ContentBlocks 8 1 Ads Shiloh Standard copy

Research Topics

Researcher Stephen Compton recently published an article in the Journal of Near Eastern Studies, in which he proposes that one of the reliefs from Sennacherib’s throne room at Nineveh depicts the walls of Jerusalem and may include an image of Hezekiah standing atop them. The relief, known as Slab 28, was not one of the famous Lachish reliefs that are now housed in the British Museum. Although the slab was destroyed by ISIS in 2015–2016, photographs and a drawing by Austen Henry Layard survive, allowing scholars to continue studying it.

Compton argues that the reliefs on the throne room’s eastern wall depict Sennacherib’s victories over cities in Phoenicia, Philistia, and Judah. The panel in question shows a city that has not been breached, with a single person on a tower on the wall holding a standard. In an interview with the Times of Israel (see link below), Compton explains that the “towers go up, and support a room on top of the towers, that is wider than the tower base supporting the room, so it’s been corbelled out. There is a second level of supporting battlements atop the tower. So it’s twice corbelled.” He further notes that this distinctive wall construction also appears in the famous reliefs of the Judahite city of Lachish. Compton adds that the solitary figure on the wall is holding a standard, a symbol of royalty. This would be consistent with Sennacherib’s boast in his annals that he shut up Hezekiah in his royal city of Jerusalem like a bird in a cage. Of course, this is essentially a tacit admission that he did not capture Jerusalem, which is in accord with the biblical account (2 Kgs 19:34–36).

Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/smashed-by-isis-a-2700-year-old-carving-may-have-been-the-earliest-known-depiction-of-jerusalem/


Read more BREAKING NEWS articles here: https://biblearchaeology.org/current-events-list  

Research Categories

SUPPORT ABR

ABR fulfills its mission through memberships and generous donations from supporters.

Join us in our mission! No matter what your level of interest, from keeping abreast of the fascinating research that comes out of the field work, to actively participating in an archaeological dig, you can become an integral part of our ministry.

Please click here for our support page.

ASSOCIATES FOR BIBLICAL RESEARCH

Phone: 717-859-3443

Toll Free:  800-430-0008

email: [email protected]

PO Box 144, Akron, PA 17501

Click here for our Privacy Policy

STAY CONNECTED

 f logo RGB Blue 114  spotify icon
 yt icon rgb  assets.amazonmusic
 Instagram Glyph Gradient  apple podcast bug
 Twitter  

Site Maintained By: Louise Street Marketing Inc.

abrwebtemplate36 1/1/2021