Sunday, October 18, 2026
King Hezekiah of Israel
Andrew Vaughn – Executive Director of ASOR
The Success of Hezekiah and the Chronology of the LaMelek and Official Seal Impressions - New Light from Tel Beth Shemesh and the Shephelah
King Hezekiah has long been recognized as increasing the power and importance of the Kingdom of Judah at the end of the 8th Century BCE. At the same time Hezekiah is also known for having suffered defeat at the hands of Sennacherib in 701 BCE.
In this presentation, Vaughn presents new evidence from excavations at Beth Shemesh and elsewhere in the Shephelah to argue that Hezekiah was not utterly defeated, and in fact he succeeded where no other ruler did by surviving the Assyrian onslaught by Sennacherib. Even though Lachish was utterly destroyed, cities to the north in Judah survived, and archaeological evidence points to Hezekiah starting a rebuilding campaign at the beginning of the 7th century.
Vaughn will also present new evidence from Beth Shemesh and other sites in the Shephelah to show that the dating of lmlk (to the king) jars is wrong—all of these royal stamped jars should be dated to Hezekiah’s reign, with none of them be attributed to his great grandson, Josiah.
This event will be held at Namaste Jalsaa - 1504 King St, Alexandria, VA 22314
Luncheon begins at 2 pm; Lecture begins at 3 pm
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