Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 32:30
It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Spring of Gihon and channeled it down to the west side of the City of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all that he did.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The chronicler records this historical note about King Hezekiah’s engineering project immediately after describing his accumulated wealth and just before detailing his diplomatic encounter with Babylonian envoys. The narrative shifts from national survival to royal administration and subsequent divine testing.
The words — The Hebrew verb סָתַם (sa.Tam) literally means “he stopped up” or “blocked,” describing the physical act of damming the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon (מוֹצָא מֵימֵי גִיחוֹן הָעֶלְיוֹן). This concrete action redirects the city’s water supply to the west side of the City of David.
The thread — The Spring of Gihon appears earlier in 1 Kings 1:33 and 1 Kings 1:38 as the site of Solomon’s anointing, establishing its longstanding strategic and ceremonial role in Jerusalem. The chronicler’s focus on water security contrasts with Joshua 1:7, where strength and courage are tied to covenant obedience rather than infrastructure.
Why it lands — The text states that Hezekiah prospered in all he did, presenting a factual record of divine favor following practical preparation. It asks the reader to observe how historical outcomes in Scripture are recorded alongside human initiative without reducing faith to mere engineering.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 1:33 “Take my servants with you,” said the king. “Set my son Solomon on my own mule and take him down to Gihon.
- Joshua 1:7 Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go.
- 1 Kings 1:38 Then Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, along with the Cherethites and Pelethites, went down and set Solomon on King David’s mule, and they escorted him to Gihon.
- 1 Kings 1:45 Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon, and they have gone up from there with rejoicing that rings out in the city. That is the noise you hear.
- 2 Kings 20:20 As for the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, along with all his might and how he constructed the pool and the tunnel to bring water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
- 2 Chronicles 32:4 Many people assembled and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land. “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” they said.
- Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.
- Isaiah 22:9 You saw that there were many breaches in the walls of the City of David. You collected water from the lower pool.