Who was Adrammelech in the Bible?

Adrammelech was a son of Sennacherib, the powerful king of Assyria. He is most notably recorded as one of the two sons who assassinated his father after Sennacherib's failed siege of Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:37; Isaiah 37:38).

Why did Adrammelech kill his father Sennacherib?

The Bible states that Adrammelech and his brother Sharezer killed their father while he was worshiping his god Nisroch. This act of regicide occurred after Sennacherib returned to Nineveh following God's miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem from his army (2 Kings 19:35-37).

What is the significance of Adrammelech's story?

Adrammelech's story serves as a dramatic fulfillment of biblical prophecy and demonstrates divine judgment. It shows that even a mighty king like Sennacherib was not beyond God's justice, as his own sons turned against him, highlighting the theme that pride precedes a fall.

Adrammelech

Old TestamentDivided MonarchyMaleSonFather

Adrammelech, son of Assyrian king Sennacherib, assassinated his father. (2Ki.19.37; Isa.37.38)

Adrammelech

Biography

This Adrammelech was a son of the Assyrian king Sennacherib. According to 2 Kings 19:37 and its parallel in Isaiah 37:38, after Sennacherib's catastrophic military failure before Jerusalem, when the angel of the LORD struck down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in a single night, the shamed king returned to Nineveh. There, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, Adrammelech and his brother Sharezer assassinated him. The brothers then fled to the land of Ararat (Urartu), and another son, Esarhaddon, succeeded to the Assyrian throne. The assassination is corroborated by Babylonian and Assyrian historical records, lending the biblical account striking extrabiblical confirmation.

Significance

The murder of Sennacherib by his own son is a darkly ironic conclusion to the Assyrian king's confrontation with the God of Israel. Sennacherib had mocked Hezekiah's God, demanding the surrender of Jerusalem and rhetorically asking whether any nation's gods had ever resisted Assyria (2 Kings 18:33–35). The answer came first through the angelic slaughter of his army and ultimately through patricide in his own temple, the very place he expected divine protection. Adrammelech thus becomes an unwitting instrument of divine judgment on a dynasty that defied Yahweh. His act illustrates the biblical theme that the LORD's sovereignty extends even over the internal politics of empires, and that those who exalt themselves against him find destruction in unexpected places.

Verse Appearances (2)

2Kgs

2Kgs 19:37

Isaiah

Isaiah 37:38

References

Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]

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