2 Kings 18:5

5 And he hoped in the Lord God of Israel; therefore after him none was like him of all the kings of Judah, but neither also in the kings that were before him. (And he hoped in the Lord God of Israel; and after him there was no one like him out of all the kings of Judah, but also not any of the kings who were before him were like him.)

2 Kings 18:5 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 18:5

He trusted in the Lord God of Israel
To be his protector and defender, and had no dependence on idols as an arm of flesh; the Targum is, he trusted in the Word of the Lord God; not in Nehushtan, but in him the brasen serpent was a type of, even in the Word and Son of God, his alone Saviour and Redeemer:

so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah:
for though Josiah was like him in some things, yet not in all:

nor any that were before him;
from the times of the division of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah; and Ben Gersom and Abarbinel think that David and Solomon are not to be excepted; David sinning in the case of Uriah, and Solomon falling into idolatry, crimes that Hezekiah was not guilty of.

2 Kings 18:5 In-Context

3 And he did that, that was good before the Lord, by all things that David, his father, had done.
4 And he destroyed [the] high places, and all-brake [the] images, and cut down [the maumet] woods, and he brake the brazen serpent, whom Moses had made; for unto that time the sons of Israel burnt incense to it; and he called the name of it Nehushtan. (And he destroyed the hill shrines, and broke up all the images, or all the idols, and cut down the idol groves, or the sacred poles, and broke apart the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for unto that time the sons of Israel had burned incense to it; and they called it Nehushtan.)
5 And he hoped in the Lord God of Israel; therefore after him none was like him of all the kings of Judah, but neither also in the kings that were before him. (And he hoped in the Lord God of Israel; and after him there was no one like him out of all the kings of Judah, but also not any of the kings who were before him were like him.)
6 And he cleaved to the Lord, and went not away from his steps, and he did the commandments of the Lord, which the Lord commanded to Moses;
7 wherefore and the Lord was with him, and he governed wisely himself in all things, to which he went forth. Also he rebelled against the king of Assyrians, and therefore he served not to him; (wherefore the Lord was with him, and he wisely governed himself in all the things, to which he went forth. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and he served him not;)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.