1881.] "ii^ [Lesley. 



nine years. His mother, Abi {my father), was evidently a Jewess, the 

 daughter of a Jew, Zakariah. She gave her son a genuine Hebrew name, 

 HZQ-IE, ri'Dfri, "the strength of Jehovah ;" for she was a zealous wor- 

 shiper of the true faith, and reared her son in its rigid observance. The 

 verb prn (hazk) means to bind, hold fast, adhere, cleave to, make firm, 

 strengthen and be strong. In this secondary sense it agrees with the 

 Egyptian Tat, and illustrates the construction of such royal names. But 

 it can have no direct connection with Egypt ; for it is amply explained by 

 tlis Hebrew primary sense of the word as used in speaking of fortifying a 

 city, «fcc. 



His name- characterized the prince. He was the great reformer of Israel. 

 He, in fact, created the Jehovah cultus in Judnea ; he cleansed the temple ; 

 restored the service ; destroyed idol worship out of the land ; and was car- 

 ried by his iconoclast zeal so far as to break to pieces and cast away beyond 

 redemption the brazen serpent of Moses, preserved for centuries as a 

 divinely precious relic and evidence of the exodus in the temple of Solo- 

 mon. His sacrifices to Jehovah were on the most magnificent scale ; and 

 his restoration (if we may not call it his m«6;ifooH) of the great festivals 

 made the whole people zealous for the law. 



The Passover now first became national ; and by the total destruction of 

 all high places, Jerusalem became at last the only centre of convocation, 

 and Mt. Moriah the only place of worship in the land. 



He then reconquered the lost provinces of David's kingdom from the 

 Philistines, and contracted au alliance with Egypt against Sennacherib, 

 Emperor of Assyria. But he had to buy off the latter with all his spare 

 treasures. By some unexplained accident Sennacherib's army was de- 

 stroyed and Judah saved. On this being known, Hezekiah received a con- 

 gratulatory embassy from his fellow-sufferer, Merodach Baladan, King of 

 Babylon. 



On the occasion of his hospitable and rather ostentatious reception of 

 this embassy, the prophet Isaiah was greatly scandalized; so, at least, long 

 subsequent chroniclers report. 



The rest of his life was peaceful, and Judah became again prosperous. A 

 reservoir was constructed west of the city, and conduits for a larger and 

 more regular water supply added. 



Man-asseh followed his father Hezekiah. 



This pure Egyptian name follows immediately a pure Hebrew name ; 

 and. Idolatry follows immediately the most zealous Jehovahism. How is 

 this to be accounted for ? 



Manasseh's mother's name was Hephzihah, HD"!.'!)?!, My delight is in her. 

 This is the poetical name given by the Second Isaiah (63 : 4) to Zion, and 

 explains its own meaning. It may have been a term in popular use, taken 

 from the young and beautiful queen of the pious King Hezekiah and 

 applied to Jerusalem. Or, vice versa, Hezekiah may have endowed his 

 wife with this pet name in reference to his own delight in Jehovah's de- 

 light in his (Hezekiah's) temper and work. But in any case Hephzibah 



