BiblicalInsights.net

     Recently, I went to the Oriental Institute located at the University of Chicago.  The Oriental Institute is a museum and research organization devoted to the study of the ancient Near East.  It was founded in 1919 by James Henry Breasted.  It is an internationally recognized pioneer in the archaeology, philology, and history of early Near Eastern civilizations.  One of the features of this museum is the verification of the biblical narrative by archeology.  An interesting aspect of the connection between Assyrian history and biblical history is the Sennacherib Prism.  The Oriental Institute has the prism on display.  On one side the account is given according to the Assyrian viewpoint.  “As for Hezekiah, the Judean, who did not submit to my yoke, 46 of his strong, fortified cities, as well as the small cities in their vicinity, which were without number–I besieged and conquered…Himself, like a caged bird I shut up in Jerusalem, his royal city…the terrifying splendor of my majesty overcame him, and he sent rich tribute to me in Nineveh.” (The Story According to the Sennacherib Prism).   Also on display in the museum is the Story According to the Old Testament (II Kings 19:35-37).  “And that night an angel of the lord (sic) went forth, and slew a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians: and when the men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.  Then Sennachereib king of Assyria departed, and went home, and dwelt at Nineveh.”  Is the Sennacherib version an early example of political spin?