2 Kings 18-19
3 Sides to the Story
The story of the siege of Jerusalem by Sancheirev( Sennacherib) king of Assyria during the reign of Chizkiayu (Hezekiah) has to rank as one of greatest miracles in the Tanach. As Sennacherib is campaigning in Judah, he finally comes to Jerusalem and lays siege to it. After consulting with Yeshayahu (Isaiah) he is reassured that the Assyrians will not conquer the city. Sure enough that night an angel of the Lord smites the Assyrians and 185,000 of their soldiers die. The Assyrian king turns and goes back to Nineveh and is assassinated as per the prophets prediction.
This is certainly a miracle to rival the splitting of the sea in Egypt. Yet there is a parallel source in Assyrian records which describes the same event. The Assyrian archives record that he took many fortified cities in Judah, how the king of Jerusalem was locked in his city like a bird in a cage, and how a large tribute of gold and silver was sent to Nineveh as the price for leaving the city intact.
Certainly here are two divergent accounts. It is well known that kings tend to exaggerate their achievements. On the other hand, should the biblical account be taken at face value? In order to sort out what transpired we should first consider the elements that are common to both stories. Four points are common to both accounts. 1. Sennacherib conquered many cities in Judah. 2. A siege of Jerusalem occurred. 3. A large tribute of silver and gold was paid to the Assyrians. 4. Sennacherib removed the siege from Jerusalem.
These are the common points and it would be reasonable to accept the reality of these points. The main point of disagreement is killing of the 185,000 troops. Of course one would not expect the Assyrians to record this type of defeat much as we would not expect the Egyptians to record the humiliating defeat they suffered at the hands of the God of Israel.
However, on close examination of the biblical account two distinct threads can be discerned. In 18:13-16 the story basically plays out. Hezekiah having rebelled against Assyria gets second thoughts. He asks forgiveness and makes at least a partial payment of his obligation. This should have been the end of the incident leading right into 19:36. The tone of the verses from 18:17 on imply a Israelite king who is still defiant, and possibly still besieged. Why would the Assyrians continue to attack Jerusalem after they had gotten what they wanted anyway? To teach a pesky vassal a lesson? Perhaps. But maybe we should consider a conflation of two sources- one a historiographic one and a second prophetic source which complement each other. Another possibility is the suggestion of some modern scholars who postulate two separate campaigns by Sennacherib- one in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah and a second one near the end of Sennecheribs reign. This would connect Isaiah's prophecy of the death of Sennacherib close in time to verse 19:37. This two campaign theory is problematic because Hezekiah reigned until 698 BCE and Sennacherib reigned until 680 BCE.
In any event this pericope is a good exercise in evaluating contrasting sources.
