SENNACHERIB°

SENNACHERIB°
SENNACHERIB° (Akk. Sin-aḫḫê-eriba; Heb. סַנְחֵרִב ,סַנְחֵרִיב),king of Assyria and Babylonia (705–681 B.C.E.), son of sargon ii . During his reign the northern and eastern frontiers were relatively calm; however, he had to deal with rebellions in Babylonia and Syro-Palestine. In 702 Sennacherib defeated merodach-baladan , who, upon his return from exile in Elam, had deposed the new Babylonian king. In 689 the Babylonians, supported by Elam, revolted again. Sennacherib met them at Hallulê, on the Tigris, and defeated them but not without heavy losses. To solve the Babylonian problem once and for all, he destroyed Babylon and let the Euphrates flow over it. In 701 Sennacherib marched against the rebels of Syro-Palestine. He went from victory to victory: Sidon, Ammon, Moab, Edom, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Lachish fell before him. At Elteke he defeated a considerable Egyptian army, which had come to the rescue of Ekron. It was from Lachish that he sent a mission headed by the tartan , rab-saris , and rab-shakeh , to hezekiah in Jerusalem in order to convince him to surrender (II Kings 18:13–19:37; Isa. 36–37). According to his annals, Sennacherib took 46 fortified cities and "small cities without number" of Judah; he made 200,150 prisoners of war and exacted from Hezekiah a heavy tribute – 30 talents of gold and 800 (300 according to II Kings 18:14) talents of silver. Although he besieged Jerusalem, he was unable to take the city, for "that night the angel of the Lord went forth, and slew 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians" (II Kings 19:35). Another version tells of a legion of rats that invaded the Assyrian encampment (Herodotus) and a third version tells of a pestilential sickness (Berosus). Whatever happened, the fact remains that Sennacherib was forced to abandon the siege and return to Assyria. Sennacherib is remembered as a great builder; he enlarged and embellished nineveh , built and restored various temples and public buildings all over Assyria, and undertook very important hydraulic works. He was assassinated by one of his own sons in a temple of Nineveh. For further details see mesopotamia . -In the Aggadah After having previously conquered the rest of the world (Meg. 11b), Sennacherib equipped a massive army against Hezekiah, consisting of 45,000 princes, each enthroned in a golden chariot and accompanied by his ladies and courtesans, 80,000 warriors in coat of mail, 60,000 swordsmen, and numerous cavalry (Sanh. 95b). With this vast army Sennacherib marched on Judea in accordance with the disclosures of his astrologers, who warned him that he would fail to capture Jerusalem if he arrived too late. He rested at Nob and from a raised platform observed the Judean capital, which appeared weak and small to him. When his warriors urged him to attack, he bade them rest for one night before storming the city the next day. This delay spared Jerusalem since Saul's sin against the priests at Nob was fully expiated on that very day (Sanh. 95a). That night, which was the eve of Passover, the entire army was annihilated when Hezekiah and the people began to recite the Hallel Psalms (Ex. R. 18:5). The death of the Assyrians occurred when the angels permitted them to hear the ḥayyot ("celestial beings") sing praises to God (Sanh. 95b). Their souls were burnt, although their garments remained intact (Ex. R. 18:5). Sennacherib and his two sons were among the few survivors. On his return to Assyria, Sennacherib found a plank which was part of Noah's ark and made it an object of worship. He vowed that if he prospered in his next ventures he would sacrifice his sons to it. His sons overheard this vow and put him to death (Sanh. 96a). They fled to Kardu where they released the many Jewish captives there. With them they marched to Jerusalem and became proselytes. The well-known scholars shemaiah and avtalyon were the descendants of these two sons of Sennacherib (Git. 57b; Targ., II Kings 19:35, 37). -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Ginzberg, Legends, 4 (19475), 267–72; 5 (19463), 361–6.

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

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  • Sennacherib — (Akkadian Sîn ahhe eriba (moon god) Sîn has replaced (lost) brothers for me ) was the son of Sargon II, whom he succeeded on the throne of Assyria (705 – 681 BC). Rise to power As a crown prince, Sennacherib was placed in charge of the empire… …   Wikipedia

  • Sennachérib — Sennacherib Sennacherib pendant la guerre contre Babylone, bas relief de son palais à Ninive. Sennacherib (Sennachérib ou Sanchérib dans l’ancien Testament 2 Rois 18:13) fut roi d’Assyrie de 704 à 681. Il était le fils de Sargon II, que celui …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Sennacherib — pendant la guerre contre Babylone, bas relief de son palais à Ninive. Sennacherib (Sennachérib ou Sanchérib dans l’Ancien Testament 2 Rois 18:13) fut roi d’Assyrie de 704 à 681. Il était le fils de Sargon II, que celui ci avait associé au pouvoir …   Wikipédia en Français

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  • Sennacherib II — Sennacherib II, or more commonly, Sanharib, was an Assyrian king of northern Asuristan in 372 AD. Much like Julian the Apostate of the Roman Empire, Sanharib disliked Christianity and tried to persuade his son Behnam to reject Christianity.… …   Wikipedia

  • Sennacherib — Sennacherib, so v.w. Sanherib …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Sennacherib — [sə nak′ər ib] died 681 B.C.; king of Assyria (705 681): son of Sargon II …   English World dictionary

  • Sennacherib — /seuh nak euhr ib/, n. died 681 B.C., king of Assyria 705 681. * * * died January 681 BC King of Assyria (r. 705/704–681 BC), son and successor of Sargon II. Between 703 and 689 he undertook six campaigns against Elam (southwestern Iran), which… …   Universalium

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  • Sennacherib — King of Assyria 705 681 BC.     In the reign of Sennacherib, Egypt s involvement with *Assyria was renewed, particularly with relation to their conflict over the vassal states in Syria/Palestine who were now requesting Egyptian support against… …   Ancient Egypt

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