Sennacherib's Campaign to Judah: New Studies.

• Author: Younger, Jr., K. Lawson
• Position: Book Review

Sennacherib's Campaign to Judah: New Studies. By WILLIAM R. GALLAGHER. SHCANE, vol. 18. Leiden: BRILL, 1999. Pp. Xvii + 313, illus. $94.50.

This monograph is a revision of the author's dissertation written under Hermann Hunger and Georg Saner at the University of Vienna and is the most recent full-length study devoted specifically to Sennacherib's third campaign. Since Sennacherib's annals contain the most detailed description of an Assyrian campaign to the west in the cuneiform sources, and since the Assyrian invasion of Judah in 701 B.C. is the most well attested event within the biblical corpus, Gallagher's study makes important contributions to both Assyriology and biblical studies.

Gallagher's study is especially important as it reminds us of two things: first, the importance of studying Sennacherib's campaign against Judah in the larger context of his third campaign as well as his inscriptions in general; and second, the importance of studying the various literary aspects of the Assyrian inscriptions. Biblical scholars have, in numerous instances, ignored these two important factors. Often they read only the portion of the third campaign directly addressing Sennacherib's dealings with Hezekiah. And frequently they employ a reading strategy that simplistically accepts Sennacherib's account, while at the same time they employ a critical reading of the biblical material. More sophisticated readings need to be applied to both the Annals and the biblical material. Gallagher's work does this.

The book opens with a concise introduction (pp. 1-21) that discusses--and rightly rejects--the two-campaign hypothesis, and then reviews the sources for Sennacherib's third campaign, both written and other. The thesis of the book starts with a discussion of the Isaianic background passages for the campaign (chapters 1-2), moves to an analysis of the Assyrian evidence for the campaign (chapters 3-6), and ends with an investigation of the biblical narratives that address the campaign (chapters 7-9). An appendix that briefly examines some important items follows. A selected bibliography and indexes conclude the volume.

In the first two chapters, Gallagher investigates and analyzes the Isaianic passages that may relate to Sennacherib's context. The first passage is the oracle of Isaiah 21:1-10 (pp. 22-50). Next (pp. 50-60), Gallagher examines the Arabian oracles (Isa 21:11-17). While many biblical scholars date the initial oracle (21:1-10) to the sixth...