The first part of this article showed how great is the agreement between the records of the Old Testament and the annals of the Kings of Assyria. From the time of Ahab and Shalmaneser III, in the years from 859 B.C. and forward to the reigns of Tiglath Pileser III and Hoshea, King of Israel, in 732 B.C., the histories are parallel and in accord.
Shalmaneser V
In 727 B.C. Tiglath Pileser died and was succeeded by Shalmaneser V (727-722). This monarch left no records, but the Bible tells us of his relations with Israel during his short reign. Hoshea had been placed on the throne of Israel by Tiglath Pileser and at first he paid tribute to Shalmaneser. He seems to have thought, however, that the change of monarch was an opportunity to shake himself free of Assyria. He did not feel strong enough to act by himself, but adopted the old fatal policy of trying to enlist the help of Egypt. So, king of Egypt, was willing to collaborate, and, armed with this assurance of aid, Hoshea refused to pay tribute to Assyria. Shalmaneser reacted strongly and, as usual, Egypt proved to be a broken reed, and Hoshea was quickly captured and imprisoned (2 Kings 17. 4). So, has almost certainly been identified with Sibe, or Shabaka. who founded the 25th Egyptian Dynasty.
Sargon
The successor of Shalmaneser V was Sargon II. This monarch is mentioned only once by name in the Scriptures, quite incidentally: “In the year that Tartan came into Ashdod, when Sargon the King of Assyria sent him, and fought against Ashdod and took it” (Isa. 20. A). The term tartan or “tartane means simply commander-in-chief. Until the finding and decipherment of the Assyrian records, the Bible was the only place where the name of Sargon was found. This fact was quite enough for the critics of the Bible to say that Sargon never existed, and that the Scriptures were in error. At best it was an alternative name for Shalmaneser. The folly of making assertions in the absence of full evidence has been fully demonstrated since this statement was made. Not only have many inscriptions of Sargon been unearthed, but in the British Museum and probably other museums there are huge man-headed winged creatures which were made by his orders.
When Hoshea rebelled against the Assyrians, as we have seen, Shalmaneser marched against him and the capital city of Israel, Samaria, was besieged for three years before it fell. It is not certain whether Shalmaneser or Sargon took it, or whether it was a joint effort between them. The most popular view is that it was Sargon. While the Bible records the capture of Samaria, it does not give the name of the conqueror. 2 Kings A 7 reads, “In the ninth year of Hoshea, the King of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and in Habor, by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes”. Sargon’s own account of the capture of the city seems to support the view that he was the conqueror:
“722. In my first year of reign . . . the people of Samaria to the number of 27,290, I carried away. 50 chariots for my royal equipment I selected. The city I re-built. I made it greater than it was before. People of the lands I had conquered, I settled therein. My official (Tartan) I placed over them as Governor.”
The monarch also describes the capture of Ashdod, “Palace of Sargon . . . King of Assyria . . .: conqueror of Samaria and of the whole land of Israel, who despoiled the cities of Ashdod and Shumulti”.
Sargon also described his defeat of Hoshea’s ally, So, or Sibe, “Hanamu, King of Gaza, and Sibe, the Commander in Chief of Egypt, advanced to Rapihu, to make a direct attack and to battle with me. I defeat them. Sibe fled, taking flight on hearing the din of my weapons and disappeared”.
Rapihu was on the Egyptian border, which shows how little use to the Israelites was their plotting with Egypt against Assyria. Sargon was assassinated in 705 B.C.
Sennacherib
Even closer than the examples so far considered is the relationship between Bible records and those of Sennacherib, who succeeded Sargon. The Kingdom of Israel had now disappeared and it was the turn of the Kingdom of Judah to take the full brunt of Assyrian hostility. The death of Sargon, as usual on the death of a monarch, was the signal for revolt among the vassals of Assyria. The insurgents included Egypt, Moab, the Philistines and the Phoenicians, who also wished Hezekiah of Judah to join them, which eventually he did. The climax came when the people of the Philistine city of Ekron deposed Padi, their King. who was bound by treaty to Assyria, and sent him to Jerusalem, where he was imprisoned by Hezekiah. Sennacherib acted quickly. His armies marched into Canaan.
The Assyrian’s record says: “In my 3rd campaign, I went up against Syria. . . . The officials, nobles and people of Ekron who had thrown Padi, their king, bound by treaty to Assyria, into fetters of iron, and had given him over to Hezekiah the Jew—he kept him in confinement, like an enemy—their heart became afraid, and called upon the Egyptian Kings —and these came to their aid. . . . In the neighbourhood of the city of Eltekeh between Jerusalem and Ashdod) . . . they offered battle . . . Eltekeh and Timnah I besieged. I captured and took away their spoil. I drew near to Ekron and slew the Governor and nobles who had rebelled, and hung their bodies on stakes around the city. . . . Padi their King I brought out of Jerusalem. I set him on the Royal Throne over them and imposed upon him, my kingly tribute.”
Sennacherib continues by describing his action against Judah: “As for Hezekiah, the Jew, who did not submit to my yoke, 46 of his strong walled-cities, as well as the small cities in their neighbourhood—which were without number—by escalade and by bringing up siege-engines, by attacking and storming on foot, by mines, tunnels, and breaches, I besieged and took.”
This claim is shewn to be accurate by the Bible, for 2 Kings 18. 3 reads: “In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah (701 B.C.) did Sennacherib, King of Assyria, come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them.” The Prophet Isaiah gives the route of the Assyrian advance Aiath, Migron, Michmash, Ramoth, Gilead, Gallim, Laish, Anathoth, Madmenah, Gibon, Nob.
The city of Lachish seems to have been a strong position. It defied the army of Joshua longer than other Canaanitish cities, and now it seems to have proved an obstacle to Sennacherib. It was captured however. The Assyrian monarch does not claim in his records, the seizure of the city, but, on the wall of his palace of Nineveh, he depicted many of the scenes of the siege and in particular the surrender to him of the leaders of Lachish, together with men, women and children, who are shewn being led past him.
On the carvings is the inscription,
“Sennacherib, King of All, King of Assyria, sitting on his throne, while the spoil from the city of Lachish passed before him.”
The wall-slabs concerned are now on exhibition in the British Museum. Excavation at Lachish, within the last 20 years, has revealed evidence of the breach made by the Assyrians. Sennacherib claims, that during his invasion of Judah, he placed Hezekiah under tribute. He declares, “Hezekiah, himself, I shut up, like a caged bird, within Jerusalem, his Royal city. Earthworks, I threw up against him”.
This statement apparently refers to the occasion when Sennacherib sent his emissaries, with large armies, from Lachish to Jerusalem, as described in 2 Kings A8. A7,
“And the King of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rab-Shakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah, with a great host against Jerusalem . . . and they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool.”
Sennacherib says that Hezekiah was terrified, and that in addition to 30 talents of gold and 800 talents of silver, gems, antimony, jewels, large Sandu stones and all kinds of valuable treasure were sent as spoil to Nineveh.
The Bible agrees that Hezekiah paid tribute to the Assyrians:
“And Hezekiah, King of Judah, sent to the King of Assyria, to Lachish, I have offended, return from me; that which thou puttest on me, I will bear. And the King of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold” (2 Kings 18. 14).
It will be observed that the Assyrians exaggerated the tribute of silver paid to them.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One