"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. ."--2 Pet. 3:3-4

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Invasion of Sennacherib

There is a 10 year conflict with the world's datings and the invasion of Sennacherib.  Most of the World's Chronologies run with the start of Sennacherib's reign to be between 707 BC and 698 BC.  Prior to this, Sargon II reigned, from 721 BC to his murder, which brought Sennacherib to power.  The invasion of Jerusalem is clearly recorded in the Annals of Sennacherib.  They read thus:

“Because Hezekiah, king of Judah, would not submit to my yoke, I came up against him, and by force of arms and by the might of my power I took forty-six of his strong fenced cities; and of the smaller towns which were scattered about, I took and plundered a countless number. From these places I took and carried off 200,156 persons, old and young, male and female, together with horses and mules, asses and camels, oxen and sheep, a countless multitude; and Hezekiah himself I shut up in Jerusalem, his capital city, like a bird in a cage, building towers round the city to hem him in, and raising banks of earth against the gates, so as to prevent escape…. Then upon Hezekiah there fell the fear of the power of my arms, and he sent out to me the chiefs and the elders of Jerusalem with 30 talents of gold and 800 talents of silver, and divers treasures, a rich and immense booty…. All these things were brought to me at Nineveh, the seat of my government.”

The dating of the Assyrians for Sennacherib cannot be correct.  Assyrian, Babylonian and Biblical chronology sets the date for the conquering of Samaria by Shalmaneser at 721 BC (who was over thrown by Sargon II in that same year) for the start and 719 BC for the finish; which is quite consistent with Biblical chronology.  The Bible records that this invasion of Samaria began in the fourth year of Hezekiah and ends in his sixth year.  But the invasion of Jerusalem by Sennacherib is in Hezekiah's 14th year, which would be 711 BC by Biblical chronology.  According to Assyrian history, that invasion takes place no earlier than 704 BC.

But more than just Biblical Chronology is distorted by the Assyrian eponyms for this time period.  The Babylonian histories also are distorted, because Sennacherib's first ordeal was to put down a rebellion in Babylon led by Merodach Baladan, but this rebellion was in 712 BC, according to Babylonian chronology, 8 years before the Assyrians claim he came into power.  In this, Biblical chronology and Babylonian chronology agree.  So there is no reason at this point, to demand that the Assyrian eponyms, (which as already explained are known to be inaccurate) should be followed.

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