Hezekiah חזקיהו המלך
king of Judah who purged the land of idols and was saved from Assyria
Chizkiyahu came to the throne in 3199, aged twenty-five, after his idolatrous father Achaz. He first opened the Temple doors his father had shut, purified it, restored the service and kept a Passover to which he invited the remnants of the northern tribes. He broke Moshe's copper serpent, which had become an object of worship — an act Scripture praises.
Under him Torah was studied as never before: the Talmud says that from Dan to Beersheba no ignoramus could be found; even children knew the laws of purity. His men collected and edited parts of Proverbs and other books.
In 3213 Sennacherib took the fortified cities of Judah and came up against Jerusalem. Chizkiyahu spread the taunting letter before God in the Temple and prayed; Yeshayahu brought the answer, and that night the Assyrian camp was struck.
He fell mortally ill and was told to set his house in order; he turned to the wall, prayed, and was given fifteen more years. He died in 3228.