Lachish
Fortified city in the lowlands of Judah, south-west of Jerusalem. Sennacherib took it in 701 BC and had the siege carved on the walls of his palace. It was among the last towns to hold out against Babylon.
Lachish lay in the lowlands of Judah, about 45 kilometres south-west of Jerusalem. The book of Joshua tells of its capture (Joshua 10:31–32), Chronicles lists it among the towns Rehoboam fortified (2 Chronicles 11:5–9), and King Amaziah was killed there (2 Kings 14:19). In 701 BC Sennacherib was encamped at Lachish when Hezekiah sent his submission, and from there he sent his officers to Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:14) (2 Kings 18:17). The reliefs from Sennacherib’s palace show the city’s fall, with a caption that names it (Lachish reliefs caption, lines 1–4). When the Babylonians invaded a century later, Lachish and Azekah were the last fortified towns of Judah still standing besides Jerusalem (Jeremiah 34:7).
What happened here
- 701 BC, firm dateHezekiah Withstands Sennacherib
Sennacherib of Assyria overruns Judah, takes Lachish and shuts Hezekiah up in Jerusalem. Hezekiah pays tribute, Isaiah promises that the city will not fall, and it is not taken. Assyrian annals and reliefs record the campaign from the other side.