Was the Bible Right
c. 673 BCE·Divided Kingdom·Artifact

Esarhaddon's Prism: Manasseh, King of Judah

Scripture: 2 Kings 21:1–18; 2 Chronicles 33:1–20

The claim

Manasseh ruled Judah for 55 years, the longest reign of any of its kings. 2 Chronicles adds that Assyrian commanders took him captive to Babylon, and that he later repented and was restored.

What archaeology found

Clay prisms of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon from Nineveh (northern Iraq), recovered in the 19th century, list 22 kings of the west who had to send timber and stone for his palace. Among them is 'Manasseh, king of Judah'. A prism of his son Ashurbanipal names Manasseh again among the kings who supported Assyria's campaign against Egypt around 667 BCE.

Where it was found

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Nineveh (Mosul), IraqView on OpenStreetMap

Sources

  1. Erle Leichty, The Royal Inscriptions of Esarhaddon, King of Assyria (680–669 BC), Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period 4 (Eisenbrauns) (2011)
  2. Mordechai Cogan, The Raging Torrent: Historical Inscriptions from Assyria and Babylonia Relating to Ancient Israel, Carta (2008)

Verdict history

  • ConfirmedInitial verdict.