(1) The fourteenth ruler of the kingdom of Judah (727–698 BC). He was the son of Ahaz, an impious king, but Hezekiah reversed his father’s religious policies and worked hard at promoting true worship of Yahweh. Though not perfect, he, along with Josiah, is remembered as one of the two best kings to rule Judah.

He was not sole ruler of Judah until 715 BC, and he was serving as coregent with Ahaz when the northern kingdom fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC (2 Kings 18:9–12). Perhaps the fate of the northern kingdom led Hezekiah to initiate religious reform in Judah.

Although Judah was not incorporated into the Assyrian Empire when the northern kingdom fell, it was always under that great kingdom’s shadow and threat, likely paying annual tribute. It appears that Hezekiah participated in an area-wide revolt against Assyria after the death of Sargon II in 705 BC. In response, the new Assyrian king, Sennacherib, threatened Jerusalem in 701 BC. The Assyrian army successfully took many Judean cities, and its envoys appeared at the walls of Jerusalem. The prophet Isaiah assured Hezekiah that the capital would not fall, and it did not (2 Kings 18:17–19:37; 2 Chron. 32:1–23; Isa. 36–37).

According to 2 Kings 20:20, Hezekiah constructed a tunnel that brought water inside the walls of the city. The tunnel still exists today and takes the water from the Gihon spring to the Pool of Siloam. It is a remarkable engineering achievement, and an inscription found on the wall inside the tunnel indicates that it was built during Hezekiah’s reign.

After the Assyrian siege, Hezekiah fell sick, and Isaiah announced that he would die (2 Kings 20:1–11; Isa. 38). Hezekiah turned to God in prayer, and God granted him fifteen additional years of life, giving the king the remarkable sign of the sundial whose shadow moved backward.

Even Hezekiah, though, had his bad moments. After showing a Babylonian leader, Marduk-Baladan, the temple treasures, thus revealing an inclination to trust foreign powers rather than God, Hezekiah heard from Isaiah that his descendants would suffer the consequences of his action (2 Kings 20:13–21; Isa. 39).

(2) A forefather of the prophet Zephaniah (Zeph. 1:1; KJV: “Hizkiah”). (3) The ancestor of a family listed among those that returned from the Babylonian exile (Ezra 2:16; Neh. 7:21). (4) One of the leaders of the returned exiles, he participated in the sealing of the covenant at the Ezra-Nehemiah renewal ceremony (Neh. 10:17; KJV: “Hizkijah”). He may be the same as 3.