2Ki 18-19 | NETfull | STEP | In the third year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became king over Judah.

2 Kings 18

Hezekiah Becomes King of Judah

1 In the third year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became king over Judah. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. ^{▼▼ For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; Journey of Paul map 1-F4; Journey of Paul map 2-F4; Journey of Paul map 3-F4; Journey of Paul map 4-F4.} His mother ^{▼▼ Heb “the name of his mother.”} was Abi, ^{▼▼ The parallel passage in 2 Chr 29:1 has “Abijah.”} the daughter of Zechariah. 3 He did what the Lord approved, just as his ancestor David had done. ^{▼▼ Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord, according to all which David his father had done.”} 4 He eliminated the high places, smashed the sacred pillars to bits, and cut down the Asherah pole. ^{▼▼ The term is singular in the MT but plural in the LXX and other ancient versions. It is also possible to regard the singular as a collective singular, especially in the context of other plural items.} ^{▼▼ Asherah was a leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles. These were to be burned or cut down (Deut 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).} He also demolished the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for up to that time ^{▼▼ Heb “until those days.”} the Israelites had been offering incense to it; it was called Nehushtan. ^{▼▼ In Hebrew the name sounds like the phrase נְחַשׁ הַנְּחֹשֶׁת (n^ekhash hann^ekhoshet), “bronze serpent.”} 5 He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; in this regard there was none like him among the kings of Judah either before or after. ^{▼▼ Heb “and after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, and those who were before him.”} 6 He was loyal to ^{▼▼ Heb “he hugged.”} the Lord and did not abandon him. ^{▼▼ Heb “and did not turn aside from after him.”} He obeyed the commandments which the Lord had given to ^{▼▼ Heb “had commanded.”} Moses. 7 The Lord was with him; he succeeded in all his endeavors. ^{▼▼ Heb “in all which he went out [to do], he was successful.”} He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to submit to him. ^{▼▼ Heb “and did not serve him.”} 8 He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from the watchtower to the city fortress. ^{▼▼ See the note at 2 Kgs 17:9.}

9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah’s reign (it was the seventh year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea, son of Elah), King Shalmaneser of Assyria marched ^{▼▼ Heb “went” (also in v. 13).} up against Samaria ^{▼▼ For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.} and besieged it. 10 After three years he captured it (in the sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign); in the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign over Israel Samaria was captured. 11 The king of Assyria deported the people of Israel ^{▼▼ The Hebrew text has simply “Israel” as the object of the verb.} to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes. 12 This happened because they did not obey ^{▼▼ Heb “listen to the voice of.”} the Lord their God and broke his agreement with them. ^{▼▼ Heb “his covenant.”} They did not pay attention to and obey all that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded. ^{▼▼ Heb “all that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded, and they did not listen and they did not act.”}

Sennacherib Invades Judah

13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 14 King Hezekiah of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria, who was at Lachish, “I have violated our treaty. ^{▼▼ Or “I have done wrong.”} If you leave, I will do whatever you demand.” ^{▼▼ Heb “Return from upon me; what you place upon me, I will carry.”} So the king of Assyria demanded that King Hezekiah of Judah pay three hundred talents ^{▼▼ The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 22,500 pounds of silver and 2,250 pounds of gold.} of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 Hezekiah gave him all the silver in ^{▼▼ Heb “that was found.”} the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace. 16 At that time King Hezekiah of Judah stripped the metal overlays from the doors of the Lord’s temple and from the posts which he had plated ^{▼▼ Heb “At that time Hezekiah stripped the doors of the Lord’s temple, and the posts which Hezekiah king of Judah had plated.”} and gave them to the king of Assyria.

17 The king of Assyria sent his commanding general, the chief eunuch, and the chief adviser ^{▼▼ For a discussion of these titles see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 229-30.} from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, ^{▼▼ For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; Journey of Paul map 1-F4; Journey of Paul map 2-F4; Journey of Paul map 3-F4; Journey of Paul map 4-F4.} along with a large army. They went up and arrived at Jerusalem. They went ^{▼▼ Heb “and they went up and came.”} and stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. ^{▼▼ Heb “the field of the washer.”} 18 They summoned the king, so Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet them.

19 The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence? ^{▼▼ Heb “What is this object of trust in which you are trusting?”} 20 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. ^{▼▼ Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.} In whom are you trusting that you would dare to rebel against me? 21 Now look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If a man leans for support on it, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him. 22 Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem.’ 23 Now make a deal ^{▼▼ Heb “exchange pledges.”} with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. 24 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen. ^{▼▼ Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 23–24 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 21. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”} 25 Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this place to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March ^{▼▼ Heb “Go.”} up against this land and destroy it.’”’” ^{▼▼ In v. 25 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 22. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.}

26 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic, ^{▼▼ Aramaic was the diplomatic language of the empire.} for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect ^{▼▼ Or “Hebrew.”} in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 27 But the chief adviser said to them, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. ^{▼▼ Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.} His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you.” ^{▼▼ Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”} ^{▼▼ The chief adviser alludes to the horrible reality of siege warfare, when the starving people in the besieged city would resort to eating and drinking anything to stay alive.}

28 The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect, ^{▼▼ The Hebrew text also has, “and he spoke and said.”} “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria. 29 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you from my hand! ^{▼▼ The MT has “his hand,” but this is due to graphic confusion of vav (ו) and yod (י). The translation reads “my hand,” along with many medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, Targum, and Vulgate.} 30 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord when he says, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 31 Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. ^{▼▼ Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”} Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 32 until I come and take you to a land just like your own – a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Then you will live and not die. Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” 33 Have any of the gods of the nations actually rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? ^{▼▼ Heb “Have the gods of the nations really rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the main verb. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”} 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? ^{▼▼ The parallel passage in Isa 36:19 omits “Hena and Ivvah.” The rhetorical questions in v. 34a suggest the answer, “Nowhere, they seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”} Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria ^{▼▼ For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.} from my power? ^{▼▼ Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 33, 35).} 35 Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’” ^{▼▼ Heb “that the Lord might rescue Jerusalem from my hand?” The logic runs as follows: Since no god has ever been able to withstand the Assyrian onslaught, how can the people of Jerusalem possibly think the Lord will rescue them?} 36 The people were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.”

37 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn ^{▼▼ As a sign of grief and mourning.} and reported to him what the chief adviser had said.

2 Kings 19

1 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lord’s temple. 2 He sent Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, ^{▼▼ Heb “elders of the priests.”} clothed in sackcloth, with this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: 3 “This is what Hezekiah says: ^{▼▼ In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him.”} ‘This is a day of distress, insults, ^{▼▼ Or “rebuke,” “correction.”} and humiliation, ^{▼▼ Or “contempt.”} as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through. ^{▼▼ Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”} 4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. ^{▼▼ Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”} When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. ^{▼▼ Heb “and rebuke the words which the Lord your God hears.”} So pray for this remnant that remains.’” ^{▼▼ Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”}

5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord says: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard – these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me. ^{▼▼ Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”} 7 Look, I will take control of his mind; ^{▼▼ Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh), “spirit,” is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent.} he will receive ^{▼▼ Heb “hear.”} a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down ^{▼▼ Heb “cause him to fall,” that is, “kill him.”} with a sword in his own land.”’”

8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning. ^{▼▼ Heb “and the chief adviser returned and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.”} 9 The king ^{▼▼ Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.} heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was marching out to fight him. ^{▼▼ Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘Look, he has come out to fight with you.’”} He again sent messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: 10 “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over ^{▼▼ Heb “will not be given.”} to the king of Assyria.” 11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands. ^{▼▼ Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.”} Do you really think you will be rescued? ^{▼▼ Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”} 12 Were the nations whom my ancestors destroyed – the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar – rescued by their gods? ^{▼▼ Heb “Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed rescue them – Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who are in Telassar?”} 13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of Lair, ^{▼▼ Lair is a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.} Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”

14 Hezekiah took the letter ^{▼▼ The MT has the plural, “letters,” but the final mem is probably dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular.} from the messengers and read it. ^{▼▼ The MT has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preceding textual corruption (of “letter” to “letters”). The parallel passage in Isa 37:14 has the singular suffix.} Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: “Lord God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubs! ^{▼▼ This refers to the cherub images that were above the ark of the covenant.} You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky ^{▼▼ Or “the heavens.”} and the earth. 16 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to the message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! ^{▼▼ Heb “Hear the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”} 17 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. 18 They have burned the gods of the nations, ^{▼▼ Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”} for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. ^{▼▼ Heb “so they destroyed them.”} 19 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Lord, are the only God.”

20 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I have heard your prayer concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria. ^{▼▼ Heb “That which you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” The verb “I have heard” does not appear in the parallel passage in Isa 37:21, where אֲשֶׁר (’asher) probably has a causal sense, “because.”} 21 This is what the Lord says about him: ^{▼▼ Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”}

“The virgin daughter Zion ^{▼▼ Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it.}
despises you, she makes fun of you;
Daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you. ^{▼▼ Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.}
22 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?
At whom have you shouted, ^{▼▼ Heb “have you raised a voice.”}
and looked so arrogantly? ^{▼▼ Heb “and lifted your eyes on high?”}
At the Holy One of Israel! ^{▼▼ This divine title pictures the Lord as the sovereign king who rules over his covenant people and exercises moral authority over them.}
23 Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, ^{▼▼ The word is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai), “lord,” but some Hebrew mss have יְהוָה (yehvah), “Lord.”}
‘With my many chariots ^{▼▼ The consonantal text (Kethib) has בְּרֶכֶב (b^erekhev), but this must be dittographic (note the following רִכְבִּי [rikhbi], “my chariots”). The marginal reading (Qere) בְּרֹב (b^erov), “with many,” is supported by many Hebrew mss and ancient versions, as well as the parallel passage in Isa 37:24.}
I climbed up the high mountains,
the slopes of Lebanon.
I cut down its tall cedars,
and its best evergreens.
I invaded its most remote regions, ^{▼▼ Heb “the lodging place of its extremity.”}
its thickest woods.
24 I dug wells and drank
water in foreign lands. ^{▼▼ Heb “I dug and drank foreign waters.”}
With the soles of my feet I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt.’
25 ^{▼▼ Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23–24, the Lord now speaks to the king.} Certainly you must have heard! ^{▼▼ Heb “Have you not heard?” The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s amazement that anyone might be ignorant of what he is about to say.}
Long ago I worked it out,
In ancient times I planned ^{▼▼ Heb “formed.”} it;
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins. ^{▼▼ Heb “and it is to cause to crash into heaps of ruins fortified cities.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb תְּהִי (t^ehi) is the implied plan, referred to in the preceding lines with third feminine singular pronominal suffixes.}
26 Their residents are powerless, ^{▼▼ Heb “short of hand.”}
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field,
or green vegetation. ^{▼▼ Heb “they are plants in the field and green vegetation.” The metaphor emphasizes how short-lived these seemingly powerful cities really were. See Ps 90:5–6; Isa 40:6–8, 24.}
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops ^{▼▼ Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.}
when it is scorched by the east wind. ^{▼▼ The Hebrew text has “scorched before the standing grain” (perhaps meaning “before it reaches maturity”), but it is preferable to emend קָמָה (qamah), “standing grain,” to קָדִים (qadim), “east wind” (with the support of 1Q Isa^a in Isa 37:27).}
27 I know where you live,
and everything you do. ^{▼▼ Heb “your going out and your coming in.” The MT also has here, “and how you have raged against me.” However, this line is probably dittographic (note the beginning of the next line).}
28 Because you rage against me,
and the uproar you create has reached my ears; ^{▼▼ Heb “and your complacency comes up into my ears.” The parallelism is improved if שַׁאֲנַנְךְ (sha’anankh), “your complacency,” is emended to שַׁאֲוַנְךְ (sha’avankh), “your uproar.” See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 237-38.}
I will put my hook in your nose, ^{▼▼ The word picture has a parallel in Assyrian sculpture. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 238.}
and my bridle between your lips,
and I will lead you back the way
you came.”
29 ^{▼▼ At this point the word concerning the king of Assyria (vv. 21–28) ends and the Lord again directly addresses Hezekiah and the people (see v. 20).} This will be your confirmation that I have spoken the truth: ^{▼▼ Heb “and this is your sign.” In this case the אוֹת (’ot), “sign,” is a future confirmation of God’s intervention designated before the actual intervention takes place. For similar “signs” see Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14–25.} This year you will eat what grows wild, ^{▼▼ This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.} and next year ^{▼▼ Heb “and in the second year.”} what grows on its own from that. But in the third year you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. ^{▼▼ The four plural imperatival verb forms in v. 29b are used rhetorically. The Lord commands the people to plant, harvest, etc. to emphasize the certainty of restored peace and prosperity. See IBHS 572 #34.4.c.} 30 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. ^{▼▼ Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.”}

31 For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The intense devotion of the sovereign Lord ^{▼▼ Traditionally “the Lord of hosts.”} to his people ^{▼▼ Heb “the zeal of the Lord.” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to protect and restore them. The Qere, along with many medieval Hebrew mss and the ancient versions, has “the zeal of the LORD of hosts” rather than “the zeal of the LORD” (Kethib). The translation follows the Qere here.} will accomplish this.
32 So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
“He will not enter this city,
nor will he shoot an arrow here. ^{▼▼ Heb “there.”}
He will not attack it with his shield-carrying warriors, ^{▼▼ Heb “[with] a shield.” By metonymy the “shield” stands for the soldier who carries it.}
nor will he build siege works against it.
33 He will go back the way he came.
He will not enter this city,” says the Lord.
34 I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.’” ^{▼▼ Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”}

35 That very night the Lord’s messenger went out and killed 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. When they ^{▼▼ This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army.} got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses. ^{▼▼ Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies.”} 36 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. ^{▼▼ Heb “and Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and lived in Nineveh.”} 37 One day, ^{▼▼ The assassination probably took place in 681 b.c.} as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, ^{▼▼ No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name is a corruption of Nusku.} his sons ^{▼▼ Although “his sons” is absent in the Kethib, it is supported by the Qere, along with many medieval Hebrew mss and the ancient versions. Cf. Isa 37:38.} Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. ^{▼▼ Extra-biblical sources also mention the assassination of Sennacherib, though they refer to only one assassin. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 239-40.} They escaped to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.