Hezekiah and the Golden Age CONTINUED and Josiah’s Jerusalem: Lecture 5.2 and 6.1 - January 27, 2011

Hezekiah and the Golden Age CONTINUED

Under Hezekiah’s time in power, written rule became more important and authoritative than kings or rulers. Kings were subject to these rules as well. Professor Cargill then continued to discuss the term “messiah” which referred to an “anointed one” which was written in the book of Isaiah where Hezekiah is explicitly referred to as the “messiah.” The reason he was given such a noble and meaningful title was because he was able to hold of the Assyrian attack under Sennacherib. This failure to destroy Jerusalem was a clear depiction of the strength of the legacy of an inviolable Jerusalem. The belief that God would truly protect Jerusalem and would not let it be taken over. This led to King Hezekiah’s religious reform that constituted of uniting all the people to potentially prepare for a revolt against Assyria. He established this centralization of Jerusalem by enforcing one orthodoxy and one way to worship and one temple in Jerusalem – this was clear indication that he was preparing for rebellion.

           

Josiah’s Jerusalem: Centralization of Religion in Jerusalem

            After Sennacherib’s invasion and Hezekiah’s rule ended, his son, Manasseh, came into power and basically undid all of the religious reforms that Hezekiah put into place. He helped expand and urbanize Jerusalem. After Manasseh, Josiah was installed at the age of eight. He was so young that royal advisors actually had to do all of the decision making. Because Josiah lacked charisma and power at such a young age, a new way needed to be found in order to build power. As a result of this rule under a text began developing. This law came to be the book of Deuteronomy and was referred to as “Deuteronomistic” reform (2 Kings 22: 23). This reform included only worship of Yahweh and no foreign Gods, the worship of God could only be in Jerusalem, the founding of the Book of the “Law” also known as the Torah and the demand that the reading of the Book be done. This made literacy increase in significance, leading to a negative image of those who did not know how to read or write. An example of this was the Lachish Letter 3, depicting the expectation that people could read and write.