How we cite our quotes:
Quote #10
Joash was seven years old when he began to reign; he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; his mother's name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of the priest Jehoiada. Jehoiada got two wives for him, and he became the father of sons and daughters. (2 Chronicles 24:1-3, NRSV)
Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Zibiah of Beersheba. And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. And Jehoiada took for him two wives; and he begat sons and daughters. (2 Chronicles 24:1-3, KJV)
King Joash's reign begins when he's 7 years old. Wait, what? Isn't that a little young? Jehoiada, who raised the kid and orchestrated his return to the throne, is probably pulling the strings. This is what's called a regent. This is a pretty common situation in dynasties, when the rulership is determined by royal DNA (and in this case, strictly Davidic DNA). In ancient times, when the lifespan of kings could be cut short by war or illness, heirs were often pretty young. But a child heir was still the rightful heir. As a regent, Jehoiada did the right thing. Lots of them were pretty self-serving, though.
Quote #11
"Thus says King Sennacherib of Assyria: On what are you relying, that you undergo the siege of Jerusalem? Is not Hezekiah misleading you, handing you over to die by famine and by thirst, when he tells you, 'The Lord our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria'? Was it not this same Hezekiah who took away his high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, 'Before one altar you shall worship, and upon it you shall make your offerings'? Do you not know what I and my ancestors have done to all the peoples of other lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands at all able to save their lands out of my hand? Who among all the gods of those nations that my ancestors utterly destroyed was able to save his people from my hand, that your God should be able to save you from my hand? Now therefore do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you in this fashion, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to save his people from my hand or from the hand of my ancestors. How much less will your God save you out of my hand!" (2 Chronicles 32:10-15, NRSV)
Thus saith Sennacherib king of Assyria, Whereon do ye trust, that ye abide in the siege in Jerusalem? Doth not Hezekiah persuade you to give over yourselves to die by famine and by thirst, saying, The Lord our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it? Know ye not what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands? were the gods of the nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands out of mine hand? Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand? Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you on this manner, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand? (2 Chronicles 32:10-15, KJV)
This is the speech that King Sennacherib of Assyria delivers to the people of Judah before attacking them. It's actually a really masterful political speech. King Hezekiah has assured the people that everything is good—God will help them, not to worry. But Sennacherib undercuts the king's argument with a pretty common sense line of reasoning. No god has ever defeated us—what makes you think your God is any different? We can see where this is heading even though he can't. The Chronicler throws in a little dramatic irony.