Invasion of Sennacherib in the Book of Kings: a Source-critical and Rhetorical Study of 2 Kings 18-19 (Supplements to Vetus Testamentum)

The invasion of Sennacherib in 701 BCE is a classic issue for both biblical scholars and historians alike. Extant Assyrian, Biblical and even Greek texts all refer to Sennacherib and many different theories have been put forward in attempts to understand the relationship between these various accounts. Despite the rise of new literary-rhetorical criticism in biblical studies, studies tackling the problem of Sennacherib's invasion have been dominated by historical-critical work on the issue and have virtually ignored rhetorical methodology. Against this trend, this book employs both traditional historical-critical methods and newer rhetorical methods in an effort to utilize the biblical texts in a historical reconstruction of this famous Assyrian assault on ancient Judah. Contents ......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 10 Abbreviations......Page 12 I. Past Research......Page 16 A. Historical Reconstructions......Page 30 B. The Hezekiah-Sennacherib Narrative as Part of the DH......Page 34 A. Literary Criticism / Source Criticism......Page 42 B. New Literary Criticism / Rhetorical Criticism......Page 44 C. Source and Rhetorical Criticism......Page 46 III. Overview......Page 52 A. Change in Style......Page 54 B. Divergent Perspectives......Page 60 C. Differences in Characterization......Page 65 D. Interruptions......Page 69 E. Tensions or Logical Inconsistencies......Page 73 F. Isolation of Sources......Page 75 G. Duplications in the Narrative......Page 77 H. Appraisal of Previous Source-Critical Approaches......Page 78 II. A Fresh Source-Critical Proposal......Page 79 III. Conclusion......Page 96 I. Rhetorical-Critical Analysis......Page 102 A. The Structure of the Hezekiah Macro-Narrative......Page 103 B. The Structure of the Hezekiah-Sennacherib Narrative......Page 116 C. Conclusions on the Structure of the Hezekiah-Sennacherib Narrative......Page 125 D. The Integrity of the Hezekiah-Sennacherib Narrative......Page 126 II. The Ramifications of Rhetorical Analysis for Source Analysis......Page 148 I. A Close Reading......Page 154 A. Sennacherib Invades......Page 156 B. Playing Tribute......Page 158 C. The Visit of the Assyrian Emissaries......Page 166 D. The Assyrian sreats......Page 170 E. Hezekiah and Isaiah Respond......Page 172 F. The Second Assyrian Delegation......Page 173 G. Another Prophetic Response......Page 175 II. Siege Language......Page 176 III. The Denouement......Page 177 IV. Summary......Page 179 I. Historical Method......Page 182 II. A Comparative Experiment: Assyrian Sources and 2 Kings 18–19......Page 189 A. The Egyptian/Ethiopian Expedition......Page 192 B. The Mission of Assyrian Emissaries......Page 194 C. The Defeat of the Assyrian Army......Page 196 III. Conclusion......Page 200 Appendix Table 16......Page 201 I. Summary......Page 206 A. The Hezekiah-Sennacherib Narrative as Part of the DH......Page 207 B. The Value of Source-Critical Approaches......Page 212 Bibliography......Page 216 Scripture Index......Page 232 Author Index......Page 240 Subject Index......Page 244 This book examines 2 Kings 18-19 employing both source-critical and rhetorical-critical methodologies in an effort to answer the question of how the biblical text should be used in a historical reconstruction of Sennacheriba (TM)s invasion into Judah in 701 BCE By Paul S. Evans. Revision Of The Author's Thesis (ph. D.)--university Of Toronto, 2008. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [201]-216) And Indexes.