Archæology and the Bible

by George A. Barton

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]).