ARCHÆOLOGICAL LIGHT ON THE BOOKS OF KINGS
GUDEA AND CEDAR-WOOD FOR HIS PALACE. THE EPONYM CANON. THE SEAL OF
SHEMA. SHISHAK’S LIST OF CONQUERED ASIATIC CITIES. ASHURNASIRPAL’S
DESCRIPTION OF HIS EXPEDITION TO MEDITERRANEAN LANDS. SHALMANESER
III’S CLAIMS REGARDING TRIBUTE FROM THE KINGS OF ISRAEL. THE MOABITE
STONE. ADADNIRARI IV’S MENTION OF THE “LAND OF OMRI.” INSCRIPTION
DESCRIBING TIGLATHPILESER IV’S CAMPAIGN. SARGON’S CONQUESTS.
SENNACHERIB’S WESTERN CAMPAIGNS. THE SILOAM INSCRIPTION. ESARHADDON’S
LIST OF CONQUERED KINGS. ASHURBANIPAL’S ASSYRIAN CAMPAIGN. NECHO OF
EGYPT. NEBUCHADREZZAR II. EVIL-MERODACH. DISCOVERIES IN SHEBA.
=1. Gudea and Cedar-Wood for His Palace.=
Gudea, a ruler of Lagash in Babylonia (the modern Telloh; see p. 45), who
lived about 2450 B. C., rebuilt Eninnû, the temple of Ningirsu, at Lagash.
In his account of the work he makes the following statement:[496]
From Amanus, the mountain of cedar, cedar wood, the length of which
was 60 cubits, cedar-wood, the length of which was 50 cubits,
_ukarinnu_-wood, the length of which was 25 cubits, for the dwelling
he made; (from) their mountain they were brought.
The Amanus mountains lay along the Mediterranean to the north of the river
Orontes. They belong to the same general range as the Lebanons. Again, in
the same inscription, Gudea says:[497]
From Umanu, the mountain of Menua, from Basalla, the mountain of the
Amorites, great cut stones he brought; into pillars he made them and
in the court of Eninnû he erected them. From Tidanu, the mountain of
the Amorites, marble in fragments (?) he brought.
This passage shows that a ruler of Babylonia came to this region for
cedar-wood and stones for his temple, as Solomon is said to have done (1
Kings 5, especially vs. 6 and 17; 2 Chron. 2:8, ff.). That Egyptian rulers
did the same is clearly shown by the report of Wenamon. (See p. 352, ff.)
=2. The Eponym Canon.=
The Assyrians kept chronological lists called by scholars “Eponym Canons,”
which are of great importance in determining the chronology of Hebrew
history at a number of obscure points. A translation of them has not been
included in this work, since so few Biblical names occur in them that they
would be of little use except to experts. Any who wish to consult them
will find them translated in Rogers, _Cuneiform Parallels to the Old
Testament_, pp. 219-238.
=3. Jeroboam.=
During Schumacher’s excavation at Megiddo (see p. 96), a seal was found in
the palace; it is shown in Fig. 27. Its inscription reads:
Belonging to Shema, servant of Jeroboam.
We have no means of knowing whether the Jeroboam referred to was Jeroboam
I (1 Kings 12:12, ff.), or Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:23, ff.).
=4. Shishak.=
Sheshonk I (954-924 B. C.), the founder of the twenty-second Egyptian
dynasty, the Shishak of the Bible (1 Kings 14:25-28), has left on the
walls of a pylon which he erected at the temple of Karnak a relief
picturing his victory. The pictures are of the conventional type, but they
are accompanied by a list of conquered Asiatic cities. Of these the names
of about one-hundred and twenty are legible, though it is possible to
identify but a small proportion of these with known localities. As it
would be of no interest to the general reader to place before him the
Egyptian spelling of unidentified place names, only those are here given
which have been identified or have some Biblical interest. The numbers
before each name designate its distance from the beginning of Sheshonk’s
list. Among his conquered towns, then, are the following:[498]
11. _Gimty_ = Gath. 13. _Rub’ty_ = Rabbith (Josh. 19:20). 14. _T’‘nqy_
= Taanach (Josh. 12:21; Judges 5:19). 15. _Sh’nm‘y_ = Shunem (Josh.
19:18; 2 Kings 4:8). 16. _B’tysh’nry_ = Beth-shean (Josh. 17:11; 1
Sam. 31:10; 1 Kings 4:12). 17. _Rwh’b’iy_ = Rehob (Judges 1:31). 18.
_H’pwrwmy_ = Haphraim (Josh. 19:19). 22. _Myh’nm‘_ = Mahanaim (Gen.
32:2; Josh. 13:26; 2 Sam. 2:8; 17:24). _Q-b’-‘’-n’_ = Gibeon (Josh.
10:1, f.). 24. _B’tyhwr’rwn_ = Beth-horon (Josh. 10:10; 1 Sam. 13:18).
26. _Iywrwn_ = Aijalon (Josh. 10:12; 19:42). 27. _Myqdyw_ = Megiddo
(Josh. 12:21; Judges 1:27). 28. _Idyrw‘_ = Edrei (Num. 21:33; Deut.
1:4; Josh. 12:4). 32. _‘’rin’_ = Elon (Josh. 19:43). 38. _Sh’wka_ =
Soco (2 Chron. 11:7; 28:18). 39. _B’tylpwh_ = Beth-tapuah (Josh.
15:53). 57. _Dymrwm_ = Zemaraim (Josh. 18:22). 58. [_M_]_gdrw_ =
Madgala (Matt. 15:39 A. V.). 71, 72. _P’hwqrw’ ’b’r’m_ = The field of
Abram. 100. _Iwdri’_ = Addar (?) (Josh. 15:3). 124. _B’ty‘nt_ =
Beth-anoth (?) (Josh. 15:59).
According to 1 Kings 14:25, ff., Sheshonk’s campaign was directed against
Judah, and there is no hint that the northern kingdom suffered too. This
may be because the interest of the author of Kings in the house of David
and in Jerusalem was greater than his interest in the north. It is clear
from the list of places just quoted that Sheshonk conquered both kingdoms.
He either took or received tribute from Megiddo, Taanach, Shunem, and
Beth-shean, cities in the great plain of Jezreel, but crossed the Jordan
and captured Mahanaim and Edrei.
=5. Ashurnasirpal.=
Ashurnasirpal, King of Assyria, 884-860 B. C., in describing his
expedition to the Mediterranean lands, makes the following statement:[499]
At that time I marched along Mount Lebanon, unto the great sea of the
land of the Amorites I went up. In the great sea I cleansed my
weapons. I made sacrifices to the gods. The tribute of the kings by
the side of the sea, from the land of the Tyrian, the land of the
Sidonian, the land of the Gebalite, the land of the Maḫallatite, the
land of the Maisite, the land of the Kaisite, the land of the Amorite,
and the city Arvad, which is in the midst of the sea; silver, gold,
lead, copper, copper vessels, garments of bright colored stuffs,
cloth, a great _pagutu_, a small _pagutu_, _ushu_-wood,
_ukarinnu_-wood, teeth of a sperm-whale porpoise, a creature of the
sea, as their tribute I received; they embraced my feet. To Mount
Amanus I ascended; beams of cedar, cypress, juniper, pine, I cut.
Sacrifices to my gods I offered. A pillar recording my warlike deeds I
set up.
This inscription records the first approach of an Assyrian king to Hebrew
territory. He did not actually come into contact with the Israelites,
though he took tribute from their neighbors, the Tyrians and Sidonians.
The expedition of Ashurnasirpal was, however, the precursor of many others
which progressed further.
Ashurnasirpal, like Gudea and Hrihor, secured wood from this region for
his buildings, thus affording another parallel to Solomon’s procedure.
=6. Shalmaneser III.=
Shalmaneser III, the son and successor of Ashurnasirpal, reigned from 859
to 825 B. C. He not only approached more closely to Palestine, but claims
to have taken tribute from her kings. In the case of King Jehu the claim
is no doubt true. The following extracts give the accounts in
Shalmaneser’s own words.[500]
In the eponym year of Dan-Ashur (_i. e._, 854 B. C.), month Aru, 14th
day, I departed from the city of Nineveh; I crossed the river Tigris
....... to the city Qarqar I approached. Qarqar, his royal city, I
destroyed, I devastated, I burned with fire. 1,200 chariots, 1,200
horsemen, 20,000 men of Hadadidri (Benhadad) of Damascus; 700
chariots, 700 horsemen, 10,000 men of Irhulina, the Hamathite; 2,000
chariots, 10,000 men of Ahab, the Israelite; 500 men of the Quæan (_i.
e._, Que, in Cilicia); 1,000 men of the Musræan; 10,000 chariots,
10,000 men of the Irqantæan; 200 men of Matinu-ba’li, the Arvadite;
200 men of the Usantæan; 30 chariots, 10,000 men of Adunu-ba’li, the
Shianian; 1,000 camels of Gindibu, the Arabian; 1,000 (?) men of Basa,
son of Ruhubi, the Ammonite--these 12 kings he took as his helpers and
they came to make battle and war against me. With the exalted power
which Ashur, the lord, had given me, with powerful weapons, which
Nergal, who goes before me, had presented me, I fought with them; from
Qarqar to Gilzan I accomplished their defeat. 14,000 of their troops I
overthrew with arms, like Adad I poured out a flood upon them; I flung
afar their corpses, I filled the plain with their mighty troops. With
weapons I made their blood to flow .......... The field was too narrow
for smiting (?) them, the broad plain (?) was used (?) for burying
their bodies. With their corpses I dammed the Orontes as with a dam
(?). In that battle their chariots, their horsemen, their horses,
harnesses, and yokes I took.
It is of especial interest that Ahab and Benhadad, two kings well known
from the Bible, formed a part of the coalition that attempted to repel
this first Assyrian invasion. Shalmaneser’s claim of victory is probably
exaggerated, for he retired without further effort to subdue the country.
Had it been as sweeping a triumph as he would have us believe, he would
surely have pressed forward.
Another of his inscriptions describes the battle of Qarqar as
follows:[501]
In the 6th year of my reign from Nineveh I set out .......... unto
Qarqar I approached. Hadadidri of Damascus, Irhulina, the Hamathite,
together with twelve kings of the sea-coast, trusted in their own
power and came to make war and fight with me. With them I fought.
25,000 of their fighting men I destroyed with arms. Their chariots,
their horses, their implements of war I took from them. They fled to
save their lives. I embarked on a ship and went out to sea.
Four years later Shalmaneser records the subjugation of Carchemish, on the
Euphrates (cf. Isa. 10:9; Jer. 46:2). His account of it is brief and runs
thus:[502]
In the 10th year of my reign (850 B. C.), the river Euphrates I
crossed for the eighth time. The cities of Sangar, the Carchemishite,
I devastated, I destroyed I burned with fire. From the cities of
Carchemish I departed and approached the cities of Arame.
The next year Shalmaneser again tried conclusions with the kings of the
west. His longer account of this runs as follows:[503]
In the 11th year of my reign (849 B. C.) I set out from Nineveh. I
crossed the river Euphrates at high water for the ninth time
.......... At that time Hadadidri of Damascus, Irhulina the Hamathite,
together with twelve kings of the sea-coast, trusted to their own
power and to make war and battle with me they came. I fought with
them, I accomplished their defeat. 10,000 of their fighting men I slew
with arms. Their chariots, horsemen, and implements of war I took from
them.
Shalmaneser’s third campaign against these kings is thus described:[504]
In the 14th year of my reign I mustered the broad land without number.
I crossed the Euphrates at high water with 120,000 troops. At that
time Hadadidri of Damascus and Irhulina, the Hamathite, together with
twelve kings of the sea-coast, upper and lower, mustered their
numerous armies without number and into my presence came. I fought
with them, I accomplished their defeat. I brought away their chariots
and horses, their implements of war I took from them; they fled to
save their lives.
A fourth campaign another inscription describes thus:[505]
In the 18th year of my reign (842 B. C.), I crossed the river
Euphrates for the sixteenth time. Hazael of Damascus (cf. 1 Kings
19:15, 17; 2 Kings 8) trusted to the great numbers of his forces and
mustered his troops in large numbers. Saniru (_i. e._, Hermon, see
Deut. 3:9), a mountain-peak at the side of Mount Lebanon, he made his
fortress. I fought with him, I accomplished his defeat. 16,000 of his
fighting men I slew with arms. 1,121 of his chariots, 470 of his
horses with his camp I took from him. He fled to save his life. I
pursued him and in Damascus, his capital city, shut him up. I cut down
his parks. I marched to the mountains of Hauran. Cities innumerable I
destroyed, devastated, I burned with fire; their untold spoil I took
as plunder. To the mountain of Bilirasi,[506] a mountain at the head
of the sea, I marched. My royal portrait in it I set up. At that time
the tribute of the Tyrian, the Sidonian, and of Jehu, son of Omri, I
received.
The tribute of Jehu of Israel, mentioned in the last line of this
inscription, is pictured on Shalmaneser’s black obelisk; (see Figs. 295,
296). Above its various panels is the following inscription:[507]
Tribute of Jehu, son of Omri: silver, gold, a bowl (?) of gold, a
basin (?) of gold, cups of gold, pails (?) of gold, bars of lead,
scepters (?) for the hand of the king and balsam wood I received from
him.
A fifth expedition is thus briefly described:[508]
In the 21st year of my reign (839 B. C.), the river Euphrates I
crossed, against the cities of Hazael of Damascus I went. Four of his
cities I captured. The tribute of the Tyrian, of the Sidonian, and of
the Gebalite I received.
In still another inscription, which gives a summary of his wars,
Shalmaneser compresses the account of his various wars in the west as
follows:[509]
At that time Hadadidri of the land of Damascus, together with 12
princes, his helpers,--their defeat I accomplished. 29,000 mighty
warriors I prostrated like a simoom (?). The rest of his soldiers I
cast into the river Orontes. They fled to save their lives. Hadadidri
forsook his land. Hazael, son of a nobody, seized the throne. He
summoned his numerous soldiers and came to make war and battle with
me. With him I fought, I accomplished his defeat. The wall of his camp
I seized. He fled to save his life. I pursued him to Damascus, his
capital city.
=7. The Moabite Stone.=
This stone, which bears an inscription of Mesha, King of Moab, a
contemporary of King Ahab, was erected at Dibon (the modern Diban) on the
north shore of the Arnon, where it was found in the last century. The
upper portion of it was first seen by a Prussian clergyman, Rev. F. A.
Klein, in the year 1868. Reports of its existence had previously reached
the French scholar, Clermont-Ganneau, who was then in Jerusalem, and a
squeeze of it was afterward taken by an Arab for this French scholar. Both
the French and Prussian governments were desirous of obtaining it, and the
Arabs, conceiving that they could obtain more money for it by selling it
in parts, broke it up, thus greatly mutilating the inscription. Afterward
the French obtained it, putting the pieces together again, and it may now
be seen in the Louvre at Paris; (see Fig. 300). The inscription is as
follows:[510]
I am Mesha, son of Chemoshmelek, King of Moab, the Dibonite. My father
ruled over Moab thirty years, and I ruled after my father. And I made
this high place to Chemosh in Qarhah (?) because of the deliverance
of Mesha, because he saved me from all the kings and because he caused
me to see [my desire] upon all who hated me. Omri, king of Israel--he
oppressed Moab many days, because Chemosh was angry with his land. And
his son succeeded him, and he also said I will oppress Moab. In my day
he spoke according to [this] word, but I saw [my desire] upon him and
upon his house, and Israel utterly perished forever. Now Omri had
possessed all the land of Medeba and dwelt in it his days and half the
days of his son, forty years, but Chemosh restored it in my day. And I
built Baal-meon and I made in it the reservoir (?), and I built
Kiryathaim. And the men of Gad had dwelt in the land of Ataroth from
of old and the king of Israel had built for himself Ataroth. And I
fought against the city and took it, and I slew all the people of the
city, a sight [pleasing] to Chemosh and to Moab. And I brought back
from there the altar-hearth of Duda and I dragged it before Chemosh in
Kiryoth. And I caused to dwell in it the men of Sharon (?) and the men
of Meharoth (?). And Chemosh said to me: “Go take Nebo against
Israel”; and I went by night and fought against it from break of dawn
till noon, and I took it and slew all, seven thousand men, boys (?),
and women, and girls, for I had devoted it to Ashtar-Chemosh. And I
took from there the altar-hearths of Yahweh (Jehovah), and I dragged
them before Chemosh. And the king of Israel built Jahaz and dwelt in
it while he fought with me and Chemosh drove him out from before me.
And I took from Moab two hundred men, all its chiefs, and I led them
against Jahaz and took it to add unto Dibon. And I built Qarhah (?),
the wall of the forests and the wall of the hill; and I built its
gates and I built its towers, and I built the king’s house, and I made
the sluices (?) for the reservoir of water in the midst of the city.
And there was no cistern in the midst of the city, in Qarhah (?); and
I said to all the people: “Make you each a cistern in his house;” and
I cut the cuttings for Qarhah (?) with the help of the prisoners of
Israel. I built Aroer and I made the highway by the Arnon. And I built
Beth-bamoth, for it had been destroyed. And I built Bezer, for it was
in ruins .......... [Chi]efs of Dibon were fifty, for all Dibon was
obedient. And I ruled a hundred .........., in the cities which I had
added to the land. And I built [Mede]ba and Beth-diblathan. And [as
for] Beth-baal-meon, there I placed sheep-raisers ........... sheep of
the land. And [as for] Horonaim there dwelt in it ...... and
.......... Chemosh said unto me: “Go down, fight against Horonaim,”
and I went down and ........... Chemosh in my day, and from there
.................... and I ..........
The author of this inscription is the Mesha mentioned in 2 Kings 3:4. He
is there said to have been a “sheep-master” (Hebrew, _nōqēdh_). Mesha
appears to say in line 30 (the word is broken) that he placed _noqĕdhim_,
“sheep-raisers,” or, “sheep-masters,” in Beth-baal-meon. The _nōqēdh_ was
a raiser of a peculiar breed of sheep. Moab is excellent grazing land and
raised a great many.
In general the inscription supplements the Biblical narrative. It mentions
persons and places well known from the Bible, and gives us an account of a
series of events of which the Bible makes no mention. The Biblical account
says nothing of Mesha’s revolt, while Mesha in his turn says nothing of
the campaign described in 2 Kings 3. Neither document implies that the
events described in the other did not occur; the two are written from two
different points of view and their authors selected the events which
suited the purpose of the respective writers. In spite of this
consideration there are some differences of statement which are
perplexing.
Mesha says in substance that Omri conquered Medeba and occupied it during
his reign, half the reign of his son, a period of forty years, but Chemosh
restored it to Moab in his (Mesha’s) day. It is said in 2 Kings 3:5, on
the other hand, that “when Ahab was dead, the king of Moab rebelled
against the king of Israel.” According to 1 Kings 16:23-29, Omri reigned
twelve years and Ahab twenty-two years. All the reign of Omri, and half of
that of Ahab would, accordingly, be but twenty-three years. It is
possible, however, as has been suggested by several scholars, that Mesha
uses the word son to denote descendant, and that he refers to the war with
Israel in the reign of Jehoram, son of Ahab, described in 2 Kings 3:6-27.
Another suggestion, which seems more probable, is that the recapture of
Medeba, mentioned near the beginning of Mesha’s inscription, occurred
about the middle of the reign of Ahab, while the capture of Ataroth may
have belonged to the period of Jehoram, the whole time from Omri to
Jehoram being forty years. Some scholars have supposed that the Biblical
chronology is in error and that Omri and Ahab together ruled some fifty
years. This supposition can hardly be correct, since the general accuracy
of the chronology of this part of Kings is confirmed by the Assyrian
inscriptions.
Mesha’s inscription mentions a number of places which the Bible also
names, the Arnon (Num. 21:13, etc.; Deut. 2:24; 3:16, etc.), Aroer (Josh.
13:16), Ataroth (Num. 32:34), Baal-meon or Beth-baal-meon (Josh. 13:17;
Num. 32:38), Beth-bamoth[511] (Josh. 13:17), Beth-diblathaim (Jer. 48:22),
Bezer (Josh. 20:8), Dibon (Num. 32:34; Josh. 13:17; Isa. 15:2), Horonaim
(Isa. 15:5), Jahaz (Josh. 13:18; Isa. 15:4), Kerioth (Jer. 48:24),
Kirathaim (Josh. 13:19; Jer. 48:23), Medeba (Josh. 13:16; Isa. 15:2), and
Nebo (Num. 32:38; Deut. 34:1; Isa. 15:2).
=8. Adadnirari IV.=
Adadnirari IV of Assyria (810-782 B. C.) has left an inscription which
mentions Syria and Palestine. It reads as follows:[512]
Palace of Adadnirari, the great king, the mighty king, the king of the
world, the king of Assyria, who conquered from the Euphrates, the
Hittite country, the Amorite land in its entirety; Tyre, Sidon, the
land of Omri, Edom, Palastu, to the coast of the great sea, where the
sun sets, cast themselves at my feet; I imposed tribute and imposts
upon them. To the land of Damascus I marched. Mari, King of Damascus,
in Damascus his royal city I besieged. The fear of the luster of Ashur
my lord overwhelmed him and he seized my feet and became subject.
2,300 talents of silver, 20 talents of gold, 3,000 talents of copper,
5,000 talents of iron, variegated garments, linen (?), an ivory bed,
an ivory couch (?) with inlaid border, his goods without measure I
received in the palace in his royal city Damascus.
“The land of Omri” was the kingdom of Israel. Omri had made such an
impression on the East that the Assyrians still so called it. “Palastu” is
Philistia. Edom is here mentioned for the first time as paying tribute to
an Assyrian king, but Judah is not mentioned; she was still free.
Adadnirari was a contemporary of Jehoahaz and Jehoash of Israel, and of
Joash and Amaziah of Judah.
=9. Tiglathpileser IV.=
Tiglathpileser IV, one of the greatest of Assyria’s kings, made several
campaigns into the west and had a profound influence upon the fortunes of
the Hebrew people. Unfortunately, his inscriptions have been greatly
mutilated. Esarhaddon, a later king, determined to remodel
Tiglathpileser’s palace for his own use. Apparently he intended to erase
Tiglathpileser’s inscriptions from the wall-tablets which adorned the
palace, in order to inscribe these tablets with his own. Esarhaddon died
before the work had progressed very far, so that the inscriptions were not
entirely ruined. The beginnings and ends of many lines are, however,
entirely destroyed, and at some points deplorable gaps exist in the body
of an inscription. Much that is of interest to the Biblical student can
still be made out, as the following translation will show:[513]
1. ..............................
2. [In] the progress of my expedition the tribute of ki[ngs]
..........
3. ...... Azariah, the Yaudæan, like ..........
4. ...... Azariah of Yaudi in ..........
5. ........ without number exalted to heaven ..........
6. ...... in the eyes, when that which from heaven ..........
7. ........ by the onset of infantry ..........
8. [the advance] of my powerful [troops] they heard and [their hearts]
feared ..........
9. .......... I destroyed, devastated, burned with fire ..........
10. ...... who had joined with Azariah and had strengthened him.
11. ........... like vines ...........
..................................
23. ........... Azariah, the Yaudæan .......... my royal palace
...........
24. ............... tribute like the [Assyrian I laid upon them.]
............................................
30. ..................... the city Bumame,[514] 19 districts
31. of the city of Hamath, together with the cities of their environs
on the shore of the western sea, which sinfully and wrongfully they
had seized for Azariah,
32. unto the territory of Assyria I added. I set my officers over them
as governors. 30,000 men [I carried away captive]
33. ....... from their cities, in the city of Ku ...... I settled
them. 1,223 people I settled in the province of Ullubu.
............................................
50. ....... Tribute of Kushtashpi, the Kummukhite, Rezin, the
Damascene, Menahem, the Samaritan,
51. Hiram, the Tyrian, Sibitti-baal, the Gebalite, Urikke, the Queite,
Pisiris of Carchemish, Eniel
52. the Hamathite, Panammu, the Samalite, Tarhulara, the Gamgumalite,
Sulumal, the Melidite, Dadilu,
53. the Kaskite, Ussurmi, the Tabalite, Ushkitti, the Tunite, Urballa,
the Tuhanite, Tuhammi, the Ishtundite,
54. Urimme, the Hushimnite, Zabibe, Queen of Arabia, gold, silver,
lead, iron, elephant-hide, ivory,
55. variegated garments, linen cloths, purple and red wool,
_ushu_-wood, _ukarinu_-wood, costly things, a royal treasure, fat
sheep whose wool
56. was dyed red, winged birds of heaven whose wings were dyed purple,
horses, mules, oxen and sheep, camels,
57. she-camels, together with their foals, I received.
This account relates to the campaign of 738 B. C. The Azariah referred to
has been thought to be King Uzziah of Judah, who is called Azariah in 2
Kings 14:21 and 15:1-27. It is probable that he was an Azariah of Yadi, of
northern Syria, mentioned in an inscription of Panammu, to whom
Tiglathpileser refers above, since the kings mentioned with him ruled in
the north. Manahem of Israel (2 Kings 15:14-23) yielded to Tiglathpileser,
as did Rezin, of Damascus (2 Kings 15:37 and 16:5-9), but for some reason
Azariah and Judah escaped.
This inscription, fragmentary though it is, tells us that Tiglathpileser
now practised upon others the system of deportation from which Israel
herself afterward suffered. He forcibly removed thousands from their homes
to distant parts of the empire. This was an administrative measure, to
prevent future rebellion. Persons who had been influential at home among
their own people would be powerless to foment trouble in the midst of
strange surroundings and neighbors of an unfriendly race.
The following relates to the campaign of 733-732:[515]
1. ................... his warriors I captured .......... I overthrew
with my weapons.
2. ......................................... before him.
3. the charioteers and .................... their weapons I broke.
4. the[ir chariots and] horses I seized .......... his bowmen
..........
5. ............. who carried shields and spears my hands overthrew,
their battle
6. ............ to save his life he fled alone and
7. .............. like a mouse (?) entered the gate of his city. His
captains alive
8. [my hands captured and on] stakes I hung them and exhibited them to
his land. 45 people (?) from his camp
9. ...... I brought together before his city, and I shut him in like a
bird in a cage. His parks
10. ........ his orchards, which were without number, I cut down and
did not leave one.
11. .......... Hadara, the home of the father of Rezin of Damascus,
12. [the place where] he was born, I besieged, I captured. 800 people,
together with their possessions,
13. ...... their cattle, and sheep I took as spoil. 750 prisoners of
the city Kurussa,
14. ...... prisoners of the city Irma, 550 prisoners of the city
Mituna, I captured. 591 cities ..........
15. ...... of 16 districts of Damascus like a deluge heap I destroyed.
............................................
19. .................... Hanno of Gaza[516]
20. fled before my weapons and escaped to Egypt. The city, Gaza,
21. [I captured. His goods], his possessions, his gods [I took as
spoil] ...... my royal image
22. .................... in the palace of [Hanno I set up].
............................................
27. The country of the house of Omri .......... all its people,
28. [and their possessions] I carried away unto Assyria. Pekah, their
king, they had overthrown. Hoshea
29. [as king] over them I placed. 10 talents of gold ...... talents of
silver I received as tribute from them.
............................................
57. Tribute[517] of Kushtashpi, the Kummuchite, Urikki, the Queite,
Sibittibaal, the Gebalite, Pisiris, the Carchemishite,
58. Eni-el, the Hamathite, Panammu, the Samalite, Tarhulara, the
Gurgumite, Sulu[mal, the Melidite, Dadilu, the Kaskite],
59. Ussurmi, the Tabalite, Urassurme, the Tabalite, Ushhitti, the
Tunite, Urballa, the Turhanite, Tuhamm[e, the Ishtundite, Urimme, the
Hushimnite],
60. Matanbaal, the Arvadite, Sanipu, the Beth-Ammonite, Salamanu, the
Moabite, .............
61. Mitinti, the Askelonite, Jehoahaz [Ahaz], the Judæan, Kaushmalaka,
the Edomite, Mus ............
62. Hanno, the Gazaite, gold, silver, lead, iron, tin, variegated
garments, linen, red cloths of their lands,
63. every costly thing, products of sea and dry land produced by their
countries, royal treasures, horses, mules, harnesses ........ [I
received.]
The record of this campaign, fragmentary as it is, shows how completely
Tiglathpileser conquered the west. He accomplished the overthrow of
Damascus, which his predecessors had been trying in vain to do for more
than a hundred years. His invasion of northern Israel led to the overthrow
of Pekah, and the deportation as captives to other parts of the empire of
numerous Israelites. This confirms 2 Kings 15:29, 30. It was this conquest
of Damascus and Israel that fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy given in 735 B. C.
(Isa. 7:16). It was while Tiglathpileser was at Damascus, receiving the
tribute, that Ahaz, whose full name was Jehoahaz, went to Damascus to
carry his tribute,--an act which prevented the invasion of Judah by
Assyria at this time. While Ahaz was in Damascus, he saw the altar of
which a copy was made for the temple in Jerusalem (2 Kings 16:10, ff.).
The list of kings from whom Tiglathpileser received tribute contains many
Biblical names. Not only Israel and Judah, but the Philistine cities,
Edom, Moab, Ammon, Damascus, Hamath, the Phœnician cities of Gebal and
Arvad, Samal in the extreme north of Syria, Que in Cilicia, and Carchemish
on the Euphrates, were all drawn into his net.
=10. Sargon, 722-705 B. C.=
Tiglathpileser IV was succeeded by Shalmaneser V, who ruled, as the eponym
canon shows, from 727 to 722 B. C. On account of a rebellion of Hoshea,
King of Israel, Shalmaneser overran his kingdom and besieged Samaria for
three years, as recorded in 2 Kings 17:3-5. Before the city fell, however,
Shalmaneser had passed away and Sargon, the founder of a new dynasty, was
on the throne of Assyria. In Sargon’s first year Samaria fell into the
hands of the Assyrian army; Sargon counted this as his own victory and
tells of it in the following words:[518]
At the beginning of my reign, in my first year ...... Samaria I
besieged, I captured. 27,290 people from its midst I carried captive.
50 chariots I took there as an addition to my royal force .......... I
returned and made more than formerly to dwell. People from lands which
my hands had captured I settled in the midst. My officers over them as
governors I appointed. Tribute and taxes I imposed upon them after the
Assyrian manner.
In another inscription the following summary account occurs:[519]
From the beginning of my reign to my 15th year, the defeat of
Humbanigash, the Elamite, in the environs of Durilu I accomplished.
Samaria I besieged, I captured; I carried captive 27,290 people who
dwelt in it; 50 chariots I took from them, and permitted the rest to
keep their possessions (?), and placed my governor over them and
imposed on them the tribute of the former king.
These statements confirm 2 Kings 17:6 and 24, ff. In one respect they
throw an interesting light upon the captivity of Israel. Only 27,290
people were transported at this time. True, Tiglath-pileser IV had
previously transported the inhabitants of several towns of Galilee. (See 2
Kings 15:29, and his inscriptions translated above.) When we put together
all those who were deported, however, they were but a fraction of the
population. As Sargon distinctly says, the others remained there. They
intermarried with the settlers whom he brought in and became the ancestors
of the sect of Samaritans. The “ten lost tribes” were not “lost,” as is
often popularly supposed to have been the case.
The first of the inscriptions quoted above contains also the following
passage:[520]
In the second year of my reign Ilubidi, the Hamathite ...... collected
his numerous troops at Qarqar. The oath [of Ashur he despised]. Arpad,
Simirra, Damascus, Samaria, he made rebellious against me
..................... Sib’u, his Tartan, he summoned to his aid, and
to give fight and battle came into my presence. In the name of Ashur,
my lord, I accomplished his defeat. Sib’u fled like a shepherd whose
sheep are stolen and escaped. Hanno I caught in my hand and took him
bound unto my city Ashur. The city Raphia I devastated, destroyed,
burned with fire. I took captive 9,033 people, together with their
numerous possessions.
The Sib’u of this inscription is probably the same as So, King of Egypt,
in 2 Kings 17:4. He cannot be identified with any known Egyptian king. He
was probably a prince of a nome of the Delta. The above is Sargon’s
description of the battle of Raphia, which occurred in the year 720 B. C.
This campaign was an aftermath of the fall of Samaria.
717 B. C.
[Sargon],[521] the exalted prince, who came upon Hummanigash, the King
of Elam, in the environs of Durilu and accomplished his overthrow, who
reduced to submission Yaudi, the place of which was distant, who
destroyed Hamath, whose hands captured Yaubidi.
This Yaudi has been taken by some scholars for Judah, but it was probably
the kingdom in northern Syria mentioned by Tiglathpileser IV and in the
inscription of Panammu, of Samal, the modern Zendjirli. We know of no
Assyrian invasion of Judah at this time.
The tribute of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, of Samsi, the Queen of Arabia,
Ithamara, the Sabæan, gold, the ...... of the mountain, horses, and
camels, I received ............[522]
Yaubidi, the Hamathite, a soldier (?), with no right to the throne, a
bad Hittite, had set his heart on the kingdom of Hamath; he caused
Arpad, Simirra, Damascus, and Samaria to rebel against me, made them
of one intent and collected for battle. The whole army of Ashur I
mustered and in Qarqar, his favorite city, I besieged him together
with his soldiers. I captured Qarqar, I burned it with fire. His skin
I flayed and the partakers of his sin I killed in their cities; I
established peace. 200 chariots and 200 horsemen I collected from the
people of Hamath, and added to my royal force.
This passage records the overthrow of Hamath and Arpad (Isa. 10:9), and
mentions the tribute of a king of Sheba, the account of the coming of
whose queen to Solomon is found in I Kings 10:1, ff.
711 B. C.
Azuri, King of Ashdod, planned in his heart not to pay tribute, and
among the kings of his neighborhood disseminated hatred of Assyria. On
account of the evil he had done I cut off his lordship over the people
of his land. I appointed Ahimiti, his younger (?) brother to the
kingship over them. But the Hittites, planning evil, hated him and
exalted over them Yamani, who had no claim to the throne, and who,
like them, knew no fear of authority. In the anger of my heart the
mass of my army I did not muster, I did not assemble my camp. With my
usual bodyguard I marched against Ashdod. Yamani heard of the progress
of my expedition from afar and fled to the borders of Egypt, which
lies by the side of Melucha, and was seen no more. Ashdod, Gath,
Ashdudimmu, I besieged, I conquered. I took as spoil his gods, his
wife, his sons, his daughters, his possessions, the treasures of his
palace, together with the people of his land. I seized those cities
anew, and settled in them peoples of lands I had captured from among
[the lands] of the east .......... With the people of Assyria I
numbered them, and they bore my yoke. The king of Melucha, who among
...... an inaccessible place, a road ...... whose fathers from ancient
days as far back as the moon-god, his father, had sent no messengers
to my fathers to pay their respects, heard from afar of the might of
Ashur, Nabu, and Marduk; the fear of the luster of my royalty covered
him and fright was poured over him. He cast him [Yamani] into bonds,
fetters of iron, and brought him before me into Assyria,--a long
journey.[523]
Another fragmentary account runs thus:[524]
In the 9th [error for 11th] year of my reign I marched .......... to
the coast of the great sea ...... Azuri, King of Ashdod, ..........
Ahimiti .......... his younger (?) brother .......... I exalted over
them .......... tribute and taxes of my lordship ...... like those of
...... kings, I imposed upon them ...... The evil in .......... in
order not to pay tribute .......... their princes .......... they
drove him away .......... Yamani, a soldier, they appointed to
kingship over them. Their city .......... in its environs a moat
.......... cubits in depth they dug, they reached the water-level
.......... To [punish] Philistia, Judah, Edom, Moab, who inhabit the
sea-coast, payers of tribute, and taxes to Ashur, my lord. Planning
rebellion and untold evil against me, they bore their pledges to
Pharaoh, King of Egypt, a prince who could not help them, and sought
his aid. I, Sargon, the faithful prince, who honors the oath of Nabu
and Marduk, who guards the name of Ashur, caused my trusty troops to
cross the Tigris and Euphrates at high water. As for him, Yamani,
their king, who had trusted to his own power, and had not submitted to
my lordship, he heard of the advance of my army. The fear of Ashur, my
lord, cast him down, and to ...... which is on the bank of the river
...... waters ...... his land ...... far away ...... he fled ......
Ashdod ......
The two passages just translated are Sargon’s accounts of the events
alluded to in Isa. 20:1. These events were the occasion of the prophecy
there recorded. Until the discovery of the palace of Sargon by Botta in
1845, this passage in Isaiah, was the only place in extant literature
where the name of Sargon had been preserved.
In the last of the passages just quoted, Sargon speaks as though he had
also punished Judah on this expedition. There is no direct allusion to
this in the Bible unless it be the vivid description in Isa. 10:28-32,
where an approach of an Assyrian army to Jerusalem from the north is
described. It is difficult to date those verses unless they also refer to
this expedition of 711 B. C. (_See Appendix._)
=11. Sennacherib, 705-681 B. C.=
Campaign of 701[525]
In my third expedition I went to the land of the Hittites. The fear of
my lordship overthrew Luli, King of Sidon, and he fled to a distance
in the midst of the sea. His land I subdued. Great Sidon, little
Sidon. Beth-zēt, Zareptah, Mahalliba, Ushu, Achzib, Accho, his
strongholds, his fortresses, the places of his food and drink, the
forts in which he trusted, the might of the weapons of Ashur, my lord,
overthrew them and they submitted to my feet. I caused Tubal to sit on
the royal throne over them, and imposed upon him the yearly payment of
tribute as the tax of my lordship. Minhimmu, the Shamsimurunian,
Tubalu, the Sidonian, Abdiliti, the Arvadite, Urumilke, the Gebalite,
Mitinti, the Ashdodite, Puduilu, the Beth-Ammonite, Kammusunadbi, the
Moabite, Milkirammu, the Edomite, kings of the Westland, all of them,
an extensive district, brought their heavy tribute together with their
possessions into my presence and kissed my feet.
And Sidqa, the King of Askelon, who had not submitted to my yoke, the
gods of the house of his father, himself, his wife, his sons, his
daughters, his brothers, the seed of the house of his father I took
away and brought him to Assyria. Sharruludari, the son of Rukibti,
their former king, I placed over the people of Askelon, and imposed
upon him the payment of tribute as an aid to my rule, and he bore my
yoke. In the progress of my expedition Beth-Dagon, Joppa, Banabarka,
Azuru, the cities of Sidqa, who had not with alacrity submitted to my
feet, I besieged, I captured, I took their spoil. The governors,
princes, and people of Ekron, who had cast into fetters of iron Padi,
their king, my ally, bound by Ashur’s oath, and had delivered him to
Hezekiah, the Judæan, who as an enemy imprisoned him,--their hearts
feared. The kings of Egypt, the soldiers, bows, chariots, and horses
of the king of Meluhu, an unnumbered force, they summoned, and they
came to their aid. In the environs of Elteke the battle array was
drawn up before me; they asked for their weapons. In the might of
Ashur, my lord, I fought with them and accomplished their defeat. My
hands took alive in the midst of the battle the commander of the
chariots and the sons of the Egyptian king, together with the
commander of the chariots of the king of Meluhu. Elteke [and] Timnath
I besieged, captured and took their spoil. I approached Ekron. The
governors and princes who had committed sin I killed and on stakes
round about the city I hung their bodies. The citizens who had
committed wickedness and rebellion I counted as spoil. I declared the
righteousness of the rest of them, who had committed no sin and
rebellion and in whom was no wickedness. I brought Padi, their king,
out of the midst of Jerusalem, and on the throne of dominion over them
I placed, and imposed the tribute of my over-lordship upon him.
And as to Hezekiah, the Judæan, who had not submitted to my yoke, 46
of his strongholds, fortified cities, and smaller cities of their
environs without number, with the onset of battering rams and the
attack of engines, mines, breaches, and axes (?), I besieged, I
captured. 200,150 people, small and great, male and female, horses,
mules, asses, camels, oxen, and sheep without number I brought out of
their midst and counted as booty. He himself I shut up like a caged
bird in Jerusalem, his capital city; I erected beleaguering works
against him, and turned back by command every one who came out of his
city gate. The cities, which I had captured, from his country I cut
off and gave them to Mitinti, King of Ashdod, Padi, King of Ekron, and
Sillibaal, King of Gaza, and diminished his land. In addition to the
former tribute, their yearly tax, I added a tax as the impost of my
over-lordship and laid it upon them. As to Hezekiah himself, the fear
of the luster of my lordship overcame him and the Urbi and his
favorite soldiers, whom he had brought in to strengthen Jerusalem, his
capital city, deserted. With 30 talents of gold, 800 talents of
silver, precious stones, rouge, _dakkasi_, lapis lazuli, great
_angugmi_-stones, beds of ivory, stationary ivory thrones, elephants’
hide, ivory, _ushu_-wood, _ukarinnu_-wood, all sorts of objects, a
heavy treasure; also his daughters, the women of his palace, male and
female musicians he sent after me to Nineveh, my capital city, and
sent his messenger to present the gift and to do homage.
Inscription under Lachish-picture, 701 B. C.
Sennacherib, king of the world, King of Assyria, sat on his throne,
and the spoil of the city of Lachish passed before him;[526] (see Fig.
298).
Expedition against Merodachbaladan, 703 B. C.
In my first expedition I accomplished the defeat of Merodachbaladan,
King of Babylon, together with the forces of Elam, his ally, in the
environs of the city of Kish. In the midst of that battle he left his
camp and fled alone; he saved his life. The chariots, horses, wagons,
and mules, which at the onset of battle he had left, my hands
captured. I entered joyfully into his palace which was in Babylon. I
opened his treasure-house; gold, silver, gold and silver utensils,
precious stones of all kinds, his untold treasured possessions, a
great booty; the women of his palace, princes, his body-guards, male
and female musicians, the rest of his troops as many as there were,
and the servants of his palace I brought out and counted as
spoil.[527]
Campaign against Arabia (between 688 and 682)
Telhunu, the Queen of Arabia, in the midst of the desert--from her I
took ... camels. The [luster of] my [lordship] overthrew her and
Hazael. They left their tents and fled to Adummatu, which is situated
in the desert, ...... a thirsty place, where there is neither food nor
drink.[528]
The material contained in the first two passages just quoted from
Sennacherib is parallel in a general way to 2 Kings 18, 19 and Isa. 36,
37. All Biblical students recognize that these two chapters in Isaiah are
practically identical with the two in Kings. In discussing the
parallelism, therefore, we shall refer to 2 Kings 18, 19 only. With
reference to the bearing of this Assyrian material upon the Biblical
narrative there are three different views which have been entertained by
three groups of scholars.
1. One view, which was first expressed by the late Prof. Schrader,[529] of
Berlin, is that the inscription of Sennacherib, while differing from the
Biblical account in some particulars, really confirms it at nearly every
point. Sennacherib, though he claims to have diminished Hezekiah’s
territory, and to have received from him a heavy tribute, does not claim
to have taken Jerusalem. According to 2 Kings 18:14, ff., Hezekiah
submitted to Sennacherib, sending his messenger to Lachish for the
purpose, and paid him a heavy tribute; according to 2 Kings 19:35, ff., a
great disaster so weakened Sennacherib’s army that he was obliged to
withdraw. Schrader called attention to the close correspondence between 2
Kings 18:14 and Sennacherib. Both state that Hezekiah paid 30 talents of
gold, though they differ as to the amount of silver, Kings making it 300
talents, while Sennacherib makes it 800. It was supposed that the numbers
in the case of the silver were really equivalent to one another, the
present divergence being due to textual corruption. Assyrian kings never
record their failures, but Sennacherib’s admission that he did not take
the city was held to be confirmation of 2 Kings 19:35, ff., which
describes a great destruction of the Assyrian army and a signal
deliverance of Jerusalem.
2. A second view, of which Prof. Meinhold,[530] of Bonn, may be taken as
the chief exponent, starts from the fact that there seem to be two
accounts in 2 Kings 18 and 19. In 18:13-16 there is a statement of how
Hezekiah sent to Sennacherib, while Sennacherib was besieging Lachish, and
admitted that he had done wrong and promised to bear whatever Sennacherib
might choose to put upon him. Sennacherib thereupon imposed a heavy
tribute upon him, which he paid. The whole transaction seems to be
concluded, when at v. 17 the Tartan, or Rabsaris (Rabshakeh), appears upon
the scene and taunts Hezekiah for his obstinacy and he submits again.
Possibly this might be considered the details of the transaction that was
described in mere outline in 18:13-16. When, however, it has all been
described again, and the Rabshakeh has returned to Sennacherib at Lachish,
Sennacherib again sends messengers (chapter 19:9), again demanding a
surrender. These messengers are said to have been sent when Sennacherib
heard that Tirhakah, King of Ethiopia, was marching against him. This
narrative goes on to tell how Hezekiah, acting under the advice of Isaiah,
delayed his surrender, and how the camp of the Assyrians was decimated by
the angel of the Lord, and Jerusalem escaped.
Meinhold and his followers hold that there are here two inconsistent
accounts. According to the first, Hezekiah surrendered; according to the
second, he did not. According to the first, Hezekiah paid tribute;
according to the second, Sennacherib’s army was destroyed. The first of
these accounts is confirmed by Sennacherib’s inscription; the second is,
so Meinhold holds, shown by it to be unhistorical: first, by the fact that
Sennacherib gives no hint that his army was harmed, and, secondly, by the
mention of Tirhakah, who did not come to the throne until 688 B. C., and
could not, therefore, have been a factor in the war of 701 B. C.
A third view was suggested by Winckler[531] and is held by Prašek,[532]
Fullerton,[533] and Rogers.[534] According to this view, Sennacherib made
two expeditions against Jerusalem, and 2 Kings 18:13-19:8 is an account of
the first of these (the expedition of 701), while 2 Kings 19:9-36 is the
account of the second,--an expedition which did not occur until after the
accession of Tirhakah, eight or ten years later. The inscription of
Sennacherib, already quoted, refers to the first of these expeditions
only. We have no inscription of Sennacherib referring to the later
disastrous campaign, but that is not surprising, for unless the account of
his expedition against the queen of Arabia, already quoted above, belongs
to this period, we have no inscriptions referring to the last eight years
of his reign. It is thought by the scholars who believe that there were
two expeditions, that Sennacherib would approach the queen of Arabia only
from the west, so that that inscription is regarded as an incidental
confirmation of this view. Of course, an Assyrian king would not record a
disaster.
The account in 2 Kings 19:9-36 receives confirmation from an interesting
passage in Herodotus, the Greek “father of history.” He says (Book II,
141):
And after this the next king [of Egypt] was a priest of Hephaistos,
called Sethôs. He held the warrior class of the Egyptians in contempt
as though he had no need of them. He did them dishonor and deprived
them of the arable lands which had been granted them by previous
kings, twelve acres to each soldier. And afterward Sennacherib, King
of the Arabians and Assyrians, marched a great army into Egypt. Then
the soldiers of Egypt would not help him; whereupon the priest went
into the inner sanctuary to the image of the god and bewailed the
things which he was in danger of suffering. As he wept he fell asleep,
and there appeared to him in a vision the god standing over him to
encourage him, saying that, when he went forth to meet the Arabian
army he would suffer no harm, for he himself would send him helpers.
Trusting to this dream he collected those Egyptians who were willing
to follow him and marched to Pelusium, where the entrance to his
country was. None of the warriors followed him, but traders, artisans,
and market men. There, as the two armies lay opposite to each other,
there came in the night a multitude of field mice, which ate up all
the quivers and bowstrings of the enemy, and the thongs of their
shields. In consequence, on the next day they fled, and, being
deprived of their arms, many of them fell. And there stands now in the
temple of Hephaistos a stone statue of this king holding a mouse in
his hand, bearing an inscription which says: “Let any who look on me
reverence the gods.”
George Adam Smith[535] pointed out several years ago that, when this
passage is compared with 2 Kings 19:36, it points clearly to the
conclusion that Sennacherib’s army was attacked by bubonic plague. In
modern times this plague first attacks rats and mice, which in their
suffering swarm the dwellings of men and spread the disease. The Hebrews
regarded the attack of such a plague as a smiting by the angel of God.
This is shown by 2 Sam. 24:16, 17; Acts 12:23; 2 Kings 19:36. Such a
pestilence would render the Assyrian army helpless, and would be regarded
by the Hebrews as a divine intervention on their behalf. As it is
supported by both the book of Kings and Herodotus, it probably affords us
a clue to what really happened to Sennacherib’s army.
We hold, then, that the last of the three views concerning the campaigns
of Sennacherib to Palestine is probably correct.
The Elteke mentioned in the inscription of Sennacherib is the city
referred to in Josh. 19:44 and 21:23. The Merodachbaladan referred to is
mentioned in Isa. 39:1, where it is said that he sent to congratulate
Hezekiah upon his recovery from sickness. It is clear from what the
Assyrian accounts tell us that his real motive in sending to Hezekiah was
to induce him to rebel against Assyria.
=12. The Siloam Inscription.=
The following inscription was discovered in 1880 on the right wall of the
tunnel which connects the Virgin’s Well (Ain Sitti Maryam) at Jerusalem
with the Pool of Siloam (Birket Silwân).
The boring through [is completed]. And this is the story of the boring
through: while yet [they plied] the drill, each toward his fellow, and
while yet there were three cubits to be bored through, there was heard
the voice of one calling unto another, for there was a crevice in the
rock on the right hand. And on the day of the boring through the
stone-cutters struck, each to meet his fellow, drill upon drill; and
the waters flowed from the source to the pool for a thousand and two
hundred cubits, and a hundred cubits was the height of the rock above
the heads of the stone-cutters;[536] (see Fig. 297).
This inscription, though not dated, is believed to come from the time of
Hezekiah. Hezekiah is said in 2 Kings 20:20 to have built a conduit and to
have brought the water into the city. This inscription was found in a
remarkable conduit which still runs under the hill at Jerusalem, cut
through the solid rock. It is about 1,700 feet long. It was cleared of
silt by the Parker expedition of 1909-1911, and the tunnel is about 6 feet
in height throughout its entire length. When it was cut the wall of
Jerusalem crossed the Tyropœon Valley just below it, so that, while the
Virgin’s Spring (the Biblical Gihon) lay outside the walls, this aqueduct
brought the water to a pool within the walls, so that the inhabitants of
the city could, in case of siege, fill their water-jars without exposing
themselves to the enemy.
The inscription is now in the Imperial Ottoman Museum at Constantinople.
=13. Esarhaddon, 681-668 B. C.=
I overthrew the kings of the Hittite country and those beyond the sea;
Baal, King of Tyre, Manassah, King of Judah, Kaushgabri, King of Edom,
Musuri, King of Moab, Silbaal, King of Gaza, Mitinti, King of Askelon,
Ikausu, King of Ekron, Milkiashapa, King of Gebal, Matanbaal, King of
Arvad, Abibaal, King of Shamsimuruna, Puduel, King of Beth-Ammon,
Ahi-milku, King of Ashdod, 12 kings of the sea-coast; Ekishtura, King
of Idalion, Pilagura, King of Kiti, Kisu, King of Sillua, Ituander,
King of Paphos, Erisu, King of Sillu, Damasu, King of Kuri, Atmizu,
King of Tamesu, Damusi, King of Kartihadasti, Unasagusu, King of
Lidir, Bususu, King of Nurenu; 10 kings of Cyprus in the midst of the
sea--altogether 22 kings of the Hittite land, of the sea-coast and the
midst of the sea--I sent to them and great cedar beams, etc. .........
[they sent].[537]
Esarhaddon, the author of the inscription from which this extract is
taken, is mentioned in 2 Kings 19:37 and Isa. 37:38 as Sennacherib’s
successor, a statement which the inscriptions abundantly confirm. The
above quotation from his inscription shows that Manasseh, King of Judah, 2
Kings 20:21 and chapter 21, was a vassal of Esarhaddon. Esarhaddon is also
alluded to in Ezra 4:2.
=14. Ashurbanipal of Assyria, 668-626 B. C.=
In my third campaign I marched against Baal, King of Tyre, who dwelt
in the midst of the sea. Because he had not kept the word of my
lordship nor heeded the utterance of my lips, I erected against him
siege-works and cut off his exit both by land and sea; their lives I
made narrow and straitened; I caused them to submit to my yoke. They
brought the daughters that came forth from his loins and the daughters
of his brothers into my presence to become concubines. Yahimilki, his
son, who had never crossed the sea, they brought at the same time to
do me service. His daughter and the daughters of his brothers with an
abundant dowry I received from him. I granted him favor and returned
to him the son that came forth from his loins.[538]
Yakinlu, King of Arvad, who dwells in the midst of the sea, who had
not submitted to the kings, my fathers, I brought under my yoke. He
brought his daughter to Nineveh with an abundant dowry and kissed my
feet ..........
On my return I captured Ushu, which is situated on the coast of the
sea. The inhabitants of Ushu, who had not been obedient to their
governors, who had not paid their tribute, I killed as the tribute of
their land. Among the rebellious peoples I set my staff. Their gods
and their peoples I carried as booty to Assyria. The people of Accho
who had not submitted I subdued. I hung their bodies on stakes around
the city. The rest I took to Assyria; I preserved them and added them
to the numerous army which Ashur had given unto me.[539]
These extracts from the inscriptions of Ashurbanipal show that during the
reign of Manasseh he was active in reducing the rebellions of Phœnician
cities, some of which, as Tyre and Accho, were at the doors of Palestine.
No doubt Manasseh continued to pay him tribute and so was not molested.
The name of Ashurbanipal is preserved in Ezra 4:10 in the corrupt form of
Osnappar.
=15. Necho of Egypt, 609-593 B. C.=
Year 16, fourth month of the first season, day 16, under the majesty
of Horus: Wise-hearted; king of Upper and Lower Egypt; Favorite of the
two goddesses: Triumphant; Golden Horus: Beloved-of-the-Gods;
Uhemibre; Son of Ra, of his body, his beloved: Necho, living forever,
beloved of Apis, son of Osiris.[540]
(An account of the interment of an Apis bull then follows.)
The above is the beginning of an inscription of Pharaoh Necho, whose
defeat of King Josiah, of Judah, is recorded in 2 Kings 23:29, f. He
became over-lord of Judah for four years and placed Jehoiakim on the
Judæan throne (2 Kings 23:34). Necho was himself defeated at Carchemish on
the Euphrates by Nebuchadrezzar, of Babylon, in 604 B. C., and as he
retreated to Egypt Nebuchadrezzar pursued him through Palestine. The book
of Jeremiah speaks of this defeat and vividly describes the pursuit which
followed. (Cf. Jer. 46:2, f.)
=16. Nebuchadrezzar II, 604-562 B. C.=
Many inscriptions of Nebuchadrezzar are known, but most of them relate to
buildings. The following extracts are those which best illustrate the
Bible.
In exalted trust in him (Marduk) distant countries, remote mountains
from the upper sea (Mediterranean) to the lower sea (Persian Gulf),
steep paths, blockaded roads, where the step is impeded, [where] was
no footing, difficult roads, desert paths, I traversed, and the
disobedient I destroyed; I captured the enemies, established justice
in the lands; the people I exalted; the bad and evil I separated from
the people.[541]
Reference to the Lebanon
From the upper sea to the lower sea, .......... [which] Marduk, my
lord, had entrusted to me, in [all] lands, the totality [of
dwelling-places] I [exalted] the city of Babylon to the first place. I
caused his name to be reverenced among the cities; the shrines of Nabu
and Marduk, my lords, I made them recognize, continually .......... At
that time the Lebanon mountain, the mountain [of cedar], the proud
forest of Marduk, the odor of whose cedars is good .......... of
another god ........... no other king had ........... my god, Marduk,
the king to the palace of the princes .......... of heaven and earth
shone as adornment .......... As a foreign enemy had taken possession
of (the mountain) and seized its riches, its people had fled and taken
refuge at a distance. In the power of Nabu and Marduk, my lords, I
drew up [my soldiers, for battle] in mount Lebanon. Its enemy I
dislodged above and below and made glad the heart of the land. I
collected its scattered people and returned them to their place. I did
what no former king had done; I cleft high mountains, stones of the
mountain I quarried, I opened passes. I made a straight road for the
cedars. Mighty cedars they were, tall and strong, of wonderful beauty,
whose dark appearance was remarkable,--the mighty products of mount
Lebanon .......... I made the people of mount Lebanon to lie down in
abundance; I permitted no adversary to possess it. That none might do
harm I set up my royal image forever.[542]
A Building Inscription
Nebuchadrezzar, King of Babylon, the restorer of Esagila and Ezida,
son of Nabopolassar am I. As a protection to Esagila, that no powerful
enemy and destroyer might take Babylon, that the line of battle might
not approach Imgur-Bel, the wall of Babylon, that which no former king
had done [I did]; at the enclosure of Babylon I made an enclosure of a
strong wall on the east side. I dug a moat, I reached the level of the
water. I then saw that the wall which my father had prepared was too
small in its construction. I built with bitumen and brick a mighty
wall which, like a mountain, could not be moved and connected it with
the wall of my father; I laid its foundations on the breast of the
under-world; its top I raised up like a mountain. Along this wall to
strengthen it I constructed a third and as the base of a protecting
wall I laid a foundation of bricks and built it on the breast of the
under-world and laid its foundation. The fortifications of Esagila and
Babylon I strengthened and established the name of my reign forever.
O Marduk, lord of the gods, my divine creator, may my deeds find favor
before thee; may they endure forever! Eternal life, satisfied with
posterity, a secure throne, and a long reign grant as thy gift. Thou
art indeed my deliverer and my help, O Marduk, I by thy faithful word
which does not change--may my weapons advance, be sharp and be
stronger than the weapon of the foe![543]
Nebuchadrezzar was the king who destroyed Jerusalem and carried the more
prominent of the people of Judah captive. (See 2 Kings 24 and 25.) His
inscriptions give no account of these events. In the first of the
quotations made above he covers all his conquests by one general
reference. In the second quotation he gives a more detailed account of his
conquest of the Lebanon, because that inscription was carved on the rocks
at the side of one of the deep valleys of the Lebanon. The third
inscription, relating to the building of Babylon, has been strikingly
confirmed by Koldewey’s excavation of Babylon, by which the massive walls
and extensive temples were uncovered.[544] It also gives us a background
for Daniel 4:29, where Nebuchadrezzar is said to have walked upon[545]
the royal palace and said: “Is not this great Babylon which I have built?”
=17. Evil-Merodach, 562-560 B. C.=
Nebuchadrezzar was succeeded by his son, Amil-Marduk, whom the Bible (2
Kings 25:27) calls Evil-Merodach. The only inscription of his that has
been found is the following, inscribed on an alabaster vase found at Susa,
whither the Elamites had at some time carried it as booty:[546]
Palace of Amil-Marduk, King of Babylon, son of Nebuchadrezzar, King of
Babylon.
This is the king who released Jehoiachin, King of Judah, from prison after
his thirty-six years in confinement and treated him kindly.
* * * * *
NOTE ON THE LAND OF THE QUEEN OF SHEBA.--This region, which lay in South
Arabia, was explored during the nineteenth century by a number of
travelers. Three of these, Thomas J. Arnaud in 1843, Joseph Halévy in
1869, and Eduard Glaser who made four expeditions between 1882 and 1894,
brought back from South Arabia many inscriptions, several of which were
made by rulers of Saba, the Biblical Sheba, whose queen is said to have
visited Solomon (1 Kings 10:1-13). As none of these relate to that queen,
it has not seemed fitting to include one of them. The inscriptions,
however, show that two important kingdoms existed there, Saba and Main.
Main is thought by some to be related to the Biblical Midianites. The
Greek version of Job makes Job’s friend, Zophar, king of Main. The kingdom
of Saba lasted until 115 B. C. It established strong colonies in Africa.
In 115 B. C. one colony overthrew the mother-country and established the
kingdom of Saba and Raidhan, which lasted till about 300 A. D. After that
Saba became apparently unimportant, but various Semitic kingdoms succeeded
one another in Africa, including the present-day Abyssinian kingdom. The
Abyssinian king claims descent from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.