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There are also a small group of wall sculptures (Nos. 64-67). One of them speaks of
MENAHEM, King of Israel, as paying tribute to Tiglath-Pileser III. This Tiglath-Pileser
is the "Pul" of II Kings 15: 19. In I Chron. 5: 26 both names occur; the word "and"
which joins the two names should be rendered "even". Before the monumental evidence
was so complete as it is to-day the two names of this king caused a great deal of
controversy; the facts that have now been ascertained show that originally this king was
Pul of Babylon, who afterwards became Tiglath-Pileser III, King of Assyria. Once
again the highest scholarship and most painstaking research but present the Bible reader
with that which he already learned without effort from the pages of Scripture.
Nos. 69 and 70 are two statues of the god Nebo, mention of which is found in the
Scriptures dealing with the period.
The Assyrian Saloon.--Sennacherib and Shalmaneser.
pp. 169-171
The most important sculpture in this Saloon from the biblical standpoint is that
numbered 28, which bears this inscription:--
"Senncherib, King of hosts, King of Assyria, sat upon his throne of state, and the spoil
of the city of Lachish passed before him."
Hezekiah, King of Judah, "rebelled against the King of Assyria and served him not"
(II Kings 18: 7). Upon the approach of the Assyrian, Hezekiah, hearing of the awful
devastation that Sennacherib left behind him to mark his victorious career, sent to the
King while he was yet at Lachish, saying, "I have offended: return from me: that which
thou puttest on me I will bear" (II Kings 18: 14). The demands of Sennacherib were
heavy and necessitated even the stripping of the Temple of its gold and silver to make up
the indemnity.
Sennacherib in his annals says:--
"As for Hazagian (Hezekiah), fear of my lordship struck him, and the Urbu and his
chosen soldiers which he had brought in for the defence of Ursalimme (Jerusalem), the
city of his Kingdom, and had as guards (?), with thirty talents of gold, 800 talents of
silver, precious (stones), guhli, dag-gassi, great carbuncles (?), couches of ivory, elephant
skin, elephant-tooth, ebony (?), urkavimm wood, all sorts of things, and his daughters, the
women of his palace, male singers, (and) female singers, he (or I) cause to be brought
after me to the midst of Ninna (Nineveh), the city of my dominions, and he sent his
messenger to present the gift and pay homage" (Dr. Pinches' The Old Testament
pp. 373-376).
Naturally nothing is recorded by Sennacherib of the destruction of his host by the
angel of the Lord, but it is significant to find that although he recounts with horrible
details the taking of other cities, we find him receiving the tribute from Hezekiah not at
Jerusalem but at Lachish, and it is evident that he covers his severe defeat by skilfully
avoiding the usual details.