Ezra 9 – The Horrible Abomination (and Tradition) of Intermarriage! (Sarcasm)

Apparently Ezra was somewhat of a king because princes of the Jews go to him to complain that the people, and not just the people, but the priests and Levites as well, were ALREADY committing abominations with the people of the land, and in an attempt to legitimize this story to the previous chapters of the bible, we get a list of commonly spoken about nations:

• Canaanites
• Hittites*
• Perizites
• Jebusites (they’re still around?)
• Ammonites*
• Moabites
• Egyptians
• Amorites
• * (two names to remember when we get to Ezekiel)

COME ON NOW! They JUST ARRIVED in Jerusalem, and I am to believe they already returned to doing the things they were punished for and sent to captivity IMMEDIATELY upon return?! Yeah right. This story has fallen apart. Besides, just what have they done? Burned their children? Made idols, high places, and groves/asherah?

Ezra 9:2 – For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.

Holy seed? Now they are calling themselves holy seed? They’ve been intermixing with these people from the beginning! The only “pure seed” goes back to Isaac and Jacob who married within their family. After that, there was plenty of intermixing of the Israelites and those around them. These Jews are descended from the house of David and especially Solomon, who took wives from every nation around him and had countless children!

Does this author not know the story of Solomon?!

I see what’s happening now though, it’s becoming clearer. They are rewriting and resetting their identity. At this point in Ezra, they’ve reset their identity to day 1, they are either ignoring or are unaware of the mixing of nations of their fathers, and are considering themselves “pure” at this point. Wow. This is a common action seen in “new” generations, new power structures, the history is rewritten to erase the problems of the past and claim the current system as pure and unpolluted. In my opinion it creates a problematic precedence and I’m wondering if we are going to see the end result of this “reset”.

So now we have kings of GREAT realms writing letters to priests who were once captive, and these same people are considering themselves a “holy seed” which gives the impression that these people believe they are SUPERIOR to those around them, if not superior even to the kings and kingdoms who showered gold and silver on them “freely”. Why? Because of their god, who has gone completely silent, and the covenant of their ancestors they rediscovered, a covenant that was broken due to conditions not being met. Racial purity and Racial superiority is starting to bleed through when reading between the lines. This entire story is also starting to reek with arrogance!

Back to the story… the idea that the people have committed an abomination of doing what their ancestors did: taking wives of the people of the land, sends Ezra into the most epic dramatic reaction in the bible yet:

He rips his clothes off, plucks the hair off of his head and beard, and sits down astonished. A great assembly of trembling people sit before him, and they all sit quiet and astonished until the evening sacrifice. Ezra, once the evening sacrifice starts, falls on his knees, hands spread out to Jehovah. In shame he cowers in prose to Jehovah about all the iniquity they’ve done from now to the days of their fathers begging for mercy. It seems as if the poet from previous meltdowns to Jehovah is back, as we get a flowery amount of shame and pleading.

I almost want to go back and see if these words were plagiarized from Moses, any of the kings, or one of the prophets, when they make please to Jehovah, but it really doesn’t matter now.

First off: there is no prophet interaction with the deity Jehovah. Second off: Jehovah has still yet to speak a word, and the author has yet to provide these words, if they did exist, nor offer a reason why he hasn’t All I’m seeing is an attempt for a shattered remnant of a people to revive their religion, despite the absence of the words (if not presence) of their god, which seemed to be a very important part of the deity-people interaction and system in previous books.

Ezra 7 – 8; Ezra Receives A Letter from a King?! The Path To Jerusalem Loaded with Silver and Gold

We get the genealogy of a man named Ezra, as if to legitimize him in the story by tracing his lineage back to Aaron. Ezra seems to arrive later to Jerusalem, and he went up there with some of the “children of Israel”, so not sure if they are referring to the 10 northern tribes or just other Jews who descent from Judah and Benjamin that were once called the children of Israel.

This can be deceiving because it could imply those of the northern kingdom of Israel returned with Ezra.

We get some flowery description of Ezra “preparing his heart to seek the law of Jehovah” and he ended up in Jerusalem “according to the good hand of his eloha upon him.”

Apparently, the “king of kings”, Artaxerxes, sends Ezra a letter, and boy does it sound like another made up letter to make it sound like these ex captives are way more important than they probably were. Why was the king of king writing to Ezra?? Doesn’t he have servants to do such things? Since when do kings write letters to captives?!

Artaxerxes gives Ezra free will to move back to Jerusalem, and he and his kingly counselors freely give him silver and gold to offer to Jehovah. And the regular people freely gave him gold and silver! Really?!?

7:21 – And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the eloha of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily.

Does this sound like a mandate a king would place for a priest of people that have gone into captivity for disobeying their god and their kings? I don’t think so. Anyways…

So we finally get a reason WHY Artaxerxes has done so:

7:23 – Whatsoever is commanded by the eloha of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the eloha of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

So Artaxerxes is afraid of the god of heaven, despite the fact we haven’t seen a single word spoken by the god of heaven. This story is getting really hard to believe. As if to frighten those who go against Ezra and the movement to build the temple because Cyrus wrote a decree, the punishment is severe for interference:

7:26 – And whosoever will not do the law of thy god, and the law of the king, let judgement be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.

Ezra then praises his god and himself as being a very important person to receive the blessings of of the “hand of the lord”.

Ezra 8 – How Ezra Ends up in Jerusalem

Now the writing is in the first person, in the eyes of Ezra. He again attempts to legitimize the situation by explaining the lineages of the “chief fathers” that left Babylon with him. Interestingly enough, he only lists the males of each lineage. No women? Or they just aren’t important in the scheme of things?

After they leave Babylon, they rest by a river, where Ezra realizes there are no Levites among the people and priests. He reaches out to Iddo (the seer?) requesting ministers for the house of Jehovah. Levites and Nethinims (who seem to be the slave servants for the Levites and somehow were with them in captivity) are sent to him. Since Ezra doesn’t seem to be a prophet, he has the people “fast” so that they can afflict themselves and receive direction. Jehovah “entreats” them but again, vague verse, not a single bit of information how he did this or what he instructed.

He gives the priests and Levites a tremendous amount of silver and gold, and I guess because the king decreed that no one touch them, no highway robbers appeared to steal the gold on their journey (sound realistic?)

All this gold and silver was finally brought to Jerusalem where it was weighed. Burnt offerings were given, and the king’s men on “this side of the river” also received commissions. So, the Jews in Jerusalem weren’t exactly alone with their “adversaries”, the people of the land mentioned before.

Conclusion: This letter was constructed by those of Judah and/or Benjamin to justify their reconstruction of the house of Jehovah and to prevent those around them from interfering, because “the king said so”.

2 Chronicles 29 – 32

2 Chronicles 29 (no specific 2 Kings chapter)

King of Judah: Hezekiah

Seems that book of Kings ends up being heavy on the timeline of the kings of Israel, and Chronicles is heavy on the kings of Judah.

Hezekiah replaces Ahaz, and does the opposite of Ahaz and does right by Jehovah, opening and repairing the house of Jehovah, and instructing his priests and people to make a covenant with Jehovah (AGAIN). We get a detailed description of yet another preparation to make a covenant with Jehovah with the usual fanfare and sacrifices, which occur with little issue.

2 Chronicles 30 (no specific 2 Kings chapter)

King of Judah: Hezekiah

Hezekiah attempts to gather ALL of those of Israel and Judah to come to Jerusalem to keep passover. The message Hezekiah sends out is one of scolding, reminding both kingdoms of their disobedience. He tells them all to return to Jehovah because he will not turn away if they do.

It seems for the most part his message and messengers were “laughed to scorn” and mocked, but *some* (KJV is translating this word as “divers” which seems to be a form of “diverse of” or even “random” and possibly “stranger”.) So “some” of those people among the groups that predominately mocked the message did indeed come to Jerusalem. Despite not being fully compliant with the regulations of the passover ritual:

30:20 – And Jehovah hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.

The passover ritual commences and completes.

2 Chronicles 31 (no specific 2 Kings chapter)

King of Judah: Hezekiah

So things have returned to somewhat normal, a good status as not seen (as opined by the author) since the time of Solomon. Those of Israel that were present at the passover ritual then “clean house” of images, groves, high places, and altars in Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. They then returned to their lands in the northern kingdom of Israel.

Hezekiah then assigns his priests, Levites to their duties and allocates “portions of substance” from him and the people dedicated to the Levites to support them in their duties. Everyone complies and “heaps” are gathered. Hezekiah then assigns more duties of offerings and tithes and the chapter lists all the people involved, with an emphasis on the genealogy of those receiving their instructions.

The chapter ends and all is still good with Hezekiah and Jehovah. Since the pattern tells us this doesn’t last very long, I’m looking forward to see what happens next, since we don’t get this much context and detail in 2 Kings.

2 Chronicles 32 (2 Kings 18)

King of Judah: Hezekiah; King of Assyria: Sennacherib

Sennacherib enters Judah to lay siege, and Hezekiah shuts off the water outside of the city, robbing Sennacherib of a water supply. He rallies his people telling them that Jehovah is on their side.

Sennacherib then sends messengers with words of propaganda, which is interesting because he pretty much tells Judah that they have been WEAKENED because Hezekiah removed all the high places and altars from the past, leaving them with only one (as if they had a better chance with multiple altars and gods to seek.) This seems to be the mentality of these people of this culture at this time, not just the kings but also the regular citizens. He is speaking to the regular people of Judah speaking “against the god of Jerusalem”. Isaiah (insert context from the book of Isaiah here) and Hezekiah cry out to Jehovah and Jehovah answers by sending an angel “which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria” (32:21).

Not sure if these mighty men were killed, or *removed* (keep this concept in mind for the analysis of the books of prophets) from the battle field, but whatever it was caused Sennacherib to return home where he was eventually slain by his own servants in the house of “his god” which we know from 2 Kings is the house of the god Nisroch.

This chapter briefly mentions the illness of Hezekiah, how he was near to death, but Jehovah extended his life, only to screw up and allow those of Babylon to enter his kingdom and view his riches in peace and then be robbed of his life extension.

32:31 – Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, *elohim* left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.

So just what was this “wonder that was done in the land” that caused the ambassadors of Babylon to come to Jerusalem to ask about it? Very interesting. Hezekiah dies and is replaced by his son Manasseh.

2 Chronicles 11 – Rehoboam of Judah; “Devils”; Incest?!

The New Kingdom of Judah (1 Kings 12)

King Rehoboam, despite being Solomon’s replacement, now reigns over Judah, which are the two tribes of the south: Judah and Benjamin. The other 10 tribes have separated to the north. Rehoboam gathers men so that he can battle his people to the north, but Jehovah appears to Shemaiah “the man of ha*elohim” and tells him to tell Rehoboam that he is not to war with the other 10 tribes.

Rehoboam obeys, however he begins to build, fortify, and arm multiple cities for defense, including the famous Beth-lehem. The Levites had separated from the northern kingdom of Israel and entered Jerusalem, because Jeroboam had kicked them out.

11:15 – And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.

Look how fast these people return to creating calves and creating a priesthood for high places and “devils” despite receiving very recent instruction from Jehovah.

Here’s the thing about devils, I found it very interesting that it is a plural word in this KJV verse. One really must dive into these anomalies of the bible to see what kind of context we are missing. Most Abrahamic religions will say there is only one Devil. However, this word, like most others, seems to have multiple meanings in the original Hebrew (Strongs 8163 “sa’iyr” [which looks very similar to Satyr]):

• Hairy (the same word describes Esau, Jacob’s twin brother!)
• A male goat
• A kid male goat

So this must be where the infamous “Baphomet” of Eliphas Levi’s concept comes in, a goat like being that is now called the Devil. However this text clearly shows there are more than one, and one can almost say the Levites have been assigned to be priests of the “hairy ones”.

Is this what, or similar to the “devils” that Rehoboam and his priests began to minister to?

So, despite devils and calves being reintroduced to the pantheon of Judah, the kingdom became stronger. Rehoboam goes on to marry:

• His cousin (11:18 – And Rehoboam took him Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth [HIS UNCLE] the son of David to wife)
• His GREAT AUNT?! (11:18 – and Abihail the daughter of Eliab [His great uncle] the son of Jesse)
• A NIECE? (11:20 – And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom [HIS HALF BROTHER])

Isn’t this “knowing the nakedness” of his uncle Jerimoth? His great uncle Eliab? His brother Absalom? What in the world is going on here!?!? Rehoboam reached into 3 different generations of women in his family to marry. Isn’t this how Reuben, the first born (again, note the 1st born always gets the short straw with Jehovah) lost his first born rights because he slept with one of his father’s wives?!

I don’t know if I completely missed these inter-family marriages back in 1 Kings or what, but wow. It’s ironic because 2 Chronicles 11 ends with “he desired many wives.” So much so it seems, because he carried on the traditions of his patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and married within his 1st cousin/half sister family.

It should also be noted that the hairy one/devil/satyr named ESAU, the firstborn of Isaac and twin brother of Jacob/Israel, was demonized by his parents for marrying OUTSIDE of his family. So just WHO are the demonic people in this entire story?

2 Chronicles 7 – 10

2 Chronicles 7 – Celebrations Finish; Jehovah Summarizes the Covenant

Solomon offers burnt offerings and sacrifices and Jehovah accepts with a “fire from heaven” that consumes the offerings. The people bow in fear, and over 140,000 animal sacrifices were given to Jehovah. They celebrate for 7 days and then everyone goes on their way back to their homes.

Jehovah appears before Solomon with a repeat of the obey/all will be well mandate, especially now that the house of Jehovah is active. Once again we see Jehovah’s sort of anxiety about “what other people will think”:

7:21 – And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passethy by it; so that he shall say, Why hath Jehovah done this unto this land, and unto this house?

The answer should be obvious by now, they had forsaken their god and served the other gods. Which, as we already learned, is exactly what they did.

2 Chronicles 8 – The Reign Continues

Solomon begins to overtake cities and repopulate them with Israelites. The remnants of the indigenous Canaanites that still exist within the land are taxed, and were not killed off. Solomon builds a house for his Egyptian wife, because he does not want her to live in the house of David because it is a holy place (then why did he marry her in the first place?)

Solomon assigns priestly duties. He then receives tribute of gold from Huram.

2 Chronicles 9 – The Queen of Sheba; Solomon Dies (1 Kings 10)

The queen of Sheba gets word of Solomon’s clout, and goes to Jerusalem with gifts of spices, gold, precious stones, and questions.

9:9 – And Solomon told her all her questions: and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not.

I seem to recall a king of Judah doing this and then being punished by Jehovah. Apparently Sheba is not an “enemy” so maybe that’s why it’s ok this time.

Sheba is impressed, gifts her riches to Solomon, then returns to her land.

9:13 – Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold;

Ah the infamous “666” numerology in the Old Testament repeated in Chronicles. The number of the beast, which is a number of man…

With all the riches he has attained, Solomon constructs shields and vessels of pure gold, a throne made of ivory and gold, and continued to gather riches every few years. He reigned over a land bound by the river, the land of Philistines (so apparently they are still around and in their own land), and the border of Egypt.

9:29 – Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?

• book of Nathan the prophet <missing>
• the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite <missing>
• the visions of Iddo the seer <missing>

3 more texts missing from the bible that said bible references. It’s quite possible these were collated to form parts of 1 Kings, so I’ll leave it at that. However, the idea that these might be separate texts not in 1 Kings tells me we have lost 3 important sources of context for the reign of Solomon. After all, we get way more information in 1 Kings, especially in regards to Solomon building house for and worshiping the other gods of the land.

2 Chronicles 10 – Rehoboam vs Jeroboam (1 Kings 12)

We revisit Rehoboam, one of Solomon’s sons goes to Shechem to become king, another son, Jeroboam (who was hiding out in Egypt) returns home. Him and the other Israelites (it’s at this point we see the division between Israel and Judah/Solomon) ask to be treated better and they will server Rehoboam.

Rehoboam seeks counsel from the old men who served Solomon, as well as the young men who were more his generation. He took the advice of the young men and decided to treat the Israelites worse. This is the point where the kingdom of Israel splits from Judah “What portion have we in David (Judah)?”

The Israelites that lived in Judah lived under King Rehoboam. Hadoram, who seems to have been some sort of tax collector for Rehoboam, is stoned by the Israelites, and Rehoboam seeing there is open revolt, gets into his chariot and flees back to Jerusalem “And Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.”

1 Chronicles 6 through 10

1 Chronicles 6: Levi, Naphtali, Gad

Now we get into the lineage of the Levites which can complicate things because the Levites were the priesthood of Jehovah, and their place was not like the other tribes of Israel. From memory it’s hard to tell when their role in the overall status of Judah and Israel faded, but at the beginning of the covenant, there was no doubt of their importance. In fact, the infamous Moses was the great grandson of Levi. Here are some famous other famous Levites:

verse 10: Azariah who “executed the priest’s office in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem.” Ok which temple though, the gold (Jehovah) or silver (Solomon)?

verse 15 – Jehozadak who went into captivity when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took Judah and Jerusalem to Babylon.

verse 39 – Reference to a man named Asaph who is likely the Asaph found in the book of Psalms.

verse 49 – Aaron, Moses’ brother, special role is discussed, which was burnt and incense offerings on the altar, and make atonement for Israel

The rest of the chapter focuses on some of the other non-Judah tribes of Israel, their lineage and towns they inhabited.

1 Chronicles 7: Issachar, Asher

Verse 4: The men of Issachar seem to be soldiers for war

Verse 40: The men of Asher were men of valour, chief of princes, and also soldiers for war

1 Chronicles 8: Benjamin

Verse 40: The sons of Benjamin’s role seem to be men of valor and archers

1 Chronicles 9: Inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem

Verse 3: Jerusalem is inhabited by the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh

Much of the chapter is in regards to the lineage of these tribes and their roles throughout Jerusalem and the tabernacles.

1 Chronicles 10: The Death of Saul

We saw this story before in 1 Samuel 31 (thus begins our first reference tying in Chronicles with the books of Samuel and Kings). This chapter is quite short, and really is a quick intro into how David became king of United Israel. Much like 1 Samuel 31, we learn Saul was hurt in battle, and rather than be taken captive alive, falls on his own sword. His body and head (REMEMBER! From the shoulders up he was higher than ANY man on earth at the time) were taken by the Philistines, and his possibly non-humanoid head was placed in the temple/house of Dagon, a deity of the Philistines.

1 Chronicles 1 through 5: Summary & Verses of Interest

I do realize we will be repeating the stories of 1 and 2 Kings in Chronicles. For Chronicles, the author has decided to rewind to the ancestor of those of Judah and Israel and lay out the lineage of most of the main characters we’ve read about thus far.

Rather than actually go through the lineage, I’m going to skip over them and only note those points of interest I find.

1 Chronicles 1: Adam through Hadad the Edomite

Interesting verses:

• verse 8: Ham, the son of Noah, is the father of the Canaanites (through his son Canaan) and of the Philistines (his son Cush to his grandson Casluhim). This stems from the loving CURSE Noah put on his own son’s grandchildren when Noah got drunk and Ham saw “his nakedness.” Ham’s lineage seem to make up the majority of the -ites of Canaan (Jebusite, Amorite, Hivite, etc.)
• verse 16: Eber, the grandson of Shem had two sons and the name of one was Peleg because “in his days the earth was divided”.
• verse 43 to the end: We get a rundown of the Edomites and their kings/dukes. “Bela” the son of Beor lived in a city called Dinhabah, which made me instantly think of Niniveh of Sumer/Babylon.

1 Chronicles 2: Jacob to the Kenites

verse 3: Judah has a son named Er. “And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of Jehovah; and he slew him.” Again, with no details, we find that Jehovah has slain Judah’s first born. I asked this question MUCH earlier, but WHAT IS IT WITH JEHOVAH’S OBSESSION WITH THE FIRST BORN!? It sounds like some sort of jealousy, and I cannot not think there is a good reason why. He always favored the 2nd born especially when it came to Isaac and Jacob. Was Jehovah a 2nd son, relegated to 2nd son status. Is he one of the “sons of the Most High” of Deuteronomy 32, jealous of a brother, the 1st born? All conjecture since there is no context (but I see there are hints) in the bible as it is written today. It’s a very odd concept to be obsessed about. (Obsession: another HUMAN trait).

verse 3 and verse 35: In verse 3 we see that Judah had children with the daughter of Shua the Canaanite. So the tribe of Judah has clear Canaanite ancestors going back to Judah. Verse 35: we see that a man named Sheshan (who for some reason is not listed until now) has no sons, so he gives his daughter to an Egyptian servant of his and they have children. So now we see that the Israelites had Egyptian blood in them as well. So they were definitely not “racially pure”.

1 Chronicles 3: David to Elioenai

verse 4: All of David’s sons are listed, EXCEPT for the ones that he had through his concubines, and apparently Tamar “their sister.” (Whose sister?)

1 Chronicles 4: Judah to Ziza (The Princes)

These look to be the lineages of the “Princes” that led up to a man named Ziza who might have existed at the time of king Hezekiah of Judah, who is found in 2 Kings 16. This lineage lived in a land once inhabited by the descendants of Ham “of old” by way of the entrance of Gedor. Another group of these princes, along with sons of Simeon, were also mentioned as smiting Amalekites at Mount Seir and dwell there “unto this day.”

1 Chronicles 5: Reuben to Ahi

Yet ANOTHER story of a first born being screwed over:

Verse 5: Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.

First born is first born, though his rights were transferred to Joseph. We are then told that Judah prevailed above all the 12 sons, despite the fact Joseph was firstborn.)

verse 4: We have man named Gog, son of Joel, son of Reuben? The name Gog plays into captivity prophecy so let’s see if this tie to Reuben provides context. Does Reuben’s lineage become “evil” because of the offense of defiling his father’s bed and thus later prophecy refers to the lineage of Gog the grandson of Reuben?

verse 16: Describes this lineage defeating Hagarites with the help of *elohim* because the was was “of elohim.”

verse 5:25 – (note the change in the use of elohim): “And they transgressed against the *elohe* of their fathers, and went a whoring after the *elohe” of the people of the land, whom *elohim* destroyed before them.

I use the Hebrew Interlinear to show how the use of elohe/elohim as opposed to the lord/yahweh/jehovah can make this verse real ambiguous. If the god/elohe of the people of the land wasn’t/weren’t real, then why use the same word to describe the “god” of the land and the “god” of their fathers?

So what happened to the Reubenites (and those of Gad, half tribe of Manasseh)? Jump forward to a very recent 2 Kings 16:

verse 5:26 – And the *elohe* of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manaasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.

Once again we get another bible verification of the punishment Jehovah passed down to the kingdom of Israel and their king Ahaz for joining up with Rezin of Syria to attack Jerusalem and Judah. This basis for this punishment of these tribes is mentioned in Isaiah 7:9 where we are told the northern tribes, which include those of verse 1 Chronicles 5:26, are called Ephraim/Samaria, which we know as the capitol of Israel (the northern tribes, southern being Judah.)

2 Kings 21: The Worst King of Judah? 3 Kings in 1 Chapter

King of Judah: Manasseh; King of Israel: Hoshea

So Manasseh didn’t learn anything from his father and did evil in the sight of Jehovah. So much that the author says he was much worse than even the original inhabitants of the land, who were “cast out” as punishment.

It should be noted they weren’t completely cast out, they still exist in kingdoms, and apparently the kingdoms of Babylon and Assyria were so powerful they were unable to be cast out.

Here’s a list of Manasseh’s “evil” accomplishments:

• Built up high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed
• Raised altars for Baal
• Made a grove (Asherah) like Ahab king of Israel did
• Worshiped the “host of heaven” and built altars for them in the House of Jehovah
• Passed his son through the fire
• Observed times
• Used enchantments, familiar spirits, and wizards

So now both Israel and Judah have done complete evil in the sight of Jehovah.

2 Kings 2112: Therefore thus saith Jehovah god of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.

Once again we get a look at the concept of sound being used to destroy, in this case it is an “evil” that will be brought upon Jerusalem, and guess what, those who hear it, will have their ears ring/tingle.

This really does sound like what happens when someone hears a gunshot or blast report without ear protection: ringing in the ear if not outright hearing damage.

So now both kingdoms face the same fate:

21:13 – And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies; Because they ahve done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day.

Note the prose like description of the “dish”. So what we have here is a deity who seems to have been frustrated since the day he pulled them out of a captivity that they actually mentioned wishing they had stayed, and finally the straw broke the camels back and he is disavowing them. Of course, after HOW MUCH BLOOD AND DEATH was spilled for this faulty covenant he made with Abraham, which pretty much was fulfilled and the extent of the covenant was based on HOW THEY ACTED, not just because they existed. So now we see what happens. Both kingdoms are off to Babylon as punishment.

King Manasseh to King Amon to King Josiah of Judah

Manasseh dies and is replaced by his son Amon (the same son he “passed through the fire?) Amon did what his father Manasseh did in the sight of Jehovah and did evil.

Amon’s story is short. His servants conspired against him and killed him. He was replaced by his son Josiah.

2 Kings 20: Hezekiah’s Life Extended; Hezekiah Slips Up; No Forgiveness & A Curse; Observation on Validity

We find Hezekiah, king of Judah close to death. Isaiah the prophet tells him to get his things in order because he will be dying soon.

2 Kings 20:2 – Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto Jehovah saying, I beseech thee, O Jehovah, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

Hezekiah seems like a really humble person despite being a king, unlike most of the others, including the highly esteemed David and Solomon (who was wise like no other before or after, so I guess he was wiser than Jesus.) To be frank, I see no reason why David or Solomon should be considered heroes. However, we are dealing with a jealous and short fused deity with Jehovah here, and it’s his factors the book is using to describe “great” kings.

Jehovah hears Hezekiah’s prayers, and reaches out to Isaiah. Jehovah is going to heal him, and he must go to the house of Jehovah in 3 days. Hezekiah will receive 15 more years of life and Jehovah will remove the hand of Assyria out of Jerusalem. (So apparently Jerusalem is still under the Assyrian’s thumb, which is odd considering the story of 2 Kings 19 and Sennacherib.)

Hezekiah is healed, not by the invisible power of Jehovah, but by a lump of figs that was laid on his “boil”. (20:7)

Hezekiah pretty puts Jehovah to the test (I thought NO ONE tests him?). He asks Isaiah for a sign that it will indeed happen, and Isaiah tells Hezekiah to choose between turning time forward, or turning time back. Hezekiah, like most would say it’s easy to turn time forward, so he chooses to turn it back.

20:11 – And Isaiah the prophet cried out unto Jehovah: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.

So apparently the people of this time needed to “keep time” and we have a Dial of Ahaz still present. Interesting because as of now, and UNLIKE MOST TRUE STORIES OF HISTORY, there are no time periods here: no months, moons, seasons, times, or references to calendar based holy days (holidays). I mean, not even SEASONS?! Just what is going on here? I’m glad this verse came up because it brings up YET ANOTHER point to really question the validity of these stories: WHY ARE NO TIMES REFERENCED THROUGH SEASONS OR CALENDARS? All we have to go on is the “time of king so and so’s reign.” That’s just bad referencing and now I REALLY have to push these stories closer to the realm of fiction.

What is ironic is that, when I first started this blog, it wasn’t to do such a thing, but to actually strengthen what I thought was the validity of this book as a whole.

Back to the story: So Hezekiah tests Jehovah, gets his result and follows through with the plan to go to the house of Jehovah on the 3rd day.

20:12 – At that time Berodach-baladam, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.

A nice gesture, seems that Babylon and Judah were on some sort of neutral/good terms despite the fact that the other 11 tribes of the first Israel were captive in Babylon. Hezekiah then extends hospitality to Berodach-baladam by inviting the messengers into the confines of his kingdom’s wealth. Isaiah gets wind of it, and asks Hezekiah who these people are and what all they have seen. Hezekiah responds: they have seen it all.

20:16 – And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of Jehovah. Behold, the days come, that all that is thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith Jehovah.

So, after fending off captivity by Assyria, the Jews (Judah) will join their Israelite brethren in Babylon, all because Hezekiah extended hospitality to the king of Babylon for his well wishes and gifts. Here’s some typical Jehovah judgement and sentencing:

20:18 – And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.

Here’s where we get a sadistic look into the fearful thought processes and psyches of those under the vile judgement of Jehovah:

20:19 – Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of Jehovah which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?

WOW! Good is the word that his sons will be eunuchs serving the king of Babylon instead of being in Jerusalem as kings. Reminds me of the book of Job.

So Hezekiah’s life gets extended 15 years past this point, and we get ZERO mention of any events in those 15 years, and jump right to him dying and being succeeded by his son Manasseh (who seems to be destined for eunuch status in Babylon.)

2 Kings 19: Assyria Defeated; Isaiah Introduced; Problematic Bible Timelines

King of Judah: Hezekiah; King of Assyria: Sennacherib

Hezekiah also tears his clothes after receiving the message of the king of Assyria through his servants. He goes into the house of Jehovah (which he looted to try to bribe Sennacherib to not invade him) and sends his servants off to find Isaiah the prophet.

OK. Here’s where I have an issue. Isaiah is contemporary to much of 2 Kings 19. He is the first prophet in the timeline to have his own book placed in the bible. So WHY is Isaiah still many books away? The words of Isaiah belong mixed in with 2 Kings if we really want the context Isaiah is speaking of. Because it’s well past 2 Kings, people tend to believe, when verses (especially prophecy) are cherry picked, that Isaiah is speaking of some time far off, into the future, or present times. No, the context is in the time of 2 KINGS!

Very interesting poetic figurative language used by the author/servants of king Hezekiah when speaking to Isaiah:

2 Kings 19:3 – And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

Their current situations is compared to CHILDBIRTH? Again, some of the phrases used in the bible are ODD, and it really makes me wonder if it was truly written in the time we think it was, and not much later into the future.

Isaiah responds:

19:6 – And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith Jehovah, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will send a *blast* upon him, and he shall hear a *rumour*, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

A blast of what? Wind? Energy? SOUND? Again, hinting towards some sort of acoustic weapon. Here’s where the two asterisk words gets interesting: The word for “rumor” is Strongs 8052, which BibleHub.com lists as “report”… like the REPORT OF A GUNSHOT?! What kind of word report would Sennacherib receive after being sent a blast. Is there another use of this word that would indicate a gun shot type report?

Jeremiah 10:22 … the sound of a report! behold, it comes…

As I believe as it’s being used in 2 Kings 19, in Jeremiah 10:22 we are speaking of an audible report from some sort of weapon or discharge. Back to the story. So a blast goes towards Sennacherib, he hears the report of the blast, and then will leave. Let’s see how it plays out.

Rab-shakeh returns to the king of Assyria who is currently battling Libnah. Apparently the king of Ethiopia, Tirhakah, tells Rab-shakeh that Hezekiah will be coming out to fight (king of Ethiopia thrown into the story with no context). So Rab-shakeh sends a messenger out to REPEAT his threats not to trust in Jehovah. Once again Hezekiah goes to the house of Jehovah and prays for help. Isaiah tells Hezekiah that his prayer has been heard, and words have been spoken against Sennacherib. These are the words:

19:21 – This is the word that Jehovah hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion has despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the holy one of Israel.

Note the use of the word “virgin” here… it seems to denote some person or figure, a figure that shakes their head and laughs at the threats coming from the king of Assyria. Who is this virgin? The original Hebrew word is Strong’s 1330 “bethulah” which has been used to denote virgin or maiden. So far we know of ZERO female leaders of Zion. Apparently however, she is strong enough to laugh and shake her head at the might king of Assyria. She may also be the same daughter of Jerusalem, as there seems to be some duality of names being used to describe one entity.

IMPORTANT: Remembering how the word virgin is used in 2 Kings 19 is VERY important when reading the book of Isaiah, because, once again, when cherry picked, verses in Isaiah are often used to describe the most famous virgin of the New Testament, when in fact, it’s context is completely different. It seems the author has decided, or the context was lost, to leave out just who this virgin is.

Jehovah, via Isaiah, has really gone on a verbal rampage against the king of Assyria for holding himself in such high regard. HOWEVER, it also seems like it was all thanks to Jehovah himself for giving him the ability to do so:

19:25 – Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps.

“Now I have brought it to pass, that you would be able to conquer cities and turn them into heaps.” So it looks like Sennacherib’s role as Jehovah’s conqueror is over. Some more European/Western style imagery to question the time/place this story was actually written:

19:28 – Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way which thou camest.

He tells Sennacherib that in the next 2 years he will only eat things that grow by themselves, and in the 3rd year he will be able to reap and sow and then eat of the vineyards.

19:31 – And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of Jehovah of hosts shall do this.

So this prophecy, which I believe we will see again later in Isaiah, is about the JEWS OF THE TIME OF 2 KINGS (who are those of Judah, not the rest of the 11 tribes) who are out of Jerusalem and mount Zion, will once again grow. The ones who have been cast out or escaped from the actions of Jehovah and Assyria it seems.

So that night, an angel kills 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in the night. Sennacherib then leaves his siege on Jerusalem, and returns to Ninevah. Here’s how Sennacherib dies:

19:37 – And it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sherezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia, and Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.

Shere-zer and E-sar… there’s the zar/sar suffix again. Now we have another god to add to the pantheon of the Middle East: Nisroch, who also had his own house, much like Jehovah and the other gods.