Sennacherib at the Gates of Jerusalem: Story, History and Historiography (Culture and History of the Ancient Near East, 71)

Sennacherib and his ill-fated siege of Jerusalem fascinated the ancient world. Twelve scholars--in Hebrew Bible, Assyriology, archaeology, Egyptology, Classics, Aramaic, Rabbinic and Christian literatures--examine how and why the Sennacherib story was told and re-told in more than a dozen cultures for over a thousand years. From Akkadian to Arabic, stories and legends about Sennacherib became the first vernacular tales of the imperial world. These essays address outstanding historical issues of the campaign and the sources, and press on to expose the stories' theological and cultural roles in inner-cultural dialogues, ethnic origin stories, and morality tales. This book is the first of its kind for readers seeking out historical and historiographic bridges between the ancient and late antique worlds. \'This work will undoubtedly serve as an important resource on the Assyrian attack on Jerusalem in 701...\' Song-Mi Suzie Park, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Horizons in Biblical Theology Contents The Contributors Sennacherib at the Gates of Jerusalem—Story, History and Historiography: An Introduction Part One I Will Defend this City to Save It Sennacherib’s Campaign to Judah: The Chronicler’s View Compared with His ‘Biblical’ Sources Cross-examining the Assyrian Witnesses to Sennacherib’s Third Campaign: Assessing the Limits of Historical Reconstruction Sennacherib’s Campaign to Judah: The Archaeological Perspective with an Emphasis on Lachish and Jerusalem Beyond the Broken Reed: Kushite Intervention and the Limits of l’histoire événementielle Part Two The Weapon of Aššur Family Matters: Psychohistorical Reflections on Sennacherib and His Times The Road to Judah: 701 B.C.E. in the Context of Sennacherib’s Political-Military Strategy Sennacherib’s Invasion of the Levant through the Eyes of Assyrian Intelligence Services Part Three After Life Memories of Sennacherib in Aramaic Tradition Sennacherib’s Campaign and its Reception in the Time of the Second Temple Sennacherib in Midrashic and Related Literature: Inscribing History in Midrash The Devil in Person, the Devil in Disguise: Looking for King Sennacherib in Early Christian Literature The First “World Event”: Sennacherib at Jerusalem Index of Topics Index of Key Terms Index of Sources and Compositions Index of Modern Authors In Sennacherib at the Gates of Jerusalem , twelve scholars of the ancient world examine the histories, myths, and tales that formed around the Assyrian campaign of 701 B.C.E. over the course of more than a millennium of re-tellings.