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A minor narrative in the Bible is rocketing to the forefront of the modern world’s mind after a stunning discovery in the deserts of modern Israel.
The narrative, chronicled across two chapters in 2 Kings, details the march of the Assyrians on Israel and Judah during the reign of Judah’s King Hezekiah.
The Assyrian host, headed by King Sennacherib, deals easily with Israel and turns its focus solely on Judah. Hezekiah is extorted by the foreign invader in 2 Kings 18, and the demanded ransom is gathered by stripping the temple of Yahweh of precious metal.
The world is never satisfied, however.
Despite the payment, Sennacherib and his cronies demand more and more of Judah, until finally setting up a siege camp outside of Jerusalem. At one point, the Assyrian king’s cupbearer-in-chief is meeting with Hezekiah’s palace officials outside of the city walls and haughtily shouting over them to persuade Judah’s defenders to defect.
His taunts are quoted in 2 Kings 18:33-35.
“Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?”
The people of Judah, on Hezekiah’s orders, refuse to answer the cupbearer-in-chief’s taunts.
Despite the people’s defiance, the situation looks grim for the kingdom of Judah. At the onset of 2 Kings 19, Hezekiah is rending his clothes and wearing sackcloth, humbling himself in God’s temple as the siege looms.
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God eventually answers Hezekiah’s prayers for salvation through the prophet Isaiah, who foretells the doom of the irreverent Assyrians encamped outside of the city.
By verses 35 and 36, the situation reverses in a sudden divine stroke.
“And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at Nineveh.”
Before any Bible doubters out there scoff at this narrative, first consider a recent and startling find in this ancient landscape.
According to an article published in the journal Near Eastern Archaeology and cited by Live Science, the Bronze Age military camps established by the Assyrians have been found.
Scholar Stephen Compton made one discovery near Jerusalem by comparing old aerial photographs of the area with historical accounts of the place. He eventually found an oval-shaped structure, reminiscent of the Assyrian camp construction, at Jebel el Mudawwara.
My paper on tracking down Sennacherib’s military camps (including the famous one at Jerusalem) has been peer-reviewed and published in the journal Near Eastern Archaeology. pic.twitter.com/QwAqRDmd9s
— Stephen Compton (@StephenCCompton) June 8, 2024
At Lachish, an ancient fortified population center mentioned as besieged in the 2 Kings narrative of Sennacherib, Compton found a similar potential encampment near the city by using images found in the British Museum.
The sites differ from later Roman military camps, which were typically entrenched in rectangular fortifications.
Although more study will be needed to completely confirm Compton’s findings, the discovery underlines the expansive history of the region and hints this is not the last piece of physical proof that will emerge to further confirm biblical narratives.
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