Biblically Compatible Archaeology and Geography

 Posted by sherri in Noah’s Ark Gordon Franz Introduction In Tractate Sanhedrin, Rabbi Papa (ca. AD 300-375) recounts a story about Sennacherib, king of Assyria, finding a piece of wood from Noah’s Ark. It states: “He [Sennacherib] then went away and found a plank of Noah’s ark. ‘This’, said he, ‘must be the great God who saved Noah from the flood. If I go [to battle] and am successful, I will sacrifice my two sons to thee’, he vowed. But his sons heard this, so they killed him, as it is written, And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adram-melech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword.” This story is recounted in Louis Ginzberg’s classic work, Legends of the Jews, and implies that this is a legendary account. One reason it might have been considered a legend is because Sennacherib was never on, or near, the modern-day Mount Ararat (Agri Dagh). Yet there are plausible historical reasons to believe this story is true and...

     {Read this most important article by G. Gertoux that comes closer to our view that Sargon II and Sennacherib were simply the same ruler} Dating the Sennacherib's Campaign to Judah   more by Gerard GERTOUX  Abstract    The traditional date of 701 BCE for Sennacherib's campaign to Judah, with the siege of  Lachish and Jerusalem and the Battle of Eltekeh, is accepted by historians for many years without notable  controversy. However, the inscription of Sargon II, found at Tang-i Var in 1968, requires to date this   famous campaign during his 10 th  campaign, in 712 BCE, implying a coregency with Sennacherib from 714 BCE. A thorough analysis of the annals and the reliefs of Sargon and Sennacherib shows that there was  only one campaign in Judah and not t wo. The Assyrian assault involved the presence of at least six kings (or similar): 1) taking of Ashdod by  the Assyrian king Sargon II in hi...