SUPPLEMENT TO J'S HISTORY OF THE PEOPLE

OF ISRAEL

BY JE, COMPILER OF THE WORKS OF J AND E

SECTION I.-The death of Jeroboam II, king of Israel, and the accesion of Azariah (Uzziah) to the throne of Judah. The swift succession of usurpers in Israel. The reign of Pekah (Pekaiah?) and the first invasion by Assyria. The reigns of Jotham and Ahaz in Judah. Hoshea reigns in Israel. The second invasion of Assyria; the siege of Samaria, and the fall of the Northern Kingdom (2 Ki. xv-xvii.) Materials: Chiefly the "Chronicles" of the kings of Judah and of Israel, constantly referred to by JE; but evidently also, accounts of eye-witnesses, himself and others; probably too the Temple Records.

Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus and Hamath for Judah in Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; and Zechariah his son reigned in his stead.'

In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam, king of Israel, began Azariah son of Amaziah, king of Judah, to reign. Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. And he did right in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. But Yahweh smote the king so that he was leper to the day of his death; and he dwelt in a house apart. And Jotham, the king's son was over the household, judging the people of the land. Now the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And Azariah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David; and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.

In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months. And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead. Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah; behold, they are written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. This was the word of Yahweh which He spake unto Jehu, saying: Thy sons to the fourth generation shall sit upon the throne of Israel. And so it came to pass.

1 As E wrote only of the earlier acts of Jeroboam, it is presumable that he died before him, and it was left to JE to record his death. The apparent abruptness of the above opening is therefore due to the fact that JE was merely continuing the formulæ he had used before in trying to combine and synchronize the works of J and E. See table of Kings in Story of Elisha, p. 245.

Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and twentieth year of Uzziah (Azariah) king of Judah; and he reigned the space of a month in Samaria. And Menahem, the son of Gadi, went up from Tirzah and came to Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and reigned in his stead. Now the rest of the acts of Shallum and the conspiracy that he made, behold, they are written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

Then Menahem smote Tiphsah and all that were therein, because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; and all the women with child he ripped up. In the nine and twentieth year of Azariah, king of Judah, began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel; and he reigned ten years in Samaria. There came against the land Pul [Tiglath Pileser III] the king of Assyria; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand. And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man twenty shekels of silver to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land. Now the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekaiah his son reigned in his stead.' In the fiftieth year of Azariah, king of Judah, Pekaiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria; and he reigned two years. And Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the castle of the king's house, by Argob and by Arieh; and with him were fifty men of the Gileadites; and he slew him, and reigned in his stead. Now the rest of the acts of Pekaiah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah, king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years. In the days of Pekah, king of Israel, came Tiglath Pileser, king of Assyria, and took Ijon and Abel-beth-Maacah, and Janoah and Kedesh and Hazor, and Gilead, all the land of Napthtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria.

And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. Now the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign. Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. And he did that which was right in the sight of Yahweh; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. He built the upper gates of the House of Yahweh. Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

In those days Yahweh began to send against the house of Judah Rezin the king of Aram, and Pekah the son of Remaliah. And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.

In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. Twenty years old was Ahaz

It is generally doubted whether there was ever a king Pekaiah, or whether the name was not due to a scribal error, followed up by the ordinary formula. As yet there is no proof on either side. We have not those chronicles.

when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not that which was right in the sight of Yahweh his God, like David his father, but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; yea, and he made his son to pass through fire, according to the abominations of the heathen whom Yahweh cast out from before the Children of Israel. Then Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to war; and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. At that time, Rezin king of Aram, recovered Elath for Aram, and drove the Israelites from Elath; and the Edomites came to Elath, and dwell there unto this day.

So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglah Pileser, king of Assyria, saying: I am thy servant and thy son. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me. And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of Yahweh and in the treasure of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.

And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser, king of Damascus, and saw the altar that was at Damascus; and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof. And Urijah the priest built an altar; according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so did Urijah the priest make it against the coming of king Ahaz from Damascus. And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and the king drew near unto the altar, and offered thereon. And he offered his burnt-offering and his meal-offering, and poured his drink-offering, and dashed the blood of the peace-offerings against the altar. And the brazen altar which was before Yahweh, he brought from the forefront of the house, from between his altar and the House of Yahweh, and put it on the south side of his altar. And King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying: Upon the great altar offer the morning burnt-offering and the evening meal-offering, and the king's burnt-offering and his meal-offering with the burntoffering of all the people of the land, and their meal-offerings and their drink-offerings; and dash against it all the blood of the burntoffering, and all the blood of the sacrifice. But the brazen altar shall be for me to look to. Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that king Ahaz commanded.

And king Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brazen oxen that were under it, and put it on a pavement of stone. And the covered place for the sabbath that they had built in the house and the king's entry without, turned he unto the House of Yahweh because the king of Assyria. Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

In the twelfth year of Ahaz the king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel, and he reigned nine years. Against him came up Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, and Hoshea became his servant, and made him presents. But the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and offered no present to the king of Assyria as he had before done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in

prison. Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of king Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away unto Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon and from Cutha, and from Avva and from Hamath and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the Children of Israel; and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not Yahweh; therefore Yahweh sent lions among them which killed some of them. Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying: The nations which thou hast removed and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land; therefore He hath sent lions among them; and behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.

Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying: Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence, and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land. So, one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how they should reverence Yahweh. Howbeit, every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, each nation in the city wherein they dwelt. And the men of Babylon made Succoth-bemoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Niblas and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burnt their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of the Sepharvaim. So they feared Yahweh, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away. Unto this day, they do after their former manners.

SECTION II.-The Reign of Hezekiah in Judah. His care for the worship of Yahweh alone. His successful campaign against the Philistines. A second and fuller account of the fall of the Kingdom of Israel. The Invasion of Judah by Sennacherib. Details of his campaign, and its end. The appearance of Isaiah the prophet as counsellor of the king. Hezekiah's illness. The embassy from Babylon upon his recovery; the king's imprudence in displaying his treasures, and Isaiah's foresight of the result. Death of Hezekiah and accession of Manasseh. (2 Kings, xviii-xx.)

Materials: From the "Chronicles of the Kings of Judah" combined with two remarkable accounts, from different hands, of the Assyrian invasion.

1

Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did right in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that David his father had done. He brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made, for unto those days the Children of Israel did burn incense to it; and he called it Nehushtan (a thing of brass). He trusted in Yahweh, the God of Israel; for he clave 1 A mistake of the editor. Hezekiah was at his accession certainly under twenty; some say but fifteen years of age.

to Yahweh; he departed not from following Him, but kept His commandments which Yahweh had commanded Moses. And Yahweh was with him; whithersoever he went forth he prospered. He smote the Philistines to Gaza and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.

And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, that Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, came up against Samaria and besieged it. And at the end of three years they took it; even in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel, Samaria was taken. And the king of Assyria carried Israel away unto Assyria and put them in Halah, and in Habor, on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes; because they hearkened not to the voice of Yahweh their God, but transgressed His covenant, even all that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded, and would not hear it nor do it.

And it came to pass that Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. And Hezekiah, king of Judah, sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying: I have offended; return from me; that which thou puttest on me, I will bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah, king of Judah, three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. And Hezekiah gave him all the silver which was found in the House of Yahweh and in the treasures of the king's house. At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of Yahweh, and from the doorposts which he had overland, and gave it to the king of Assyria.

'And the king of Assyria sent the Rab-shakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great force unto Jerusalem. And he took up his position by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field. And there went out to him Eliakim the son of Hilkiah who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joab the son of Asaph, the recorder.

And the Rab-shakeh said unto them: Say, I pray you, unto Hezekiah: Thus saith the king of Assyria: What is this confidence that thou dost cherish? Thinkest thou that a mere word of the lips is counsel and strength for war? Now in whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? Surely thou dost trust in the staff of that splintered reed, even upon Egypt, whereon, if a man lean, it wil run into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, unto all that trust in him.

Now, therefore, I pray thee, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them. How then canst thou repel the onset of one captain, even of the least of my master's servants? And yet thou puttest thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen. Have I now come up against this land without Yahweh to destroy it? Yahweh Himself said unto me: Go up against that land, and destroy it. Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joab unto the Rab-shakeh : Speak, we pray, to thy servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and speak not with us in Hebrew in the ears of the people that are on the wall. But the Rab-shakeh said unto them: Is it to thy master and to thee that my master hath sent me to speak these words? Is it not to the men that sit on the wall that he hath sent me, and to those who will be compelled to eat and drink filthy food with you? Then the Rabshakeh stood forth, and cried with a loud voice and said in Hebrew: Hear ye the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. Thus saith the "The first account of Sennacherib's frustrated attempt to take Jerusalem.