Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them.
In the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah. The numerals, it is thought, are corrupt in the present Hebrew text. Dr. Hinck's ('Chronological Appendix to his Paper on the Assyrio-Babylonian Characters,' vol. 22:, 'Transactions Royal Irish Academy') proposes to read, 'the fifth,' instead of "the fourteenth year" of Hezekiah as the date of Sennacherib's invasion. G. Rawlinson, on the other hand ('Ancient Monarchies,' 2:, p. 434), is of opinion that if Sargon took Samaria in the sixth year of Hezekiah's reign, he must now have been in his 27th year, and suggests that the verse should run thus-`Now, in the 27th year of king Hezekiah,' instead of, "in the 14th year."
Sennacherib - the son and successor of Shalmaneser. This warlike prince, among the many expeditions in which he engaged, invaded Syria with an immense army, directing his attack in the first instance upon Phoenicia, many of the petty sovereigns of which had revolted at the time of his accession. Having reduced them all in succession, and received tribute from their cities, he pressed southward against Egypt; and the first place at which he stopped in this southern route was the Philistine city of Ekron, the inhabitants of which, having allied themselves with Shebek of Egypt, had expelled their king, Padi, who was rather inclined to lean upon Assyria. The Ekronites invoked the aid of Hezekiah, who, acceding to their request, involved himself in the responsibilities of the revolt, and took Padi a prisoner to Jerusalem. Sennacherib determined to support his faithful dependent; and it was partly to liberate and restore Padi to his royal position in Ekron, partly to punish Hezekiah, that, after having reduced the Ekronite rebels, the Assyrian king prepared to invade Judaea.
All the fenced cities of Judah - not absolutely the whole of them, for besides the capital, some strong fortresses held out against the invader (2 Kings 18:17; 2 Kings 19:8). The following account of Sennacherib's invasion of Judah, and the remarkable destruction of his army, is repeated almost verbatim in 2 Chronicles 32:1-33 and Isa. 36:37 . Whether engrossed by domestic affairs, or influenced by contempt for the ruler of so petty a kingdom as Judah, the king of Assyria bore the revolt of Hezekiah for a long time, all the while, however, nursing his wrath to keep it warm. In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah's reign he resolved to avenge the insult of the rebellious vassal in Judah. The expedition seems to have been directed against Egypt, the conquest of which was long a leading object of ambition with the Assyrian monarchs; but the invasion of Judah necessarily preceded, that country being the key to Egypt, the highway through which the conquerors from Upper Asia had to pass, and having at this time formed a league of mutual defense with Egypt (2 Kings 18:24).
Moreover, it was now laid completely open by the transplantation of Israel to Assyria, the whole of Galilee and Samaria having become provinces of the empire. The names of the principal of these cities are enumerated by Micah (Micah 1:11-16) - namely, Saphir, lying between Ashdod and Eleutheropolis (Eusebius and Jerome, 'Onomast.,' Saphir: cf. Robinson, 'Biblical Researches,' 2:, p. 370); Zaanan, or Zenan (Joshua 15:37) [Septuagint, Sennaar]; Beth-esel, or azel (Zechariah 14:5), near Shaphir and Zaanan; Maroth, or Maarath (Joshua 15:59), between these towns and Jerusalem; Lachish (Um Lakis); Moreshoth, situated in the direction of Gath; Achzib, between Keilah and Mareshah (Joshua 15:44); Mareshah, situated in the low country of Judah (Joshua 15:44); Adullam, near Mareshah (cf. Isaiah 24:1-12).
Overrunning Palestine, Sennacherib laid siege to the fortress of Lachish, which lay seven Roman miles from Eleutheropolis, and therefore southwest of Jerusalem on the way to Egypt. Among the interesting illustrations of sacred history furnished by the recent Assyrian excavations, is a series of bas-reliefs, representing the siege of a town [`a fenced town,' among 'the uttermost cities of Judah' (Joshua 15:39) (Robinson's 'Biblical Researches,' 2:, p. 388; also 'Outlines of Assyrian History,' p. 36). Sir H. Rawlinson there maintains that the Lachish intended was a place called Al...ku in the inscriptions, situated on the shore of the Mediterranean between Gaza and Rhinocolura; but his opinion has no supporters], which the inscription on the sculpture shows to be Lachish, and the figure of a king, whose name is given on the same inscription as Sennacherib, seated on his throne, in royal attire, surrounded by the principal officers of his army, and some prisoners of note before him being tortured; others, according to the barbarous usages of pagandom, being flayed alive. The legend sculptured over the head of the king ran thus: 'Sennacherib, the mighty king, king of the country of Assyria, sitting on the throne of Judgment before the city of Lachish (Lakhisha), I give permission for its slaughter' ('Nineveh and Babylon,' pp. 149, 152, 153). This is Mr. Layard's translation. Dr. Hincks' varies a little from it; and though not essentially different, is considered to express more truly the meaning of the inscription over the king's head-`Sennacherib, king of men, king of Assyria, having sat down on a throne ... the suppliants of Lachish before him.' This minute confirmation of the truth of the Bible narrative is given not only by the name Lachish, which is contained in the inscription, but from the physiognomy of the captives brought before the king, which is unmistakeably Jewish.