What sign and wonder did Hezekiah tell the Babylonian envoy?

[tonychanyt]

Hezekiah was seriously ill and prayed to the Lord. Isaiah said to him in 2 Kings 20:

5b "Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD, 6 and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.” 7 And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs. And let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover.”

Hezekiah wanted more assurance:

8 And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What shall be the sign [H226] that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?” 9 And Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?” 10 And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps.” 11 And Isaiah the prophet called to the LORD, and he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz.

Isaiah 38:

8 I will make the sun's shadow that falls on the stairway of Ahaz go back ten steps.'" So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had descended.

God gave Hezekiah a miraculous sign.

Later, 2 Kings 20::

12b Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.

There was a parallel passage in (BSB) 2 Chronicles 32:

And so when ambassadors of the rulers of Babylon were sent to him to inquire about the wonder] that had happened in the land, God left him alone to test him, that He might know all that was in Hezekiah’s heart.

the wonder
הַמּוֹפֵת֙ (ham·mō·w·p̄êṯ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4159: A miracle, a token, omen

What sign and wonder did Hezekiah tell the Babylonians?

It was probably the miracle of the shadow going back ten steps on the stairway. Unfortunately, Hezekiah was proud and showed them his treasure house. Eventually, this led to Judah's Babylonian captivity.

 

[AlexB23]

Hezekiah was seriously ill and prayed to the Lord. Isaiah said to him in 2 Kings 20:


Hezekiah wanted more assurance:


Isaiah 38:


God gave Hezekiah a miraculous sign.

Later, 2 Kings 20::


There was a parallel passage in (BSB) 2 Chronicles 32:


the wonder
הַמּוֹפֵת֙ (ham·mō·w·p̄êṯ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4159: A miracle, a token, omen

What sign and wonder did Hezekiah tell the Babylonians?

It was probably the miracle of the shadow going back ten steps on the stairway. Unfortunately, Hezekiah was proud and showed them his treasure house. Eventually, this led to Judah's Babylonian captivity.

According to the Bible (2 Kings 20:12-13, Isaiah 39:1-8), when the Babylonian envoy came to Jerusalem to inquire about Hezekiah's recovery from illness, Hezekiah showed them the sign of the shadow moving ten degrees on the sun dial (or ten steps, depending on Bible version). This sign was a prophetic indication given by Isaiah that the impending invasion by Babylon would be delayed for fifteen more years. The wonder or miracle mentioned in this account was Hezekiah's miraculous recovery from his grave illness (2 Kings 20:1-11).