The Reign Of Hezekiah by John Brug One of the most vexing problems of Old Testament chronology is establishing the dates of the reign of Hezekiah. There seem to be irreconcilable differences within the scriptural data concerning this reign, especially when an attempt is made to synchronize this biblical information with dates derived from Assyrian and Egyptian records The difficulties associated with this data have led scholars to suggest many different solutions to the problem, but none of these solutions is without problems of its own. In this article we will first examine the basic chronological data concerning Hezekiah’s reign and some of the suggested solutions to the problems which it creates. Then, an explanation which accounts for all of the biblical data will be suggested as the most plausible solution to the problem. The Data The basic biblical data concerning Hezekiah’s reign seems fairly straightforward: Hezekiah ruled for 29 years. He was twenty-five years old when he became king. He became king in the 3 rd year of Hoshea, king of Israel. Hezekiah began religious reforms in the 1 st year of his reign. Samaria was besieged in Hezekiah’s 4 th year (Hoshea’s 7 th ). Samaria fell to the Assyrians in Hezekiah’s 6 th year (Hoshea’s 9 th ). Sennacherib of Assyria threatened Jerusalem in Hezekiah’s 14 th year. 1 Non-biblical sources supply the following information: Samaria fell in 723 or 722 B.C. Sennacherib was king of Assyria from 705-681 B.C. Sennacherib campaigned against Jerusalem in his 3 rd year, 701 B.C. Tirhakah, the king of Egypt who opposed Sennacherib’s invasion, ruled from 690-664 B.C. Merodach-Baladan, the king of Babylon who sought alliance with Hezekiah, ruled from 721-710 B.C. and again in 703. 2 The Problem 1 2 Kings 18:1, 2, 9, 10; 2 Chronicles 29:1, 3; Isaiah 36:1. 2 These dates are based primarily on the court records of the kings of Assyria. Events mentioned in these records can be dated to specific years because of astronomical references which are included in the list of Assyrian annual officials. For further information on how this dating is done, see the bibliography. Assyrian and Israelite years do not correspond to a single year in our calendar since they did not begin in January, but in either the spring or fall. Therefore, the dates in this article should be listed with a one-year leeway, e.g. 723/722 B.C. However, for sake of simplicity and to lessen confusion they are listed as single years, e.g. 722 B.C. It should be recognized that this will allow for a leeway of one year in all the dates and for a discrepancy of one year in all the-time intervals used in this article.