Student Reader's History Notes » Southern Kingdom

Judean King Manesseh

Levi Clancy — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:58:23 +0000

Judean king Manasseh ruled from 698-642 BC, beginning his reign when he was only 12 years old. Migrants from the destroyed Northern Kingdom had brought their Canaanite characteristics into the Southern Kingdom, despite Hezekiah’s reforms. Canaanite cults flourished, including astrology and Ba’al worship (Ba’al is a traditional Canaanite deity). Also, the name Manasseh itself is from the Northern Kingdom, which is unusual considering Hezekiah’s Yahwism. Manesseh grew desperate as Edomites and Assyria exerted pressure on Judah, even going so far as to perform the Phoenician practice of sacrificial infanticide.

1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2 He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel. 3 For he built again the bamoth [high places] which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah [Asherah pole], as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served them. 4 He built altars in the house of Yahweh, of which Yahweh said, “I will put my name in Jerusalem.” 5 He built altars for all the army of the sky in the two courts of the house of Yahweh. 6 He made his son to pass through the fire, and practiced sorcery, and used enchantments, and dealt with those who had familiar spirits, and with wizards: he worked much evil in the sight of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger. (2 Kings 21:1-6)

Judean King Jehoiachin

Levi Clancy — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:21:50 +0000

Jehoiachin (aka Jeconiah) (598/597 BC) surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:8). Jehoiachin’s reign was ended after just 3 months when he was deported to Babylon and imprisoned (along with 10,000 other Judeans). Jehoiachin was released from prison when he was 37, but he remained in Babylon (as attested by Babylonian sources).

6 liters (of oil) for J[eh]oiachin, king of the land of Judah. 2½ liters for the 5 princes of Judah. 4 liters for the 8 men of Judah. (Babylonian cuneiform tablet found in the Ishtar Gate)

27 It happened in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison; 28 and he spoke kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon, 29 and changed his prison garments. Jehoiachin ate bread before him continually all the days of his life: 30 and for his allowance, there was a continual allowance given him of the king, every day a portion, all the days of his life. (2 Kings 25:27–30)

Judean King Josiah

Levi Clancy — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 06:22:08 +0000

16 “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Behold, I will bring evil on this place, and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. 17 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and it shall not be quenched.’” (2 Kings 22:16-17)

Judean king Josiah’s (639-609 BC) prophet warned him of the doom that awaited Judah, as Judah had strayed from Yahweh. In response, Josiah instituted widespread and very dramatic reforms, striking down any Canaanite cultic edifices he could reach and even abandoning Canaanite burial practices. These reforms were arguably more extensive than those of Judean king Hezekiah. Regardless, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem when Josiah rebelled against them.

8 He brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba; and he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man’s left hand at the gate of the city. 9 Nevertheless the priests of the high places didn’t come up to the altar of Yahweh in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.

10 He defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech. 11 He took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of Yahweh, by the room of Nathan Melech the officer, who was in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 The king broke down the altars that were on the roof of the upper room of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Yahweh, and beat them down from there, and cast their dust into the brook Kidron. 13 The the king defiled the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mountain of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon. 14 He broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the Asherim, and filled their places with the bones of men.

15 Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and beat it to dust, and burned the Asherah. 16 As Josiah turned himself, he spied the tombs that were there in the mountain; and he sent, and took the bones out of the tombs, and burned them on the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of Yahweh which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things. (2 KIngs 23:8-16)

24 Moreover Josiah removed those who had familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Yahweh. 25 Like him was there no king before him, who turned to Yahweh with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him. (2 KIngs 23:24-25)

Judean King Hezekiah

Levi Clancy — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:42:55 +0000

When Assyrian king Sargon II (721-705 BC) died, Hezekiah stopped paying the tribute imposed upon Judah and allied with the Egyptians. However, Sargon II’s son Sennacherib (704-681 BC) invaded Judah in ~701 BC and his prism states the he conquered 46 Judean cities. Sennacherib came against the walls of Jerusalem and Hezekiah surrendered at a tribute of 300 silver talents (800 total were eventually procured) and 30 gold talents.

Hezekiah performed massive religious reforms to severely oppress Canaanite cults. This scale of opposition to Canaanite traditions was unmatched until Josiah’s reign 100 years later. He struck down bamoth (likely Canaanite shrines), masseboth (likely Canaanite sacred stone pillars) and Asherah poles (poles representing the Canaanite deity Asherah). Religious reforms do not just happen spontaneously; they happen in response to a pressure or danger. In Hezekiah’s case, the cause was the impending attack from Assyria.

1 Now in the third year of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, became king of Judah. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, ruling in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years; his mother’s name was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah. 3 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord as David his father had done. 4 He had the high places [bamoth, likely just shrines] taken away, and the stone pillars [aka sacred stones or masseboth] broken to bits, and the Asherah [Asherah poles] cut down; and the brass snake [named Nehushtan] which Moses had made was crushed to powder at his order, because in those days the children of Israel had offerings burned before it, and he gave it the name Nehushtan. (2 Kings 18:1-4)

When Hezekiah stopped paying tribute to Assyria yet again, he believed that Yahweh would protect Judah. However, Hezekiah also made practical preparations just in case: development of fortifications; storage of food in jars stamped with special lmlk seals; and protection of Jerusalem’s water source. The lmlk seal denoted a jar belonged to the king and jars bearing lmlk seals have been found throughout Judah (although primarily at Lachish and Judah). A notable fortification was the broad wall around Jerusalem that was 8m thick and 8m high (Isaiah 22:1-14). To protect Jerusalem’s water source, Hezekiah built Hezekiah’s Tunnel to bring water from nearby hills into Jerusalem (according to the tunnel inscription). In 701 BC, the siege finally occurred and Jerusalem was able to repel the Assyrians. Thus, Judah was free from being a vassal to Assyria.

Syro-Ephraimite War

Levi Clancy — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:45:40 +0000

Before 742 BC, Judah (Jotham) is attacked by Damascus (Rezin) and Israel (Pekah) in an attempt to force Judah to join them against Assyria. But an attack by Assyrua upon Aram relieved Judah’s pressure.

Timeline of Israel, Part IIB: Southern Kingdom, Judah

Levi Clancy — Wed, 13 May 2009 19:06:44 +0000

Period or Event	King	Time-Frame	Overview
	Rehoboam	10^th cent. BC	Judean King Rehoboam ruled from Jerusalem (1 Kings 14:21-24). After his crushing loss that led to the fractionation of the United Monarchy, he built fortresses throughout Judah. In ~925 BC, Shishak (Sheshonq) invades and attacks town in Israel and Judah (1 KIngs 14:25-28).
	Abijam
	Asa
	Jehoshaphat
	Jehoram
	Ahaziah
	Athaliah
	Joash	837-800 BC	Joash (aka Jehoash) stripped the temple to pay off Hazael, thus sparing Jerusalem preventing further damage to Judah (2 Kings 12 12:17). Also, Assyria attacked (and distracted) the Arameans and was thus seen as a savior of Judah (2 Kings 13:4).
	Amaziah
	Uzziah		Uzziah (aka Azariah)
	Jotham
	Ahaz
	Hezekiah	727-698	Hezekiah led massive religious reforms that oppressed Canaanite cults and favored Yahwism. Hezekiah’s faith gave him the courage to rebel against Assyria, eventually regaining Judah’s independence after a failed first attempt. A growth in literacy began under Hezekiah and continued through Josiah, as evidenced by an increase in inscribed items such as ostraca (shards used for quick notes), pottery (descriptive notes on the shoulders), inscribed weights, seals and bullae, amulets and inscriptions (monuments and tombs).
Sennacherib’s Campaign		701 BC	In 701 BC, Assyrian king Sennacherib (704-681 BC) underwent an extensive invasion of Judah. This resulted in his locking Hezekiah into Jerusalem like “a bird in a cage” as attested in Sennacherib’s hexagonal prism.
Rise of the Edomites			After the Assyrian conquest, Edomites entered Judah in hopes of exploiting its land.
	Manasseh	698-642 BC	Migrants from the destroyed Northern Kingdom brought their Canaanite culture into the Southern Kingdom. Despite Hezekiah’s reforms, there was a flourish of astrology, Ba’al worship (Ba’al is a traditional Canaanite deity) and other Canaanite characteristics. Also, the name Manasseh itself is from the Northern Kingdom, which is unusual considering Hezekiah’s Yahwism. Manesseh grew desperate as Edomites and Assyria exerted pressure on Judah, even going so far as to perform the Phoenician practice of sacrificial infanticide.
	Amon	642-640 BC
	Josiah	639-609 BC	His reforms were massive. Josiah rebelled against Babylonians so they came and destroyed jerusalem.
	Jehoahaz II	609	Son of Josiah; deported by Neco after only 3 months on the Judean throne (2 Kings 23:31).
Armageddon		609 BC
	Jehoiakim	609-598	Jehoiakim (born Eliakim and son of Josiah) was installed as king of Judah by Neco. Judah became a vassal to Babylonians for 3 years and Judah was beset by its neighbors (including the Edomites).
	Jehoiachin	598/597	Jehoiachin (aka Jeconiah) surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar during siege of Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:8). He was deported to Babylon, ending his reign prematurely at only 3 months. The Temple was stripped yet again and 10,000 Judeans were deported from Jerusalem. Jehoiachin was released from prison when he was 37, but he remained in Babylon (as attested by Babylonian sources).
1^st Deportation		597 BC	King Jehoiachin and Prophet Ezekiel were exiled to Babylon. Zedekiah was placed on throne.
	Zedekiah	597–587 BC	Zedekiah (born Mattaniah and uncle of Jehoiachin) was installed as king of Judah by Babylon (2 Kings 24:18). However, he rebelled against Babylonian control and Jerusalem was besieged. Records indicate the onset of starvation within 6 months of the siege, and the city burned thereafter. Zedekiah was exiled to Babylon.
2^nd Deportation		586 BC	The Temple was destroyed and elites (craftsmen, administrators, etc) were exiled. Many Judeans fled to Egypt (Jeremiah 42–44).
Judah’s Demise		608-586 BC	The destruction of Megiddo — armageddon — was in 609 BC under Josiah’s reign (2 Kings 23:29-30).
3^rd Deportation		581 BC	Babylonia performed a third and final deportation of Judeans.