Geographical and Historical Context:
Lachish was an ancient city located in the Shephelah, the lowland region of Judah, approximately 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem. It played a significant role in the history of Israel and Judah due to its strategic position on the main route from Jerusalem to Egypt. The city is identified with the modern archaeological site of Tell ed-Duweir.

Biblical References and Significance:
Lachish is mentioned multiple times in the Old Testament, highlighting its importance in biblical history. It first appears in the context of the Israelite conquest of Canaan under Joshua. In Joshua 10:3-5 , Lachish is one of the cities whose king, Japhia, joined a coalition against the Israelites. Joshua's campaign against this coalition is detailed in Joshua 10:31-32 : "Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish. They laid siege to it and fought against it. And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, and Joshua captured it on the second day."

Lachish was later fortified by Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, as part of his defensive strategy for the kingdom of Judah (2 Chronicles 11:9). This indicates its continued military and strategic importance.

Assyrian Invasion:
One of the most notable events involving Lachish is its siege and capture by the Assyrian king Sennacherib in 701 BC. This event is recorded in 2 Kings 18:13-14 : "In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. So Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish." The siege of Lachish is also famously depicted in the Assyrian reliefs found in Nineveh, which vividly portray the Assyrian military campaign.

Prophetic References:
The prophets also mention Lachish in their writings. Micah 1:13 warns the city: "Harness the horses to the chariot, O dweller of Lachish. You were the beginning of sin to the Daughter of Zion, for the transgressions of Israel were found in you." This indicates that Lachish was seen as a center of influence, both politically and spiritually, during the time of the prophets.

Archaeological Discoveries:
Excavations at Tell ed-Duweir have uncovered significant findings, including the famous "Lachish Letters," a series of ostraca (inscribed pottery shards) that provide insight into the final days of Judah before the Babylonian conquest. These letters, written in Hebrew, are believed to be communications between military officials during the Babylonian siege.

Theological Implications:
Lachish serves as a testament to the fulfillment of divine judgment and prophecy. Its repeated mention in the context of military campaigns underscores the biblical theme of God's sovereignty over nations and His use of foreign powers to accomplish His purposes. The city's history reflects the consequences of disobedience and the importance of faithfulness to God's covenant.

Conclusion:
Lachish remains a significant site for understanding the historical and theological context of the biblical narrative. Its strategic importance, as well as its role in the events of the Old Testament, make it a key location in the study of ancient Israel and Judah.Lachish

who walks, or exists, of himself

Lachish

(invincible), a city lying south of Jerusalem, on the borders of Simeon, and belonging to the Amorites, the king of which joined with four others, at the invitation of Adonizedek king of Jerusalem, to chastise the Gibeonites for their league with Israel. (Joshua 10:3,5) They were routed by Joshua at Beth-horon, and the king of Lachish fell a victim with the others under the trees at Makkedah. ver. (Joshua 10:26) The destruction of the town shortly followed the death of the king. vs. (Joshua 10:31-33) In the special statement that the attack lasted two days, in contradistinction to the other cities which were taken in one (see ver. 35), we gain our first glimpse of that strength of position for which Lachish was afterward remarkable. Lachish was one of the cities fortified and garrisoned by Rehoboam after the revolt of the northern kingdom. (2 Chronicles 11:9) In the reign of Hezekiah it was one of the cities taken by Sennacherib. This siege is considered by Layard and Hincks to be depicted on the slabs found by the former in one of the chambers of the palace at Kouyunjik. After the return from captivity, Lachish with its surrounding "fields" was reoccupied by the Jews. (Nehemiah 11:30)

Lachish

A city in the southwest part of Judah, Joshua 10:3,5,31; fortified by Rehoboam, 2 Chronicles 11:9, and strong enough to resist for a time the whole army of Sennacherib, 2 Kings 18:17 19:8 2 Chronicles 32:1,9,21 Micah 1:13. It was here that king Amaziah was slain, 2 Kings 14:19. For a wonderful confirmation of the truth of Scripture, see SENNACHERIB.

Impregnable, a royal Canaanitish city in the Shephelah, or maritime plain of Palestine (Joshua 10:3, 5; 12:11). It was taken and destroyed by the Israelites (Joshua 10:31-33). It afterwards became, under Rehoboam, one of the strongest fortresses of Judah (2 Chronicles 10:9). It was assaulted and probably taken by Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:14, 17; 19:8; Isaiah 36:2). An account of this siege is given on some slabs found in the chambers of the palace of Koyunjik, and now in the British Museum. The inscription has been deciphered as follows:, "Sennacherib, the mighty king, king of the country of Assyria, sitting on the throne of judgment before the city of Lachish: I gave permission for its slaughter." (see NINEVEH.)

Lachish has been identified with Tell-el-Hesy, where a cuneiform tablet has been found, containing a letter supposed to be from Amenophis at Amarna in reply to one of the Amarna tablets sent by Zimrida from Lachish. This letter is from the chief of Atim (=Etam, 1 Chronicles 4:32) to the chief of Lachish, in which the writer expresses great alarm at the approach of marauders from the Hebron hills. "They have entered the land," he says, "to lay waste...strong is he who has come down. He lays waste." This letter shows that "the communication by tablets in cuneiform script was not only usual in writing to Egypt, but in the internal correspondence of the country. The letter, though not so important in some ways as the Moabite stone and the Siloam text, is one of the most valuable discoveries ever made in Palestine" (Conder's Tell Amarna Tablets, p. 134).

Excavations at Lachish are still going on, and among other discoveries is that of an iron blast-furnace, with slag and ashes, which is supposed to have existed B.C. 1500. If the theories of experts are correct, the use of the hot-air blast instead of cold air (an improvement in iron manufacture patented by Neilson in 1828) was known fifteen hundred years before Christ. (see FURNACE.)

LACHISH

la'-kish (lakhish; Septuagint Lachis (Joshua 15:39), Maches):

1. Location:

A town in the foothills of the Shephelah on the border of the Philistine plain, belonging to Judah, and, from the mention of Eglon in connection with it, evidently in the southwestern portion of Judah's territory. Eusebius, Onomasticon locates it 7 miles from Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin) toward Daroma, but as the latter place is uncertain, the indication does not help in fixing the site of Lachish. The city seems to have been abandoned about 400 B.C., and this circumstance has rendered the identification of the site difficult. It was formerly fixed at Umm Lakis, from the similarity of the name and because it was in the region that the Biblical references to Lachish seem to indicate, but the mound called Tell el-Hesy is now generally accepted as the site. This was first suggested by Conder in 1877 (PEFS, 1878, 20), and the excavations carried on at the Tell by the Palestine Exploration Fund in 1890-93 confirmed his identification. Tell el-Hesy is situated on a wady, or valley, of the same name (Wady el Hesy), which runs from a point about 6 miles West of Hebron to the sea between Gaza and Askelon. It is a mound on the very edge of the wady, rising some 120 ft. above it and composed of debris to the depth of about 60 ft., in which the excavations revealed the remains of distinct cities which had been built, one upon the ruins of another. The earliest of these was evidently Amorite, and could not have been later than 1700 B.C., and was perhaps two or three centuries earlier (Bliss, Mound of Many Cities). The identification rests upon the fact that the site corresponds with the Biblical and other historical notices of Lachish, and especially upon the discovery of a cuneiform tablet in the ruins of the same character as the Tell el-Amarna Letters, and containing the name of Zimridi, who is known from these tablets to have been at one time Egyptian governor of Lachish. The tablets, which date from the latter part of the 15th or early part of the 14th century B.C., give us the earliest information in regard to Lachish, and it was then an Egyptian dependency, but it seems to have revolted and joined with other towns in an attack upon Jerusalem, which was also an Egyptian dependency. It was perhaps compelled to do so by the Khabiri who were then raiding this region. The place was, like Gaza, an important one for Egypt, being on the frontier and on the route to Jerusalem, and the importance is seen in the fact that it was taken and destroyed and rebuilt so many times.

2. History:

We first hear of it in the history of Israel when Joshua invaded the land. It was then an Amorite city, and its king, Japhia, joined the confederacy formed by Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, to resist Joshua. They were defeated in the remarkable battle at Gibeon, and the five confederate kings were captured and put to death at Makkedah (Joshua 10 passim; Joshua 12:11). Lachish was included in the lot of Judah (15:39), and it was rebuilt, or fortified, by Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 11:5, 9). It was besieged by Sennacherib in the reign of Hezekiah and probably taken (2 Kings 18:13) when he invaded Judah and besieged Jerusalem, but the other references to the siege leave it doubtful (2 Kings 18:14, 17; 2 Kings 19:8 2 Chronicles 32:9 Isaiah 36:2; Isaiah 37:8). The Assyrian monuments, however, render it certain that the place was captured. The sculptures on the walls of Sennacherib's palace picture the storming of Lachish and the king on his throne receiving the submission of the captives (Ball, Light from the East, 190-91). This was in 701 B.C., and to this period we may assign the enigmatical reference to Lachish in Micah 1:13, "Bind the chariot to the swift steed, O inhabitant of Lachish: she was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion." The cause of the invasion of Sennacherib was a general revolt in Phoenicia, Palestine, and Philistia, Hezekiah joining in it and all asking Egypt for aid (Rawlinson, Five Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World, chapter ix). Isaiah had warned Judah not to trust in Egypt (Isaiah 20:5, 6; Isaiah 30:1-5; 31:1), and as Lachish was the place where communication was held with Egypt, being a frontier fortress, perhaps even having an Egyptian garrison, it would be associated with the "sin" of the Egyptian alliance (HGHL, 234).

The city was evidently rebuilt after its destruction by Sennacherib, for we find Nebuchadnezzar fighting against it during his siege of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 34:7). It was doubtless destroyed by him, but we are informed by Nehemiah (11:30) that some of the returned Jews settled there after the captivity. It is very likely that they did not reoccupy the site of the ruined city, but settled as peasants in the territory, and this may account for the transference of the name to Umm Lakis, 3 or 4 miles from Tell el-Hesy, where some ruins exist, but not of a kind to suggest Lachish (Bliss, op. cit). No remains of any importance were found on the Tell indicating its occupation as a fortress or city later than that destroyed by the king of Babylon, but it was occupied in some form during the crusades, Umm Lakis being held for a time by the Hospitallers, and King Richard is said to have made it a base of operations in his war with Saladin (HGHL). The Tell itself, if occupied, was probably only the site of his camp, and it has apparently remained since that time without inhabitants, being used for agricultural purposes only.

See further, PALESTINE EXPLORATION, III, 1.

H. Porter

3923. Lachish -- a Canaanite city Southwest of Jer.
... 3922, 3923. Lachish. 3924 . a Canaanite city Southwest of Jer. Transliteration:
Lachish Phonetic Spelling: (law-keesh') Short Definition: Lachish. ...
/hebrew/3923.htm - 6k

3309. Yaphia -- a king of Lachish, also a son of David, also a ...
... a king of Lachish, also a son of David, also a place on the border of Zebulun.
Transliteration: Yaphia Phonetic Spelling: (yaw-fee'-ah) Short Definition: Japhia ...
/hebrew/3309.htm - 6k

Moses and his Writings
... Those of Lachish, the great Amorite city, are specially interesting. ... Now,
in the remains of Lachish we can see its whole history. ...
/.../duff/the bible in its making/chapter iii moses and his.htm

Tiglath-Pileser iii. And the Organisation of the Assyrian Empire ...
... which his father had but sketched the outline; he maintained his suzerainty, first
over Amaziah, and when the latter was assassinated at Lachish (764),* over ...
/.../chapter iitiglath-pileser iii and the.htm

History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8
... with Egypt, the downfall of the Tyrian kingdom (702 BC) -- The battle of Altaku
and the siege of Jerusalem: Sennacherib encamped before Lachish, his Egyptian ...
/.../history of egypt chaldaea syria babylonia and assyria v 8/title page.htm

England's Strength
... Jerusalem was thus in utter need and danger; the vast army of the Assyrians was
encamped at Lachish, not more than ten miles off; and however strong the walls ...
/.../kingsley/sermons for the times/sermon xiv englands strength.htm

The Siege. (xxi, xxxii-xxxiv, xxxvii, xxxviii. )
... by the king but evoked from Jeremiah by the progress of the Chaldean arms, which
had overrun all Judah save the fortresses of Jerusalem, Lachish and Azekah. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/smith/jeremiah/3 the siege xxi xxxii-xxxiv.htm

Scythopolis. Beth-Shean, the Beginning of Galilee.
... He answered, It is not lawful." And mention is made "of something done in Beth-shean
by the doctors about the wine of the heathen.". "Resh Lachish saith, If ...
/.../from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 60 scythopolis beth-shean the.htm

Some Other Towns Near Tiberias. Beth-Meon. Caphar Chittaia. ...
... as also a place not far from Tiberias, or Magdala, whose name was Caphar Chittaia:
which we may guess at, from this story:""R. Simeon Ben Lachish said thus ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 78 some other towns.htm

Magdala
... Magdala:". "R. Judan of Magdala.". "R. Isaac of Magdala.". "R. Gorion saith,
The men of Magdala asked R. Simeon Ben Lachish," &c. It ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 76 magdala.htm

The Triumph of Faith
... The rabshakeh had been sent from the main body of the Assyrian army, which was down
at Lachish in the Philistine low country on the road to Egypt, in order to ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture h/the triumph of faith.htm

A Prophet who Saved a Great City
... So the high official returned and found the king of Assyria making war against
Libnah, for he had heard that he had gone from Lachish. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/sherman/the childrens bible/a prophet who saved a.htm

Lachish (22 Occurrences)
... deciphered as follows:, "Sennacherib, the mighty king, king of the country of Assyria,
sitting on the throne of judgment before the city of Lachish: I gave ...
/l/lachish.htm - 22k

Eglon (13 Occurrences)
... Benjamite. (2.) A city in Judah, near Lachish (Joshua 15:39). ...Lachish. (see
LACHISH.). Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. EGLON (1). ...
/e/eglon.htm - 13k

Azekah (7 Occurrences)
... In all the three last references the place is mentioned along with Lachish. ... by 150
yds., and is much larger than Tell el-Chesy (Lachish) (Bliss). ...
/a/azekah.htm - 11k

Libnah (18 Occurrences)
... 31). It stood near Lachish, and has been identified with the modern Arak
el-Menshiyeh. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. LIBNAH. lib ...
/l/libnah.htm - 15k

Jarmuth (7 Occurrences)
... Joshua 10:3 Therefore Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron,
to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of ...
/j/jarmuth.htm - 11k

Rab'shakeh (14 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 18:17 And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rab-saris and Rab-shakeh
from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great army unto Jerusalem. ...
/r/rab'shakeh.htm - 10k

Rab-shakeh (14 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 18:17 And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rab-saris and Rabshakeh
from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great army unto Jerusalem. ...
/r/rab-shakeh.htm - 10k

Conspiracy (17 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 14:19 They made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish:
but they sent after him to Lachish, and killed him there. ...
/c/conspiracy.htm - 12k

Rabshakeh (15 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 18:17, 19, 26, 27, 28, 37; 2 Kings 19:4, 8 Isaiah 36:2, 4, 11, 12, 13, 22;
Isaiah 37:4, 8). The three officers named went from Lachish to Jerusalem and ...
/r/rabshakeh.htm - 14k

Conspired (32 Occurrences)
... (See NIV). 2 Kings 14:19 And they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and
he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish, and slew him there. ...
/c/conspired.htm - 16k

How does archaeology support the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Who was King Amaziah in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

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