[ahtimeline-event-heading]
By the late 8th century BC, the Assyrians were on the move again. In 734 Tiglath Pileser III captured the Aramaean capitol of Damascus and annexed the northern part of Israel. In 724 BC Shalmaneser III laid siege to Samaria. Its walls were breached in 721 BC. The Assyrian kings were now crowned king of Assur and Babylon. The national industry of Assyria was war. Their religion knew only one sin, rebellion against the god Assur, and his high priest on earth, the king of Assyria. The Assyrians created a system of oppression that required ever more stringent and violent means for maintenance. The tribute they imposed was nothing short of horrific. So onerous was it, that the kings of foreign nations repeatedly chose to rebel even though they knew their chance of success was very low and the consequences of failure were exceedingly grim.
The Assyrians combined a highly efficient administrative system with new kinds of siege weapons capable of destroying even the most fortified positions. If Samaria, a city constructed on a lofty hill, could not withstand the attack of the Assyrians, there was no city in Judah that could either, including Jerusalem. Nothing illustrates better the Assyrian policy of coercion than the boast of Sennacherib.
I besieged, I conquered, I despoiled, I destroyed, I devastated, I burned with fire, with the smoke of their conflagration I covered the wide heavens like a hurricane. (78-80)
Sennacherib’s campains to various parts of his vast empire are recorded in many different inscriptions. The most import of these are three largely intact prisms: The Oriental Institute Prism, the Taylor Prism, and the Jerusalem Prism. These so-called Annals of Sennacherib were composed between 690 – 691 BC. They provide detailed information about the eight campaigns conducted by Sennacherib across his wide realm. These are particularly interesting for scholars of the Bible since they narrate events that are also recorded in the Bible. This provides a rare opportunity to investigate an ancient historical event from two completely different perspectives.
Merodach-Baladan
Sennacherib’s nemesis in those early years was a certain Chaldean ruler named Merodach-Baladan. His power base was to be found in the ancient land of Sumer, the heart of Mesopotamian civilization. Sometime during the 8th century BC Chaldean tribes began to settle in the vast marshes that once existed where the great rivers of Mesopotamia emptied into the Persian Gulf. These tribes lived a nomadic lifestyle like that of the Aramaeans, but they carried Babylonian names and spoke Babylonian instead of Aramaic. These Babylonian speaking tribes became the primary source of opposition to the Assyrians. From the marshes bordering on the coastal region of Sumer, they gained control over all of Sumer, and finally over Babylon as well. After the death of Sargon II, the Chaldean king, Merodach-Baladan, seized the throne in Babylon. During this time, he sent emissaries to Jerusalem, no doubt with the intent of forming an alliance with Hezekiah, king of Judah, against Assyria.
Merodach-Baladan fled Babylon at the approach of Sennacherib’s army. But Merodach certainly cannot be accused of cowardice for he soon returned at the head of an army of Chaldeans together with his ally, the king of Elam. The opposing armies met in the plains of Kish. Sennacherib’s annals describe what happened next:
75 strong walled cities of their environs and 420 small cities, I surrounded, I conquered, their spoil I carried off… In my first campaign I accomplished the defeat of Merodach-baladan, king of Babylonia, together with the army of Elam, his ally, in the plain of Kish. In the midst of that battle he forsook his camp, and made his escape alone; (so) he saved his life… Into his palace which is in Babylon, joyfully I entered. I opened his treasure-house: – gold, silver, vessels of gold and silver, precious stones of every kind… I brought out, I counted as spoil. In the might of Assur my lord, 75 of his strong walled cities, of Chaldea, and 420 small cities of their environs (within their borders), I surrounded, I conquered, their spoil I carried off. (Col. 1, 20-36)
Sennacherib then proceeded to attack seventeen Aramaean and Arabian tribes. The amount of spoil captured in this first campaign was enormous. By all accounts, Sennacherib’s first campaign was a complete success.
Hezekiah
After another season of campaigning in the mountains east of Assyria, Sennacherib felt free to turn his attention westwards, where the kings of Judah, Sidon, and Phillistia were in open revolt. This campaign begins well. Most of the rebel kings flee, or are deposed by their own subjects, without firing a shot. This was the fate of Luli, king of Sidon.
But the terrifying splendor of my sovereignty overcame him and far off into the midst of the sea he fled. There he died.
Sidka, king of Ashkelon, faired even worse. He was deposed and he and family deported to Assyria. There follows a long list of rulers who voluntarily submitted to the yoke of the Assyrians.
From Menachem, the Shamsimurunite,
Tuba’lu, the Sidonite
Abdi-liti, the Arvadite,
Uru-mili, the Gublite,
Mitiniti, the Asdodite,
Budu-ilu, the Beth-Ammonite,
Kammusu-nadbi, the Moabite,
Malik-rammu, the Edomite,Kings of Amurru, all of them, numerous presents, as their heavy tribute, they brought before me for the fourth time, and kissed my feet.
Having overthrown the rebel kings of the coastal cities of Sidon and Ashkelon, Sennacherib moved inland to attack Judah. Both the Bible and the annals of Sennacherib record that the Assyrian army destroyed all of the fortified cities of Judah. Lachish was one of the last cities to hold out. Jerusalem was certainly going to be next, and if the taunt of the Assyrian army was any indication, he would not be able to hold out long.
Hezekiah, who was perhaps trying to hold out until his ally, the pharaoh of Egypt arrives, decided to parley with Assyria.
So Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: “I have done wrong. Withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand of me.” The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. (2 Ki. 18:14 NIV)
However, for reasons left unstated, Sennacherib did not go away, even after the tribute was paid. It had been a desperate ploy anyway. Hezekiah had been the instigator of the rebellion, together with Merodach-Baladan. None of the other rebel kings were spared. There was no reason to believe that he would be spared either. The time for leniency had long since passed. Sennacherib’s forces had already devastated most of Hezekiah’s kingdom. And if the taunt of Sennacherib bore any semblance to reality, then Hezekiah did not have any cavalry nor men enough to mount 2000 horses even if the Assyrian king gave them to him! Hezekiah had used his last card, the payment of tribute, and it didn’t work. The next move was to open the city gates to the king.
Sennacherib sent his messengers to Jerusalem with a message for Hezekiah and, perhaps more importantly, for the people of Jerusalem. Over the years, the Assyrians had fostered a basic understanding among the nations. Open the gate and hand over their rebellious king, and the people will be treated leniently. If not then they will suffer the same fate as the king. This tactic was used to great effect. We read of many rebel kings fleeing at the first approach of the Assyrian army.
Messengers from Sennacherib left off the siege of Lachish and went up to Jerusalem “with a great army.” According to Sennacherib’s Annals, the Assyrian army surrounded Jerusalem at this time so that no one would come or go from the city and began to build ramps against the city. The people of Jerusalem were now looking at the spectre of starvation or death at the hands of the Assyrians. In a moving scene, the high officials of the Assyrian army, the Tartan, Rabsaris, and Rabshakeh, stood before the wall of Jerusalem.
And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they arrived, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway to the Washer’s Field. (2 Ki. 18:17 ESV)
There is a reason 2 Kings records such detailed geographical information, for this was from this very place that the prophet Isaiah had delivered a warning to king Ahaz, the father of Hezekiah. Isaiah warned Ahaz against making Ahaz alliance with the king of Assyria. For while the Assyrians might be of aid in the near term. They were the greater threat in the long term. Isaiah told a parable about two rivers. The gentle waters of Shiloah that watered the gardens in the valley next to Jerusalem he compared to trusting God. “If you do not stand in faith, you will not stand at all!” Since the king had turned away from God and made a covenant with the king of Assyria, a flood would sweep across the land of Judah like the mighty Euphrates. The water would rise up to the neck, warned Isaiah, using a vivid picture of a man just about to drown. (Isa. 8:6-8 ESV)
In the place where Isaiah uttered these words, now stood the Rabshakeh shouting abuse.
You say you have the counsel and the might for war– but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? (2 Ki. 18:20-21 NIV)
But if you say to me, “We trust in the LORD our God,” is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem”? 23 Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. 24 How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master’s servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 25 Moreover, is it without the LORD that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.'” 26 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 2 (2 Ki. 18:1 ESV)
Now the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, “Behold, he has set out to fight against you.” So he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. (2 Ki. 19:9-10 ESV)
The officials, nobles and people of Ekron, who had thrown Padi, their king, bound by oath and curse of Assyria, into fetters of iron and had given him over to Hezekiah, the Jew, – he kept him in the confinement like an enemy, – they became afraid, and called upon the Egyptian kings, the bowmen, chariots and horses of the king of Meluhhha (Ethiopia), a countless host, and these came to their aid. In the neighborhood of Eltekeh, their ranks being drawn up before me, they offered battle. Trusting in the aid of Assur, my lord, I fought with them and brought about their defeat. The Egyptian charioteers and princes, together with the charioteers of the Ethiopian king my hands took alive in the midst of the battle. Elteke (and) Timna I besieged, I captured and took away their spoil. I drew near to Ekron and slew the governors and nobles who had committed sin (that is, rebelled), and hung their bodies on stakes around the city. The citizens who sinned and treated (Assyria) lightely, I counted as spoil.
The commander of their forces, Tirhakah does finally arrive, but too late to be of substantial assistance.
captured the Judean stronghold of Lachish, defeated Egypt at the Battle
of Eltakeh, and as a final coup de grace, impaled the rulers of Ekron on
stakes. The way was now open for him to take the real prize, the city
of Jerusalem. But he didn’t… The most his annals could claim was
that he ‘shut Hezekiah up like a bird in a cage’. He lists the large
amount of booty taken from Hezekiah. This list is partially confirmed
by the Biblical text. But the chronology of events is significantly
different.
Sennacherib claims that he called off the siege of the city after Hezekiah agreed to pay him tribute. However, the Bible paints a more complex picture.
Although Hezekiah sent tribute to Sennacherib, he did not open his city to Sennacherib’s forces. Sennacherib demanded complete surrender, which was the usual treatment for a rebel city. When the Egyptian forces made their appearance, threatening the Assyrian flank, Sennacherib sends a letter that warned Hezekiah that he would come back to finish the job!
This is when Hezekiah goes to the temple and spreads the letter of the king before the Lord, and pleads for help.
However, for reasons that are not clear from the Assyrian annals, Sennacherib left off the siege and went home. The Bible states that the reason for this was that the angel of the Lord came and struck down 175,000 of the Assyrian soldiers. The Egyptians also preserve the memory of something momentous ocurring around this time. The Greek historian, Herodotus, writing several hundred years after the fact, recounts a story that heard in Egypt about a battle fought by a certain Egyptian king against Sennacherib. He says that the Egyptian king had not chance of success, but that in the night the god Sethos sent mice to eat the bowstrings of the Assyrian soldiers. It is a curios story. It is noteworthy that Sethos in the name the Egyptians sometimes used to refer to the god of the Canaanites, and also perhaps of Yahweh. Finally, we should mention another historian, Berossus, also from the Greek period, who wrote a history of Babylon. Portions of his history were preserved by Josephus in the 1st century AD. Berossus also records… Sennacherib’s next campaign was directed against the rebels in the western lands, including Luli, king of Sidon, Sidka, king of Ashkelon and a group of rebellious leaders of Ekron who are never named. The leader of this rebellion was Hezekiah, king of Judah. According to the annals of the Israelite kings, he also held sway over Phillistia at this time. This is confirmed, not only by the Biblical account, but also by the annals which state that Hezekiah removed the pro-Assyrian ruler of Ekron from the throne and held him in Jerusalem. This was a major affront to the king of Assyrian. And it called for a vigorous response. When Sennacherib arrived in the region of Phoenicia, the majority of kings in the west brought him their tribute. Those who chose to rebel did not fare well. Luli, the king of Sidon, fled across the sea. Sidka, the king of Ashkelon, was deposed and taken into exile along with his family. All of this seems to have occured with a shot being fired. It would seem that whatever rebellion Hezekiah was planning, fell apart, probably because the Egyptians were a no show. They eventually did arrive on the scene, led by the young Sudanese commander, Tirhaqua, a Cushite ruler who would eventually rule all of Egypt. But at this time, the Egyptians do not seem to have been willing to engage in a full scale battle with Assyria. They were happy to foment dissent in the hopes that the rulers of levantine nations would score a victory against Assyria.
Hezekiah
Sennacherib’s third campagin was directed against the rebels
Sennacherib’s next campaign was directed against the rebels in the western lands, including Luli, king of Sidon, Sidka, king of Ashkelon and a group of rebellious leaders of Ekron who are never named. The leader of this rebellion was Hezekiah, king of Judah. According to the annals of the Israelite kings, he also held sway over Phillistia at this time. This is confirmed, not only by the Biblical account, but also by the annals which state that Hezekiah removed the pro-Assyrian ruler of Ekron from the throne and held him in Jerusalem. This was a major affront to the king of Assyrian. And it called for a vigorous response. When Sennacherib arrived in the region of Phoenicia, the majority of kings in the west brought him their tribute. Those who chose to rebel did not fare well. Luli, the king of Sidon, fled across the sea. Sidka, the king of Ashkelon, was deposed and taken into exile along with his family. All of this seems to have occured with a shot being fired. It would seem that whatever rebellion Hezekiah was planning, fell apart, probably because the Egyptians were a no show. They eventually did arrive on the scene, led by the young Sudanese commander, Tirhaqua, a Cushite ruler who would eventually rule all of Egypt. But at this time, the Egyptians do not seem to have been willing to engage in a full scale battle with Assyria. They were happy to foment dissent in the hopes that the rulers of levantine nations would score a victory against Assyria.
Isaiah
Hezekiah
Noticeably absent from this list is Hezekiah, king of Judah. He did not submit to the king of Assyria. Hezekiah was a powerful king. Not only did he reign over Judah, he also exercised suzerainty over the Phillistine city states. Indeed, Hezekiah held Padi, the pro-assyrian king of ??? captive in Jerusalem This was a major affront to Assyria. Hezekiah was not minor figure in this rebellion. He was one of the main figures, together with Merodach Baladan!
And
The reason for Sennacherib’s abandonment of the siege of Jerusalem remains a puzzling fact that has led to many different interpretations. According to the Assyrian annals, Sennacherib did abandon his siege of Jerusalem but only on the condition that Hezekiah would send tribute to the Assyrian king. Kings and Isaiah also mention large amounts of tribute paid by Hezekiah – the amount being roughly the same in the Biblical and Assyrian records. The difficulty comes in attempts to harmonize the payment of tribute with the defeat inflicted on Sennacherib by the ‘angel of the LORD’ that is described in the Bible. Of course, it is possible to simply label this as a ‘fable’ but what then, was the cause for the sudden withdrawal of Sennacherib’s army? Why was Hezekiah allowed to remain on the throne when he was arguably more important than Luli of Sidon or Sidqa of Ashkelon? If Hezekiah’s elite troops had deserted him, if 46 Judean cities had already fallen, and the Assyrians had built a series of forts around the city, all of which the Assyrian annals claim, then why didn’t Sennacherib simply take the main prize, the city of Jerusalem? The importance of Jerusalem to the Assyrian’s is evident in Rabshakah’s speech. Wouldn’t Sennacherib have preferred to put the siege and fall of Jerusalem as the centerpiece of his palace instead of Lachish? Lachish at this time was only a fraction of the size of Jerusalem. Finally, a belief in the invincibility of Jerusalem arose early and did not disappear until Jerusalem was finally destroyed by the Babylonians. Where did this sense of invincibility come from? One approach is to take the account of Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem as a multi-layered account redacted from several sources that date to different time periods. The first account (2 Ki 18:13-16) reads like a straightforward annal text which concludes with the large tribute Hezekiah was forced to pay. This factual account is followed by two separate accounts characterized by prophetic and theological speeches of the Rabshakeh, Hezekiah and Isaiah. The first account ( 2 Ki 18:17 – 19:8) recounts the first speech of the Rabshakeh and concludes with a short word of counsel by the prophet of Isaiah. In this account, Hezekiah is portrayed in a less positive light and Isaiah is the primary intercessor between the king and ‘Isaiah’s’ God. The prophet Isaiah tells the king not to fear because the king of Assyria shall return to his land ‘on a rumor’. In the third account, King Hezekiah is portrayed in a more positive light (2 Kings 19:9-37). The letter is brought directly to Hezekiah by messengers of Sennacherib. The third account preserves a longer list of those nations that were not able to withstand the might of Assyria. This list goes back to some of Assyria’s earliest conquests. It has been argued that the letter is anachronistic in as much as it has Sennacherib invading Egypt whereas Assyria did not invade Egypt until the reign of Assurbanipal. This last account also contains the longest speech by Isaiah. In it, Isaiah promises that no siege ramp will be constructed against Jerusalem’s walls and concludes with a short statement that the angel of the LORD struck 185,000 of the Assyrian army dead in one day thereby forcing Sennacherib to return home. This is a very large number that may be compared to the 200,150 that Sennacherib claimed to take captive from Judea (Sennacherib also claimed to have taken 208,000 captive after sacking Babylon during his first campaign). There is a difficulty, however, with dividing the Biblical account of Sennecharib’s campaign against Judea (2 Ki 18:8-19:37) into multiple accounts redacted together at a late date. Taken separately, each account is inherently contradictory whereas, placed within narrative sequence, they can be harmonized. The first account occurs within the context of Sennacherib’s siege of Lachish (2 Ki 18:14). The second account begins with the arrival of an Assyrian delegation “with a great army from Lachish (2Ki 18:17)”. It concludes with a statement that the Rabshakeh returned to Libnah because “the king had left Lachish” (2 Ki 19:8). The third account begins with the statement that, upon hearing of the arrival of Egyptian and Cushite forces, Sennacherib sent messengers to Jerusalem with a letter. It ends with the statement that Sennacherib left Judea and was murdered upon his arrival in Assyria. Thus, the three accounts are knit together in a narrative sequence. If these were three contradictory accounts redacted at a late date, then one must acknowledge the consummate skill which the redactor combined them together while preserving much of their original character. A difficulty with the narrative sequence is that it places the siege of Lachish before the battle of Eltakeh. It is difficult to conceive of Sennacherib laying siege to Lachish before taking Ekron and securing his flanks. Moreover, there is much about the 2nd and 3rd accounts (usually taken to be late prophetic interpretations of Sennacherib’s withdrawal) that looks early rather than late. Fore example, C. Cohen argues that the first speech of the Rabshakeh (2 Ki 18:17 – 19:8) contains a number of authentic Assyrian figures of speech. (Cohen, Neo-Assyrian Elements) The following examples may be cited: 1) the Rabshakeh chastises Israel for its misplaced trust – a very common criticism directed by an Assyrian kings toward their rebellious subjects. 2) Egypt is referred to as a broken reed, a figure of speech that appears in several Assyrian inscriptions. 3) The Assyrian King is given the title, “The Great King, King of Assyria”, a title that is also attested in Assyrian inscriptions. Cohen concludes that, “It is quite likely that a substantial part of the extant first speech may well have been ultimately based on the actual words of the Assyrian official.” (Cohen, Neo-Assyrian Elements) Bright suggests that the seemingly contradictory accounts in the Bible actually reflect two campaigns that have been telescoped together by the Deuteronomist as one campaign (701 BC). (Bright, A Short History) No inscriptions from the last 10 years of Sennacherib’s reign have been discovered, so it is possible that Sennacherib campaigned again – perhaps to put down another revolt in the west after he was defeated by the Babylonians and Elamites in 691 BC. This would solve the seeming anachronism of Tirhakah campaigning in Palestine 10 years before he ascended to power in Egypt. Bright also notes the seemingly contradictory messages found in Isaiah. Bright asks, “How could the prophet utter disaster for Judah (30:8-17) and promise that God would protect Judah and break Assyrian (14:24-27; 31:4-9); predict the siege of Jerusalem (ch 29:1-4) and announce there would be no siege (ch 37:33-35); counsel surrender (ch 1:5) and counsel defiance.” (Bright, A Short History)
In response to Bright’s two- campaign theory, it is argued that it is difficult to conceive of Hezekiah rebelling against Assyria only 10 years after 46 of his cities were completely destroyed. In addition to the Biblical account, we have a number of important Assyrian sources that pertain to the siege of Jerusalem. 1) Letter to God – the oldest literary source. It tells of capture of Gath, Asekah (this source may date to Sargon II’s time instead). 2) The Rassam cylinder, Chicago and Taylor Prisms – these are all similar but with slightly different versions of Hezekiah’s tribute. 3) The Bull Inscription – no mention made of the victory at Eltekeh. 4) Naebi Yunus Inscription – Only King Luli and Hezekiah are mentioned as the main opponents in the 3rd campaign. 5) Lachish relief’s – Record the siege of Lachish. These texts add considerably to our knowledge of Sennacherib’s invasion. According to the Assyrian inscriptions, Sennacherib was confronted by a rebellion led by Luli, king of Sidon, Sidqia, king of Ashkelon, and Hezekiah, king of Judea. Upon the advance of Sennecharib’s army, Luli fled to Cypress and Tubalu assumed the throne after paying a very large tribute. In Canaan, Sennacherib was met by the forces of Philistia and Judah supported by chariots and archers from Cush and Egypt (the alliance between Judah and Egypt is criticized in Isa 30:1-5 and Isa 31:1-3). Sennacherib defeated this force on the plains of Eltekah. After Sennacherib’s victory at Eltekah, he was free to focus his attack on the rebellious leaders. Ekron was the next to fall. Padi was brought back from confinement in Jerusalem and restored to his throne in Jerusalem. The restoration of Padi to the throne in Ekron raises an important question that pertains to chronology. Was Padi restored to the throne in Ekron before Sennacharib invaded Judea? If so, then it would seem that Hezekiah paid some form of tribute before Sennacherib came up against Jerusalem. Part of this tribute was the return of Padi. This is one way to understand the tribute mentioned in 2 Ki 18:13-16. On the other hand, the annals may be arranged thematically rather than chronologically. For example, it is unlikely that all of the tribute was brought by the king of Moab to Sennacherib while he was still in the region Tyre, even though it appears this way in the Assyrian annal (RT No. 28). Tribute was probably brought to Sennacherib along the way but is grouped together at the beginning of the text. If so, then it is possible to group Padi’s restoration to the throne in Ekron with Hezekiah’s final payment of tribute that was sent to Assyria even though it appears in the annal texts that Padi was restored to the throne of Ekron immediately after Ekron fell. The Assyrian inscriptions never record a defeat and so one must use caution when reconstructing history from them. Laato sets forth four criteria that characterize the means by which Assyrian scribes turned defeats into victories in their annals and argues that the Assyrian records of Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem disguise an Assyrian set back. The first criteria is the omission of uncomfortable facts. In this regards, Laato notes that the Assyrian scribes give no reason for the Assyrian withdrawal from Jerusalem. The second is to conflate a recent defeat with a previously won victory. Thus, it is possible that the payment of Hezekiah’s tribute may have been combined with a military campaign that was ultimately unsuccessful (Jerusalem was never taken). The third is the lack of concrete reference to political gains. The application of this criteria to our annal suggests that it does reflect a historical reality. Sennacherib was able to claim that he divided the land of Judea among the cities of Philistia and that he took 200,150 Judeans captive. The final criteria is the use of demeaning language. Thus, Hezekiah is referred to as ‘Hezekiah, the Jew’, instead of ‘Hezekiah, the king of Judah’ (cf. Sidkia, king of Ashkelon… etc.) Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem is one of the most thoroughly documented historical events from ancient times. Apparent contradictions in the Biblical account and unanswered questions in the Assyrian annals continue to challenge historians to reconstruct what that critical event in the history of Jerusalem. Bibliography Bright, J. (2000). A history of Israel. Louisville, Ky, Westminster J. Knox Press. Cogan, M. (2008). The Raging Torrent. Jerusalem, Carta. Cogan, M. and H. Tadmor (1988). II Kings : a new translation. Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday. Cohen, C. (1979). Neo-Assyrian Elements in the First Speech of the Biblical Rab-Saqe, Tel Aviv University. Laato, A. (1995). “Assyrian Propaganda and the Falsification of History in the Royal Inscriptions of Sennacherib.” Vetus Testamentum 45(Fasc 2): 198-226. Oded, B. (1972). “The Historical Background of the Syro-Ephraimite War Reconsidered.” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 34: 153-165. Tadmor, H. (1966). “Philistia under Assyrian Rule.” The Biblical Archaeologist 29(3): 86-102.
[ahtimeline-event-heading]
By the late 8th century BC, the Assyrians were on the move again. In 734 Tiglath Pileser III captured the Aramaean capitol of Damascus and annexed the northern part of Israel. In 724 BC Shalmaneser III laid siege to Samaria. Its walls were breached in 721 BC. The Assyrian kings were now crowned king of Assur and Babylon. The national industry of Assyria was war. Their religion knew only one sin, rebellion against the god Assur, and his high priest on earth, the king of Assyria. The Assyrians created a system of oppression that required ever more stringent and violent means for maintenance. The tribute they imposed was nothing short of horrific. So onerous was it, that the kings of foreign nations repeatedly chose to rebel even though they knew their chance of success was very low and the consequences of failure were exceedingly grim.
The Assyrians combined a highly efficient administrative system with new kinds of siege weapons capable of destroying even the most fortified positions. If Samaria, a city constructed on a lofty hill, could not withstand the attack of the Assyrians, there was no city in Judah that could either, including Jerusalem. Nothing illustrates better the Assyrian policy of coercion than the boast of Sennacherib.
I besieged, I conquered, I despoiled, I destroyed, I devastated, I burned with fire, with the smoke of their conflagration I covered the wide heavens like a hurricane. (78-80)
Sennacherib’s campains to various parts of his vast empire are recorded in many different inscriptions. The most import of these are three largely intact prisms: The Oriental Institute Prism, the Taylor Prism, and the Jerusalem Prism. These so-called Annals of Sennacherib were composed between 690 – 691 BC. They provide detailed information about the eight campaigns conducted by Sennacherib across his wide realm. These are particularly interesting for scholars of the Bible since they narrate events that are also recorded in the Bible. This provides a rare opportunity to investigate an ancient historical event from two completely different perspectives.
Merodach-Baladan
Sennacherib’s nemesis in those early years was a certain Chaldean ruler named Merodach-Baladan. His power base was to be found in the ancient land of Sumer, the heart of Mesopotamian civilization. Sometime during the 8th century BC Chaldean tribes began to settle in the vast marshes that once existed where the great rivers of Mesopotamia emptied into the Persian Gulf. These tribes lived a nomadic lifestyle like that of the Aramaeans, but they carried Babylonian names and spoke Babylonian instead of Aramaic. These Babylonian speaking tribes became the primary source of opposition to the Assyrians. From the marshes bordering on the coastal region of Sumer, they gained control over all of Sumer, and finally over Babylon as well. After the death of Sargon II, the Chaldean king, Merodach-Baladan, seized the throne in Babylon. During this time, he sent emissaries to Jerusalem, no doubt with the intent of forming an alliance with Hezekiah, king of Judah, against Assyria.
Merodach-Baladan fled Babylon at the approach of Sennacherib’s army. But Merodach certainly cannot be accused of cowardice for he soon returned at the head of an army of Chaldeans together with his ally, the king of Elam. The opposing armies met in the plains of Kish. Sennacherib’s annals describe what happened next:
75 strong walled cities of their environs and 420 small cities, I surrounded, I conquered, their spoil I carried off… In my first campaign I accomplished the defeat of Merodach-baladan, king of Babylonia, together with the army of Elam, his ally, in the plain of Kish. In the midst of that battle he forsook his camp, and made his escape alone; (so) he saved his life… Into his palace which is in Babylon, joyfully I entered. I opened his treasure-house: – gold, silver, vessels of gold and silver, precious stones of every kind… I brought out, I counted as spoil. In the might of Assur my lord, 75 of his strong walled cities, of Chaldea, and 420 small cities of their environs (within their borders), I surrounded, I conquered, their spoil I carried off. (Col. 1, 20-36)
Sennacherib then proceeded to attack seventeen Aramaean and Arabian tribes. The amount of spoil captured in this first campaign was enormous. By all accounts, Sennacherib’s first campaign was a complete success.
Hezekiah
After another season of campaigning in the mountains east of Assyria, Sennacherib felt free to turn his attention westwards, where the kings of Judah, Sidon, and Phillistia were in open revolt. This campaign begins well. Most of the rebel kings flee, or are deposed by their own subjects, without firing a shot. This was the fate of Luli, king of Sidon.
But the terrifying splendor of my sovereignty overcame him and far off into the midst of the sea he fled. There he died.
Sidka, king of Ashkelon, faired even worse. He was deposed and he and family deported to Assyria. There follows a long list of rulers who voluntarily submitted to the yoke of the Assyrians.
From Menachem, the Shamsimurunite,
Tuba’lu, the Sidonite
Abdi-liti, the Arvadite,
Uru-mili, the Gublite,
Mitiniti, the Asdodite,
Budu-ilu, the Beth-Ammonite,
Kammusu-nadbi, the Moabite,
Malik-rammu, the Edomite,Kings of Amurru, all of them, numerous presents, as their heavy tribute, they brought before me for the fourth time, and kissed my feet.
Having overthrown the rebel kings of the coastal cities of Sidon and Ashkelon, Sennacherib moved inland to attack Judah. Both the Bible and the annals of Sennacherib record that the Assyrian army destroyed all of the fortified cities of Judah. Lachish was one of the last cities to hold out. Jerusalem was certainly going to be next, and if the taunt of the Assyrian army was any indication, he would not be able to hold out long.
Hezekiah, who was perhaps trying to hold out until his ally, the pharaoh of Egypt arrives, decided to parley with Assyria.
So Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: “I have done wrong. Withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand of me.” The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. (2 Ki. 18:14 NIV)
However, for reasons left unstated, Sennacherib did not go away, even after the tribute was paid. It had been a desperate ploy anyway. Hezekiah had been the instigator of the rebellion, together with Merodach-Baladan. None of the other rebel kings were spared. There was no reason to believe that he would be spared either. The time for leniency had long since passed. Sennacherib’s forces had already devastated most of Hezekiah’s kingdom. And if the taunt of Sennacherib bore any semblance to reality, then Hezekiah did not have any cavalry nor men enough to mount 2000 horses even if the Assyrian king gave them to him! Hezekiah had used his last card, the payment of tribute, and it didn’t work. The next move was to open the city gates to the king.
Sennacherib sent his messengers to Jerusalem with a message for Hezekiah and, perhaps more importantly, for the people of Jerusalem. Over the years, the Assyrians had fostered a basic understanding among the nations. Open the gate and hand over their rebellious king, and the people will be treated leniently. If not then they will suffer the same fate as the king. This tactic was used to great effect. We read of many rebel kings fleeing at the first approach of the Assyrian army.
Messengers from Sennacherib left off the siege of Lachish and went up to Jerusalem “with a great army.” According to Sennacherib’s Annals, the Assyrian army surrounded Jerusalem at this time so that no one would come or go from the city and began to build ramps against the city. The people of Jerusalem were now looking at the spectre of starvation or death at the hands of the Assyrians. In a moving scene, the high officials of the Assyrian army, the Tartan, Rabsaris, and Rabshakeh, stood before the wall of Jerusalem.
And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they arrived, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway to the Washer’s Field. (2 Ki. 18:17 ESV)
There is a reason 2 Kings records such detailed geographical information, for this was from this very place that the prophet Isaiah had delivered a warning to king Ahaz, the father of Hezekiah. Isaiah warned Ahaz against making Ahaz alliance with the king of Assyria. For while the Assyrians might be of aid in the near term. They were the greater threat in the long term. Isaiah told a parable about two rivers. The gentle waters of Shiloah that watered the gardens in the valley next to Jerusalem he compared to trusting God. “If you do not stand in faith, you will not stand at all!” Since the king had turned away from God and made a covenant with the king of Assyria, a flood would sweep across the land of Judah like the mighty Euphrates. The water would rise up to the neck, warned Isaiah, using a vivid picture of a man just about to drown. (Isa. 8:6-8 ESV)
In the place where Isaiah uttered these words, now stood the Rabshakeh shouting abuse.
You say you have the counsel and the might for war– but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? (2 Ki. 18:20-21 NIV)
But if you say to me, “We trust in the LORD our God,” is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem”? 23 Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. 24 How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master’s servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 25 Moreover, is it without the LORD that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.'” 26 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 2 (2 Ki. 18:1 ESV)
Now the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, “Behold, he has set out to fight against you.” So he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. (2 Ki. 19:9-10 ESV)
The officials, nobles and people of Ekron, who had thrown Padi, their king, bound by oath and curse of Assyria, into fetters of iron and had given him over to Hezekiah, the Jew, – he kept him in the confinement like an enemy, – they became afraid, and called upon the Egyptian kings, the bowmen, chariots and horses of the king of Meluhhha (Ethiopia), a countless host, and these came to their aid. In the neighborhood of Eltekeh, their ranks being drawn up before me, they offered battle. Trusting in the aid of Assur, my lord, I fought with them and brought about their defeat. The Egyptian charioteers and princes, together with the charioteers of the Ethiopian king my hands took alive in the midst of the battle. Elteke (and) Timna I besieged, I captured and took away their spoil. I drew near to Ekron and slew the governors and nobles who had committed sin (that is, rebelled), and hung their bodies on stakes around the city. The citizens who sinned and treated (Assyria) lightely, I counted as spoil.
The commander of their forces, Tirhakah does finally arrive, but too late to be of substantial assistance.
captured the Judean stronghold of Lachish, defeated Egypt at the Battle
of Eltakeh, and as a final coup de grace, impaled the rulers of Ekron on
stakes. The way was now open for him to take the real prize, the city
of Jerusalem. But he didn’t… The most his annals could claim was
that he ‘shut Hezekiah up like a bird in a cage’. He lists the large
amount of booty taken from Hezekiah. This list is partially confirmed
by the Biblical text. But the chronology of events is significantly
different.
Sennacherib claims that he called off the siege of the city after Hezekiah agreed to pay him tribute. However, the Bible paints a more complex picture.
Although Hezekiah sent tribute to Sennacherib, he did not open his city to Sennacherib’s forces. Sennacherib demanded complete surrender, which was the usual treatment for a rebel city. When the Egyptian forces made their appearance, threatening the Assyrian flank, Sennacherib sends a letter that warned Hezekiah that he would come back to finish the job!
This is when Hezekiah goes to the temple and spreads the letter of the king before the Lord, and pleads for help.
However, for reasons that are not clear from the Assyrian annals, Sennacherib left off the siege and went home. The Bible states that the reason for this was that the angel of the Lord came and struck down 175,000 of the Assyrian soldiers. The Egyptians also preserve the memory of something momentous ocurring around this time. The Greek historian, Herodotus, writing several hundred years after the fact, recounts a story that heard in Egypt about a battle fought by a certain Egyptian king against Sennacherib. He says that the Egyptian king had not chance of success, but that in the night the god Sethos sent mice to eat the bowstrings of the Assyrian soldiers. It is a curios story. It is noteworthy that Sethos in the name the Egyptians sometimes used to refer to the god of the Canaanites, and also perhaps of Yahweh. Finally, we should mention another historian, Berossus, also from the Greek period, who wrote a history of Babylon. Portions of his history were preserved by Josephus in the 1st century AD. Berossus also records… Sennacherib’s next campaign was directed against the rebels in the western lands, including Luli, king of Sidon, Sidka, king of Ashkelon and a group of rebellious leaders of Ekron who are never named. The leader of this rebellion was Hezekiah, king of Judah. According to the annals of the Israelite kings, he also held sway over Phillistia at this time. This is confirmed, not only by the Biblical account, but also by the annals which state that Hezekiah removed the pro-Assyrian ruler of Ekron from the throne and held him in Jerusalem. This was a major affront to the king of Assyrian. And it called for a vigorous response. When Sennacherib arrived in the region of Phoenicia, the majority of kings in the west brought him their tribute. Those who chose to rebel did not fare well. Luli, the king of Sidon, fled across the sea. Sidka, the king of Ashkelon, was deposed and taken into exile along with his family. All of this seems to have occured with a shot being fired. It would seem that whatever rebellion Hezekiah was planning, fell apart, probably because the Egyptians were a no show. They eventually did arrive on the scene, led by the young Sudanese commander, Tirhaqua, a Cushite ruler who would eventually rule all of Egypt. But at this time, the Egyptians do not seem to have been willing to engage in a full scale battle with Assyria. They were happy to foment dissent in the hopes that the rulers of levantine nations would score a victory against Assyria.
Hezekiah
Sennacherib’s third campagin was directed against the rebels
Sennacherib’s next campaign was directed against the rebels in the western lands, including Luli, king of Sidon, Sidka, king of Ashkelon and a group of rebellious leaders of Ekron who are never named. The leader of this rebellion was Hezekiah, king of Judah. According to the annals of the Israelite kings, he also held sway over Phillistia at this time. This is confirmed, not only by the Biblical account, but also by the annals which state that Hezekiah removed the pro-Assyrian ruler of Ekron from the throne and held him in Jerusalem. This was a major affront to the king of Assyrian. And it called for a vigorous response. When Sennacherib arrived in the region of Phoenicia, the majority of kings in the west brought him their tribute. Those who chose to rebel did not fare well. Luli, the king of Sidon, fled across the sea. Sidka, the king of Ashkelon, was deposed and taken into exile along with his family. All of this seems to have occured with a shot being fired. It would seem that whatever rebellion Hezekiah was planning, fell apart, probably because the Egyptians were a no show. They eventually did arrive on the scene, led by the young Sudanese commander, Tirhaqua, a Cushite ruler who would eventually rule all of Egypt. But at this time, the Egyptians do not seem to have been willing to engage in a full scale battle with Assyria. They were happy to foment dissent in the hopes that the rulers of levantine nations would score a victory against Assyria.
Isaiah
Hezekiah
Noticeably absent from this list is Hezekiah, king of Judah. He did not submit to the king of Assyria. Hezekiah was a powerful king. Not only did he reign over Judah, he also exercised suzerainty over the Phillistine city states. Indeed, Hezekiah held Padi, the pro-assyrian king of ??? captive in Jerusalem This was a major affront to Assyria. Hezekiah was not minor figure in this rebellion. He was one of the main figures, together with Merodach Baladan!
And
The reason for Sennacherib’s abandonment of the siege of Jerusalem remains a puzzling fact that has led to many different interpretations. According to the Assyrian annals, Sennacherib did abandon his siege of Jerusalem but only on the condition that Hezekiah would send tribute to the Assyrian king. Kings and Isaiah also mention large amounts of tribute paid by Hezekiah – the amount being roughly the same in the Biblical and Assyrian records. The difficulty comes in attempts to harmonize the payment of tribute with the defeat inflicted on Sennacherib by the ‘angel of the LORD’ that is described in the Bible. Of course, it is possible to simply label this as a ‘fable’ but what then, was the cause for the sudden withdrawal of Sennacherib’s army? Why was Hezekiah allowed to remain on the throne when he was arguably more important than Luli of Sidon or Sidqa of Ashkelon? If Hezekiah’s elite troops had deserted him, if 46 Judean cities had already fallen, and the Assyrians had built a series of forts around the city, all of which the Assyrian annals claim, then why didn’t Sennacherib simply take the main prize, the city of Jerusalem? The importance of Jerusalem to the Assyrian’s is evident in Rabshakah’s speech. Wouldn’t Sennacherib have preferred to put the siege and fall of Jerusalem as the centerpiece of his palace instead of Lachish? Lachish at this time was only a fraction of the size of Jerusalem. Finally, a belief in the invincibility of Jerusalem arose early and did not disappear until Jerusalem was finally destroyed by the Babylonians. Where did this sense of invincibility come from? One approach is to take the account of Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem as a multi-layered account redacted from several sources that date to different time periods. The first account (2 Ki 18:13-16) reads like a straightforward annal text which concludes with the large tribute Hezekiah was forced to pay. This factual account is followed by two separate accounts characterized by prophetic and theological speeches of the Rabshakeh, Hezekiah and Isaiah. The first account ( 2 Ki 18:17 – 19:8) recounts the first speech of the Rabshakeh and concludes with a short word of counsel by the prophet of Isaiah. In this account, Hezekiah is portrayed in a less positive light and Isaiah is the primary intercessor between the king and ‘Isaiah’s’ God. The prophet Isaiah tells the king not to fear because the king of Assyria shall return to his land ‘on a rumor’. In the third account, King Hezekiah is portrayed in a more positive light (2 Kings 19:9-37). The letter is brought directly to Hezekiah by messengers of Sennacherib. The third account preserves a longer list of those nations that were not able to withstand the might of Assyria. This list goes back to some of Assyria’s earliest conquests. It has been argued that the letter is anachronistic in as much as it has Sennacherib invading Egypt whereas Assyria did not invade Egypt until the reign of Assurbanipal. This last account also contains the longest speech by Isaiah. In it, Isaiah promises that no siege ramp will be constructed against Jerusalem’s walls and concludes with a short statement that the angel of the LORD struck 185,000 of the Assyrian army dead in one day thereby forcing Sennacherib to return home. This is a very large number that may be compared to the 200,150 that Sennacherib claimed to take captive from Judea (Sennacherib also claimed to have taken 208,000 captive after sacking Babylon during his first campaign). There is a difficulty, however, with dividing the Biblical account of Sennecharib’s campaign against Judea (2 Ki 18:8-19:37) into multiple accounts redacted together at a late date. Taken separately, each account is inherently contradictory whereas, placed within narrative sequence, they can be harmonized. The first account occurs within the context of Sennacherib’s siege of Lachish (2 Ki 18:14). The second account begins with the arrival of an Assyrian delegation “with a great army from Lachish (2Ki 18:17)”. It concludes with a statement that the Rabshakeh returned to Libnah because “the king had left Lachish” (2 Ki 19:8). The third account begins with the statement that, upon hearing of the arrival of Egyptian and Cushite forces, Sennacherib sent messengers to Jerusalem with a letter. It ends with the statement that Sennacherib left Judea and was murdered upon his arrival in Assyria. Thus, the three accounts are knit together in a narrative sequence. If these were three contradictory accounts redacted at a late date, then one must acknowledge the consummate skill which the redactor combined them together while preserving much of their original character. A difficulty with the narrative sequence is that it places the siege of Lachish before the battle of Eltakeh. It is difficult to conceive of Sennacherib laying siege to Lachish before taking Ekron and securing his flanks. Moreover, there is much about the 2nd and 3rd accounts (usually taken to be late prophetic interpretations of Sennacherib’s withdrawal) that looks early rather than late. Fore example, C. Cohen argues that the first speech of the Rabshakeh (2 Ki 18:17 – 19:8) contains a number of authentic Assyrian figures of speech. (Cohen, Neo-Assyrian Elements) The following examples may be cited: 1) the Rabshakeh chastises Israel for its misplaced trust – a very common criticism directed by an Assyrian kings toward their rebellious subjects. 2) Egypt is referred to as a broken reed, a figure of speech that appears in several Assyrian inscriptions. 3) The Assyrian King is given the title, “The Great King, King of Assyria”, a title that is also attested in Assyrian inscriptions. Cohen concludes that, “It is quite likely that a substantial part of the extant first speech may well have been ultimately based on the actual words of the Assyrian official.” (Cohen, Neo-Assyrian Elements) Bright suggests that the seemingly contradictory accounts in the Bible actually reflect two campaigns that have been telescoped together by the Deuteronomist as one campaign (701 BC). (Bright, A Short History) No inscriptions from the last 10 years of Sennacherib’s reign have been discovered, so it is possible that Sennacherib campaigned again – perhaps to put down another revolt in the west after he was defeated by the Babylonians and Elamites in 691 BC. This would solve the seeming anachronism of Tirhakah campaigning in Palestine 10 years before he ascended to power in Egypt. Bright also notes the seemingly contradictory messages found in Isaiah. Bright asks, “How could the prophet utter disaster for Judah (30:8-17) and promise that God would protect Judah and break Assyrian (14:24-27; 31:4-9); predict the siege of Jerusalem (ch 29:1-4) and announce there would be no siege (ch 37:33-35); counsel surrender (ch 1:5) and counsel defiance.” (Bright, A Short History)
In response to Bright’s two- campaign theory, it is argued that it is difficult to conceive of Hezekiah rebelling against Assyria only 10 years after 46 of his cities were completely destroyed. In addition to the Biblical account, we have a number of important Assyrian sources that pertain to the siege of Jerusalem. 1) Letter to God – the oldest literary source. It tells of capture of Gath, Asekah (this source may date to Sargon II’s time instead). 2) The Rassam cylinder, Chicago and Taylor Prisms – these are all similar but with slightly different versions of Hezekiah’s tribute. 3) The Bull Inscription – no mention made of the victory at Eltekeh. 4) Naebi Yunus Inscription – Only King Luli and Hezekiah are mentioned as the main opponents in the 3rd campaign. 5) Lachish relief’s – Record the siege of Lachish. These texts add considerably to our knowledge of Sennacherib’s invasion. According to the Assyrian inscriptions, Sennacherib was confronted by a rebellion led by Luli, king of Sidon, Sidqia, king of Ashkelon, and Hezekiah, king of Judea. Upon the advance of Sennecharib’s army, Luli fled to Cypress and Tubalu assumed the throne after paying a very large tribute. In Canaan, Sennacherib was met by the forces of Philistia and Judah supported by chariots and archers from Cush and Egypt (the alliance between Judah and Egypt is criticized in Isa 30:1-5 and Isa 31:1-3). Sennacherib defeated this force on the plains of Eltekah. After Sennacherib’s victory at Eltekah, he was free to focus his attack on the rebellious leaders. Ekron was the next to fall. Padi was brought back from confinement in Jerusalem and restored to his throne in Jerusalem. The restoration of Padi to the throne in Ekron raises an important question that pertains to chronology. Was Padi restored to the throne in Ekron before Sennacharib invaded Judea? If so, then it would seem that Hezekiah paid some form of tribute before Sennacherib came up against Jerusalem. Part of this tribute was the return of Padi. This is one way to understand the tribute mentioned in 2 Ki 18:13-16. On the other hand, the annals may be arranged thematically rather than chronologically. For example, it is unlikely that all of the tribute was brought by the king of Moab to Sennacherib while he was still in the region Tyre, even though it appears this way in the Assyrian annal (RT No. 28). Tribute was probably brought to Sennacherib along the way but is grouped together at the beginning of the text. If so, then it is possible to group Padi’s restoration to the throne in Ekron with Hezekiah’s final payment of tribute that was sent to Assyria even though it appears in the annal texts that Padi was restored to the throne of Ekron immediately after Ekron fell. The Assyrian inscriptions never record a defeat and so one must use caution when reconstructing history from them. Laato sets forth four criteria that characterize the means by which Assyrian scribes turned defeats into victories in their annals and argues that the Assyrian records of Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem disguise an Assyrian set back. The first criteria is the omission of uncomfortable facts. In this regards, Laato notes that the Assyrian scribes give no reason for the Assyrian withdrawal from Jerusalem. The second is to conflate a recent defeat with a previously won victory. Thus, it is possible that the payment of Hezekiah’s tribute may have been combined with a military campaign that was ultimately unsuccessful (Jerusalem was never taken). The third is the lack of concrete reference to political gains. The application of this criteria to our annal suggests that it does reflect a historical reality. Sennacherib was able to claim that he divided the land of Judea among the cities of Philistia and that he took 200,150 Judeans captive. The final criteria is the use of demeaning language. Thus, Hezekiah is referred to as ‘Hezekiah, the Jew’, instead of ‘Hezekiah, the king of Judah’ (cf. Sidkia, king of Ashkelon… etc.) Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem is one of the most thoroughly documented historical events from ancient times. Apparent contradictions in the Biblical account and unanswered questions in the Assyrian annals continue to challenge historians to reconstruct what that critical event in the history of Jerusalem. Bibliography Bright, J. (2000). A history of Israel. Louisville, Ky, Westminster J. Knox Press. Cogan, M. (2008). The Raging Torrent. Jerusalem, Carta. Cogan, M. and H. Tadmor (1988). II Kings : a new translation. Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday. Cohen, C. (1979). Neo-Assyrian Elements in the First Speech of the Biblical Rab-Saqe, Tel Aviv University. Laato, A. (1995). “Assyrian Propaganda and the Falsification of History in the Royal Inscriptions of Sennacherib.” Vetus Testamentum 45(Fasc 2): 198-226. Oded, B. (1972). “The Historical Background of the Syro-Ephraimite War Reconsidered.” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 34: 153-165. Tadmor, H. (1966). “Philistia under Assyrian Rule.” The Biblical Archaeologist 29(3): 86-102.