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Bishop Hezekiah Xzavier Walker, Jr. (born December 24, 1962, in Brooklyn, New York^[1][2]) is a Grammy Award-winning gospel music artist, founder and leader of the Love Fellowship Choir (LFC), and Pastor and Bishop of the Love Fellowship Tabernacle, with locations in Brooklyn, New York, and Bensalem, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Bishop Walker is also the Founder and Overseer of the Covenant Keepers International Fellowship, which spiritually covers, giving guidance and direction to, numerous pastors and their churches in the US - including multiple Love Fellowship Tabernacle - The Kingdom Church, with locations throughout the US and in South Africa.

Biography[link]

Walker is the visionary, founder, and Bishop of the Love Fellowship Tabernacle - The Kingdom Church churches, with locations in Brooklyn, New York, and Bensalem, Pennsylvania, in the US. As pastor, he shepherds a growing and multi-cultural flock of members varying in age, race, and socio-economic background. Born and raised in Brooklyn in the tumultuous Fort Greene public housing projects, he has risen to found, build, and lead a significant ministry.

Beginnings[link]

He catapulted into recognition in 1985 for his singing ability with the Grammy Award-winning Love Fellowship Crusade Choir. It was his travels with the Crusade Choir that enabled him to reach people from all walks of life who he had never encountered while growing up in the projects. This, unbeknownst to him at the time, would be the start of his pastoral training, for many of his choir members would eventually become his church members. It was under the tutelage of Pastor Wilbur Jones, of the Beulah Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and Bishop Kenneth H. Moales, the Presiding Prelate of the Pentecostal Churches of Jesus Christ, that Walker received his confirmation and ordination into the pastoralship.

Birthing of the Love Fellowship Tabernacle and "Pastor Walker"[link]

Love Fellowship Tabernacle was birthed in April 1994, located at 2425 Pacific Street, under the leadership of Elder Hezekiah Walker; which is the cradle of the Tabernacle with its humble beginnings of only eight members. The church, located in the East New York section of Brooklyn, congregated with young adolescent parishioners was dedicated to winning souls for Christ. As a result, many young people turned from a life of drugs, crime, and sin because of his ability to preach, teach, and “rightly divide” the Word of God without fear or reservation. The messages were, and still are, hardcore that the rap world responded to the realness of it and deemed him as the “Pastor of Hip Hop.” In the first year of the church’s ministry, Peter Jennings of ABC World News Tonight, covered a report on the 30% drop in crime in the East New York area because of the existence of Love Fellowship Tabernacle, according to the local 73rd and 75th precincts. Walker received an award from the local precincts and was also cited in 1995 by the Council of the City of New York for his outstanding work in the community.

Expansion of the Pastoral Ministry[link]

The need for souls to be saved was always a priority for Walker, so on Easter Sunday 1996 Love Fellowship Tabernacle relocated to 464 Liberty Avenue. What had begun with only eight members had quickly blossomed to over 2,000 plus members. The vision God gave to Walker was founded on the three “P’s:” Prayer, Preaching, and Praise. As he led the people of God into prayer and praise, he labored diligently in the preaching of the gospel to ensure that people of all ages receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. His ability to motivate, inspire, and empower through the Word of God drew people from all walks of life to Tuesday night’s prayer and Bible study, now known as the “Prayer Capital of New York City.” Presently, Walker and the Love Fellowship Tabernacle church family are seeking the Lord for a mega-church facility to accommodate the overflow of souls in Brooklyn.

Recognizing the need for God’s power to be manifested throughout the nation, Walker, in 1998, established the Love Fellowship Tabernacle in Willingboro, New Jersey. Shortly thereafter in November 2000, it relocated to a beautiful edifice at 5918 Hulmeville Road in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, a 2.4-acre facility.He is also the Overseer of Love Fellowship Tabernacle Kunjolo Ministries located in Capetown, South Africa

Ministry associations[link]

Walker is ministering nationally and internationally at churches, revivals, convocations, and conferences and is repeatedly asked to share with some of today’s most dynamic ministries. He has been alongside Bishop Kenneth H. Moales, Sr., Bishop T.D. Jakes, Bishop Noel Jones, Bishop John Francis, Dr. Marvin L. Sapp, Pastor Marvin L. Winans, Pastor Shirley Caesar, Pastor John P. Kee, Pastor Jackie McCullough, Pastor Rod Parsley, and Dr. Juanita Bynum.

Education[link]

Walker attended Long Island University, majoring in Sociology. He also attended Hugee Theological Seminary, and the New York School of the Bible. Currently, he is attending the Philadelphia Biblical University in Langhorne, PA. Walker is the president and founder of the Love Fellowship Bible Institute

Elevation: "Overseer Walker"[link]

On December 18, 2003, Walker was ordained Overseer by the Honorable, The Late Bishop Kenneth H. Moales Sr., during the 10th Founders Week Celebration of the Love Fellowship Tabernacle. In his new elevation, Walker began a covenant relationship with other pastors in the northeast of the US, and in South Africa, under the title of the Covenant Keepers International Fellowship.

Elevation: "Bishop Walker"[link]

On August 3, 2008, during the 89th International Holy Convocation of the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia, Walker, after 14 years of pastoring one of the fastest-growing churches in the New York City area and in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, and having fellowship churches in Long Island, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and recently a Love Fellowship Tabernacle “The Kingdom Church” in Cape Town, South Africa, was chosen to be consecrated into the bishopric by Bishop William L. Bonner, Chief Apostle of the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, Inc., and Senior Pastor of the Greater Refuge Temple COOLJC (the organization's headquarters church) in Harlem, New York.

"Pastor Walker is a son of the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ," said Bonner, adding he recently heard Walker preach, and was "impressed with the appeal Pastor Walker had in drawing a younger generation into the Kingdom of God." "This honor means so much to me but also to my churches. Words cannot express how I feel to receive this elevation from Bishop William L. Bonner, truly this is a blessing from God,” stated Walker.

In December 2008 Bishop Walker received his affirmation to the Bishopric by The Late Bishop Kenneth H. Moales Sr., Presiding Bishop of the Pentecostal Churches of Jesus Christ and was appointed 1st Vice Bishop of that reformation during Holy Convocation 2009.

Elevation: "Presiding Prelate of the Pentecostal Churches of Jesus Christ"[link]

On June 12, 2011, Bishop Walker was officially enthroned and installed as the Presiding Prelate of the Pentecostal Churches of Jesus Christ, as the successor to His Grace, The Late Bishop Kenneth H. Moales, Sr.

Chief Consecrators were Bishop J. Delano Ellis, Bishop Alfred Owens, and Apostle Huie Rogers. Bishop John Francis of London, England, delivered the homily.

Bishop Walker states, “We were in our Annual Convocation (2010),” recalled Bishop Walker, “and Bishop Moales was ministering about succession. He was saying that many leaders fail because they don’t have a succession plan. Then, at the end of his message, he turned and began to set things in order. He told us, ‘If God should call me home, this is what I want done.” He told us what to do for his wife (Lady Peggy Moales), and what to do for his home church (Prayer Tabernacle, Bridgeport, CT). Then he looked at all the pastors and he looked at me and said, ‘Bishop Walker will become the new prelate of the Pentecostal Churches of Jesus Christ.’ I was in a total state of shock!”

Eight months later, Bishop Moales died.

Slogan of the Bishop[link]

Bishop Walker remains confident in this one fact: “And Because God Is The Greatest Power, We Shall Not Be Defeated!”

Musical career[link]

Walker has released several albums on the music labels; Sweet Rain Records, Benson Music Group, and Verity Records as Hezekiah Walker & The Love Fellowship Crusade Choir, Hezekiah Walker & The Love Fellowship Choir, and more recently (since 2005) as, Hezekiah Walker & LFC.

Walker's efforts have seen him win Grammy Awards for Best Gospel Album By Choir Or Chorus twice: once for Live in Atlanta at Morehouse College (1994), and once for Love Is Live! (2001).

Separate from The Love Fellowship Choir, Walker's Love Fellowship Tabernacle Choir (LFT Church Choir) has released albums entitled Recorded "Live" at Love Fellowship Tabernacle in 1998, and Love Is Live in 2001.

Extensions of musical career[link]

In 2003, Walker wrote his first book, entitled Destiny: Dream It, Declare It, Do It, published by Whitaker House.

Walker is also the host of his own radio show, Afternoon Praise, which airs during weekdays from 2pm-7pm on the only 24-hour Gospel Station in New York City, 1190 WLIB.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• I'll Make It (Sweet Rain, 1987)
• Oh Lord We Praise You (Sweet Rain, 1990)
• The Best of Hezzie (Sweet Rain, 1991)
• Focus On Glory (Benson, 1992)
• Live In Toronto (Benson, 1993)
• Live in Atlanta at Morehouse College (Benson, 1994)
• Gospel Greats (Benson, 1995)
• Live In New York - By Any Means... (Benson, 1995)
• Live In London at Wembley (Verity, 1997)
• Pastor Hezekiah Walker Presents The LFT Church Choir - Recorded "Live" at Love Fellowship Tabernacle (Verity, 1998)
• Family Affair (Verity, 1999)
• LFT Church Choir - Love Is Live: at Love Fellowship Tabernacle; Hezekiah Walker, Pastor (Verity, 2001)
• Family Affair II: Live at Radio City Music Hall (Verity, 2002)
• Nothing But The Hits (Verity, 2003)
• 20/85 The Experience (Verity, 2005)
• The Essential Hezekiah Walker (Verity, 2007)
• Souled Out (Verity, 2009)
• The Very Best of Hezekiah Walker (Verity, 2010)
• The Very Best of Hezekiah Walker - Live (Verity, 2011)

Personal life[link]

Bishop Walker is a family man and the father of one child; daughter, KyAsia Monét Walker.

External links[link]

• Love Fellowship Official Website
• Hezekiah Walker Ministries Official Website
• Verity Records Official Website
• 1190 WLIB - Your Praise & Inspiration Station Official Website

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2011)

Hezekiah (Hizqiyyahu ben Ahaz)
King of Judah (Melekh Yehudah)
Reign	coregency with Ahaz 729, sole reign 716 – 697 BC coregency with Manasseh 697 - 687
Born	c.739 BC
Birthplace	probably Jerusalem
Died	c.687 BC
Place of death	probably Jerusalem
Predecessor	King Ahaz
Manasseh (only male child)
Successor	Manasseh
Offspring	Manasseh
Royal House	House of David
Father	King Ahaz
Mother	Abijah, also called Abi

Hezekiah /ˌhɛzɨˈkaɪ.ə/ (Hebrew: חִזְקִיָּ֫הוּ, חִזְקִיָּ֫ה, יְחִזְקִיָּ֫הוּ, Modern H̱izkiyyahu, H̱izkiyya, Yeẖizkiyyahu Tiberian Ḥizqiyyā́hû, Ḥizqiyyā, Yəḥizqiyyā́hû; Greek: Ἐζεκίας, Ezekias, in the Septuagint; Latin: Ezechias; also transliterated as Ḥizkiyyahu or Ḥizkiyyah) was the son of Ahaz and the 14th king of Judah.^[1] Edwin Thiele has concluded that his reign was between c. 715 and 686 BC.^[2] He is also one of the most prominent kings of Judah mentioned in the Hebrew Testament.

According to the Hebrew Testament, Hezekiah witnessed the destruction of the northern Kingdom of Israel by Sargon's Assyrians in c 720 BC and was king of Judah during the invasion and siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib in 701 BC. ^[3] Hezekiah enacted sweeping religious reforms, during which he removed the worship of foreign deities from the Temple in Jerusalem, and restored the worship of Yahweh, God of Israel, as instructed by the Torah.^[1] Isaiah and Micah prophesied during his reign.^[1]

Etymology[link]

Hezekiah, more properly transliterated as Ḥizkiyyahu (and sometimes as Ezekias) (Hebrew: חִזְקִיָּ֫הוּ Ḥizqiyyāhu, Khizkiyahu; or יְחִזְקִיָּ֫הוּ Yəḥizqiyyāhu, Y'khizkiyahu); ; or Ḥizkiyyah (Hebrew: חִזְקִיָּ֫ה Ḥizqiyyāh). The root of the name חִזְקִיָּהוּ Ḥizkiyyahu is חזק, a verb stem that can mean

"strengthen", "fortify" in the pi'él (חַזֵּק),

"hold", "seize" in the hif'il (הַחֲזֵק), and

"gather one's strength", "take courage" in the hitpa'él (הִתְחַזֵּק).

It also spawns a number of nouns, including

חוֹזֶק, חָזְקָה, חֶזְקָה "strength", and

חֲזָקָה "taking hold", "seizing", "occupying", "presumption" [of entitlement]

as well as the adjectives

חָזָק, חָזֵק "strong".

Accordingly, חִזְקִיָּהוּ Ḥizkiyyahu can be said to mean something like "Strengthened by Yahweh".^[4]

The Biblical Account[link]

The main accounts of Hezekiah's reign are found in 2 Kings 18-20, Isaiah 36-39, and 2 Chronicles 29-32 of the Hebrew Testament. Proverbs 25 attests that it is a collection of King Solomon’s proverbs that were “copied” “by the officials of King Hezekiah of Judah” Proverbs 25:1. His reign is also referred to in the books of the prophets Jeremiah, Hosea, and Micah. The books of Hosea and Micah record that their prophecies were made during Hezekiah’s reign.

Reign over Judah[link]

Remnants of the Broad Wall of biblical Jerusalem, built during Hezekiah's days against Sennacherib's siege

Child inside Hezekiah's tunnel, 2010

According to the Hebrew Testament, Hezekiah assumed the throne when he was 25 (2 Chronicles 29:1) and reigned for 29 years (2 Kings 18:2). Some writers have proposed that Hezekiah served as coregent with his father Ahaz for about 14 years, beginning during 729 BC. His sole reign is dated by Albright as 715 – 687 BC, and by Thiele as 716 – 687 BC (the last ten years being a co-regency with his son Manasseh).^[5]

According to the Hebrew Testament, Hezekiah introduced religious reform and reinstated religious traditions. He resolved to abolish idolatry from his kingdom, and among other things that he did to this end, he destroyed the high places (or bamot) and "bronze serpent" (or "Nehushtan,",recorded as being made by Moses according to the command of Yahweh (Numbers 21:8 HE), which became an object of idolatrous worship (2 Kings 18:4. ). In place of this, he centralized the worship of Yahweh at the Jerusalem Temple. Hezekiah also resumed the Passover pilgrimage and the tradition of inviting the scattered tribes of Israel to take part in a Passover festival. (2 Chronicles 30:5,10,13,26). Hezekiah is portrayed by the Hebrew Testament as a great and good king. He is one of the few kings praised so highly as to have “trusted in the Lord the God of Israel; so that there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah after him, or among those who were before him” (2 Kings 18:5).

Family and Life[link]

Hezekiah was born in c. 739 BC as the son of King Ahaz and Abijah (2 Chronicles 29:1). His mother, Abijah (also called Abi), was a daughter of the high priest Zechariah (2 Kings 18:1-2). He was married to Hephzi-bah. (2 Kings 21:1) He died from natural causes around 687 BC when he was 54, and was succeeded by his son Manasseh(2 Kings 20:21).

Political Moves and Assyrian Invasion[link]

Siloam pool

Assyrian Archers

Between the death of the Assyrian king Sargon, and the succession of his son Sennacherib, Hezekiah sought to throw off his subservience to the Assyrian kings. He ceased to pay the tribute imposed on his father, Ahaz, and "rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not," but entered into a league with Egypt (Isaiah 30-31; 36:6-9). If Hezekiah expected the Egyptians to come to his aid, they did not come, and Hezekiah had to face the invasion of Judah by Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:13-16) in the 4th year of Sennacherib (701 BC). 2 Kings 19:35 records that during the siege the Angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in a single night.

Hezekiah initially paid tribute to Assyria, but then rebelled.^[6] The Assyrians recorded that Sennacherib lifted his siege of Jerusalem after Hezekiah acknowledged Sennacherib as his overlord and paid him tribute.^[7] The Hebrew Testament records that Hezekiah tried to pay off Sennacherib with three hundred talents of silver and thirty of gold as tribute, even despoiling the doors of the Temple to produce the promised amount, but, after the payment was made, Sennacherib renewed his assault on Jerusalem. (2 Kings 18:14-16)^[6] Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem and sent his Rabshakeh to the walls as a messenger. The Rabshakeh addressed the soldiers manning the city wall in Hebrew (Yĕhuwdiyth), asking them to distrust Yahweh and Hezekiah, pointing to Hezekiah's righteous reforms (destroying the High Places) as a sign that the people should not trust their king (2 Kings 18:17-35). The fundamental law in Deuteronomy 12:1-32 prohibits sacrifice at every place except the temple in Jerusalem.

2 Kings HE}} records that Hezekiah went to the temple and there he prayed, the first king of Judah to do so in about 250 years, since the time of Solomon.^[6]

Hezekiah's Construction[link]

Hezekiah's Tunnel

Hezekiah made at least two major preparations that would help Jerusalem to resist conquest: the construction of Hezekiah's Tunnel (also known as the Siloam Tunnel), and construction of the Broad Wall.

"When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come, intent on making war against Jerusalem, he consulted with his officers and warriors about stopping the flow of the springs outside the city ... for otherwise, they thought, the King of Assyria would come and find water in abundance" (2 Chronicles 32:2-4).

The narratives of the [[Hebrew Bible|Hebrew Testament} state that Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem (Isaiah 33:1; 2 Kings 18:17; 2 Chronicles 32:9; Isaiah 36).

Death of Sennacherib[link]

Sennacherib failed to conquer Judah in full before his death.

2 Kings 19:37 says -

"It came about as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him [Sennacherib] with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place."

Assyrian records say that Sennacherib was assassinated in 681 BC (20 years after the invasion of Judah in 701 BC).^[8] A Neo-Babylonian letter corroborates with the Biblical account a sentiment from Sennacherib’s sons to assassinate him, an event Assyriologists have reconstructed as historical. The son Ardi-Mulishi, who is mentioned in the letter as killing anyone who would reveal his conspiracy, successfully murders his father in about 681 BCE,^[9] and was most likely the Adrammelech in 2 Kings, though Sharezer is not known elsewhere.^[10] Assyryologists posit the murder was motivated because Esarhaddon was chosen as heir to the throne instead of Ardi-Mulishi, the next eldest son. Assyrian and Hebrew testament history corroborate that Esarhaddon ultimately did succeed the throne.

Hezekiah's Illness and Death[link]

The narrative of Hezekiah's sickness and miraculous recovery is found in 2 Kings 20:1, 2 Chronicles 32:24, Isaiah 38:1. Various ambassadors came to congratulate him on his recovery, among them Merodach-baladan, the king of Babylon (2 Chronicles 32:23; 2 Kings 20:12). Hezekiah is also remembered for giving too much information to Baladan, king of Babylon, for which he was confronted by Isaiah the prophet (2 Kings 20:12-19).

According to the Talmud, the disease came about because of a dispute between him and Isaiah over who should pay who a visit and over Hezekiah's refusal to marry and have children. Some Talmudists also considered that it might have come about as a way for Hezekiah to purge his sins or due to his arrogance in assuming his righteousness.^[11]

Extra-Biblical Records[link]

Extra-Biblical sources do much more for us than give us a pan-Mid Eastern picture into which we contextualize Hezekiah: there are extra-Biblical sources that specify Hezekiah by name, along with his reign and influence. “Historiographically, his reign is noteworthy for the convergence of a variety of biblical sources and diverse extrabiblical evidence often bearing on the same events. Significant data concerning Hezekiah appear in the Deuteronomistic History, the Chronicler, Isaiah, Assyrian annals and reliefs, Israelite epigraphy, and, increasingly, stratigraphy”.^[12] Archaeologist Amihai Mazar calls the tensions between Assyria and Judah “one of the best-documented events of the Iron Age” (172). Hezekiah’s story is one of the best to cross-reference with the rest of the Mid Eastern world’s historical documents.

Archaeological Record[link]

A lintel inscription, found over the doorway of a tomb, has been ascribed to his secretary, Shebnah 2 Kings 18:18). LMLK store jars along the border with Assyria “demonstrate careful preparations to counter Sennacherib’s likely route of invasion” and show “a notable degree of royal control of towns and cities which would facilitate Hezekiah’s destruction of rural sacrificial sites and his centralization of worship in Jerusalem”.^[12] Evidence suggests they were used throughout his 29-year reign (Grena, 2004, p. 338). There are some Bullae from sealed documents that may have belonged to Hezekiah himself (Grena, 2004, p. 26, Figs. 9 and 10). There are also some that name his servants (ah-vah-deem in Hebrew, ayin-bet-dalet-yod-mem). However, they are all from the antiquities market and subject to authentication disputes (see Biblical archaeology).

According to the work of archaeologists and philologists, the reign of Hezekiah saw a notable increase in the power of the Judean state. There were increases in literacy and in the production of literary works. The massive construction of the Broad Wall was made during his reign, the city was enlarged to accommodate a large influx, and population increased in Jerusalem up to 25,000, “five times the population under Solomon.” ^[12] Archaeologist Amihai Mazar explains, “Jerusalem was a virtual city-state where the majority of the state’s population was concentrated,” in comparison to the rest of Judah’s cities (167).^[13] Archaeologist Israel Finkelstein says, “The key phenomenon—which cannot be explained solely against the background of economic prosperity—was the sudden growth of the population of Jerusalem in particular, and of Judah in general” (153).^[13] He says the cause of this growth must be a large influx of Israelites fleeing from the Assyrian destruction of the northern state. It is “[t]he only reasonable way to explain this unprecedented demographic development” (154).^[13] This, according to Finkelstein, set the stage for motivations to compile and reconcile Hebrew history into a text at that time (157).^[13] Mazar questions this explanation, since, he argues, it is “no more than an educated guess” (167).^[13]

Hezekiah's Siloam Tunnel was chiseled through 533 meters (1,750 feet) of solid rock ^[10] in order to provide Jerusalem underground access to the waters of the Gihon Spring or Siloam Pool, which lay outside the city.

The Siloam Inscription from the Siloam Tunnel is now in the Istanbul Archeological Museum. It “commemorates the dramatic moment when the two original teams of tunnelers, digging with picks from opposite ends of the tunnel, met each other” (564).^[10] It is “[o]ne of the most important ancient Hebrew inscriptions ever discovered.”^[10] Finkelstein and Mazar cite this tunnel as an example of Jerusalem’s impressive state-level power at the time.

Archeologists like William G. Dever have pointed at archaeological evidence for the iconoclasm during the period of Hezekiah's reign. The central cult room of the temple at Arad (a royal Judean fortress) was deliberately and carefully dismantled, "with the altars and massebot" concealed "beneath a Str. 8 plaster floor". This stratum correlates with the late 8th century; Dever concludes that "the deliberate dismantling of the temple and its replacement by another structure in the days of Hezekiah is an archeological fact. I see no reason for skepticism here."^[14]

In the Lachish Relief, Assyrian records say the date of Sennacherib’s siege of the city Lachish is 701 BCE (1292).^[15] The Lachish Relief graphically depicts the battle and defeat of the city of Lachish, including Assyrian archers marching up a ramp and Judahites pierced through on mounted stakes. “The reliefs on these slabs” discovered in the Assyrian palace at Nineveh “originally formed a single, continuous work, measuring 8 feet...tall by 80 feet...long, which wrapped around the room” (559).^[10] Visitors “would have been impressed not only by the magnitude of the artwork itself but also by the magnificent strength of the Assyrian war machine.”^[10]

Sennacherib’s Prism was found buried in the foundations of the Nineveh palace. It was written in cuneiform, the Mesopotamian form of writing of the day. The prism records the conquest of 46 strong towns ^[16] and “uncountable smaller places,” along with the siege of Jerusalem where Sennacherib says he just “shut him up...like a bird in a cage,”^[10] subsequently enforcing a larger tribute upon him. There is no mention that Sennacherib failed to take Jerusalem. In Assyrian history, “[assorted prisms] were meant for future kings to read, so they never reported any defeats or anything bad about the king” (301).^[17] Understandably, there is no account of the great defeat outside the walls of Jerusalem that is recorded in the Hebrew Testament, because it would have reflected poorly on the Assyrian king. One theory posits that defeat was caused by “possibly an outbreak of the bubonic plague” (303).^[17]

• Where the 2 Kings account explains giving 300 talents of silver, Sennacherib’s prism records 800 talents.^[10] “This discrepancy may be the result of differences in the weight of Assyrian and Israelite silver talents, or it may simply be due to the Assyrian propensity for exaggeration” (558).^[10]

Other Records[link]

The Talmud (Bava Batra 15a) credits Hezekiah with overseeing the compilation of the biblical books of Isaiah, Proverbs, Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes.

According to Jewish tradition, the victory over the Assyrians and Hezekiah's return to health happened at the same time, the first night of Passover.

The Greek historian, Herodotus (c. 484 BC – c. 425 BC), wrote of the invasion and acknowledges many Assyrian deaths, which he claims were the result of a plague of mice. The Jewish historian, Josephus, followed the writings of Herodotus.^[12] These historians record Sennacherib’s failure to take Jerusalem is “uncontested^[12]

Chronological Interpretation[link]

Understanding the Biblically recorded sequence of events in Hezekiah’s life as chronological or not is critical to the contextual interpretation of his reign. According to scholar Stephen L. Harris, chapter 20 of 2 Kings does not follow the events of chapters 18 and 19 (161).^[18] Rather, the Babylonian envoys precede the Assyrian invasion and siege. Chapter 20 would have been added during the exile, and Harris says it “evidently took place before Sennacherib’s invasion” when Hezekiah was “trying to recruit Babylon as an ally against Assyria.”Harris, Stephen L. Understanding the Bible. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Consequently, “Hezekiah ends his long reign impoverished and ruling over only a tiny scrap of his former domain.”Harris, Stephen L. Understanding the Bible. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Likewise, the Archaeological Study Bible says, “The presence of these riches” Hezekiah shows the Babylonians “indicates that this event took place before Hezekiah’s payment of tribute to Sennacherib in 701 B.C.” (564).^[10] Again, “Though the king’s illness and the subsequent Babylonian mission are described at the end of the accounts of his reign, they must have occurred before the war with Assyria.^[15] Thus, Isaiah’s chastening of Hezekiah is due to his alliances made with other countries during the Assyrian conflict for insurance, if you will. To a reader who interprets the chapters chronologically, it would appear that Hezekiah ended his reign at a climax, but with a scholarly analysis, his end would contrarily be interpreted as a long fall from where he began.

Other Chronological Notes[link]

There has been considerable academic debate about the actual dates of reigns of the Israelite kings. Scholars have endeavored to synchronize the chronology of events referred to in the Hebrew Bible with those derived from other external sources. In the case of Hezekiah, scholars have noted that the apparent inconsistencies are resolved by accepting the evidence that Hezekiah, like his predecessors for four generations in the kings of Judah, had a coregency with his father, and this coregency began in 729 BC.

As an example of the reasoning that finds inconsistencies in calculations when coregencies are a priori ruled out, 2 Kings 18:10 dates the fall of Samaria (the Northern Kingdom) to the 6th year of Hezekiah's reign. William F. Albright has dated the fall of the Kingdom of Israel to 721 BC, while E. R. Thiele calculates the date as 723 BC.^[19] If Abright's or Thiele's dating are correct, then Hezekiah's reign would begin in either 729 or 727 BC. On the other hand, 18:13 states that Sennacherib invaded Judah in the 14th year of Hezekiah's reign. Dating based on Assyrian records date this invasion to 701 BC, and Hezekiah's reign would therefore begin in 716/715 BC.^[20] This dating would be confirmed by the account of Hezekiah's illness in chapter 20, which immediately follows Sennacherib's departure (2 Kings 20). This would date his illness to Hezekiah's 14th year, which is confirmed by Isaiah's statement (2 Kings 18:5) that he will live fifteen more years (29-15=14). As shown below, these problems are all addressed by scholars who make reference to the ancient Near Eastern practice of coregency.

Following the approach of Wellhausen, another set of calculations shows it is probable that Hezekiah did not ascend the throne before 722 BC. By Albright's calculations, Jehu's initial year is 842 BC; and between it and Samaria's destruction the Books of Kings give the total number of the years the kings of Israel ruled as 143 7/12, while for the kings of Judah the number is 165. This discrepancy, amounting in the case of Judah to 45 years (165-120), has been accounted for in various ways; but every one of those theories must allow that Hezekiah's first six years fell before 722 BC. (That Hezekiah began to reign before 722 BC, however, is entirely consistent with the principle that the Ahaz/Hezekiah coregency began in 729 BC.) Nor is it clearly known how old Hezekiah was when called to the throne, although 2 Kings 18:2 states he was twenty-five years of age. His father died at the age of thirty-six (2 Kings 16:2); it is not likely that Ahaz at the age of eleven should have had a son. Hezekiah's own son Manasseh ascended the throne twenty-nine years later, at the age of twelve. This places his birth in the seventeenth year of his father's reign, or gives Hezekiah's age as forty-two, if he was twenty-five at his ascension. It is more probable that Ahaz was twenty-one or twenty-five when Hezekiah was born (and suggesting an error in the text), and that the latter was thirty-two at the birth of his son and successor, Manasseh.

Miniature from Chludov Psalter

Since Albright and Friedman, several scholars have explained these dating problems on the basis of a coregency between Hezekiah and his father Ahaz between 729 and 716/715 BC. Assyriologists and Egyptologists recognize that coregency was a practice both in Assyria and Egypt,^[21][22] After noting that coregencies were only used sporadically in the northern kingdom (Israel), Nadav Na'aman writes,

In the kingdom of Judah, on the other hand, the nomination of a co-regent was the common procedure, beginning from David who, before his death, elevated his son Solomon to the throne…When taking into account the permanent nature of the co-regency in Judah from the time of Joash, one may dare to conclude that dating the co-regencies accurately is indeed the key for solving the problems of biblical chronology in the eighth century B.C."^[23]

Among the numerous scholars who have recognized the coregency between Ahaz and Hezekiah are Kenneth Kitchen in his various writings,^[24] Leslie McFall,^[25] and Jack Finegan.^[26] McFall, in his 1991 article, argues that if 729 BC (that is, the Judean regnal year beginning in Tishri of 729) is taken as the start of the Ahaz/Hezekiah coregency, and 716/715 BC as the date of the death of Ahaz, then all the extensive chronological data for Hezekiah and his contemporaries in the late eighth century BC are in harmony. Further, McFall found that no textual emendations are required among the numerous dates, reign lengths, and synchronisms given in the Hebrew Testament for this period.^[27] In contrast, those who do not accept the Ancient Near Eastern principle of coregencies require multiple emendations of the Scriptural text, and there is no general agreement on which texts should be emended, nor is there any consensus among these scholars on the resultant chronology for the eighth century BC. This is in contrast with the general consensus among those who accept the Biblical and near Eastern practice of coregencies that Hezekiah was installed as coregent with his father Ahaz in 729 BC, and the synchronisms of 2 Kings 18 must be measured from that date, whereas the synchronisms to Sennacherib are measured from the sole reign starting in 716/715 BC. The two synchronisms to Hoshea of Israel in 2 Kings 18 are then in exact agreement with the dates of Hoshea's reign that can be determined from Assyrian sources, as is the date of Samaria's fall as stated in 2 Kings 18:10. An analogous situation of two ways of measurement, both equally valid, is encountered in the dates given for Jehoram of Israel, whose first year is synchronized to the 18th year of the sole reign of Jehoshaphat of Judah in 2 Kings 3:1 (853/852 BC), but his reign is also reckoned according to another method as starting in the second year of the coregency of Jehoshaphat and his son Jehoram of Judah (2 Kings 1:17); both methods refer to the same calendrical year.

Scholars who accept the principle of coregencies note that abundant evidence for their use is found in the biblical material itself.^[28] The agreement of scholarship built on these principles with both biblical and secular texts was such that the Thiele/McFall chronology was accepted as the best chronology for the kingdom period in Jack Finegan's encyclopedic Handbook of Biblical Chronology.^[29]

References[link]

Resources[link]

• Grena, G.M. (2004). LMLK—A Mystery Belonging to the King vol. 1. Redondo Beach, California: 4000 Years of Writing History. ISBN 0-9748786-0-X. 
• Austin, Lynn. Gods And Kings. ISBN 0-7642-2989-3.  a fictionalized account of Hezekiah's rise to power, Book 1 in Austin's "Chronicles of the Kings" series

External links[link]

• "Hezekiah." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
• King Hezekiah from Jerusalem Mosaic
• Hezekiah See all Bible verses pertaining to King Hezekiah
• The Reign Of Hezekiah by John F. Brug
•  "Ezechias". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 
• Sennacherib's Invasion of Hezekiah's Judah in 701 BC - by Craig C. Broyles
• Interactive Map of Sennacherib's Invasion of Hezekiah's Judah, including the accounts of Sennacherib, Herodotus, 2 Kings, Isaiah and Micah

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2010)

Marvin Sapp
Marvin Sapp performs during "The Experience with Marvin Sapp" at the Harold Washington Cultural Center in Chicago (photo by Raymond Boyd).
Background information
Birth name	Marvin Louis Sapp
Born	(1967-01-28) January 28, 1967 (age 45)
Origin	United States of America
Genres	Gospel, Contemporary Christian, Inspirational/Worship
Years active	1996-present
Website	http://www.marvinsappmusic.com

Pastor Marvin Louis Sapp (born on January 28, 1967) is an American Gospel music singer-songwriter who recorded with the group Commissioned during the 1990s before beginning a record-breaking solo career. Sapp is also the Founder and Senior pastor of Lighthouse Full Life Center Church, located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Early years[link]

Sapp was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and began singing in church at age four. He spent his teenage years singing with a number of Gospel groups and ensembles before being invited by Gospel singer Fred Hammond to sing with Commissioned in 1991 after Keith Staten left. Marvin Sapp appears on the group's albums Number 7, Matters of the Heart, and Irreplaceable Love. Sapp left in 1996 and was replaced by Marcus R. Cole.

Solo career[link]

In 1996, Sapp decided to establish himself as a contemporary gospel solo artist and has recorded seven albums. Sapp first achieved crossover fame with the release of "Never Would Have Made It" from the album Thirsty in 2007. It peaked at #14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, #82 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and also at #1 on the Billboard Hot Gospel Songs chart. Thirsty debuted at #28 on the U.S. Billboard 200, #4 on the U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and also #1 on the U.S. Billboard Top Gospel Albums. It has been certified gold by the RIAA due to the album selling over 500,000 copies, making it Sapp's best selling album of his solo career, and has so far sold over 712,000 copies.^[1] In 2009, Sapp won all seven Gospel Stellar Awards that he was nominated for.

Sapp recorded Thirsty 's follow-up album, Here I Am, on October 16, 2009 at Resurrection Life Church in Wyoming, Michigan and released it on March 16, 2010. With its release, Sapp became the all-time highest charting gospel artist in Billboard's 54-year history of tracking album sales.^[2] By selling approximately 76,000 copies of Here I Am its first week out, the album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart, making Here I Am the highest charting album ever by a gospel artist.^[1] Here I Am's lead single, "The Best in Me," which was co-written by the album's producer, Aaron Lindsey (Israel Houghton), peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, #1 on Billboard's Gospel Songs chart^[3] and reached #20 (with a bullet) on Billboard's Urban AC chart. On January 15, 2011, Marvin Sapp topped the list of winners during the 26th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards ^[4]

Personal life[link]

Sapp is the widower of MaLinda Sapp, a professor and psychologist, who served as the Administrative Pastor at Lighthouse Full Life Center Church. MaLinda Sapp died September 9, 2010, from complications of colon cancer.^[5] Sapp has three children: Marvin II, Mikaila, and Madisson. On March 21, 2009, Sapp was initiated into the Grand Rapids Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. Sapp likes to appear in a church in Douglas, Georgia, called Hightower Memorial Temple. Sapp also has been awarded doctorate degrees from two non-accredited institutions, a Doctor of Divinity Degree from Aenon Bible College and the Doctor of Ministry Degree from Friends International Christian University.

Discography[link]

Solo albums[link]

Singles[link]

Solo music awards[link]

BET Awards[link]

GMA Dove Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Fusemix.com | MARVIN SAPP BRINGS HOME TOP HONORS AT 26th ANNUAL STELLAR GOSPEL MUSIC AWARDS

Romeo Miller
Miller in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Percy Romeo Miller, Jr.[1]
Also known as	Lil' Romeo, Rome, Romeo
Born	(1989-08-19) August 19, 1989 (age 22)[1] New Orleans, Louisiana, United States[1]
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper Model Basketball player Entrepreneur Actor
Years active	2001–present
Labels	No Limit (2001–2002) Priority (2001–2002) The New No Limit (2002–2004) Universal (2002–2003) E1 (2004–2005) Guttar Music (2005–2006) Take A Stand (2007–present) The Next Generation (CEO) (2010–present) No Limit Forever (CEO) (2010–present)
Website	romeoforever.com

Percy Romeo Miller, Jr. (born August 19, 1989),^[2] better known by his stage name Romeo (previously Lil' Romeo), is an American rapper, actor, basketball player, entrepreneur, and model. As a rap musician, Miller has released three studio albums and two compilation albums.

Early life[link]

Romeo Miller was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the son of rapper and entrepreneur Master P and former rapper Sonya C. He is the nephew of rappers C-Murder and Silkk the Shocker and the brother of singer Cymphonique. Romeo was signed to No Limit at the age of 5 after he wrote a rap to his dad.

Music career[link]

[edit] Lil' Romeo (2001)

He then released his debut album 7 years later titled after his original alias Lil' Romeo. This offering contained the hit single "My Baby" that charted No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-hop Singles. The album peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and No. 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums,selling more than 500,000 copies the first week out making it certified Gold. The album is now certified certified Platinum by the RIAA for the sales of 1,300,000. Also in 2001 he was featured on his uncle Silkk the Shocker's remix single of "That's Kool", which was also featured on his own album.

[edit] Game Time (2002–2003)

In 2002, a year later after his debut album, Miller put out his second studio album, Game Time. It peaked at No. 33 on the Billboard 200 and No. 10 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums selling close to a 110,000 copies the first week .^[1] It spawned the billboard charting single "2-Way" that charted to No. 66 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. It also spawned the album second single "True Love" which charted at No. 16 under the Hot 100 Singles. Though not as successful on the charts as Miller's debut album It still was successful in sales certified 2x Platinum, selling 2,430,785 copies making this Miller's highest selling album.

[edit] Romeoland (2004–2007)

In 2004, miller released his third studio album Romeoland, which was not as successful as his last two albums selling 50,000 the first week, but still managed to be certified Gold selling over 459,000 copies in the United States.^[1] It was also the last studio album to feature Miller billed as Lil' Romeo. In 2005 Romeo along with his brother Valentino Miller who was known as Young V at that time and their three cousins C-Los, Lil' D & Willie J formed the group Rich Boyz & released their debut album Young Ballers: The Hood Been Good to Us. In 2006 Miller released a compilation album entitled Greatest Hits the album featured all of his hit songs when Miller was billed as Lil' Romeo. In 2006 Romeo released the two albums Lottery & God's Gift on the new label owned by himself and his father Master P, entitled Guttar Music. Lottery served as Millers first independent release while God's Gift served as a soundtrack to a movie with the same name. God's Gift was also Miller's first album to use the name Romeo and to have explicit language.^[1] The two albums were also known for containing Miller's single "U Can't Shine Like Me" which was a direct response to Bow Wow, who fans thought dissed Miller in his song "Fresh Azimiz". In 2007 Miller released a collaboration album with his father Master P titled Hip Hop History it sold 32,000 records worldwide.

[edit] Intelligent Hoodlum (2008–present)

In 2008 Miller stated he was working on his fourth studio album entitled Gumbo Station.^[3] On June 17, 2008 Miller released the first single from the album which was "Get Low wit It" which featured Akon & his brother Valentino Miller it failed to gain success on the Billboard charts.^[4]

On March 3, 2009 Romeo released a compilation entitled Get Low LP that contained songs that were supposed to be on Gumbo Station. It debuted at No. 149 on the Billboard 200 and as of May 5, 2009 it has sold over 20,000 copies. In 2010 Romeo confirmed that he was still working on his fourth studio album but he changed the name of the album to The College Boy. Romeo then announced that the title of the album was going to be I Am No Limit.

On January 19, 2010 Romeo released the first promotional single for the album entitled "Tell Me A Million Times" that featured Tempo.^[5] Then on January 26, 2010 Romeo released the second promotional single for the album entitled "Ice Cream Man Jr." which was a tribute to his dad Master P.^[6] On February 16, 2010 Miller released his debut mixtape Patience Is A Virtue to promote the album.^[7] Then on March 2, 2010 Romeo released two EPs to promote the album which were the Famous Girl & Monster/Practice.^[8][9] Also In 2010 Miller debuted his newly founded record label The Next Generation Entertainment with his new group the College Boyys.^[10] They released a collaboration album on May 25, 2010 entitled Spring Break which sold over 200,000 copies worldwide.^{[11][dead link]} Miller also on this day released three singles which were "You" that featured D'Anna & Lil Twist, "She Bad" that featured Millers cousins Lil' D & Black Don & "They Dont Know" but all of the singles failed to reach the charts.^[12][13][14] Romeo also performed at the 2010 Hip Hop Honors along with his brother Valentino Miller, his cousins Lil' D & Black Don, & his uncle Silkk The Shocker, along with Trina, Gucci Mane & Mystikal to honor his dad Master P & No Limit Records.^[15] In late 2010 Romeo relaunched No Limit as No Limit Forever Romeo also confirmed that he has changed the name of the album from I Am No Limit to Intelligent Hoodlum.^[16]

In 2011 It was confirmed that Romeo is going on a new tour with his dad Master P & his uncle Silkk the Shocker the tour is entitled ”No Limit Forever International".^[17] On January 11, 2011 Romeo released his EP Dont Push Me.^[18] On May 3, 2011 Romeo released the first official single from Intelligent Hoodlum which is "Famous Girl (Remix)" which is really the mastered version of the original it still features appearances from Sean Kingston & Miller's cousin Black Don.^[19] On August 19, 2011 Romeo released his I Am No Limit mixtape which was originally supposed to be his fourth studio album before it got changed but Miller just decided it would be best to just release it as a mixtape for his fans.^[20][21][22]