BIBLICAL PRIMARY SOURCES

Read the Scripture.

The biblical text is the primary reference for the accounts discussed here. Read the complete chapters before comparing the guide's interpretation.

Sirach 48:17-22

17 Hezekiah fortified his city, and brought water into its midst. He tunneled through rock with iron, and built cisterns for water.

18 In his days Sennacherib invaded, and sent Rabshakeh, and departed. He lifted up his hand against Zion, and boasted great things in his arrogance.

19 Then their hearts and their hands were shaken, and they were in pain, as women in labour.

20 But they called upon the Lord who is merciful, spreading out their hands to him. The Holy One quickly heard them out of Heaven, and delivered them by the hand of Isaiah.

21 He struck the camp of the Assyrians, and his angel utterly destroyed them.

22 For Hezekiah did that which was pleasing to the Lord, and was strong in the ways of his ancestor David, which Isaiah the prophet commanded, who was great and faithful in his vision.

World English Bible British Edition. Continue in the complete local chapter.

Explore Assyria in the Bible · Search the verse index

Remembering Hezekiah and Sennacherib

Sirach 48:17-22 recalls Hezekiah, Isaiah, Sennacherib and the defeat of the Assyrian camp. Second Maccabees 8:19 and 15:22 appeal to the same deliverance in later situations of danger; 3 Maccabees 6:5 also invokes the defeat of Sennacherim. These are valuable examples of biblical remembrance and prayer.

Assyria in other literary settings

First Esdras 5:69 and 7:15 preserve references to settlement and the king of Assyria. Second Esdras 13:39-47 describes the ten tribes taken away by Salmananser in an apocalyptic vision. Fourth Maccabees 13:9 refers to the three young men in Assyria. Each reference should be read in its own book and genre.

Edition and canon

These books do not all share the same status in Jewish, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions. The retained Bible edition includes them in an extended collection, and the site labels that collection explicitly. The source code 4ES is displayed here as 2 Esdras, following the retained edition's book title; different numbering systems can otherwise cause confusion.

Deliverance becomes a model for later hope

Later biblical texts can recall Sennacherib's defeated force without retelling Kings. A short reference assumes that the earlier event matters to a new audience. It can encourage trust or place another crisis within a longer story.

Sirach's praise of Hezekiah and Isaiah and references in 2 Maccabees use different literary settings. A praise of figures and an address in conflict do not employ the past identically.

Distinguish the narrated earlier event from the occasion of remembrance. A later text directly documents how the account was received and used; it is not automatically an additional independent eyewitness report. This explains reception as a subject rather than only issuing a caution about evidence.

Evidence trail

This introduction draws on the following sources: [1]. Section reading trails highlight selected references where a more precise relationship has been recorded. Unmapped passages and other references remain at article level; these trails are not a sentence-by-sentence verification. Editorial guidance is identified in the text.

Go to the evidence

Sources & further reading

A foundation to build on

This introduction was compiled from the linked sources and has not received specialist peer review. It is intended as a route into further research. Read how corrections and reviews are handled.

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