also noted for the deep booming or pumping sound they make by expelling air from their gullets, the head and neck being violently contorted at the same time.

The egrets are among the most graceful and beautiful birds of the heron family, often having pure white plumage. Somewhat larger than other herons, with a length of up to four feet (1.2 meters), egrets are common in Palestine and are frequently found in association with grazing cattle, feeding on available insects.

HESED

(Heʹsed) [loving-kindness, or, loyal love].

An Israelite whose son was one of Solomon’s twelve deputies, each being responsible to provide the king and his household with food one month in the year.—1 Ki. 4:7, 10.

HESHBON

(Heshʹbon) [intelligence; stronghold].

A place identified with modern Hesban, a ruined city situated about 15.5 miles (c. 25 kilometers) E of the Jordan River at a point almost parallel with the N coast of the Dead Sea. It lies nearly midway between the Arnon and Jabbok Rivers. (Josh. 12:2) The ruins of Heshbon, occupying two hills, date primarily from Roman times. A large ruined reservoir is located a short distance to the E of Heshbon, and about 600 feet (c. 183 meters) below the city there is a fountain that has formed a succession of pools.—Compare Song of Solomon 7:4; see BATH-RABBIM.

The Amorite king Sihon captured Heshbon from the Moabites and made it his royal residence. The Moabite defeat even provided the basis for a taunting proverbial saying, either of Amorite or Israelite origin. In the event this saying stemmed from the Amorites, it mocked the Moabites and memorialized King Sihon’s victory. But, if originating with the Israelites, it signified that just as Sihon had wrested Heshbon from the Moabites, so Israel would take this and other cities from the Amorites. The taunt would then be that the victory of Sihon paved the way for the Israelites to take possession of land to which they would otherwise not have been entitled.—Num. 21:26-30; Deut. 2:9.

When King Sihon refused to allow the Israelites under Moses to pass peacefully through his land and prepared to battle against them, Jehovah gave his people the victory over Sihon. Amorite cities, undoubtedly including Heshbon, were devoted to destruction. (Deut. 2:26-36; 3:6; 29:7; Judg. 11:19-22) Afterward the Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon (Num. 32:37), it being included among the cities that Moses gave to them. (Josh. 13:15-17) As a border city between Reuben and Gad, Heshbon later became a part of Gad’s territory and is named as one of the four Gadite cities assigned to the Levities.—Josh. 21:38, 39; 1 Chron. 6:77, 80, 81.

At a later period Heshbon evidently came under Moabite control, as indicated by the fact that both Isaiah and Jeremiah mention it in their pronouncements of doom against Moab. (Isa. 15:4; 16:7-9; Jer. 48:2, 34, 45) Jeremiah also refers to this city in a pronouncement against Ammon. (Jer. 49:1, 3) Some commentators understand this to indicate that Heshbon had by then come into Ammonite hands. Others suggest that this may mean either that Heshbon of Moab would share the same fate as Ai or that a different Heshbon in the territory of Ammon is intended.

According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Heshbon was in the possession of the Jews in the time of Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 B.C.E.). (Antiquities of the Jews, Book XIII, chap. XV, par. 4) Later, Herod the Great had jurisdiction over the city.—Antiquities of the Jews, Book XV, chap. VIII, par. 5.

HESHMON

(Heshʹmon) [possibly, fruitfulness].

A city in the southern part of Judah (Josh. 15:21, 27), the location of which is now unknown.

HESHVAN

See CALENDAR.

HETH

[perhaps, terror, dread].

The second-listed son of Canaan and great-grandson of Noah through Ham. (Gen. 10:1, 6, 15; 1 Chron. 1:13) Heth was ancestral father of the Hittites (1 Ki. 10:29; 2 Ki. 7:6; see HITTITES), one branch of which settled in the hill country of Judah. (Ex. 3:8) It was in the vicinity of Hebron that Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite the field of Machpelah, and the cave therein, as a burial place. (Gen. 23:2-20; 25:8-10; 49:32) Of its fourteen occurrences, the name Heth appears ten times in connection with the “sons of Heth.” Two of Esau’s wives were from among the “daughters of Heth” (also called “daughters of Canaan”), these wives being a source of grief to his parents.—Gen. 26:34, 35; 27:46; 28:1, 6-8.

HETHLON

(Hethʹlon).

A site, the approach to which lay on the northern border of the land of Israel, as seen in Ezekiel’s vision. (Ezek. 47:13, 15; 48:1) Some geographers tentatively identify Hethlon with modern-day Heitela, about twenty miles (32.2 kilometers) NE of Tripoli.

HEZEKIAH

(Hez·e·kiʹah) [Jehovah has strengthened].

1. King of Judah, 745-716 B.C.E. He apparently became king when his father Ahaz died, in the “third year of Hoshea” king of Israel (perhaps meaning Hoshea’s third year as tributary king under Tiglath-pileser III), counting his reign officially from Nisan of the following year (745 B.C.E.). (2 Ki. 18:1; see CHRONOLOGY, Chart of Kings and Prophets.) Prophets contemporary with Hezekiah’s reign were Isaiah, Hosea and Micah. (Isa. 1:1; Hos. 1:1; Mic. 1:1) Hezekiah was outstanding as a king who “kept sticking to Jehovah,” doing what was right in Jehovah’s eyes and following his commandments. From the beginning of his reign he proved himself zealous for the promotion of true worship, not only in Judah, but in all the territory of Israel. In following the ways of Jehovah as David his forefather had done, it could be said of Hezekiah that “after him there proved to be no one like him among all the kings of Judah, even those who had happened to be prior to him.” For this “Jehovah proved to be with him.”—2 Ki. 18:3-7.

LITERARY CONTRIBUTIONS

Hezekiah is also known for his interest in compiling some of the Proverbs of Solomon, as the introduction to the section now known as chapters 25-29 of Proverbs reads: “These also are the proverbs of Solomon that the men of Hezekiah the king of Judah transcribed.” (Prov. 25:1) He wrote the song of thanksgiving recorded at Isaiah 38:10-20 after Jehovah healed him for his deadly sickness. In it he mentions “my string selections.” (Vs. 20) Some believe that Hezekiah wrote Psalm 119. If correct, it would seem that this Psalm was written when Hezekiah was a prince, not yet the king.

SITUATION AT HEZEKIAH’S ACCESSION

When Hezekiah came to the throne, the kingdom of Judah was under God’s disfavor, for Hezekiah’s father Ahaz had committed many detestable acts before Jehovah and had let the false worship of pagan gods run unrestrained in Judah. Therefore, Jehovah had permitted the land to suffer at the hands of its enemies, particularly the second world power, Assyria. Ahaz stripped the temple and the palace to provide a bribe for the king of Assyria. Worse yet, he cut up the utensils of the temple, closed its doors, and made altars for himself “at every corner in Jerusalem,” sacrificing to other gods. Ahaz, by an alliance, placed his kingdom under the protection of the king of Assyria during his reign. (2 Ki. 16:7-9; 2 Chron. 28:24, 25) But Hezekiah, early in his reign, “proceeded to rebel against the king of Assyria.”—2 Ki. 18:7.

At Hezekiah’s accession to the throne of Judah, the northern ten-tribe kingdom of Israel was in even worse condition. For their gross sins Jehovah had allowed them to come into dire straits, becoming tributary to Assyria, and it would not be long until Assyria would swallow up Israel and carry her people into captivity.—2 Ki. 17:5-23.

HIS ZEAL FOR TRUE WORSHIP

Hezekiah demonstrated his zeal for Jehovah’s worship immediately on taking the throne at the age of twenty-five years. His first act was to reopen and repair the temple. Then, calling together the priests and Levites, he said to them: “It is close to my heart to conclude a covenant with Jehovah the God of Israel.” This was a covenant of faithfulness, as though the Law covenant, still in effect but neglected, was inaugurated anew in Judah. With great energy he proceeded to organize the Levites in their services, and reestablished the arrangements for musical instruments and singing of praises. It was Nisan, the month for Passover to be celebrated, but the temple and the priests and Levites were unclean. By the sixteenth day of Nisan the temple was cleansed and its utensils restored. Then a special atonement had to be made for all Israel. First, the princes brought sacrifices, sin offerings for the kingdom, the sanctuary and the people, followed by thousands of burnt offerings by the people.—2 Chron. 29:1-36.

Since the people’s uncleanness prevented their observance of the Passover at the regular time, Hezekiah took advantage of the law that allowed those who are unclean to celebrate the Passover one month later. He called, not only Judah, but also Israel, by means of letters sent by runners throughout the land from Beer-sheba to Dan. The runners met with derision from many; but individuals, particularly from Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun, humbled themselves to come, some from Ephraim and Issachar also attending. Besides this, many non-Israelite worshipers of Jehovah were on hand. It was likely a difficult matter for those in the northern kingdom who stood for true worship to attend. They, like the messengers, would meet opposition and ridicule, inasmuch as the ten-tribe kingdom was in a decadent state, sunk in false worship and harassed by the Assyrian menace.—2 Chron. 30:1-20; Num. 9:10-13.

After the Passover, the Festival of Unfermented Cakes was held for seven days with such attendant joy that the entire congregation decided to extend it seven days longer. Even in such perilous times Jehovah’s blessing prevailed so that “there came to be great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for from the days of Solomon the son of David the king of Israel there was none like this in Jerusalem.”—2 Chron. 30:21-27.

That this was a real restoration and revival of true worship and not merely a transient emotional gathering is seen in what followed. Before their return home the celebrants went out and destroyed the sacred pillars, pulled down the high places and the altars and cut down the sacred poles throughout Judah and Benjamin and even in Ephraim and Manasseh. (2 Chron. 31:1) Hezekiah set the example by crushing to pieces the copper serpent that Moses had made, because the people had made it an idol, burning sacrificial smoke to it. (2 Ki. 18:4) After the great festival, Hezekiah ensured the continuation of true worship by organizing the priestly divisions and arranging for the support of the temple services by the enforcement of the Law as to the tithes and firstfruit contributions to the Levites and priests, to which the people responded wholeheartedly.—2 Chron. 31:2-12.

ASSYRIAN PRESSURE BUILDS UP

In those strenuous times, when Assyria was sweeping everything in its path, Hezekiah trusted in Jehovah the God of Israel. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and struck down the Philistine cities, which had evidently become allied with Assyria. (2 Ki. 18:7, 8) Even though it was during this time that Tirhakah the king of Ethiopia (usually associated with Pharaoh Taharka, an Ethiopian who ruled Egypt) was a threat to Assyria’s domination of Palestine, Hezekiah never went “down to Egypt for assistance” by trusting in and making alliances with him. In this he was doubtless strengthened by the prophet Isaiah.—Isa. 31:1; 2 Ki. 19:5-9.

It was in Hezekiah’s third year that Shalmaneser of Assyria began the siege of Samaria. After holding out for three years, Samaria was taken, perhaps by Sargon II, Shalmaneser’s successor, in 740 B.C.E. The people of the ten-tribe kingdom were deported, the Assyrians moving in others to occupy the land. (2 Ki. 18:9-12) This left the kingdom of Judah, representing God’s theocratic government and true worship, like a small island surrounded by hostile enemies.

Sennacherib, Sargon’s son, was ambitious to add the conquest of Jerusalem to his trophies of war, especially in view of the fact that Hezekiah had withdrawn from the alliance that had been entered into with Assyria by his father King Ahaz. In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign (732 B.C.E.) Sennacherib “came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and proceeded to seize them.” Hezekiah offered to buy Sennacherib off to save the threatened city of Jerusalem, whereupon Sennacherib demanded the enormous sum of 300 silver talents and 30 gold talents (more than one and a half million dollars, according to gold and silver prices in 1965). To pay this amount, Hezekiah was obliged to give all the silver that was found in the temple and the royal treasury, besides the precious metals that Hezekiah himself had caused to be overlaid on the temple doors and posts. This satisfied the king of Assyria, but only temporarily.—2 Ki. 18:13-16.

BUILDING AND ENGINEERING WORKS

In the face of imminent attack by greedy Sennacherib, Hezekiah displayed wisdom and military strategy. He stopped up all the springs and water sources outside the city of Jerusalem, so that, in event of a siege, the Assyrians would be short on water supplies. He strengthened the city’s fortifications and, “made missiles in abundance and shields.” But his trust was not in this military equipment, for in gathering together the military chieftains and the people, he encouraged them, saying: “Be courageous and strong. Do not be afraid nor be terrified because of the king of Assyria and on account of all the crowd that is with him; for with us there are more than there are with him. With him there is an arm of flesh, but with us there is Jehovah our God to help us and to fight our battles.”—2 Chron. 32:1-8.

One of the outstanding engineering feats of ancient times was the aqueduct of Hezekiah. It ran from the well of Gihon E of the northern part of the city of David in a rather irregular course, extending 1,749 feet (533 meters) to the Pool of Siloam in the Tyropean Valley below the city of David but within a new wall added to the S part of the city. (2 Ki. 20:20; 2 Chron. 32:30) An inscription in Hebrew monumental script was found by archaeologists on the wall of the narrow tunnel, which was six feet (1.8 meters) in average height. The inscription reads, in part: “And this was the way in which it was cut through:—While [. . . ] (were) still [. . . ] axe(s), each man toward his fellow, and while there were still three cubits to be cut through, [there was heard] the voice of a man calling to his fellow, for there was an overlap in the rock on the right [and on the left]. And when the tunnel was driven through, the quarrymen hewed (the rock), each man toward his fellow, axe against axe; and the water flowed from the spring toward the reservoir for 1,200 cubits, and the height of the rock above the head(s) of the quarrymen was 100 cubits.” (Ancient Near Eastern Text, Pritchard, p. 321) So the tunnel was cut through the rock from both ends, meeting in the middle—a real engineering accomplishment.