The Bible was written by real people, to real people, in real places, and who experienced real events. This website is dedicated to telling the story about these people and the places they lived, visited, and ministered in. It is the goal of this website to expound the Scriptures and bring to life the lands and the peoples of the Bible through the background material that bear on the events of these passages.
by Gordon Franz
Introduction
If King David were teaching a class on “Worship 101” today, he might begin the first lecture by saying: “Please unroll your third Psalm scroll toward the end, to the 145th psalm, and let’s see what lessons we can learn about worship from this psalm.” Perhaps he brought out his harp and sang [...]
by Gordon Franz
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aharoni, Yohanan
1979 The Land of the Bible. 2nd edition. Trans. by A. Rainey. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster.
Albright, William F.
1945 The Chronology of the Divided Monarch of Israel. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 100: 16-22.
1953 New Light from Egypt on the Chronology and History of Israel and Judah. Bulletin of the American [...]
by Gordon Franz
THE CHRONOLOGY OF ISAIAH 1-39
There are four chronological indicators in the first half of the book of Isaiah (Isa. 1-39). They are, the “year that King Uzziah died” (Isa. 6:1), the “days of Ahaz” (7:1), the “year that King Ahaz died” (14:28), and the “fourteenth year of King Hezekiah” (36:1). Using these as [...]
by Gordon Franz
CONCLUSIONS
Review
The two major views which permeate the scholarly community, with regards to the Sennacherib / Hezekiah chronology problem, have been found wanting. Both have serious flaws in them and should be abandoned.
This paper set forth a new reconstruction for the life of King Hezekiah and his two encounters with Sennacherib. Hezekiah came to [...]
by Gordon Franz
A NEW PROPOSAL
Reconsidering the Data
It has been demonstrated that the two standard interpretations of this period are wanting. A new historical reconstruction will be set forth which conforms to the Biblical records and does justice to the Assyrian, Egyptian, and Babylonian histories.[1] Literary evidence which justifies this reconstruction will also be set forth.
The [...]
by Gordon Franz
THE ONE-CAMPAIGN THEORY
Introduction
The one-campaign theory postulates that Hezekiah submitted to Sennacherib in the year 701 BC (2 Kings 18:14-16). Soon after, Sennacherib attempted to take Jerusalem, but was repulsed (2 Kings 19:17ff.). According to this theory, Hezekiah saw the Assyrian might in the victories that were achieved in Phoenicia and Philistia. This convinced [...]
CHAPTER 2
THE TWO CAMPAIGN THEORY
The History and Proponents of the Theory
In 1858, G. Rawlinson first introduced the idea that Sennacherib invaded Judah on two occasions (1884: 1: 584, footnote 454). Since then, scholars have been divided on this issue. The leading proponents for two campaigns are Albright (1953: 4-11; 1956: 23-27), Bright (1981: 278-288, 298-309), [...]
by Gordon Franz
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
The Significance of this Study
Sennacherib’s campaign(s) against the land of Judah during the reign of King Hezekiah has created much debate among Bible scholars. Yet few Biblical events are as well attested as this one. It is recounted in several places in the Biblical records as well as on a number of [...]
by Gordon Franz
A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Old Testament
Columbia Biblical Seminary and Graduate School of Missions
Columbia, South Carolina
May 1967
ABSTRACT
Sennacherib’s campaign(s), well attested in Biblical and Assyrian sources, against the Land of Judah during the reign of King Hezekiah has created much debate among [...]
by Gordon Franz
Introduction
The Battle of Thermopylae is one of the most heroic battles in the annals of military history. Three hundred Spartan soldiers, lead by their king Leonidas, engaged in a mission of “suicidal self-sacrifice” by holding off the mighty Persian army for three days at the pass at Thermopylae which was no more than [...]