The Assyrians, as badass as they were, did not capture Jerusalem. The Bible says that an angel came from heaven and killed I think 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. The Assyrian records say that King Sennacherib was outside the walls and had Hezekiah trapped like a bird in a cage. But in the list of the conquered cities, Jerusalem is missing. Awesome. So what did this do for the reputation of the city?
The Assyrian failure to conquer Jerusalem was the single greatest catalyst for the snowballing legend of an inviolable Jerusalem. Reason? Jerusalem was already a big deal to the Jews but it was a very backwater kind of town to most of the world. This event probably spread the word of Jerusalem across the Middle East and it became known to other people as the city that withstood the Assyrians. In other words, it helped put Jerusalem on the map for other people, not just Israelites and Judaens, Jews.
This also led to Zion theology which is the idea that the prophecies written about Jerusalem were written after Hezekiah withstood the Assyrain siege.They are all over 2 Kings 21, and they really talk about "for the sake of my servant David." In other words, it backs up the promise that God made to David, that his throne and line will be everlasting. Scholars (can someone tell me who scholar are? Rabbis are scholars, nachon? Not just professors?) argue about the exact chronology of all these events and the dates they were written and assembled and all that.
Three paragraphs. I'm done. Sweet. I'm done ten minutes after class ended. We covered more. I really enjoyed class today.
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