Literature Tradition
- Once the Assyrians adopted Aramaic writing, it became important for the state to write down everything in order to build up the legend of Jerusalem, and to exercise control (propaganda). This is how Christianity, Judaism, and Islam became text-based faiths where the written rule was more important than the King’s position
Hezekiah
- Referred to in the bible as the messiah (one who is anointed with oil) who will deliver Israel from Assyria (Isaiah 7, Isaiah 9, Isaiah 11)
- Fact: Sennacherib (Assyria) does not defeat Hezekiah (Jerusalem)
- Opinion: From Assyrian’s POV, they had other responsibilities and wars and had to pull out. From Jerusalem’s POV, their city was saved by God
- This marked the moment when Jerusalem’s reputation became to be one of a protected city
- Zion Theology: literary references that refer to the belief that Jerusalem is God’s chosen city and where the Jews should live
- Hezekiah knocked down other YHWY shrines except for the Jerusalem temple in order to centralize religion around Jerusalem
Josiah
- Deuteronomistic theology – good works à God’s blessings and vice versa
- Jerusalem grows and multiplies, so when a young Josiah becomes king at the age of 8, authority is built around a written text
- Josiah also knocked down shrines like his father Hezekiah, but he did so under the impression that those shrines were made to worship other gods. This shows that the tradition of worshipping one true God was very ingrained into Jerusalem’s culture by this time
Hezekiah is known to have been a great king. Why does he think in Isaiah 39:8, “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good [regarding Babylon taking all of Judah’s treasures]…For [Hezekiah] thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.’” It seems as if Hezekiah doesn’t care if Judah will be defeated (as long as its not under his reign). This selfish thought seems to directly go against the Hezekiah described in 2 Kings 18:5-7: “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him…and the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook.”
Where in the bible is the evidence that the shrines Hezekiah destroyed were indeed shrines for YHWY and not another god?
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