the syro-ephraimitic war

In my studies of the prophet Isaiah, one of the crucial time periods is that of the Syro-Ephraimitic War. I find this to be a fascinating war, involving Judah (southern Israel) and Assyria verses Israel (northern Israel) and Syria. It is relatively ignored and unknown, so I've decided to write a little post about one of the most interesting wars in the Old Testament.

One of the less well-known wars in the Old Testament, it took place during the 8^th Century B.C., and the prophet Isaiah played a critical rule in (hoping) to guide Ahaz in right conduct in dealing with the war (Ahaz refused to follow God’s commands, given through Isaiah, so he had to suffer the fulfillment of the prophecy “Assyria shall come to the gates of Jerusalem” which took place during Hezekiah’s reign). and consequent tributes. ravaged, only left to the destiny of being totally overtaken by

Assyria was the world superpower, and Syria (a.k.a. Aram), Israel (a.k.a. Ephraim, after the primary Israelite tribe), and Judah were tributary nations to Assyria. King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel decide to get the heck out of Assyria’s clutches, but King Ahaz of Judah was loyal to Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria. Rezin and Pekah demanded of Ahaz, “Join our coalition!” But King Ahaz refused. In retaliation, Syria and Israel sent troops into Judah in the attempt to reach Jerusalem, dispose Ahaz of the throne, and put in his place an anti-Assyrian ruler. Ahaz met the enemy armies, but Judah lost in the battle: 120,000 of her soldiers were killed, including Ahaz’s son and many important officials; many people were taken captive.

Two surrounding nations—Philistia and Edom—decided to take advantage of Judah’s lame state and began raiding the towns and villages. Desperate for help, Ahaz cried out to Assyria: “I’ve been loyal to you this whole time, and my nation is being raped!” Assyria agreed to help, but only for a price (Tiglath-Pileser III, the greedy man he was, placed high demands on the desperate King Ahaz): Ahaz had to pay him out of the Temple treasury, plus treasures from the Temple and consequent tributes.

Assyria kept on its word and attacked Syria and Israel, completely ravaging the lands. Tiglath-Pileser III showed no mercy on Syria and Judah; he employed such horrid tactics as laying prisoners down and skinning them alive, then placing them into the hot desert sands until they bled to death; “crucifying” men by running a pole beneath their bellies and enter their hearts; rubbing feces in women’s faces to degrade them as human beings; taking infants and dashing them against the stones; ripping open the wombs of pregnant women, killing their babies and letting the to-be mothers bleed to death. In Syria, of 514 towns none were left standing: the people were slaughtered or led into slavery, and the towns were burned to the ground (even the stones exploded in the fire!). The prisoners were stripped naked and led into slavery: they were chained up with a hook in their mouths and a hook in the soft parts of the buttock, and they cut off their ears and the soft parts of their noses to identify them as slaves in the Assyrian Empire.

The war ended with Israel ravaged, only left to the destiny of being totally overtaken by Assyria a few years later (in 722 B.C.). Assyria would try to take over Judah as well, but would fail, for Hezekiah would find favor in God's eyes and the Assyrian troops would be decimated overnight by a plague. King Sennacherib, ruler of Assyria, would flee to the capital city, Ninevah, and while worshipping the Assyrian god of agriculture (Nisroch), his two sons would sneak behind him and slay him.