מלכים ב, פרק י״ח, פסוק א׳

After the history of the kings of Israel and the exile of the people is completed, the narrative shifts its focus. It returns to the kingdom of Judah and the kings who remained in their land, marking a new era with Hezekiah's rise to the throne [אברבנאל].

The timing of Hezekiah's coronation is linked to the third year of Hoshea, the king of Israel, which requires careful calculation to understand the exact timeline. The primary approach among commentators is that this timeframe does not refer to the third year since Hoshea first took power. Instead, it marks the third year since he rebelled and established his independent rule [רש״י, רד״ק, אברבנאל].

To align the historical records, this period indicates that three full years of Hoshea's rebellion had already passed. Hezekiah actually took the throne at the very beginning of Hoshea's fourth year of independent rule. This fits perfectly with the known history of the era. Hoshea began his independent rule during the thirteenth year of King Ahaz of Judah. Because Ahaz ruled for a total of sixteen years, his reign naturally concluded exactly during the fourth year of Hoshea's independence. It was at this precise moment that Hezekiah was crowned as the new king of Judah [מצודת דוד].