Commentary for II Kings 20:11
וַיִּקְרָ֛א יְשַׁעְיָ֥הוּ הַנָּבִ֖יא אֶל־יְהוָ֑ה וַיָּ֣שֶׁב אֶת־הַצֵּ֗ל בַּֽ֠מַּעֲלוֹת אֲשֶׁ֨ר יָרְדָ֜ה בְּמַעֲל֥וֹת אָחָ֛ז אֲחֹֽרַנִּ֖ית עֶ֥שֶׂר מַעֲלֽוֹת׃ (פ)
And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD; and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the dial of Ahaz.
Rashi on II Kings
That it had gone down on the steps of Achaz. The day that Achaz died, the day was shortened,8Alternatively, it is called the steps of Achaz because he had built this sundial.—Radak and the shade hurried to advance ten steps, so that he would not be eulogized,9I.e., there would not be enough time to eulogize him. See Maseches Sanhedrin 96a and Rashi there. and those ten hours returned now for Chizkiyohu.10From the day it was created, God prepared the sun for this miracle. Concerning the creation of the sun and other heavenly bodies, in Bereishis 1:14 states, “they will be for signs,” i.e., God used them as signs for Yehoshua and Tzidkiyohu.—Chizkuni
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy