Hezekiah's staircase clock
Hezekiah's stairway sundial
God moves the shadow backwards
King Hezekiah's staircase clock assured him of 15 more years of life. A few minutes earlier, the prophet Isaiah had told ailing Hezekiah to get ready to die. Really bad news from a prophet of God.Excerpt from 2 Kings 20:2-11:
Hezekiah turned away from Isaiah and faced the wall. He started praying to the LORD. “Please LORD, I have lived my life devoted to you with all my heart. I’ve behaved myself and done what you wanted.” Hezekiah sobbed in grief.On second thought: 15 more years
Isaiah hadn’t gotten any further than the middle of the palace courtyard before the LORD spoke to him. “Turn around,” the LORD said. “Go back to Hezekiah. Tell him the LORD, the God of your ancestor David has another message for him: I see you. I see the tears. I heard your words. I’m going to heal you. In three days you’ll be able to get up out of your bed and go to the Temple. And I’m adding 15 years to your life. I’m going to rescue the city, in honor of David. I’m not going to let the Assyrians have it.” Isaiah said, “Someone go and get a handful of figs. Then crush them into a paste and apply it to the king’s boil. He’ll get well then.”
God turns back Hezekiah's staircase clock
Hezekiah said, “Will the LORD give me a sign—evidence that he’ll heal me in three days and I’ll be able to go to the Temple?” 9Isaiah told the king, “Yes, he will. He’s going to make the shadow on the Ahaz Staircase Sundial go 10 steps forward or backward. Your choice.” Hezekiah said, “Well, it’s normal for the shadow to move forward on the staircase. Let it move backward 10 steps.” Isaiah talked to God in a prayer, and the LORD made the shadow on the Ahaz Staircase retreat 10 steps.
Where to find more Bible maps
The Casual English Bible® has more than 900 Bible maps, many in 3D style. You can search for maps by place name, such as "Sea of Galilee."Dedicated Bible map search engine
But you can also search for maps by Bible book, such as searching for all the maps in the book of Joshua. In addition, you can search by country, region, or era on a timeline, such as when Israel had kings or when Jesus was on earth. Here's a link to the dedicated Map Search Engine.For more Bible features
Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna)
Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna)
Painting of ridgetop city of Jerusalem
with Hinnom and Kidron Valleys
Two Israelite kings in Jerusalem sacrificed a son in Hinnom Valley. That's the name in the Hebrew language of the Old Testament. In the Greek language of the New Testament, the name is Gehenna Valley.Ahaz
"Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king. He lived in Judah’s capital city of Jerusalem. He was not a good king in God’s eyes because he didn’t follow in the footsteps of his ancestor, David, who obeyed the LORD. Ahaz lived like the idol-worshiping kings of Israel. He even burned his son as a sacrifice, which is despicable to God. Other nations used to do that, too, but God drove them off the land. Ahaz sacrificed at shrines set up on hilltops and under shade trees in the valleys" (2 Kings 16:2-4, Casual English Bible).Manasseh
King Hezekiah’s boy, Manasseh, was 12 years old when he became king of Judah. He reigned 55 years. [1] His mother was Hephzibah. 2Manasseh was a poor excuse of a king, in God’s eyes. Manasseh reverted to some of the old, pagan religions of nations God drove off the land. This king practiced repulsive worship rituals. Jesus later used the valley as a metaphor to describe God's punishment for sin. English translators of the Bible coined a word for that metaphor: Hell. When Jesus spoke of a place translated as "hell," he was more literally referring to the valley that apparently later became the city dump.... Manasseh sacrificed his own son and burned the body on an altar. [6] He consulted sorcerers, wizards, fortunetellers, along with mediums who tried to contact the dead. [7] These sins made the LORD angry" (2 Kings 21:1-2, 6, Casual English Bible).For more Bible features
Jerusalem with Hinnom, Kidron Valleys
Entrance to Solomon’s Temple
Entrance to Solomon's Temple
Model of Entrance into Solomon's Temple
The makers
This 1883 architectural model of Solomon's Temple follows a design by a British Bible scholar named Thomas Newberry. It's carved from wood and gilded in silver and brass.
The photo is courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of New YorkModel based on the Bible’s description
The museum describes it as an exhibit of skilled craftsmanship and exquisite artistry, as well as architectural ingenuity and conceptual brilliance. Artisans based on this model on biblical descriptions of the Temple. The built into the model the following architectural layout: Porch, Holy Place, Holy of Holies, side chambers and galleries. They added the Altar of Burnt Offerings, the Brazen Sea, ten Lavers, Golden Altar of Incense, ten Lamp Stands, ten Tables for Shew Bread, Ark of the Covenant, two Great Cherubim, two pillars (called "Jachin and Boas"). And they provided a sense of the size of the Temple by including and numerous figures, such as the robed priests. They covered all the important details known of the Temple. Displayed as the centerpiece of the groundbreaking Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition in the Royal Albert Hall (April 4th – August, 1887), this model promoted the exhibition’s key goals . Those were including reviving interest in the preservation of Jewish material culture and to encourage awareness of the prominent role of Anglo-Jewry in nineteenth-century England. An object of rich historical value and superb artistry, this model – especially its intriguing domed-roof not directly mentioned in the biblical descriptions of the Temple – continues to fascinate architectural and biblical scholars." Solomon's Temple follow the basic style of temples at the time. Ruins of pagan temples in Philistine territory show a similar layout, with a sacred room in the back, like Solomon's Most Holy Place. It's also called the Holy of Holies.Angels for the Most Holy Place
For the Most Holy Room, Solomon added two identical cherubim, 15-feet high, carved from the hard wood of olive trees. 24The cherubim had wings, with a wingspan as wide as they were tall. Each wing measured 7 ½ feet to the tip. 25Each cherub looked like the other. Identical twins with wings. 26One cherub was 15 feet tall, and so was the other" (1 Kings 6:23-27).Model Entrance to Solomon's Temple
Model of Solomon’s Temple
Model of Solomon's Temple
Model of Solomon's Temple
The makers
This 1883 architectural model of Solomon's Temple follows a design by a British Bible scholar named Thomas Newberry. It's carved from wood and gilded in silver and brass.
The photo is courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of New YorkModel based on the Bible's description
The museum describes it as an exhibit of skilled craftsmanship and exquisite artistry, as well as architectural ingenuity and conceptual brilliance. Artisans based on this model on biblical descriptions of the Temple. The built into the model the following architectural layout: Porch, Holy Place, Holy of Holies, side chambers and galleries. They added the Altar of Burnt Offerings, the Brazen Sea, ten Lavers, Golden Altar of Incense, ten Lamp Stands, ten Tables for Shew Bread, Ark of the Covenant, two Great Cherubim, two pillars (called "Jachin and Boas"). And they provided a sense of the size of the Temple by including and numerous figures, such as the robed priests. They covered all the important details known of the Temple. Displayed as the centerpiece of the groundbreaking Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition in the Royal Albert Hall (April 4th – August, 1887), this model promoted the exhibition’s key goals . Those were including reviving interest in the preservation of Jewish material culture and to encourage awareness of the prominent role of Anglo-Jewry in nineteenth-century England. An object of rich historical value and superb artistry, this model – especially its intriguing domed-roof not directly mentioned in the biblical descriptions of the Temple – continues to fascinate architectural and biblical scholars." Solomon's Temple follow the basic style of temples at the time. Ruins of pagan temples in Philistine territory show a similar layout, with a sacred room in the back, like Solomon's Most Holy Place. It's also called the Holy of Holies.Angels for the Most Holy Place
For the Most Holy Room, Solomon added two identical cherubim, 15-feet high, carved from the hard wood of olive trees. 24The cherubim had wings, with a wingspan as wide as they were tall. Each wing measured 7 ½ feet to the tip. 25Each cherub looked like the other. Identical twins with wings. 26One cherub was 15 feet tall, and so was the other" (1 Kings 6:23-27).For feature articles about the Bible
Stephen M. Miller's blogModel Solomon's Temple