Discovery may confirm war described in the Bible

A recent archaeological find in Israel may shed new light on an event narrated in the Bible, providing evidence that could corroborate the story of the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrian king Sennacherib.

Published in the journal Near Eastern Archaeology, the discovery was made by Stephen Compton, an independent scholar specializing in Near Eastern archaeology. Using modern mapping techniques, he claims to have identified the remains of ancient Assyrian military camps dating back to around 700 B.C., possibly confirming the biblical narrative that an angel of the Lord annihilated thousands of Assyrian soldiers, as described in 2 Kings 19:35.

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And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. 36 So Sennacherib, king of Assyria, departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

2 Kings 19:35

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Compton detailed his findings in Assyrian texts, Greek histories, and the Hebrew Bible, supporting the biblical account of 2 Kings 19:35, Isaiah 37:36-38, and 2 Chronicles 32:21. He combined representations from stone panels of Sennacherib's palace with old aerial photographs of Lachish, in Israel, to create a virtual map identifying the location of the military camp.

These panels, which originally formed part of Sennacherib's palace and depicted a fortified military camp with 24 watchtowers, are now on display at the British Museum in London.

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The Bible says an angel annihilated 185,000 soldiers in the siege

The location of the camp was confirmed by overlaying photographs from the early 20th century with the landscape depicted in the Assyrian reliefs. Compton explained that the oval shape of the camp was consistent with Assyrian military structures of the time. “We knew it was an oval. What I did was take the image of the relief and combine it with recognizable features in the landscape.” Furthermore, the name, position, and dates of the camp fit within the historical context of Sennacherib's invasion.

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According to historical sources, Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem ended with him receiving tribute from King Hezekiah of Judah, allowing Hezekiah to remain in power as a vassal. However, the biblical account introduces a supernatural element, mentioning that an angel eliminated 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in a single night, forcing Sennacherib to retreat to Nineveh.

Now known as Ammunition Hill, the site identified by Compton shows ruins consistent with those of Sennacherib's Lachish camp. The researcher hopes that future archaeological excavations will provide more information about this significant discovery. “I find it exciting to have found the site, and I hope we will soon see archaeological excavations there that can give us more information.”

Studies of these sites have revealed a distribution consistent with what is known of Sennacherib's invasion route and the cities besieged by his forces. According to the website The Jerusalem Post, this has allowed Compton to identify potential locations for two ancient lost cities, Libnah and Nob, which were known to have been besieged by the Assyrians, but whose locations were unknown or uncertain.

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