[[Isa-37]] Prev: [[Prophecies in Isa-36]] | Next: [[Prophecies in Isa-38]] --- ### Behold, I will put a spirit in him and he will hear news, and will return to his own land. I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. *Type*: prophecy *Summary*: Isaiah prophesies that Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, will be prompted by news to return to his own country, where he will eventually be killed by the sword. *Historical context*: Historical records from the Neo-Assyrian and Babylonian periods confirm that Sennacherib's 701 BCE campaign ended with his return to Nineveh. Cuneiform texts like the Babylonian Chronicle B (ABC 1) record that he was eventually murdered by his sons in 681 BCE, approximately twenty years after the siege of Jerusalem. *Related to*: ### Therefore Yahweh says concerning the king of Assyria, 'He will not come to this city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither will he come before it with shield, nor cast up a mound against it. He will return the way that he came, and he won't come to this city,' says Yahweh. *Type*: prophecy *Summary*: The Lord predicts that the Assyrian army will not successfully besiege or even enter Jerusalem, but will instead return the way they came. *Historical context*: Sennacherib's own annals, found on the Taylor Prism, list 46 Judean cities he captured but conspicuously omit the capture of Jerusalem, stating only that he shut Hezekiah up 'like a bird in a cage.' This matches the biblical account that the city itself was never taken or breached. *Related to*: ### This shall be the sign to you. You will eat this year that which grows of itself, and in the second year that which springs from it; and in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. *Type*: prophecy *Summary*: A prophetic sign given to Hezekiah indicating that despite the agricultural devastation of the Assyrian invasion, the land would provide for them naturally for two years until they could resume normal farming in the third year. *Historical context*: Assyrian military tactics commonly involved 'scorched earth' policies, destroying crops and vineyards. The recovery of the Judean economy and agriculture after 701 BCE is supported by archaeological evidence showing continued Judean settlement and the restoration of production centers shortly after the Assyrian withdrawal. *Related to*: ### Then Yahweh's angel went out and struck one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the camp of the Assyrians. When men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, went away, returned to Nineveh, and stayed there. *Type*: fulfillment *Summary*: The miraculous destruction of the Assyrian army forces Sennacherib to abandon the siege and return to his capital, Nineveh, without capturing Jerusalem. *Historical context*: While the specific number of 185,000 is unique to the biblical text, the Greek historian Herodotus ([[His|Histories 2]].141) also records a sudden disaster involving a plague of mice that destroyed the Assyrian equipment, leading to a failed campaign against Egypt/Judah. This corroborates a sudden, catastrophic end to the campaign. *Related to*: [[Isa-37#v33|Isaiah 37:33]]-35 ### As he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons struck him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Esar Haddon his son reigned in his place. *Type*: fulfillment *Summary*: Sennacherib is assassinated by his own sons while worshiping in a temple in his own land, just as prophesied. *Historical context*: The assassination of Sennacherib by his sons is one of the most well-documented events in ancient Near Eastern history, appearing in the Babylonian Chronicles and in the records of his successor, Esarhaddon, who details the civil war following his father's murder in 681 BCE. *Related to*: [[Isa-37#v7|Isaiah 37:7]] --- #ai_prophecy