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=== Assyrian Cuneiform === === Assyrian Cuneiform ===


Assyrian cuneiform record 27,290 captives were taken from Samaria , the capital of the Northern ]. Approximately 18 years earlier (740 BCE), the tribes of Reuben, Naphtali, Gad, and one-half tribe of Manasseh were carried away by one of the first successful Assyrian invasions (II Kings 15:29, I Chronicles 5:26). Conservative estimates easily assume a captivity numbering in the hundreds of thousands, minus those who died in defense of the kingdom and minus those who fled voluntarily before and during the invasions. Assyrian cuneiform record 27,290 captives were taken from Samaria , the capital of the Northern ]. Approximately 18 years earlier (740 BCE), the tribes of ], ], ], and one-half tribe of ] were carried away by one of the first successful Assyrian invasions ({{bibleverse|II|Kings|15:29}}, {{bibleverse|I|Chronicles|5:26}}). Conservative estimates easily assume a captivity numbering in the hundreds of thousands, minus those who died in defense of the kingdom and minus those who fled voluntarily before and during the invasions.


] records his first campaign on the walls of the royal palace at Dur-Sarraku (Khorsabad): ] records his first campaign on the walls of the royal palace at Dur-Sarraku (Khorsabad):

Revision as of 07:39, 25 June 2006

Assyrian Captivity of Israel

The ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel were invaded, conquered, and taken captive mainly by the Assyrian monarchs, Tiglath-Pileser III (Pul) and Shalmaneser V. The later Assyrian rulers Sargon II and Sennacherib were responsible for finishing the captivity.

Assyrian Cuneiform

Assyrian cuneiform record 27,290 captives were taken from Samaria , the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Approximately 18 years earlier (740 BCE), the tribes of Reuben, Naphtali, Gad, and one-half tribe of Manasseh were carried away by one of the first successful Assyrian invasions (II KingsTemplate:Bibleverse with invalid book, I ChroniclesTemplate:Bibleverse with invalid book). Conservative estimates easily assume a captivity numbering in the hundreds of thousands, minus those who died in defense of the kingdom and minus those who fled voluntarily before and during the invasions.

Sargon II records his first campaign on the walls of the royal palace at Dur-Sarraku (Khorsabad):

In my first year of reign *** the people of Samaria *** to the number of 27,290 ... I carried away.

Fifty chariots for my royal equipment I selected. The city I rebuilt. I made it greater than it was before.

People of the lands I had conquered I settled therein. My official (Tartan) I placed over them as governor. (L.ii.4.)

The description of the final defeat of the Northern Kingdom of Israel above appears to be a minor event in Sargon II's legacy. Some would attribute the ease of Israel's defeat to the previous two decades of invasions and deportations. Others would simply say the Elohim of Israel warranted and foretold it through His prophets because of Israel's Ba'al worship and foresaking the Torah of Moses.

No Historical Return

Unlike the Kingdom of Judah's return from their Babylonian Captivity, the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom never had a foreign edict granting permission to return and rebuild their homeland. Many centuries later, rabbis of the restored Kingdom of Judah were still debating the return of the lost ten tribes (Ref. Mishnah, Sanhedrin 110b).

Rumors of New Names

Two centuries after their exile, they seem to have been temporarily conquered again under different names at the hands of a different empire, Persia. The Behistun Inscription is King Darius's record of his conquered.

“We have reasonable grounds for regarding the Gimirri, or Cimmerians, who first appeared on the confines of Assyria and Media in the seventh century B.C., and the Sacae of the Behistun Rock, nearly two centuries later, as identical with the Beth-Khumree of Samaria, or the Ten Tribes of the House of Israel.” -George Rawlinson, note in his translation of History of Herodotus, Book VII, p. 378

References

1. Luckenbill, Daniel David. Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylon ISBN 185417049X

2. Keller, Werner. The Bible as History ISBN 0281045445

3. Book of Isaiah 36:1-22, 37:1-38, 7:1-20, 8:1-23, 9:1-20, 10:1-34, 11:1-16, 17:1-14, 19:21-25, 38:1-22

See also

External Links & Resources

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