Esarhaddon
Esarhaddon was the king of Assyria, the son and successor of Sennacherib.
Biography
Esarhaddon was the king of Assyria who reigned from approximately 681 to 669 BC, succeeding his father Sennacherib after the latter was assassinated by his own sons. The Bible notes Sennacherib's death and Esarhaddon's succession in 2 Kings 19:37 and Isaiah 37:38. Esarhaddon is also referenced in Ezra 4:2 as the Assyrian king who brought foreign peoples to settle in Samaria following the earlier deportation of the northern Israelite tribes. Known from Assyrian records as a capable and ambitious ruler, Esarhaddon conducted major military campaigns, rebuilt Babylon (which his father had destroyed), and extended Assyrian power into Egypt, completing the conquest begun by his predecessors.
Significance
Esarhaddon's significance in biblical history is twofold. First, his succession after Sennacherib's assassination confirmed the fulfillment of God's prophetic word through Isaiah, that Sennacherib would fall by the sword in his own land (Isaiah 37:7). Second, Esarhaddon's resettlement policies in Samaria contributed to the complex ethnic and religious mixture that characterized the Samaritan people in later centuries, a reality that would create ongoing tensions with returned Jewish exiles (Ezra 4:2). His reign illustrates how even foreign imperial policy served, sometimes unwittingly, as an instrument of divine judgment and the outworking of God's purposes for his covenant people.
Verse Appearances (3)
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]