Lachish

info All commentaries are written by volunteers, readers, or supporters of our Bible translation project. These are not official views of our project; we are not a religious denomination and we do not establish doctrine. These commentaries reflect a variety of views and some disagree with each other.

While many like to scoff at the Bible record and claim that its stories are myths and fairy tales, much of what is written there has already been proven remarkably accurate and historical by modern archaeology.

For example, consider the events that are recorded to have happened in JeruSalem during the reign of King HezekiAh. At 2 Chronicles 32:9, we read of how the Assyrian King Sennacherib marched on the Judean city of Lachish before attacking JeruSalem. And today, letters about this attack from the general that was defending Lachish have been discovered and are on display in the British Museum.

Also, the mention of HezekiAh’s rerouting of the spring of Gihon at 2 Chronicles 32:30 can be proven, since the underground diversion project has been uncovered by archaeologists and is a famed tourist attraction in JeruSalem today. (See the reference, ‘Hezekiah’s Tunnel’).

However, did God’s messenger wipe out the Assyrian army in a single night, as the Bible account says? While there’s no record of this outside of the Bible (the Assyrians surely would have been too embarrassed to record such an amazing defeat); The fact that Babylon thereafter became the dominant world power with little resistance from the Assyrians, gives mute testimony to the fact that something very important happened then.