Scripture

Sennacherib's Campaign in Second Kings

Bobby M. Godwin

Sennacherib's Campaign in Second Kings and the Destruction of His Army: An Analysis

The Second Kings chapters 18–20 account is highly accurate and could only have been written by an eyewitness to the events that took place at that time. This historical record, possibly written by Shebna the scribe of the royal court of Judah, is more credible than the propaganda of the Assyrian king.

The account recorded in 2 Kings 18–20 contains knowledge of the Assyrian empire that makes it impossible to have been written at a late date in the time of the exile of Judah in Babylon, as some scholars suppose. Most secular scholars trust Sennacherib's annals, that he defeated his enemies in the Levant and his army returned safely to his capital. However, Antti Laato has shown "that kings in the ancient Middle East rarely admitted defeat in their records, and sometimes those accounts conflict with one another."⁽¹⁾ "The Babylonian Chronicle and Assyrian records both claim victory at the battle of Halule," and Laato gives other examples as well.⁽²⁾

Jen Braun Kofoed's analysis of First and Second Kings states, "That both the Babylonian Chronicle and Assyrian records corroborate the Hebrew account in many instances and that it is unlikely to be made up." He also says, "the book of Kings was likely based on records extracted from the royal courts of Israel and Judah,"⁽³⁾ Todd Bolen said, "the books were written by contemporaries with a strong commitment to the truth and frequently referred readers to external sources."⁽⁴⁾ I believe 2nd Kings contains details that make it an eyewitness account.

On the Rassam Cylinder, Sennacherib gave his version of the invasion. "This cylinder was inscribed shortly after his campaign and shows signs of being massed produced."⁽⁵⁾ Sennacherib states, "the kings of the west brought tribute, followed by his defeat of Phoenicia. Then after the subjugation of Philistia, Padi king of Ekron was freed. The battle with Egypt occurred, and finally Hezekiah king of Judah submitted, sending a long list of tribute back to Assyria. Hezekiah appears to be one of the main leaders of the rebellion."⁽⁶⁾

2 Kings 18:7–8

Hezekiah's Rebellion and the Siege of Lachish

2 Kings 18:7–8 says that Hezekiah's army attacked Philistia, an ally of Assyria, and that he rebelled against Sennacherib and did not serve him. Seeing his allies fall away in the Levant caused Hezekiah to attempt to buy off the Assyrians. "Withdraw from me."

2 Kings 18:13–16 begins with an overview of the invasion followed by the siege of Lachish. During the siege of Lachish, Hezekiah opened negotiations and agreed to pay tribute to the Assyrians. These verses imply that Sennacherib agreed to withdraw after payment was made. King Padi of Ekron would have been released by Hezekiah at this time.

As said before, the Rassam Cylinder was probably mass-produced when the Assyrian king needed to establish his version of events after the loss of his army. In Sennacherib's account he conveys the impression that Hezekiah gave the tribute at the conclusion of the campaign and after the subjugation of Jerusalem — which actually did not happen.

The failure of Hezekiah's bribe was revealed in 2 Kings 18:17 with the arrival of a large Assyrian army headed by the three magnates: the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh. "Two of these men are shown in the Assyrian Lachish reliefs standing in front of Sennacherib at the siege, only a few miles from Jerusalem."⁽⁷⁾

2 Kings 18:18–35

The Rabshakeh's Speech at the Wall

2 Kings 18:18–20 notes that King Hezekiah ordered his men not to speak to the Assyrians, probably because the Assyrian king had broken his promise to withdraw. At this point it is clear Jerusalem had not surrendered. "An Assyrian palace relief from the time of Ashurbanipal shows a calvary officer on horseback shouting or negotiating with the people of a walled city, reflecting this exact scene."⁽⁸⁾

Hezekiah's men — Eliakim of the royal household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the recorder, Judah's highest civilian leaders — stood on the wall to record what was said. The Rabshakeh spoke the words of Sennacherib: "Thus says the great king of Assyria, what is this confidence that you have?" The Rabshakeh gave the correct title of the Assyrian king and arrogantly refused to call Hezekiah king, which adds authenticity to this account.

In 2 Kings 18:19–21, the Rabshakeh spoke of Egypt as weak and divided — which would not have been true if this account was written a hundred years later when Egypt was stronger under the Saites. If the battle of Eltekeh had already happened, the Rabshakeh certainly would have mentioned it at this point. The book of Isaiah and Assyrian records are both agreed that Egypt would be no help to Judah.⁽⁹⁾

In 2 Kings 18:22, the Rabshakeh spoke Hebrew but did not really understand the nuances of the religion of Judah — which would be normal for a high official of the Assyrian Empire. In 2 Kings 18:23–24, the Rabshakeh mocked the size of Judah's army, stating that the Hebrews would be unable to man 2,000 Assyrian horses. Neither the Rabshakeh nor Sennacherib in his annals mention Assyrian war chariots in the Levant campaign. At that time Sennacherib had reduced the chariot arm of his army in favor of cavalry.⁽¹⁰⁾ "His palace reliefs show the royal and cultic chariots, with infantry, calvary, and no Assyrian war chariots at all."⁽¹¹⁾ In Sennacherib's "letter to god" written shortly after this invasion, only Assyrian cavalry are mentioned in the Levant campaign.⁽¹²⁾ Both Sennacherib in his annals and the Rabshakeh in 2 Kings 18:24 mention chariots in the Egyptian army.⁽¹³⁾

In 2nd Kings 18:15-26, "The Rabshakeh used psychological warfare against Judah. Sargon II had subdued Judah, meaning the Judah would have been bound by treaty as a vassal, probably in the reign of Hezekiah\'s father Ahaz, and again in Sargon\'s campaign in 720 B.C."⁽¹⁴⁾ Radner said that "locally important deities were included in the curses section of those treaties, and both the gods of Assyria and Yahweh would bring judgment on those who violated that treaty."⁽¹⁵⁾ This argument was designed to break the will of Jerusalem to resist, by showing Assyria\'s cause was just. The mention of Aramean in this section is also accurate because "Aramean was beginning to supplant both Hebrew and Akkadian during the reign Sargon II among elites. Sargon II ordered his scribes to stop using Aramaic and write in Akkadian, but they began to use it again after his death."⁽¹⁶⁾

In 2 Kings 18:27, the Rabshakeh attempted to frighten the defenders with the horrors of the siege to come. In 2 Kings 18:28–30, he attempted to break the defenders' trust in their king and their God. "Tiglath-Pileser III also ordered the people of Babylon to abandon their leader."⁽¹⁷⁾ "Make your peace with me and come out to me." In 2 Kings 18:31–32, the Rabshakeh pretended friendship to the defenders of the city. Assyrian records show "kings Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal asking the sun god by what method a city or fortress might fall, whether through tricks, ruses, friendship, or by war. The Rabshakeh\'s assignment was to avoid a costly siege and open the city gates."⁽¹⁸⁾

It was common knowledge that defeated people would be sent into exile, and the Rabshakeh did not try to hide it. "Where are the gods." In 2 Kings 18:33–34 god abandonment was mentioned, a common Mesopotamian theme. "Esarhaddon stated the gods of Babylon flew up to heaven before Sennacherib destroyed that city."⁽¹⁹⁾ "Hamath, Arpad and Samaria were included in a coalition of cities that rebelled against Sargon II in 720 B.C."⁽²⁰⁾ "The cities of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah, are placed by scholars to be in Eastern Babylonia,"⁽²¹⁾ and must be a reference to Sargon II and his campaign there in 710–709 B.C.

"Who is the Lord?" In 2 Kings 18:35–37 the blasphemy of the Rabshakeh continued, and the Hebrew officials were distressed as they reported to Hezekiah.

2 Kings 19:1–19

Hezekiah's Prayer and Isaiah's Prophecies

In 2 Kings 19:1, Hezekiah felt sorrow because of the blasphemy of Sennacherib and went to the temple to confess his own sins, as shown by his wearing of sackcloth. In 2 Kings 19:2–3, Hezekiah sent a delegation also in mourning — including Shebna the scribe — to the prophet Isaiah, to report the words of the Assyrian king. Hezekiah used the metaphor of a woman in labor without the strength to deliver, which rings true as in Isaiah 66:7–10. In Oswalt's Commentary he states: "Jerusalem must be delivered, but neither he (Hezekiah) nor his government, or his people, have the strength to do it."⁽²²⁾ "The king of Assyria has sent a reproach to the living God."

In 2 Kings 19 and in the corresponding verses in Isaiah 37, Oswalt stated "These verses 1–7 are dealing with the blasphemy of Sennacherib and what will happen to him in the future."⁽²³⁾ In 2 Kings 19:6–7, Isaiah gave the second of three prophecies during the invasion of Sennacherib. The first prophecy in 2 Kings 20:6 alludes to the coming destruction of the Assyrian army: "I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My sake and for my servant David's sake." This second prophecy has two parts — that Sennacherib would hear a rumor and return to his own land, and that he would die by the sword there.

In 2 Kings 19:8, the Rabshakeh returned to Sennacherib to report that Jerusalem had not surrendered. The siege of Lachish was over, and Sennacherib was then fighting at the city of Libnah. In 2 Kings 19:9a, the first part of Isaiah's prophecy was fulfilled when Sennacherib heard the Egyptian army was coming out to face him. Hoffmeier states "Sennacherib was caught off guard with the approach of Tirhakeh."⁽²⁴⁾ The 20-year-old Tirhakeh was not yet king at this time, but a Hebrew scribe updated the text at some point after he became king.

2 Kings 19:9b–13 concerned the new message Sennacherib sent to Hezekiah. The Rabshakeh, the Tartan, and the Rab-saris were gathering the scattered Assyrian army together to face the threat from Tirhakeh and the Egyptian forces. In 2 Kings 19:10–11, the blasphemy of Sennacherib continued: "Do not let the God in whom you trust deceive you. You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, destroying them completely — so will you be spared?"

2 Kings 19:12–13 states: "The gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph and the sons of Eden" — cities located by scholars in northern Mesopotamia.⁽²⁵⁾ There had been a rebellion in the area of Haran and Assur after a plague and eclipse in 763 B.C., which was the probable reference of Sennacherib. Sargon II had only just restored the privileges of Haran in 709 B.C., which was fairly recent news to Hezekiah.⁽²⁶⁾

The Rabshakeh had mentioned Sargon\'s 720 B.C. campaign at Hamath and Arpad. Sennacherib repeated these references, as well as Telassar, Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah which are located by scholars in eastern Babylonia.⁽²⁷⁾ This is an area again where his father had campaigned in 710–709 B.C.⁽²⁸⁾ As crown prince during his father\'s campaigns, Sennacherib would have a comprehensive knowledge of these operations and Hezekiah would have been aware of this recent history. Some critics have said the cities in 2nd Kings 18 and 19 were copied from some of the conquests of Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar in the seventh century. However, some repetition of cities would be expected since the Assyrians and Babylonians were fighting over the same ground at different times in history.

In 2 Kings 19:14, Hezekiah took the letter of Sennacherib, read it, and went to the house of the Lord a second time — this time not wearing sackcloth. The first visit to the temple was private when he confessed his sins. This second visit was public and the scribes recorded what was said. The king spread out the letter before the Lord, showing it to be a scroll, probably papyrus or leather. Placing important documents in temples was common in the Assyrian era. "Esarhaddon placed a clay tablet with his succession treaty in a temple in Kalhu near the god. This tablet would rather be expected to be found in a Library."⁽²⁹⁾ "Ashurbanipal also had an entire battle plan written on papyrus and placed in an Assyrian temple."⁽³⁰⁾

2 Kings 19:15–19 concerns the prayer of Hezekiah. 2 Kings 19:17 says "The kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands." Critics have said "and their lands" does not make sense. This phrase is referring to Sargon II and his campaigns against Hamoth and Arpad. "These cities had been Assyrian lands for more than a hundred years with Assyrian governors. Apparently, Sargon II had devastated Assyrian lands, (their lands) after a rebellion in 720 B.C."⁽³¹⁾

In 2 Kings 19:18–19, critics also say the phrase "and have cast their gods into the fire" is not true, claiming the Assyrians respected the gods of other nations and did not destroy them. Natalie Naomi May states: "It was common to destroy gods but rarely admitted."⁽³²⁾ Sennacherib and Ashurbanipal are the most famous examples of kings who admitted to destroying gods.⁽³³⁾ Sargon II also stated: "I set fire to the temple of his god Haldi and desecrated his shrines."⁽³⁴⁾ "Oswalt says Hezekiah's prayer is like other kings who were in deep distress, such as Pharaoh Sethos against Assyria and Ashurbanipal in the Elamite crisis. He states the only real difference is that Hezekiah does not claim he deserves to be helped."⁽³⁵⁾

2 Kings 19:20–35

Isaiah's Response and the Destruction of the Assyrian Army

In 2 Kings 19:20–28, the prophet Isaiah gave God's response to Sennacherib. In verse 22, Sennacherib is charged with blasphemy against the Holy One of Israel. In verses 23–24, Isaiah wrote motifs from the annals of Assyrian kings, such as "With my many chariots I came up to the highest mountains, to the remote parts of Lebanon, and cut down its forest." Also: "I dug wells and drank foreign waters, and with the sole of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt (Masor)." According to Josette Elayi, "Egypt is a mistranslation and not a reference to the Nile at all."⁽³⁶⁾ This means these verses were not written after the Assyrian conquest of Egypt, as some scholars have claimed. "Turning fortified cities into ruinous heaps is also a motif from the royal Assyrian annals."

There has been much discussion by scholars about how these Assyrian phases were transmitted to Isaiah but that is not the focus of this paper.⁽³⁷⁾ In Isaiah 10:5–12, God states Assyria is the rod of His anger to punish the nations for their idolatry — but now that nation has gone too far with their blasphemy. In Isaiah 10:12 he predicted God will punish the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and his God repeated: "Your arrogance has come up to my ears" (2 Kings 19:28a). In 2 Kings 19:28b, Isaiah continues God's response: "I will put my hook in your nose, and I will turn you back the way which you came" — another Assyrian custom for defeated people.⁽³⁸⁾

In 2 Kings 19:29–31, Isaiah prophesied that three years after the invasion, life in Judah would return to normal. Smith states, "Despite Assyrian propaganda, a survey of destructions attributed to Sennacherib shows there was no widespread devastation, and many areas in Judah were left alone. The Assyrians destroyed a few fortified positions like Hazor, Lachish and a number of fortresses."⁽³⁹⁾ I think the Judean highlands were left relatively untouched only because Sennacherib was unable to keep his promise to return. In Isaiah 8:7–8, he predicted "Assyria would sweep over the land like a flood up to the neck of Judah, sparing Jerusalem." In 2 Kings 19:32, Isaiah gave a third prophecy concerning the invasion of Judah. "There would be no siege of the city." Sennacherib said in his annals he "blockaded Jerusalem," but no siege was mentioned.

"By the way he came, the same he shall return, and he shall not come to this city," declares the LORD. "For I will defend this city to save it for my own sake and for my servant David's sake."2 Kings 19:33–34

"Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead."2 Kings 19:35

Most secular scholars believe Sennacherib's propaganda that his army returned home safely after defeating Judah. Both the book of Isaiah and Assyrian records agree that Egypt would be no help to Judah, and it is likely therefore that Sennacherib did defeat the Egyptian army. Egyptian records state Sennacherib was stopped on the border of Egypt,⁽⁴⁰⁾ and 2 Kings records the Assyrian army was struck down shortly after they went to face the Egyptians.

We know that Sennacherib had substantial losses in the Levant campaign because of his own records that have survived. In the years following 701 B.C., Sennacherib began conscripting large numbers of troops into his army. "In 701 B.C. he took 20,000 men from the levant. In 700 B.C. he conscripted 35,000 from Sumer and Akkad, drafted 40,000 from Tabal, and 50,000 from Til-Garmann in 695 B.C. He then drafted 61,000 from Elam in 693 B.C."⁽⁴¹⁾ This is a total of 206,000 men in the eight years after 701 B.C. and does not include men conscripted in Assyria proper. Dezso states "these men would have been auxiliary forces,"⁽⁴²⁾ but I believe in an emergency some of these men would have been forced into the Assyrian army. This mass conscription of foreign troops and Sennacherib's campaigns after 701 B.C. show that his army had been decimated. It also makes the number of 185,000 in 2 Kings very credible. In 845 B.C., Shalmaneser III claims to have crossed the Euphrates with an army of 120,000 men, showing that the Assyrians could field exceptionally large armies. Dezso states "this number if true, would have included support staff and baggage train."⁽⁴³⁾

2 Kings 19:36–37

Sennacherib After 701 B.C. — A Shattered Army

Scholars usually point to Sennacherib's attack on Babylon a year later as proof that his army was still intact. However, "In Neo-Assyrian ideology it was important for the king to be successful in war, and failure meant the king had lost the favor of the gods."⁽⁴⁴⁾ It would have been necessary for the king to gather what forces he could and launch a swift attack after a severe loss. This is seen in "Esarhaddon's first attack against Egypt in 675-674 B.C. which failed. The Babylonian Chronicle mentioned his defeat but not his royal annals. His casualties must have been heavy, but within a few months of this attack, he successfully invaded a small country called Shubra. His victory there meant for the people of Assyria that he was still king chosen by their gods."⁽⁴⁵⁾

Sennacherib achieved his quick victory over Babylon, which he must have known was unprepared for war through the Assyrian intelligence service. Sennacherib as crown prince oversaw military intelligence, showing it had the highest priority to the Assyrians.⁽⁴⁶⁾ This sophisticated intelligence service also helped remove Hoshea, last king of Israel, and almost deposed Manasseh, Hezekiah's son, according to 2 Kings 17:4 and 2 Chronicles 33:11. Sennacherib's enemies fled before him without putting up much of a fight, and Elayi says the results of this campaign against Babylon "were quite meager and not a great success."⁽⁴⁷⁾

2 Kings 19:36 says Sennacherib king of Assyria returned home and lived at Nineveh. This verse seems to indicate that some time passed before he was killed by his sons. 2 Chronicles 32:21 adds: "He returned in shame to his own land." He then began mass-producing his version of events, giving the impression that both "Tyre"⁽⁴⁸⁾ and Jerusalem were conquered when in fact neither were.

After Sennacherib's attack against Babylon in 700 B.C., there were no campaigns for two years. In 699–698 B.C. the Assyrians stayed home. In 697 B.C. Sennacherib claimed to have led an offensive against Mount Nipur and Ukku, but this again "was only a minor campaign," says Elayi.⁽⁴⁹⁾ In 696 B.C. his generals led a "In 696 B.C. his generals led a campaign against Cilicia, but Cilicia was not a major operation"⁽⁵⁰⁾ either. However, Elayi like most scholars does not accept the Hebrew record of calamity.

Sennacherib's next attack against Tabal in 695 B.C. was led by his generals and "far from successful."⁽⁵¹⁾ Sennacherib had lost his most experienced officers and men in the Levant, and this was apparent in his next operation. In 695 B.C. he launched his first major campaign since his invasion of Judah — against Elam — and this was near disaster. "At first the attack went well, but the king of Elam attacked behind the Assyrian army and captured Babylon along with Sennacherib's son the crown prince. His son was taken back to Elam and never heard from again, probably executed."⁽⁵²⁾ The Assyrian king never mentioned this incident, and we only know of it from the Babylonian Chronicle, which also states the king of Elam "put Assyria to flight."⁽⁵³⁾ "The King of Elam then trapped part of Sennacherib's army in southern Babylonia for nine months as well. Sennacherib finally freed his trapped army,"⁽⁵⁴⁾and shortly thereafter a civil war started in Elam, helping Sennacherib get the upper hand.⁽⁵⁵⁾

In 692 B.C. there was a pause in the struggle and the Assyrians returned home. In 691 B.C. the battle began again and continued over several more campaigns. At the conclusion of the Battle of Halule, both sides claimed victory. Sennacherib's final campaign ended with the siege and destruction of Babylon.

"It came about as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat, and Esarhaddon his son became king in his place."2 Kings 19:37

Nadav Na'Amon said, "2 Kings 19:37 is confirmed in Esarhaddon's records."⁽⁵⁶⁾ I believe most of the account is confirmed in Assyrian records as I have attempted to show. Eckhart Frahm has stated "that Sennacherib suffered from psychological trauma from the tragic death of his father Sargon II."⁽⁵⁷⁾ I think that also with the loss of his army in the Levant and the death of his son in the Elam campaign, he appeared to be a haunted man. Frahm said "Sennacherib had a serious temper, and according to his son Esarhaddon, his father suffered from the 'Alu' demon, whose symptoms were: not knowing who he was, inability to speak, roaring ears, and tense limbs among other things."⁽⁵⁸⁾ He also seemed to have a greater fear of epidemics than other Assyrian kings, which is discussed below.

Khan states, "Sennacherib probably lost control of Philistia in his last years."⁽⁵⁹⁾ Esarhaddon listed the king of Tyre and Manasseh king of Judah as first and second of the kings of the Levant that served him, showing that he brought them back into the empire at the death of Hezekiah.⁽⁶⁰⁾ It is certain that the 12-year-old Manasseh quickly capitulated after the death of his father — most likely in Esarhaddon's second year with his invasion of Philistia in 679–678 B.C. Grant Frame said, "It was not possible for the Babylonians to believe that Babylon could have been destroyed without the consent of the gods."⁽⁶¹⁾

I believe the Babylonians were unable to process in their theology why Jerusalem was saved and Babylon was destroyed. Because of this, they left both events out of their chronicle. Sennacherib did to Babylon what he wanted to do to Jerusalem, and in 2 Kings he undeniably wanted to make an example of Hezekiah one of his main opponents in the Levant campaign. Sennacherib destroyed the city, temples, and gods of Babylon. He then refashioned the statue of the god Marduk and placed it in the temple of his god Assur in a subservient position.⁽⁶²⁾ "Sennacherib attributed his greatness to the god Assur alone, and he wanted his god to be the supreme god of the world."⁽⁶³⁾

The Levant operation was particularly important to him, and shortly after its conclusion, Sennacherib had the highlights of that campaign prominently carved onto the walls of his throne room and palace in 700 B.C. It was important to show his people, after the loss of his army, that the Jerusalem campaign had been a success. His defeat of Egypt, the siege of Lachish, and his attack on Phoenicia were all displayed there.⁽⁶⁴⁾

"This Assyrian king did not obey the ancient command to expand the Assyrian empire."⁽⁶⁵⁾ Some scholars believe he was a conservative king more interested in his building projects than enlarging the empire. I believe his army was shattered in the Jerusalem campaign and it was with great difficulty that he held his empire together. The Assyrian army was not the same after 701 B.C., and it took some years to find its footing again. The desertion rate must have been high with its mass conscription of foreign troops, and it took time to rebuild the royal army. Late in Sennacherib's reign he completely reorganized the royal army and called it the "New Corps of Sennacherib," but the reason for this change is not known.⁽⁶⁶⁾ He left it to his son to expand the empire.

It is likely that the tomb of Shebna the scribe has been found, as mentioned in Isaiah 22:15–21. This tomb is known as the tomb of the royal steward, a position Shebna held under Hezekiah.⁽⁶⁷⁾

2nd Kings chapters 18–20 reads like a firsthand account because it is an eyewitness account as recorded by the royal scribes of Israel during one of the great crises of that kingdom. There is nothing in those chapters that does not pertain to the Assyrian empire in the time of Sennacherib and Esarhaddon or relates at all to the Exile of Judah. "In addition, 24 seals and bullae reliably confirm 15 persons mentioned in the biblical record, including 10 more unknown from history serving in the royal courts of Israel and Judah."⁽⁶⁸⁾

The Augurs

The Augurs — Specialists in Epidemic Containment

"Karen Radner has given several studies on the specialists that served the kings of Assyria. These men included astrologers, diviners, exorcists, physicians, and augurs. (69) The augurs were specialists in the containment of epidemics that might wreck armies on campaign. (70) The augurs traveled with the Assyrian army and used scapegoat rituals to end mass epidemics." (71)

"Radner is one of the few secular scholars who thinks the author of 2 Kings 19 recorded a historical calamity. She believes it is possible an epidemic struck the Assyrian army on the border of Egypt. She goes into detail on the epidemics that might have devastated the Assyrian army in those days. Sennacherib's father Sargon II had at least two augurs, and his son Esarhaddon had three. (72) At least six augurs are mentioned in Sennacherib's Nineveh in 694 B.C. These men were involved in a court case as a group," (73) and I believe these six augurs were employed by the king and attached to his army. He was also "the first king to have an augur in the royal entourage," (74) which seems to suggest he had a fear of epidemics at that time. "During the reign of Sennacherib and the kings after him, there was a power shift away from the generals and magnates and more reliance on the specialists to guide the state." (75)

Conclusion

Conclusion

The increase of augurs during the reign of Sennacherib appears to indicate the Assyrians were having difficulty with epidemics or some sort of military disaster at that time. Sennacherib never mentioned his father or son again after their deaths and covered up the disaster in the Levant, like all Assyrian kings who faced unpleasant news in those days.

The Hebrew record explains the extremely high numbers of troops recruited into the Assyrian army following the Levant campaign, its failures after 701 B.C. and its reorganization. It explains Assyria's greater reliance on specialists in the reign of Sennacherib and his successors, along with his failure to expand the empire. The Hebrew record also helps us to understand some of Sennacherib's psychological problems, and his motivation for giving prominence to the high points of the Levant campaign in his throne room and palace.

Without a serious Assyrian reversal, it is difficult to see why Hezekiah was left in power at all. Hezekiah was not passive during the rebellion. Evidence shows that Hezekiah reconquered the city of Azekah from the Assyrians and captured the Philistine city of Timna, (76) which confirms Judah's attack on Philistia in 2 Kings 18:7–8. 2 Kings says Hezekiah captured Philistine territory as far as Gaza. After Judah's attack on Philistia — Assyria's ally — and subsequently holding hostage the king of Ekron, a loyal Assyrian vassal, it is clear from the ancient records of both countries that Hezekiah was considered one of the main leaders of the rebellion. He also had to be one of the primary targets of Assyria. Hezekiah underestimated Assyria's response, and the vast army that would soon be headed his way.

"So will you be spared?" — Sennacherib's letter shows the Assyrian king was intent on revenge against Hezekiah. This letter fits both the historical record and the Assyrian king's personality.2 Kings 19:10

Ultimately, Hezekiah managed to free his people from the grip of Assyria through the rest of his reign. Sennacherib left Hezekiah alone because he was unable to remove him due to circumstances beyond Assyria's control. Hezekiah, of all the kings in his time, despite his mistakes, withstood Assyria at the height of her power.

2 Chronicles 32:23 states that Hezekiah "was exalted in the sight of all nations" and Jerusalem's successful resistance against the Assyrian war machine "enhanced her status as Yahweh's chosen city." (77) Jerusalem's temporary independence from Assyria helps one to understand the reason the people of Babylon fought Sennacherib so hard, to the bitter end, to gain their freedom.

It is also true the Assyrian kings destroyed the idols of Babylon and other nations, just as the prophet Isaiah seems to predict with his judgment against the nations for their idolatry in Isaiah chapter 10. Sennacherib encountered the unknown in the Levant, and both he and the Babylonian priest Berossus categorized it as an epidemic that stopped the Assyrian army. (78) Whatever editing took place over time in 2 Kings 18, 19, and 20, it appears that neither the prophetic message nor the historical record was compromised.