Sennacherib
The Assyrian emperor who captured Judah’s cities and mocked its God, but never took Jerusalem.
Old Testament · 705–681 BC · 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Isaiah · Also known as King of Assyria
About Sennacherib
"In the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them." He besieged Lachish and sent his officer, the Rabshakeh, to Jerusalem’s walls to demand surrender: "What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?... Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?" Hezekiah spread Sennacherib’s letter before the LORD, and Isaiah answered with God’s word: "I will put my hook in thy nose." That night "the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians" and Sennacherib went home to Nineveh, where his own sons later killed him.
This guide speaks about Sennacherib, not as him, out of care. His own records survive: a clay prism boasts that he shut Hezekiah up in Jerusalem like a bird in a cage, but notably never claims to have taken the city. Carvings of his siege of Lachish are in the British Museum.
The story
All the fenced cities of Judah
"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." Hezekiah sent to him at Lachish, "I have offended; return from me," and paid three hundred talents of silver and thirty of gold, stripping the temple doors.
2 Kings 18:13-16
What confidence is this?
Sennacherib’s officers came to Jerusalem’s wall. The Rabshakeh shouted in Hebrew so the people could hear: "What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?... Let not Hezekiah deceive you... Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?"
2 Kings 18:17-35
My hook in thy nose
Hezekiah spread Sennacherib’s letter before the LORD and prayed. Isaiah sent God’s answer: "Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest." "He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there."
2 Kings 19:14-34
The angel of the LORD went out
"And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand." "So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh." Later, worshipping in the house of his god Nisroch, he was killed by two of his sons.
2 Kings 19:35-37
Key moments
- Takes Judah’s fortified cities: In Hezekiah’s fourteenth year. (2 Kings 18:13)
- Demands Jerusalem’s surrender: "What confidence is this?" (2 Kings 18:19)
- Sends a threatening letter: Hezekiah spreads it before the LORD. (2 Kings 19:14)
- Turned back: "My hook in thy nose." (2 Kings 19:28)
- Dies in Nineveh: Killed by his sons. (2 Kings 19:37)
Questions about Sennacherib
Is there evidence for Sennacherib’s invasion?
Plenty. Sennacherib’s own clay prism lists his capture of forty-six of Hezekiah’s cities and boasts that he shut Hezekiah up in Jerusalem "like a bird in a cage," without claiming to have taken it. Huge stone reliefs of his siege of Lachish once lined his palace in Nineveh and are now in the British Museum. Chronicles says Sennacherib "himself laid siege against Lachish."
Did Sennacherib capture Jerusalem?
No. God promised through Isaiah, "He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it." That night "the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians," and Sennacherib "departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh." His own records agree he never took the city.
Connected people
Read it yourself
Start with 2 Kings 18:13-19:37.