Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 20

The great acts of King Hezekiah, and his death

2 Kings 20:20-21

Hezekiah was a truly great king. He was one of Judah’s best kings, and he loved and trusted God (18:3-5). Even after he became proud, he turned away from that wrong attitude (2 Chronicles 32:25-26). He encouraged Judah’s people to serve the true God, and he repaired the temple (the house of God in Jerusalem).

Hezekiah was also a great king for other reasons too. He had great wealth. He built new buildings and he organised major construction works (2 Chronicles 32:27-30). One of his greatest plans was to build a tunnel (an underground passage for water) through the rock below Jerusalem city.

Jerusalem’s natural supply of water is the Gihon spring, which is outside the walls of Jerusalem. Hezekiah needed water from the Gihon to be available to Jerusalem’s inhabitants even if an enemy army surrounded the city. So, his workmen dug a tunnel by hand, through the mountain on which Jerusalem stands. This may be the ancient tunnel called Hezekiah’s tunnel, which still exists in Jerusalem today. It is 1750 feet (530 metres) long.

Hezekiah lived for 15 years after he recovered from his dangerous illness (20:1-11). So, he ruled for a total of 29 years. The people from Judah and Jerusalem knew that he had been a great king. They buried him, with honour, on the hill where the graves of David’s family were.

Hezekiah’s son, Manasseh, was just 12 years old at the time of his father’s death. He became the next king of Judah. Hezekiah had been a good king – but Manasseh was extremely evil.

Next part: Manasseh, Judah's worst king (2 Kings 21:1-2)

Please use the links at the top of the page to find our other articles in this series. You can download all our articles if you go to the download page for our free 1000+ page course book.