Hezekiah (740–685 BCE)
Born 740 BCE, died 685 BCE.
Hezekiah (; Biblical Hebrew: חִזְקִיָּהוּ, romanized: Ḥizqiyyāhū), or Ezekias (born c. 741 BCE, sole ruler c. 716/15–687/86 BCE), was the son of Ahaz and the thirteenth king of Judah. He is described as "the best-attested figure in biblical history," due to the extensive documentation of his reign in biblical texts and external sources (notably Assyrian inscriptions). His reign was marked by his significant religious reforms and his revolt against the Assyrian Empire. He witnessed the destruction of the northern Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians under Sargon II in c. 722 BCE and later faced the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem by King Sennacherib in 701 BCE. Hezekiah's changes to the official Yahweh worship, especially his centralization of worship in Jerusalem and his efforts to rid Judah of the worship of other cult gods and goddesses, are a major focus of biblical accounts. He is considered a very righteous king in both the Second Book of Kings and the Second Book of Chronicles.
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