Hezekiah's and Josiah's Jerusalem

In the beginning of class, Professor Cargill continued to talk about the reign of Hezekiah on Jerusalem.  As talked about before in class, Hezekiah had prepared a "barrier" around Jerusalem for them to survive.  He created a Tunnel that enabled for the citizens to retrieve water, and built a barrier around the walls of Jerusalem.  Thus, as the prosperity of Jerusalem expanded, the powerful Assyrians began to feel threatened.  Thus, the Assyrians attempted to attack.  Most specifically, there was a number of attacks from Sennacherib's Army, but for some odd reason, the entire army got sick and their mission was left uncompleted.  Jerusalem, under Hezekiah's reign, was victorious.  Their "immunity" from ambush from the Assyrians, as Professor Cargill theorized, "was the single greatest catalyst for the snowballing legend of the inviolable Jerusalem."  In other words, the fact that the Assyrians could not defeat them caused the introduction of the Zion myth.  Jerusalem's sanctity was enforced, because the people assumed that Jerusalem must be sacred if it survived such turmoil.  In addition, under Hezekiah's reign, he enforced a religious reform, where he removed foreign deities from the Temple and called for worship of God of Israel.

After Hezekiah's reign, Professor continued to focus on the reign of Josiah.  Josiah's reign took place during the decline of the Assyrians.  During his time, he, like Hezekiah, started a number of new religious reforms.  These include: Discovery of the “book of the law/covenant/Torah,” "Deuteronomistic” reform, and the elimination of foreign cults.  Furthermore, he suggested the textualization of religion, providing historians of evidence of their literacy levels.