Archaeologists have excavated a site identified with the rule of Hezekiah. \u00a0It includes a shrine with horned altars with the horns knocked off. \u00a0Also in the shrine: \u00a0a stone latrine. \u00a0Scientists have determined that it had never been used, so it was apparently put in just to desecrate the shrine.<\/p>\n
This would seem to be evidence of\u00a0Hezekiah\u2019s crackdown on idolatrous worship. \u00a0In fact, there is a Biblical text about it:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThen they demolished the pillar of Baal<\/a>, and destroyed the temple of Baal, and made it a latrine to this day\u201d (2 Kings 10:27).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\u00a0From\u00a0Ancient Latrine: A Peek into King Hezekiah\u2019s Reforms in the Bible? \u2013 Biblical Archaeology Society<\/a>:<\/em><\/div>\n\nA millennia-old latrine discovered at Tel Lachish in Israel might reveal some interesting insights into Biblical history. According to dig director Sa\u2019ar Ganor, who conducted the excavations on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), the latrine could be evidence of King Hezekiah\u2019s religious reforms<\/a> enacted throughout the Kingdom of Judah in the eighth century B.C.E.The Hebrew Bible has several references to King Hezekiah<\/a>\u2019s reforms and attempts to centralize worship in Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 29\u201332 describes his efforts during the first year of his reign to cleanse and refurbish the Temple in Jerusalem<\/a>, believing that his ancestors had not worshipped the God of Israel dutifully. 2 Kings 18:4 narrates that \u201che removed the high places (bamot<\/em><\/a>), broke down the pillars (masseboth<\/em><\/a>), and cut down the sacred pole (asherah<\/em><\/a>).\u201d<\/p>\n
Lachish<\/a>, located in the foothills of Judah (the Shephelah), was regarded as the second most important city in the Kingdom of Judah<\/a> after Jerusalem. Spanning more than 18 acres on the tell, the Iron Age city<\/a> boasted a palace-fort, city wall and six-chambered gate complex.<\/p>\n
This winter, excavations led by IAA archaeologist Sa\u2019ar Ganor fully exposed the massive city gate complex, which measures about 80 feet by 80 feet. Discovered at the complex were remnants of storage jars\u2014including some that bore the stamp lmlk<\/em> (\u201c[belonging] to the king\u201d)\u2014that may be evidence of Hezekiah\u2019s preparations against Assyrian king Sennacherib\u2019s impending attacks<\/a>. Lachish was completely destroyed in 701 B.C.E.<\/div>\nPart of this gate complex, the archaeological team found, was a large room that appears to have been a shrine. The room contained two four-horned altars<\/a>, whose horns had been intentionally damaged, and several ceramic lamps, bowls and stands. Ganor believes that the destroyed altars corroborate Biblical references to King Hezekiah\u2019s reforms: his efforts to centralize worship in Jerusalem and abolish it elsewhere (see 2 Kings 18:4).<\/p>\n
\nMost surprising of all was that in one corner of the room, the archaeologists discovered a seat carved of stone with a hole in the center\u2014what Ganor believes to be a toilet<\/a>. This latrine, Ganor says, was unquestionably a form of desecration of this shrine room\u2014a practice described in the Hebrew Bible: \u201cThen they demolished the pillar of Baal<\/a>, and destroyed the temple of Baal, and made it a latrine to this day\u201d (2 Kings 10:27).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nIAA archaeologist Sa\u2019ar Ganor believes this latrine excavated at Lachish was symbolically placed to desecrate the shrine as part of Hezekiah\u2019s reforms. Photo: Igor Kramerman.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cLaboratory tests we conducted in the spot where the stone toilet was placed suggest it was never used,\u201d Ganor said in an IAA press release. \u201cHence, we can conclude that the placement of the toilet had been symbolic, after which the holy of holies was sealed until the site was destroyed.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Archaeologists have excavated a site identified with the rule of Hezekiah. \u00a0It includes a shrine with horned altars with the horns knocked off. \u00a0Also in the shrine: \u00a0a stone latrine. \u00a0Scientists have determined that it had never been used, so it was apparently put in just to desecrate the shrine. This would seem to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,20],"tags":[292,4857],"class_list":["post-25252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-history","tag-biblical-archaeology","tag-hezekiah"],"yoast_head":"\n
Hezekiah's toilet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Archaeologists have excavated a site identified with the rule of Hezekiah. \u00a0It includes a shrine with horned altars with the horns knocked off. \u00a0Also in\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/10\/hezekiahs-toilet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hezekiah's toilet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Archaeologists have excavated a site identified with the rule of Hezekiah. \u00a0It includes a shrine with horned altars with the horns knocked off. \u00a0Also in\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/10\/hezekiahs-toilet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cranach\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-10-11T09:30:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-10-11T01:09:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/10\/hezekiahs-toilet\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/10\/hezekiahs-toilet\/\",\"name\":\"Hezekiah's toilet\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-10-11T09:30:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-10-11T01:09:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\"},\"description\":\"Archaeologists have excavated a site identified with the rule of Hezekiah. \u00a0It includes a shrine with horned altars with the horns knocked off. \u00a0Also in\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/10\/hezekiahs-toilet\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/10\/hezekiahs-toilet\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/10\/hezekiahs-toilet\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hezekiah’s toilet\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\",\"name\":\"Cranach\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\",\"name\":\"Gene Veith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gene Veith\"},\"description\":\"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. He has authored over 25 books on Christianity and culture, literature, classical education, and theology. Dr. Veith previously held academic and editorial roles at Concordia University Wisconsin and WORLD Magazine. A respected voice in Lutheran and classical education circles, he holds a Ph.D. in English and several honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Jackquelyn, live in St. Louis and have three children and twelve grandchildren.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Edward_Veith\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/author\/geneveith\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hezekiah's toilet","description":"Archaeologists have excavated a site identified with the rule of Hezekiah. \u00a0It includes a shrine with horned altars with the horns knocked off. \u00a0Also in","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/10\/hezekiahs-toilet\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Hezekiah's toilet","og_description":"Archaeologists have excavated a site identified with the rule of Hezekiah. \u00a0It includes a shrine with horned altars with the horns knocked off. \u00a0Also in","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/10\/hezekiahs-toilet\/","og_site_name":"Cranach","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/","article_published_time":"2016-10-11T09:30:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-10-11T01:09:29+00:00","author":"Gene Veith","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gene Veith","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/10\/hezekiahs-toilet\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/10\/hezekiahs-toilet\/","name":"Hezekiah's toilet","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-10-11T09:30:10+00:00","dateModified":"2016-10-11T01:09:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1"},"description":"Archaeologists have excavated a site identified with the rule of Hezekiah. \u00a0It includes a shrine with horned altars with the horns knocked off. \u00a0Also in","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/10\/hezekiahs-toilet\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/10\/hezekiahs-toilet\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/10\/hezekiahs-toilet\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hezekiah’s toilet"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/","name":"Cranach","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1","name":"Gene Veith","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Gene Veith"},"description":"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. He has authored over 25 books on Christianity and culture, literature, classical education, and theology. Dr. Veith previously held academic and editorial roles at Concordia University Wisconsin and WORLD Magazine. A respected voice in Lutheran and classical education circles, he holds a Ph.D. in English and several honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Jackquelyn, live in St. Louis and have three children and twelve grandchildren.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Edward_Veith"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/author\/geneveith\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1281"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25252\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}