicott and Pulpit would emend, K&D keeps the singular as collective. Third, the verb in v. 10 is plural in the Masoretic pointing and singular in the Septuagint, Syriac and Vulgate; Ellicott and Cambridge defend the plural, and Pulpit reads it as the writer's knowledge that Shalmaneser did not live to take the city. Sources. All twelve commentators named in the brief are quoted here at least once: Ellicott, Benson, Henry, Barnes, JFB, Gill, Geneva, Cambridge, Pulpit, K&D, Poole and Maclaren. Henry's notes are block comments on 18:1 to 8 and 18:9 to 16 rather than verse-level remarks, and are labelled as such where that matters. Maclaren's exposition is capped in the brief and we have quoted only from the portion supplied. Several of the historical reconstructions quoted, particularly Pulpit's and Barnes' on the Philistine campaign and Cambridge's on Sargon's capture of Samaria, rest on nineteenth-century readings of the Assyrian inscriptions and on Schrader, not on the biblical text; readers should weigh them as dated scholarship. What is uncertain. The date and motive of the Philistine war of v. 8 are genuinely unknown: Ellicott and K&D place it after Sennacherib's retreat, Pulpit in the wake of Sargon's campaign of about 720, and the verse gives no date at all. Whether Nehushtan was a name of contempt is undecidable from the Hebrew, and K&D directly contradicts Geneva, Gill and Poole on it. Whether Hezekiah's revolt in v. 7 was righteous is a question the narrator declines to answer, and the commentators quoted here reach three different verdicts. What is ours. Every ⚙ note, movement, sola reading and pullquote on this page is machine synthesis and fallible. The Immanuel reading in the third Christ entry is marked novel because no voice in this brief makes that connection; it is offered to be tested and rejected if it does not hold. The word glosses in the notes come from the brief's Strong's lexicon, and the thread bases from the Verifier, including three pair checks run for this unit (2 Kings 18:4 with Numbers 21:9, 18:6 with Deuteronomy 10:20, 18:5 with 2 Kings 23:25).

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)