2 Kings, chapter 19
2 Kings 19 is the nineteenth chapter of the second part of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BC, with a supplement added in the sixth century BC. This chapter records the invasion of Assyrian to Judah during the reign of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, a part of the section comprising to , with a parallel version in Isaiah 36–39.
Text.
This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language. It is divided into 37 verses.
Textual witnesses.
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; formula_1B; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (A; formula_1A; 5th century).
Analysis.
The last part of the previous chapter (2 Kings 18:17–37) and this chapter form a subunit in the account of king Hezekiah (2 Kings 18–20) focusing on YHWH's deliverance of Jerusalem from Sennacherib's invasion. It begins on with a conjunctive "waw" and a reference to the fourteenth year of Hezekiah's reign, proceeding with 'a form of prophetic confrontation narrative' featuring Sennacherib, represented by his officers who tried to intimidate Jerusalem to surrender, against Hezekiah and YHWH, represented by the prophet Isaiah.
The whole narrative is presented in a parallel structure: 
A Assyrians arrive at Jerusalem (18:13–16)
B messengers from Assyria speak to the people (18:17–37)
C Hezekiah seeks the prophet and prays (19:1–5)
D Isaiah prophesies (19:6–7)
A' Assyrians leave (19:8–9a) (break in text)
B' Assyrian letter to Jerusalem (19:9b–13)
C' Hezekiah responds by entering temple to pray (19:14–19)
D' Isaiah prophesies (19:20–34)
A" Assyrians leave for good (19:35–37)
Isaiah's first oracle (19:1–8).
This section records the response of king Hezekiah and prophet Isaiah to the speeches of Rabshakeh in the previous chapter. Aware of the serious predicament of the Assyrian attack, Hezekiah sent a delegation to Isaiah for advice from YHWH. The answer from Isaiah is the classic opening, 'Do not be afraid', followed by a positive oracle that YHWH will send a 'spirit' to the Assyrian king (cf. 1 Kings 22:21–22), so the king will be in panic after merely hearing a rumor and retreat to Assyria, then there he will be murdered. Each part of this oracle is recorded as "fulfilled" in 2 Kings 19:8, 9a, 36–37. The Bible text states that an Egyptian army appeared and forced Sennacherib to retreat. In his annals ("ANET" 287), the Assyrian king also mentions the advance of an Egyptian army, though he claims to have defeated them at Eltekeh, near the border of Philistine and Egypt (cf. Joshua 19:44).
"And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz."
[Isaiah conveyed that the Lord said:] "'Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.'"
"So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish."
Verse 8.
After capturing Lachish, the big city in the region, Sennacherib attacked to smaller targets, such as Libnah, identified with 'Tell Bornat', northeast of Lachish.
Sennacherib's letter and Hezekiah's prayer (19:9–19).
The Assyrians were still in Syria-Palestine, and even after hearing a report of Taharqa's attack, Sennacherib became bolder than Rabshakeh in mocking YHWH to be at the same level as the useless gods of other defeated nations. Hezekiah appeared more pious than in verses:1–4, acknowledging that YHWH is only one that exists, as opposed to all other gods.
"And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, "Look, he has come out to make war with you." So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,"
Verse 9.
Nelson suggests that the narrator exploits the ambiguity of the Hebrew verb "shub" to 'tease the readers' of the impending confrontation, because it would be expected that when the Assyrian king heard a "report" (about Tirhakah), as prophesied, he soon '"returned'" ("shub") home, but, instead, he "once more" (another use of "shub") sent messengers to Hezekiah. Therefore, it would not be a 'relatively uneventful withdrawal' as in , but a more pronounced retreat.
Isaiah's second oracle and Jerusalem's liberation (19:20–37).
The second response from Isaiah is much more detailed than his first, containing three oracles in Isaiah's message this time: 
The speech has an ABCBA structure, bracketed by an introductory and a concluding formula ('thus says the LORD—says the LORD'), containing a central message with a double assurance that the enemy shall not enter this city: his weapons will not harm Jerusalem and he shall retreat in failure. Verse 34 is thought to be a late-Deuteronomistic inclusion (cf. 1 Kings 11:12–13).
The song of scorn in verses 21–28 that YHWH himself challenges the king of Assyria for his faulty theological logic: 
The prophecy took an immediate effect: in one night, a plague-bringing angel kills 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in their camp (verse 35), forcing Sennacherib to retreat and never to return (verse 36b). The "great army" (2 Kings 18:17) was destroyed overnight, leaving behind dead bodies (cf. Exodus 14:30). Even Sennacherib's own (pseudo-)god "NIsroch" cannot protect him in his own temple (#Verse 37|verse 37). 
"And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies." 
Verse 35.
The account of Sennacherib invasion into Judah is corroborated by some extrabiblical sources:
"Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at Nineveh." 
Verse 36.
This point marks the end of the Assyrian threat against the kingdom of Judah, although the Assyrians claimed to control Judah through the mid-seventh century BCE. 
Sennacherib indeed decorated his palace in Nineveh with the image of his invasion, in particular, his victory over Lachish in a stone relief (Lachish reliefs, now in the British Museum) and described Hezekiah's desperate situation, although somehow was left alive, on several victory monuments (Sennacherib's Annals):
 'As to Hezekiah, the Jew, he did not submit to my yoke, I laid siege to 46 of his strong cities… Himself I made a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage. I surrounded him with earthwork in order to molest those who were leaving his city's gate' ("ANET" 288).'
Sennacherib never claimed to have captured Jerusalem or forced Hezekiah from the throne, uncharacteristic for a king who led a revolt against the Assyrian empire, but his records are still showing successes as typical in Assyrian annals. On the other hand, Judah's records emphasize the protection of YHWH over Jerusalem and the house of David (cf. Psalm 2, Psalm 46, Psalm 47, Psalm 48).
"And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead." 
Verse 37.
According to Assyrian records, Sennacherib was assassinated in 681 BCE, twenty years after the 701 BCE invasion of Judah.
Extrabiblical documentation.
Hezekiah.
Extra-biblical sources specify Hezekiah by name, along with his reign and influence. "Historiographically, his reign is noteworthy for the convergence of a variety of biblical sources and diverse extrabiblical evidence often bearing on the same events. Significant data concerning Hezekiah appear in the Deuteronomistic History, the Chronicler, Isaiah, Assyrian annals and reliefs, Israelite epigraphy, and, increasingly, stratigraphy". Archaeologist Amihai Mazar calls the tensions between Assyria and Judah "one of the best-documented events of the Iron Age" and Hezekiah's story is one of the best to cross-reference with the rest of the Mid Eastern world's historical documents.
Several bullae bearing the name of Hezekiah have been found: 
Other artifacts bearing the name "Hezekiah" include LMLK stored jars along the border with Assyria "demonstrate careful preparations to counter Sennacherib's likely route of invasion" and show "a notable degree of royal control of towns and cities which would facilitate Hezekiah's destruction of rural sacrificial sites and his centralization of worship in Jerusalem". Evidence suggests they were used throughout his 29-year reign and the Siloam inscription.
Shebna.
An inscription bearing the name "Shebnayahu" was discovered on the lintel above the entrance of a rock-cut tomb which suggests the connection to Shebna, the court officer mentioned in and .
Sennacherib.
The accounts of Sennacherib of Assyria, including his invasion into the Kingdom of Judah, especially the capture of Lachish and the siege of Jerusalem, are recorded in a number of ancient documents and artifacts:
References.
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