The Assyrian War Machine: King Hezekiah vs. Emperor Sennacherib: Episode 7
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- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
- Join the conversation on faith: bit.ly/3qwphmx
The Hebrew Bible contains a dramatic story of Hezekiah, King of Judah, fighting against the Assyrian Emperor Sennacherib. These events are attested both in Assyrian and Judahite sources and are well represented in the archaeological record. With so much data, we can examine how two sides of a battle can interpret the battle's aftermath in their records. This episode will especially examine the site of Lachish, the Judahite city that Sennacherib sacks.
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I love this series and RFB. I just wish my recommendations didn't get filled with so many "BIBICAL MYSTERIES REVEALED!! ATLANTIS IN GENESIS?!?!?!?" type videos after watching these ones.
Just imagine the types of videos that get recommended if you watch a bunch of videos on NASA, the Apollo program, and the moon landing.
You were predestined to be different(Romans 8:29).
HALLELUYAH!(PRAISE YE YAH!)
This series is pure gold! Can't wait for the next one.
Maybe pure silver or bronze. The most interesting part of this story is that the Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484 BCE - c. 425 BCE) also wrote of the sudden destruction of the Assyrian army during the invasion. You would think Sennacherib would've conquered Jerusalem out of spite and put his own man on the throne like the Assyrians did in Samaria earlier and the Babylonians would do later in Jerusalem. Perhaps Sennacherib was spooked by the curse of Yahweh (2 Kings 18-19).
"Herodotus wrote that the Assyrian army was overrun by mice when attacking Egypt.[5] Some Biblical scholars take this to an allusion that the Assyrian army suffered the effects of a mouse- or rat-borne disease such as bubonic plague.[3][6] Even without relying on that explanation, John Bright suggested it was an epidemic of some kind that saved Jerusalem.[3]"
Also of note: Sennacherib was eventually murdered by his sons, which was also part of the curse. (20 years later.) People were shocked and horrified.
"People throughout the Near East received the news with strong emotions and mixed feelings."
טע
As a kid, I would get so bored sitting in church. The only thing I could do that wouldn't get me in trouble is to read the Bible. I quickly developed a fascination with all the crazy stories in the Old Testament. Thank you for folks for this series.
That's because you were not going to the church of the God of Abraham.
🤩🤩🤩😍😍😍😃😃😃😅😅😅@@chrisgardiner2215
@@chrisgardiner2215 idjit
That Lachish mural is now in the British Museum and it is huge and awe-inspiring to stand in front of.
One of the most horrific pieces of art ever made.
I saw that mural with my own eyes, it was amazing and the thing that stood out for me was that Judah had wooley hair...
Wow! This is the type of content that keeps me coming back. Excellent!
Excellent episode, I'm looking forward to the next ones. Thank you very much.
Glad you like them!
Hi, modern Assyrian here. We still exist!
Apologize and pay reparations!
Ironically, aren’t the vast majority of modern Assyrians Christian?
@@johnkeefer8760 yes
@@kevinwahl5610 I’ve had really good friends who are Assyrian. Wonderful people and a wonderful community! Haha we are glad you still exist!
@@johnkeefer8760 ܒܰܣܝܡܐ ܐܰܚܘܢܐ
I love your stuff man, it's so interesting to get biblical history from this interesting, cross-disciplinary perspective. I also love your religion for breakfast stuff, and wish I could/had focused on religious history at my college.
This is an excellent and fascinating piece of work. Well done!
Many thanks!
Great series looking forward to the next one thank you very much ❤
Excellent series! I just binge watched the previous 6 as I was (allegedly) drinking my morning coffee
Another great episode in an amazing series.
Very good! Thanks for the information here!
This is a great series, thank you.
It seems to be unbiased. I feel no pressure to "believe". Refreshing, to say the least. My belief is already established, thank you.
Very interesting and engaging. I watch each episode during Lunch at work...
can you tell me where I can buy the specific book you show during the videos? Is this a regular Bible book or a text book?
Another great video! Loving this series!
Glad to hear it!
I am so glad to find this video
Great video and series!!
Glad you enjoy it!
The strength of the Israelites outlasted the Assyrians long enough for disease to spread destroying his army which was very common in warfare until WW2. Sennacherib boasted about leveling Lachish to ruins. Sennacherib already accepted tribute from Hezekiah yet he kept attacking. I am non religious and study Mesopotamia extensively and I am amazed at times how both archeological records can be collaborated with biblical records because it has greatly helped me put pieces together in my work changing my viewpoint on things. the Hebrew bible ?
The problem with the math on the tunnel digging is the variables; 1 man, 4-Hour shift 6 days per week.
If they were in a hurry, they would have dug 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Maybe not one guy digging for 24 hours, they would do it in shifts of course, like all people do when they run into problems like that.
Also when you're digging like that you can dig a small hole and have people behind you expand it so there's possibly way more people involved than just one person digging.
Anyhow it doesn't pass the sniff test.
You have to assume then they weren't keeping the Sabbath and Hezekiah is known for implementing Deuteronomy
Is it possible that some of the tunnel was already begun but Hezekiah finished it or built on something pre-existing?
@@johnkeefer8760 I feel like maybe they started digging it ahead of time. hezekiah probably knew what his decision to stop paying tribute would bring and probably ordered they start digging the tunnel ahead of time. To prepare for the siege.
Suspect they would keep the Sabbath. Otherwise, could we 24/6 for the rest of the week...?
2 additional things:
1) Manasseh ends up with a hook in his nose dragged off to Assyria, remember.
2) It is important to remember the likely size of the full Assyrian army. Assyria was a major world super-power. Judah, all by itself, had, at times (such as in Jehoshaphat's reign) an army of over a million. Assyria's army was almost certainly many times larger than this, and numbered in the millions. Losing 185,000 soldiers in one night would be enough to make Sennacherib step back and pull-out, but it would not (numerically) have been large enough to stop his army from making subsequent campaigns against other targets. 185,000 soldiers would perhaps represent a loss of about 5-10% of his fighting force. Not devastating, but the way it was done, in one night, and by unknown means, would almost certainly have been enough to motivate him to pull out before anything further could happen.
The Bible does not say the Assyrian army was wiped out. It says, very specifically, that around 180,000 soldiers were killed. This is perfectly easy to reconcile with the evidence that Sennacherib led campaigns after the battle. There is no logical or archaeological contradiction or even tension that I can find. And if the Jews were trying to paint a rosy picture to make Hezekiah's piety justified, why did they include so many of the embarrassing details like how he went into the temple himself and personally stripped the gold off the doors -- the gold that he himself had put on them (2 Kings 18:16)? Nobody would have known that particular detail and it was completely unnecessary to share it. It is embarrassing to Jews and to Hezekiah. This doesn't fit with the narrative of Jews trying to make Hezekiah's piety justified by making up the story of the slaughter.
You are very knowledgeable and speak very well.
Tunnel from both sides? Could this be from the story of the fall of Troy? Which I think is a story made of a collection of the stories from that whole time period. Tyr being Troy.
So a religious fanatic king stubbornly defied the greatest military power of his time, dooming much of his subject to death or slavery, capitulating only when his own life was in danger, and somehow ends up immortalized as a hero.
That's because he most likely was.
What I don't think the video illustrates enough is just how common these slabs were.
There are other slabs demonstrating and describing the conquests of other States. And on the slabs, Usually have key factors.
They describe the victories that were one against the Kingdom, omitting any defeats And they describe the Royal house of its king being slaughtered.
And of all the slabs being carved, it is the slabs of Hezekiah that is standing out. Because it says that has Hezekiah is a caged bird. But all of his Royal counterparts from other nations are recorded as being slaughtered But all of his Royal counterparts from other nations are recorded as being slaughtered.
This description was most likely given for the Assyrian king to save face. Because although Judah was heavily mauled, the Assyrian forces were unable to overcome Judah and were defeated by Hezekiah's forces.
In fact the place of The Bible which the scene is described, Tells us that it was a legion of angels that slaughtered the Assyrian forces.
Now whether or not you believe that is completely besides the point. There is a strong point of evidence that Judah was Victorious over the Assyrian king, And Senacherib wanted to do damage control to hide the shame.
@kanfoosj Not everyone believes that "might is right."
You make it sound like he was the only one going up against assyria, when in fact there were revolts against them all over their empire. That alone shows that maybe rebellion was justified. But a lot of scholars want to discredit the Yahwist kings because religion bad
@@thepalegalilean I would like to see this evidence you’re claiming. Sources ?
You're looking at it the wrong way. He and his people were saved by God because they were obedient. Hezikiah isn't a hero, God is the hero who delivered his faithful people.
It is totally inconceivable that Sennacherib would just leave without conquering Jerusalem. If he had achieved so much spectacular victories at the initial stages of the invasion, then he would try to complete his victory by conquering the capital city and killing or imprisoning the king itself. Bible states that Sennacherib was fully prepared for a long siege and a final war against Hezekiah. Still he left without completing the war which goes against the principles of ancient warfare. Ancient empires were built on brutality and fear. They never showed any mercy to the vassal states who dared to rebel. If you rebelled or crossed the line you will be destroyed completely. Most of the time these rebelling vassal states were made an example to other vassal states, so that other vasal states did not attempt any rebellion. Ancient Assyrians were an exceptionally brutal people. So the fact that Senncherib returned to Nineveh without conquering and destroying Jersualem after having a stranglehold on Hezekiah is really a mystery.
There is a video on UA-cam about some Jewish allies from the land of Kush if I recall correctly.
He had to go to Babylon to crush another rebellion by his rival Marduk-apla-iddina. People were rebelling against the Assyrians all over the empire because they were extremely brutal and charged high taxes and collected expensive tributes.
@@Emcee_Squared yeah this sounds like the right answer. The lands of Sumer and Akkad (aka Babylonia) were more important politically and economically to the Assyrians than some backwater Canaanite kingdom. It's Judaea not even Phoenicia who have a good economy and navy. Hezekiah got lucky or it was divine intervention but then they had to make it sound like a win for him so they made up the story of the angel killing all the Assyrians.
@@andrewharper1609 wasn't that a kushite King called Taharqa from the 25th dynasty that helped The Israelites?
The Bible mentions the Egyptians coming to Jerusalem’s aid also the Assyrians may have had bigger issues to deal with and larger enemies. Bible also said the Jewish king paid the Assyrians and written documents in Nineveh stated that the Hezekiah’s replacements continue to pay tribute.
Sennacherib lied to make himself look better even though his army was wiped out in one night by an angel. He wouldn't admit to a loss as it would damage his image and reputation.
I trust the Bible as all scripture is inspired by God and God cannot lie.
True
The book of Judith and Herodotus document a plague of field mice that overran the Assyrian camp, a possible result of the Angel of Death
would an all-powerful all-conquering Assyrian lie? Ah...yes. He destroyed ALL the other cities but just went home and left Jerusalem after 'caging the king like a bird'? This is what the seculars like to ignore.
@chriscuomo9334 To be fair, I think 2 Kings 20 with the envoys records events before the siege, not in chronological order. Because he did get 15 years added to his life and he died in 686 BC (and Merodach-Baladan died in 703 himself). And 2 Chronicles 18:14-15 says that Hezekiah did indeed pay tribute. But that also clearly before Sennacherib's taunting and defeat. If there is unambiguous evidence of Hezekiah paying tribute AFTER Sennacherib left, I'd love to see it. I haven't yet though, so in that sense, I agree with you. I'm skeptical.
Amazing! so there's archaeological evidence King Hezekiah existed.
toilet paper 3? i didnt even know TP 2.0 was out
The Taylor Prism said as well as scripture that king Sennacerab could not put the yoke on Judah...
Why did Israel and Judah decide not to pay tribute to the Assyrian Empire in the first place? Whats going on there other than playing with fire?
Pride. Also he mentioned in the video that rivals inside the empire and places like Egypt claimed to give them support. So likely they thought this was a chance for them to gain freedom.
@@bigjavo36 Possibly. One wonders then why Egypt doesn't figure more within the later and minor prophets.
It was considering by Hezikiah as false worship.
@@bigjavo36 Egypt was a vassal of Nubia at this time. Nubia came to aid judah
Was listening to ghost griftwood song... so was kind of curious
Hezekiah only paid tribute before the battle which did not satisfy the Assyrians. No tribute was paid after the Angel of God slayed the entire army! No way they were going to try to explain the loss of an entire army and utter defeat before the Lord to their future generations in Assyria.
Woh. Interesting.
Yep!! They always skirt around the fact that even though they surrounded Hezekiah, they Never took the city. Gee I wonder why......other non biblical history shows admitted that most of the army died for some mysterious reason
Thanks for the video, but why are so quick to dismiss the Biblical account of the angel of the Lord killing 185,000 Assyrian soldiers (2 Kings 19:35), and yet provide no basis for your claim that Jerusalem was really spared because Hezekiah paid additional tribute?
Bible true
My ancestors were really cruel. :(
Are you Assyrian? I see an lgbtq+x1y28 pro Max flag. How did your parents approve?
Why no mention of Herodotus’ account?
There is?
Gib🤑
You were predestined to be different(Romans 8:29).
HALLELUYAH!(PRAISE YE YAH!)
Are you sure it is 640BC? Because Esarhaddon conquered Egypt in 671 and by 651 Egypt was again independent.
senacherib went home and was killed by his son's. there was no tribute paid to him by Hezekiah.
The historical accuracy of the Bible is irrefutable. Did the Pharaoh record the parting of the Red Sea?
❤️
Totally makes sense if one disregards the Bible. Believe this guy or believe the Bible.
BTW, Menassah was marched off to Assyria according to the Bible. With this guy's excellence in grabbing tidbits of information, i wonder why he left that off?
Understand, Shalmanezer V. REMOVED the 10 northern tribes as God’s warning to Judah. So that when Sennacherib succeeded and threatened Judah that REPENTED which is the whole point of it all when 185000 Assyrian soldiers died at the gates of Judah. Sen. NEVER said he razed the walls of Jerusalem. It is also reputed that the same thing happened to Essarhadon when he laid siege to Egypts. It’s supposed that the numbers of dead were not buried, rats came and with rats plague.
People built a tower to heaven. You don’t know that they couldn’t built that in a month
The Bible account, GOD totally delivered HIS people from all who hated them. That wicked king was killed !
Please don’t rewrite history about Hezekiah
am i missing something? why is the fact that the assyrain king was called away back home as prophesied by isaiah and killed by sword by i think some of his family or high leaders? go read hezekiah 18 - 21 yourself. lot more in there about how assyria king made a point of saying their God was like other gods and would not save them... hezekiah used taht in his petition to The Lord and isaiah verified that God heard and would protect jerusalem
Would love for biblical literalists and people like "the naked archeologist" to watch this episode.
There is a lot of daylight between what is factual reality and what is depicted in the bible.
I'm not trying to tear down religion. Rather, adherents to the Abrahamic traditions would do well to remember these are allegorical stories at best. And in some cases ancient political propaganda that they are interpreting in a contemporary context.
I'm open to the fact that they could be outright lies. But allegorical stories all throughout? An honest reading of the various Hebrew sacred texts does not allow this possibility. These are clearly the accounts of one group's history. The Jewish people's own accounts of their own history. I'm not Jewish. But Isaiah and these other prophets did exist, did write down their messages, and did suffer terribly for what they wrote, from the hands of their own people. Secondly, the accounts of Jews' history are full of unsterilized stories of their ancestors doing all kinds of shameful things. Abraham lets Pharaoh take his own wife. Judah sleeps with a prostitute one weekend. Moses commits murder. David destroys one of his good friends' families and steals the man's wife. And these are the Jewish peoples' heroes! You don't think a copyist would have had a motivation to "clean up" some those accounts over the generations? Whatever else the Hebrew accounts might be called, they scream of genuineness to me. I mean the entire thing is a record of how stubborn and foolish their ancestors in just about every generation have been. Even from generation one. I suppose if you come to the table with an anti-supernatural presupposition/bias, then yes, you're going to encounter a lot of things to raise an eyebrow at and default towards assuming some things must be allegory. But where does that presupposition against the supernatural come from? I was born in the West and I don't get where it comes from. It seems illogical, unscientific. I mean we have to be open to all possibilities until logic or science gives us a reason to close off to it. Right? Science and logic never tell us that something supernatural can't happen. I mean if there is a being capable of designing and manipulating molecules, miracles aren't even hard to believe, they would be incredibly reasonable. Like turning water into something solid to walk on, if you can manipulate molecules, only requires a basic knowledge of chemistry. You just have to strengthen some of the hydrogen bonds. Freezers all across America does this every day. It's not even hard to conceive of. If you have the ability to manipulate molecules (which I don't, but there's no rule of logic or science that says no being can possibly have that ability)-- if you do have that ability, miracles cease to require anything more than a basic knowledge of chemistry. Turning water into wine would simply require manipulating some carbon molecules from the surrounding substances and boom-- simple. A good chemist could draw a diagram of how to do it. Well, the end.
You don't draw conclusions after examining evidence offered by only one side, especially when that evidence are only mere words. The Assyrian monarch had all the motivation to rewrite history to suit his narrative. There was a danger of losing face.
Are you aware that the Hittites were considered to be fictitious at best? Not until strong archaeological evidence proving their existence were discovered. Yet the Bible spoke of Hittites.... Doubt the word of God at your own peril. It's not myth. I wouldn't believe a power-hungry pagan king's propaganda over the word of God.
Sennacherib only wanted to depose the idolatrous Ahaz and install his faithful son Hezekiah on the throne, and when this was done, Sennacherib ordered his forces to return, and they returned without having fired a single arrow at Jerusalem. Hezekiah and Isaiah exaggerate colossally because they wanted to deepen and purify faith in God, and what is better than having an angel of the Lord slaughter 185,000 soldiers for the sake of the Jews and letting Sennacherib be murdered by his own sons? Talk about sensational journalism!
Sennacherib was more Jewish than both Hezekiah and Isaiah combined - note that Sennacherib men refused to speak anything but Hebrew to Hezekiah men.
No one disputes hezakia except woke deniars this is settled by actual historians and biblical archeology.
No one questions it but nilhist who refuse any and everything that doesn't fit their views or beliefs.
Sennacherib’s army was killed by bubonic plague.
You got it all wrong man
There was no bubonic plague but rather a plague of mice (sudden population outburst like the plague of frogs in Exodus)
According to Herodotus
A mice plague ravaged the Assyrian camp, chewing rations, chewing wood of chariots, arrows, siege ramps and spears, while making some soldiers sick and causing chaos
The mice plague made the Assyrian army’s weapons unusable, their water undrinkable, and their food inedible
And the Egyptian army who came to aid the Kingdom of Judah took advantage of the situation and drove the invaders away
But whichever historical version of events we take, the reality was that Sennacherib’s sons plotted against him, made themselves rulers of Assyria while he was out campaigning in Levant
Hearing the news he had to make a swift return to Nineveh
Sennacherib was assassinated some time after trying to quell his sons’ uprising
They shall not put the yoke on Judah
You have completely discredited yourself because you cannot claim bible passages to be true when they support your position and declare them false when they don't. Hezekiah did not pay tribute to Assyria for the rest of his life, when you claim that he did it is either lack of knowledge or it's an outright deception. When Sennacherib returned home, within a few years his two older Sons murdered him leaving the kingdom to his third oldest son Esarhaddon. You used the carving on the palace wall of Sennacherib's victory over Lachish when talking about Sennacherib's victory over Jerusalem which never happened. When Sennacherib was killed Esarhaddon took the throne and there was a Civil War in Assyria which lasted 6 weeks. The older brothers fled and their family and followers were put to death. There was much instability in Assyria toward the end of its Empire.
Don't try to change history to match your world view.
Believe a man or God?
😩 2 Kings 19:20-28 explains Sennacherib's downfall before his own demise by the hands of his sons. IT IS WRITTEN....
Finally someone who reads their Bible. Thank you. Thought the video was very good until the unbiblical twist at the end. Wouldn't ecommend it.
so I get that Assyrian's are not gonna record any embarrassing defeat in their record but where is the evidence of the LORD's intervention in terms of archeology?
if there was a sudden plague and left dead bodies above ground, material evidence would be unlikely to survive. the video only mentions two bits of written evidence that has survived:
the assyrians would put their political spin on their embarrassing defeat where "caged bird" describes the siege while it existed and ultimately is an admission he survived;
the israelites wrote about it with their own religious spin.
The kushite(Egypt was their vassal) armies and possibly hittites came and aided Judah
The book of Judith and Herodotus document a plague of field mice that overran the Assyrian camp, a possible result of the Angel of Death
I believe the biblical account. The Angel of the Lord struck 185000 Souls
Tribute? Total victory? LOL
Scholars? If the bible said hezekiah's? Its hezekiah's. Amen. Denying the bible? Scholars? Heathen only.
The victors write history. God writes the Truth.
It's importent to point out that the SIloam Tunnel is part of the "City of David" project, a politicaly motiveted turism progect, aimed at excaviting Jewish-identified sites under the Palestinian neighborhoods of East-Jerusalem. The project has been criticized severely by Israeli archaeologists, both for its unprofessional archiological work that destroyed large parts of the sites which they were working on, and also for its blatant disregard for the life and homes of the residents of the neighborhoods they have been working in. Just this month another family have been evicted from its house - in coordination with the Israeli government and Zionist institutions like the JNF to make room for the site's visitors center. The Ir David Foundation who opperates the site have a stated goal to "Judaize" East Jerusalem, pushing out the Palestinian residents, a goal the Israeli government shares and encourages.
If you visit Jerusalem, I highly recommend taking a tour with organisitions like "Ir Amim" and "Emek Shaveh", which try to present a more balanced view of the historical and the contemporary landscapes of the city, without ignoring the reality of the occupation.
BCE, i am offended!
This is not a fair historical analysis of what happened. Are we to believe that Assyria would just walk away without its main prize-Jerusalem? What other time did this ever happen? It didn’t. In fact, Sennacherib later attacked and conquered the city of Babylon, a city that was holy to his own people. The man never left a city I conquered.
So, what really happened? You didn’t mention the other very important account from the Egyptian side.
Yeah, this video gets a “C-“ at best.
Maybe it wasn’t as much of a prize then
@@JoyFay To say that would prove one’s lack of understanding of Assyrian history.
Español porfavor 😂
The Bible: the ANGEL of the LORD slew THOUSANDS of PAGAN soldiers!!!!
History: the king probably just paid the opposing army to go away
I also like the... you know, 'killing pagans is good' side of that story
Well, actually the bible explicitly says he paid tribute (2Kings 18:14-16)
@@adrianblake8876 I'm referencing the 2 Kings 19 part, which probably didn't happen since angels probably don't exist
@@jaynajuly2140 Maybe angels is a metaphor for something...
Nostradamus asked how many angels dance on a pinneedle, centuries later we spout his answer as microbiological trivia...
@Warrior Girl The prophecy was written in the SAME passage as the death is recorded. 1 & 2 Kings were written hundreds of years after the events they cover (this is obvious even just by reading the book, as it lists dozens of kings' reigns). Sennacherib's assassination appears to be a well-known event. In other words, the author(s) just came up with a prophecy to give God credit and make his death a better story.
Religion for breakfast !
Really. Relying on the Torah to state historic facts !
the bible in 3022: and the angel of the LORD killed the evil king of Germany for the crimes he committed against the Jews
🤣 that's so hilarious
For those saying "angel killed 185,000 soldier in one night". nobody believes that except jews and protestants (jews 2.0) jews wrote that Because they were salty that jesus was assyrian and that assyrians conquered and enslaved them before. Plus, I dont know where you got the number "185,000" considering the highest amount of soldiers assyria ever had was 60,000. What else? Ahh if your jewish saviour Angel really exists than where was he during the years of 1933- 1945?
Tf you are talking about? The Assyrians fall centuries before the birth of Jesus who himself was a Jew...
atheist
"Away with the atheist(s)"
~Polycarp
His also Used propaganda claiming in a copied flood myth that Hebrews patriarch noah blessed his ancestor Gilgamesh which blessed means giving his inheratance which would be his decndants and land.
Obviously the account was stolen and a slap in the face .