Melakhim II Chapter 20 | Chizkiyahu's Illness

The story of Chizkiyahu’s illness is striking. Following the great miracle of his deliverance from Assyria, Yeshayahu informs him that he will die from that illness. In the end, Chizkiyahu prays and is granted an "extension" — fifteen additional years to live. But what was the meaning of the original decree? A key question in understanding this chapter is when Hizkiyahu’s illness occurred and, consequently, why he deserved to fall ill?

Based on the order of events in the text, it seems that the illness followed the miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem. If so, the phrase "At that time" links the account of the illness to the story of the salvation, suggesting that the illness was, in some way, a response to Chizkiyahu’s reaction to the miracle. Rav Cherlow proposes that Chizkiyahu's sin lay in his failure to respond appropriately to the extraordinary miracle he experienced. The proper response to such a divine act would have been to sing a song of praise and offer gratitude to God. Instead, Chizkiyahu recounts the events as though the glory belongs to him rather than to God. This interpretation is supported by the way these stories are presented in Divrei HaYamim and the book of Yeshaya.

In Divrei HaYamim, the miracle is described as follows: "Thus the Lord saved Chizkiyahu and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of King Sancheriv king of Assyria and everyone else; He provided for them in every way. Many came to Jerusalem to offer tribute to the Lord and treasures to Chizkiyahu, king of Yehuda, and he was exalted in the eyes of all the nations ever after" (Divrei HaYamim II 32:22–24). The language recalls the wording of "Thus the Lord saved" that precedes the Shirat HaYam. However, in this instance, the Shirat HaYam is absent, and it is God’s Name, rather than Chizkiyahu's, that should have been exalted. This omission serves as the basis for Chazal teaching that God had intended to make Chizkiyahu the Messiah, but this plan was thwarted because he did not sing a song of praise (Sanhedrin 94a). Similarly, in the book of Yeshaya, immediately after the prophecy that God will heal him from his illness, Chizkiyahu composes a chant of gratitude to God. This reinforces the same idea: Chizkiyahu failed to thank God for the national miracle, so God inflicted a personal affliction upon him, compelling him to offer thanks for his recovery.

Although the story of the illness is presented after the deliverance of Jerusalem, many commentators and scholars prefer to understand that both events occurred simultaneously. According to this view, the phrase "At that time" refers to the time of the siege or the war that preceded it. The main reason for this interpretation is that Yeshayahu's promise of healing includes both personal recovery and national deliverance: "And I will add fifteen years to your life; and I will save you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria – I will protect this city for My sake and for the sake of My servant David."(20:6) If the city had already been saved, what purpose would this promise serve?

This explanation also clarifies Chizkiyahu's seemingly odd reaction to the prophecy of calamity at the end of the story. Yeshayahu foretells that his descendants will be exiled to Babylon, and Chizkiyahu responds, "The word of the Lord you have spoken is fair." (20:19) If we understand the entire narrative as occurring before the Assyrian threat is removed, Chizkiyahu’s reply becomes comprehensible: he does not yet know if he will survive the imminent Assyrian threat, so the assurance that his descendants will one day be exiled to Babylon indicates that they will at least endure the present danger.

This approach also opens the door to alternative explanations of Chizkiyahu’s sin. The Talmud (Berakhot 10a) suggests that his sin was failing to engage in procreation. Indeed, calculating the dates shows that Menashe, Chizkiyahu's son, was born only three years after the siege of Jerusalem. Rav Menashe Weiner explains that the deeper significance of the debate over procreation parallels the Midrash about Amram divorcing his wife during Pharaoh's decree. It reflects a profound despair and a decision to stop striving and advancing. Chizkiyahu is the king of Jerusalem, but despairs of continuing the Davidic dynasty. This despair led to the decree of his death, teaching him that he must pray, hope, and remember that 'even when a sharp sword rests upon a person's neck, he should not despair of divine mercy.' Only when Chizkiyahu grasped that both personally and nationally he must believe in God’s power did he merit both miracles together: the recovery from his illness and the deliverance from the siege.

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