Assyria's Arrogance

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  1. Sanheriv’s Siege of Jerusalem

    Rabbi Alex Israel

    Hizkiyahu takes advantage of a gap in Assyrian rule and joins Egypt and Babylon in rebellion against Assyria. He fortifies Jerusalem and channels water into the walled city, while cutting off the water supply outside of the city. However, the new Assyrian king Sanheriv fights back, destroying 46 fortified cities in Yehuda, and sets his sights on Jerusalem. Sanheriv sends emissaries to Jerusalem to deflate the moral of the people and encourage them to surrender while boasting that God cannot stop him. After Yishayahu first prophecy sends Sanheriv away temporarily, Sanheriv returns to Jerusalem once again. This time Hizkiyahu prays to God and miraculously the entire Assyrian army is killed in one night. This description has an indirect corroboration in Assyrian historical documents that describe the war against Hizkiyahu in a manner which is jarringly inconsistent with other battles. This miracle led to the concept of Jerusalem's invincibility, a concept that the prophet Yirmiyahu could not change when he prophesied its destruction over a century later.

  2. The Last Days of Jerusalem

    Part 1

    Rabbi David Sabato

    King Tzidkiyahu requests of Yirmiyahu to pray on behalf of the city, which is under siege, and Yirmiyahu refuses to do so. This scenario is reminiscent of Hizkiyahu’s request of Yishyahu to pray when the city is facing an Assyrian siege.  While Yishyahu answers Hizkiyahu’s request affirmatively, Yirmiyahu refuses Tzidkiyahu’s request.

    This difference is reflected in the circumstances surrounding the request. Unlike Hizkiyahu, who performs actions of repair and repentance, rending his garments and going to the Temple, Tzidkiyahu contents himself with sending messengers to Yirmiyahu with the request to repeat the miracle from the days of Hizkiyahu. Whereas Hizkiyahu sets God's honor in the center and prays for the cessation of the insults hurled at God by the king of Ashur, Tzidkiyahu asks Yirmiyahu to pray for him and the people.

    When the Babylonian siege is lifted due to Egyptian intervention - an event that was viewed as miraculous, but was ultimately temporary - Yirmiyahu attempts to leave the city fearing he would be arrested as a false prophet.  He fails to leave and is accused of attempting to defect to the enemy by none other than the grandson of Hananya ben Azzur. This accusation reflects the perception of officials and princes of Jerusalem, who saw Yirmiyahu as a traitor who was helping the Babylonians against his people. This fundamental misunderstanding of the people and their ministers concerning Yirmiyahu's objectives has accompanied Yirmiyahu throughout his mission.

  3. Historical Introduction, Part II – Sennacherib’s Campaign and the Failed Siege of Jerusalem

    Shiur #03

    Dr. Yael Ziegler

    תאריך פרסום: 5778 |

    The extraordinary deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrian army forms an important historical backdrop to the book of Eikha. An episode that began as an inspiring manifestation of God’s miraculous intervention to save Jerusalem developed in a catastrophic direction. Drawing the wrong conclusions in the aftermath of this astounding incident, the nation became complacent in their overconfidence in the city’s sacred status. A stark contrast to their assumptions and belief, the destruction of Jerusalem left a shocked populace in its wake, their physical and ideological world in tatters.