Hi All,
In 2 Kings 19:35 (NWT) it states: "And it came about on that night that the angel of Jehovah proceeded to go out and strike down a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When people rose up early in the morning, why, there all of them were dead carcasses."
The account goes on to say that, because of this, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, pulled away and took up dwelling in Nineveh, whereafter two of his own sons put him to death and then Esarhaddon, another son, began to reign.
As a Jehovah's Witness I was taught to believe totally in this account; that just ONE angel of Jehovah struck down 185,000 Assyrians. However, the following shows how the Jews were just as guilty of fabricating victory stories as the Watchtower levelled at surrounding nations:
Sennacherib vs. Hezekiah
(The Untold "Rest of the Story" From the Assyrian Archives)
24 September 2002 Updated and Revised (plus input from two scholar friends, July 2003)
Chronology
705/704 BCE Sargon II dies in battle, his body not recovered for burial (Calah is the Capital)
704 BCE Sennacherib becomes king of Assyria, makes Nineveh his Capital
Hezekiah receives Merodach-Baladan's envoys (Isa 38:5; 39:1-4)
703 BCE Sennacherib runs Merodach-Baladan out of Babylon, to Elam
701 BCE Sennacherib devastates Judah, defeats Pharaoh Shabaka at Eltekeh, Palestine (and Taharqa who may have been present as a princely co-commander)
700 BCE Sennacherib puts down rebellion in Babylonia, chases Merodach-Baladan to Elam
697 BCE Shabaka, king of Egypt, dies; is succeeded by Shebitku
690 BCE Taharqa becomes king of Egypt
689 BCE Hezekiah dies; Sennacherib destroys Babylon (cf. Isa 21:9 ?)
681 BCE Sennacherib assassinated, Esarhaddon becomes King of Assyria (cf. Isa 37:38)
674 BCE First Assyrian invasion of Egypt is repulsed
671 BCE Esarhaddon conquers Egypt (cf. Isa 19:4; 20:3-5; 37:25)
666 BCE Assurbanipal, son of Esarhaddon, reinvades Egypt, defeats Taharqa
664 BCE Taharqa dies, succeeded by Tanwetaman
663 BCE Assurbanibal again invades Egypt, defeating Tanwetaman, and sacking Memphis
Isaiah 1-39 can be dated to ca. 689 BCE as we are told Hezekiah has 15 more years to live (Isa 38:5, he died in 689 BCE). Another internal "marker" suggests 681 BCE OR LATER based on the mention of Esarhaddon succeeding his father, Sennacherib, upon the latter's assassination by his two sons (Isa 37:3-38). An even later period may be indicated by the statement that the Assyrian king has boasted of drying up Egypt's streams with the sole of his foot (Isa 19:4-10; 37:25) which would suggest 671 BCE when Esarhaddon conquered Egypt.
We are informed that God will deliver Jerusalem from the hand of the Assyrian king. He will not enter the city nor advance upon with a shield or pile up a siege mound against it (Isa 37:33).
"He shall not enter this city; He shall not shoot an arrow at it, or advance upon it with a shield, or pile up a siegemound against it." (Isa 37:33 TANAKH. Philadelphia. The Jewish Publication Society.
1988)
Unfortunately for Isaiah's claims, the Assyrian account of the "sparing" of Jerusalem exists in the archives of Sennacherib. The Assyrian records contradict Isaiah's claims.
"Himself I made a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage. I surrounded him with earthwork in order to molest those who were leaving his city's gate." (p.200, "Sennacherib (704-681 BCE): The Siege of Jerusalem." James B. Pritchard, Editor. The Ancient Near East, An Anthology of Texts and Pictures. Princeton, New Jersey. Princeton University Press.1958)
So, Sennacherib claimed to have erected a siege mound ("earthwork") about Jerusalem, hindering movement from Jerusalem's gate, contra Isaiah's claim.
Isaiah claims that God will not allow Jerusalem to fall to the Assyrian king, he will spare it. Strangely, we are told that God will cause the Assyrian King to "hear a rumour," which will delude him, causing him to return to his land (Isa 37:7) - but we are later told that the reason the Assyrian king leaves is because God's angel destroys overnight 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, whereupon, the King brakes camp and returns to Nineveh, and while praying to his god, his two sons assassinate him, Esarhaddon becoming his successor (Isa 37:36-38). The succession of Esarhaddon is dated to 681 BCE according to Assyrian annals.
"Thus said the Lord: Do not be frightened...I will delude him: He will hear a rumour and return to his land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his land." (Isa 37:6-7 TANAKH)
"That night an angel of the Lord went out and struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp, and the following morning they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and retreated, and stayed in Nineveh. While he was worshipping in the temple of his god Nisroch, he was struck down with the sword by his sons Adrammelech and Sarezer...his son Esarhaddon succeeded him as king." (Isa 37:36-38 TANAKH)
The Assyrian account makes no mention of why Jerusalem wasn't taken. Sennacherib does, however, state that Hezekiah paid a penalty tribute for rebelling against him, 300 talents of Gold and 800 talents of silver. What is most interesting is that Sennacherib states that the tribute was sent to him, AFTER HIS RETURN, TO NINEVEH:
"Hezekiah...did send me LATER, TO NINEVEH, my lordly city, together with 30 talents of gold, 800 talents of silver..." (pp.200-201, "Sennacherib (704-681 BCE) : The Siege of Jerusalem")
Hezekiah was told by Isaiah "in a poem," that The Assyrian would not take the city:
"Fair maiden Zion despises you, she mocks at you; Fair Jerusalem shakes her head at you. Whom have you blasphemed and reviled ? Against whom made loud your voice and haughtily raised your eyes ? Against the Holy One of Israel !...I know your stayings and your goings and comings, and how you have raged against Me, because you have raged against Me, and your tumult has reached My ears, I will place My hook in your nose and My bit between your jaws; and I will make you go back by the road by which you came." (Isa 37:22-29 TANAKH)
The "contempt" for the Assyrian king from Isaiah's "little ditty" is obvious ! There's a problem, however. Why would Hezekiah STILL FEAR the Assyrian king AFTER God's angel had destroyed 185,000 soldiers, causing the Assyrian retreat to Nineveh ? Sennacherib says that Hezekiah LATER sent the tribute to him while he was at Nineveh ! Surely, if an angel of the Lord had really destroyed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, Hezekiah would have been "heartened" by God's act and he would have withheld the tribute, not daring to affront his God by removing the gold from the Temple's doors (2 Ki 18:16). Hezekiah would have "thumbed his nose" at Sennacherib, and kept the tribute ! And would have taunted the Assyrian to the effect of, "If you show your face around her again, my God will destroy another 185,000 of your men, so don't come back looking for any tribute !"
We are told that Hezekiah followed after the Lord with all his heart. What a strange way for God to show his appreciation by having Sennacherib come and take most of Hezekiah's kingdom away from him !
"In the third year of King Hoshea son of Elah of Israel, Hezekiah’s son Ahaz of Judah became King...HE TRUSTED ONLY IN THE LORD THE GOD OF ISRAEL; THERE WAS NONE LIKE HIM AMONG ALL THE KINGS OF JUDAH AFTER HIM, NOR AMONG THOSE BEFORE HIM. HE CLUNG TO THE LORD; HE DID NOT TURN FROM FOLLOWING HIM, BUT KEPT THE COMMANDMENTS THAT THE LORD HAD GIVEN TO MOSES." (2 Ki 18:1, 5-6 TANAKH)
In addition to the gold and silver sent later to Nineveh, Isaiah forgets (?) to mention Hezekiah's daughters taken as hostages along with his concubines, and that his troops went over to the Assyrian enemy !
"His towns which I plundered, I took away from his country, and I gave them over to Mitinti, king of Ashdod, Padi, king of Ekron, and Sillibel, king of Gaza. Thus I reduced his country, but I still increased the tribute and the katru-presents due to me as his overlord which I imposed later upon him beyond the former tribute, to be delivered annually. Hezekiah himself, whom the terror-inspiring splendour of my lordship had overwhelmed and whose irregular and elite troops which he had brought into Jerusalem, his royal residence, in order to strengthen it, had deserted him, did send me, later to Nineveh, my lordly city, together with 30 talents of gold, 800 talents of silver precious stones, antimony, large cuts of red stone, couches inlaid with ivory, nimedu chairs inlaid with ivory, elephant hides, ebony-wood, boxwood and all kinds of valuable treasures, his own daughters, concubines, male and female musicians. In order to deliver the tribute and to do obeisance as a slave he sent his personal messenger." (pp.200-201, Pritchard)
Following the death of Sennacherib, the story of Hezekiah's illness, recovery and reception of Merodach-Baladan's envoys occurs. This story is out of historical sequence. The internal clue is the statement that Hezekiah's prayer has been answered, God will give him another 15 years to live. As Hezekiah died ca. 689 BCE, add 15 yrs, and we have 704 BCE for the arrival of Baladan's envoys, then in 701 BCE Sennacherib appears to ravage Judah for Hezekiah's rebellion.
Why is this story (Isa 38:4; 39:1-8) out of historical sequence ? It should have preceded Sennacherib's invasion (Isa 36:1). It is likely that the writer of Isaiah wanted a "happy ending", as not only has the haughty Assyrian king been defeated by God, he has been slain, and Hezekiah recovers from a deadly illness and praises God for everything. Hezekiah, noted for his righteousness (2 Ki 18:5-6), is allowed to think he will have peace for the remaining years of his life, the Assyrian threat is over. God is portrayed as fulfilling his promise, that he would fight personally at Jerusalem and trample underfoot the Assyrian upon the mountains of Jerusalem, freeing his people of the Assyrian yoke:
"The Lord of Hosts has sworn this oath: As I have designed, so shall it happen; What I have planned, that shall come to pass: To BREAK ASSYRIA IN MY LAND, TO CRUSH HIM ON MY OUNTAIN. AND HIS YOKE SHALL DROP OFF THEM..." (Isa 14:24-25 TANAKH)
"So the Lord of Hosts will descend to make war against the mount and hill of Zion. Like birds that fly, even so will the Lord of Hosts shield Jerusalem, shielding and saving, protecting and rescuing. Then Assyria shall fall, not by the sword of man; a sword not of humans shall devour him...Declares the Lord who has a fire in Zion, who has an oven in Jerusalem." (Isa 31:4-9 TANAKH)
In reality, if the Assyrian account is to be believed, it wasn't over, Hezekiah's daughters and concubines were hostages at Nineveh, so he never rebelled again.
What about "the rumour" Sennacherib heard, that caused him to return to Nineveh (Isa 37:7) ? He left Judah in 701 BCE, and we find him the following year on the offensive in Babylonia/Chaldea against Merodach-Baladan. Perhaps "the rumour" was that Merodach was stirring up rebellion again while the Assyrians were besieging Jerusalem ? They lifted the siege, when offered heavy tribute, Hezekiah's daughters and concubines, and perhaps (?) took Hezekiah's army which had deserted him, with them, to employ them as a conscript vassal army against the Chaldeans and Merodach-Baladan.
So, Jerusalem was spared not because an angel destroyed an Assyrian army, but because Sennacherib was satisfied that Hezekiah was no longer a military threat, and his army was now needed in Chaldea against that "ever-scheming" Merodach-Baladan.
There is also another version to consider at the time – plague! Clearly the Assyrians did besiege Jerusalem. Clearly, if the Assyrians could have defeated Jerusalem they would have done to Jerusalem what they did to Lachish, and what they were prone to do whenever a king defied them, or tried to assert independence from their Empire. So something did happen before the walls of Jerusalem which prevented the Assyrians carrying out their policy.
Although Herodotus, Josephus and the Bible portray this as a Jewish victory, the Assyrian records show that it was not that. Hezekiah had succeeded in avoiding the Assyrian onslaught only by buying the Assyrians off. SAAB IV/1 (1990) F. M. Fales, in "Grain Reserves, Daily Rations, and the Size of the Assyrian Army: a Quantitative Study." suggests that the withdrawal from Jerusalem was due to a mouse plague in the stores of the Assyrian army. Like all Middle Eastern campaigns they would have tried to live off the land, but with stores compromised they could not sustain a long siege. But is there another reason?
From the Sennacherib Prism we read:
"In my third campaign I marched against Hatti. Luli, king of Sidon, whom the terror-inspiring glamour of my lordship had overwhelmed, fled far overseas and perished.... As to Hezekiah, the Jew, he did not submit to my yoke, I laid siege to his strong cities, walled forts, and countless small villages, and conquered them by means of well-stamped earth-ramps and battering-rams brought near the walls with an attack by foot soldiers, using mines, breeches as well as trenches. I drove out 200,150 people, young and old, male and female, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, big and small cattle beyond counting, and considered them slaves. Himself I made a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage. I surrounded him with earthwork in order to molest those who were his city's gate. Thus I reduced his country, but I still increased the tribute and the presents to me as overlord which I imposed upon him beyond the former tribute, to be delivered annually. Hezekiah himself, did send me, later, to Nineveh, my lordly city, together with 30 talents of gold, 800 talents of silver, precious stones, antimony, large cuts of red stone, couches inlaid with ivory, nimedu-chairs inlaid with ivory, elephant-hides, ebony-wood, boxwood and all kinds of valuable treasures, his own daughters and concubines. . ."
This corresponds closely with 2 Kings 18-19
"In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, went on an expedition against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. Hezekiah, king of Judah, sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: "I have done wrong. Leave me, and I will pay whatever tribute you impose on me." The king of Assyria exacted three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold from Hezekiah, king of Judah. Hezekiah paid him all the funds there were in the temple of the Lord and in the palace treasuries..."
Surprisingly shortly after the tribute was given the Biblical account describes how the angel of the Lord struck down the Assyrians. Could there be some truth to this account?
Seige conditions are perfect to encourage the spread of any of a number of diseases, affecting both the starved besieged, and also the exposed besiegers. It would seem from the Josephus and Herodotus accounts that there was a plague of rodents affecting the Assyrian camp. Could these be rats escaping a plague-filled city? And could these rats, together with the contact with the plague infected treasury of Hezekiah have infected the Assyrian troops, causing their withdrawal from Hezekiah "trapped like a bird in its cage". Clearly the conditions in Jerusalem seem to have been troublesome (a fact almost glossed over in the Biblical account except for when in 2 Kings 18:27 But the commander replied [to Elliakim son of Hilkiah], "Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the men sitting on the wall-who, like you, will have to eat their own filth and drink their own urine?"
It is most unlikely that the generation who witnessed Hezekiah's troops deserting him, and his sending his daughters and concubines to Nineveh, AFTER Sennacherib's return, would have been convinced that God spared Jerusalem by sending his angel of death to devastate an Assyrian army. Critical scholars have noted that there may be two authors for the Book of Isaiah. The latter is called Deutero-Isaiah, and he is dated ca. 540 BCE as he describes Cyrus about to take Babylon in that year. The whole Book of Isaiah was probably written by Deutero-Isaiah, but that he probably had access to the "failed prophecies" of the 8th century BCE Isaiah and incorporated them in a different format. Thus the Book of Isaiah's account of Jerusalem's being spared by God's personal destruction of the Assyrian army could have been concocted in 540 BCE with no one around to contradict its portrayal of the events, no one that is, except the royal Assyrian archives of Sennacherib, which reveal the "more probable" events.
In the end, however, the choice has to be yours, dear reader, whose story is more believable, Isaiah's or Sennacherib's ?
If Isaiah's, why would Hezekiah, out of fear, send LATER to Nineveh, the gold from the doors of the Temple- an act which would "affront" God-- silver, his daughters and concubines, when God had demonstrated that he would intervene to protect his people from the Assyrians ?
Personally, I believe the evidence once again points to Jewish fables being taken as literal events. So, can we trust the Hebrew Scriptures? Historically, in parts, yes! But certainly not as inspired, much of it merely being fictitious stories disguised as truth to rally the nation of Israel!
Dansk