Solomon had horses and chariots brought out of Egypt for the kings of the Hittites;1 and "he loved many strange women," amongst them "women of the Hittites." 2 Thus he disobeyed all the three commandments given to those who should be "set king" over Israel. "He shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses. Neither shall he multiply wives to himself neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold."3 "As for all the people that were left of the Hittites and (other nations) which were not of Israel . . . them did Solomon make to pay tribute."4 The incident related in 2 Kings 7 shows that even later the Hittites were a powerful people, for, when the Syrians besieged Samaria and the Lord interfered in the behalf of Israel, He "made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to come upon us." The Hittites and the Egyptians are thus put on an equality, and the Syrians were so smitten with terror that they fled precipitately. It is probable that the first heathen congregation to which the gospel was preached by the Apostle Paul was of Hittite origin, for "when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down unto us in the likeness of men.' "6 Some have held that this was a Hittite dialect. 11 Kings 10. 28, 29. 3 Deut. 17. 16, 17. 5 2 Kings 7. 6. 21 Kings 11. 1. 6 Acts 14. 11. CHAPTER V THE NIMROUD CENTRAL SALOON (PLATE IV.) THERE were seven great monarchs who ruled over Assyria and Babylon who were closely connected with Bible history. They were Shalmaneser II., B.C. 860-825. Tiglath-Pileser III. or Pul, B.C. 745-727. Sargon, B.C. 722–705. Sennacherib, B.C. 705-681. Esarhaddon, B.C. 681–668. Ashur-bani-pal, B.C. 668-626. The monuments of these kings fill this and the Nineveh Gallery and also the Assyrian Saloon and Basement. In the centre of our illustration (Plate IV., p. 17) behind the celebrated "Black Obelisk" stands a slab with rounded top. This monolith records the early conquests of Shalmaneser II. It tells how, on the occasion of one of his inroads into Syria, he found drawn up against him a strong allied army consisting of the troops of Damascus, Hamath, and others. Among the confederates were Ahab king of Israel and Benhadad king of Syria. A battle, which is described on the stone, was fought at Karkar. This is not mentioned in the Bible, but we read there how Ahab, contrary to God's command, spared the life of Benhadad and "made a covenant with him."1 "And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel." 2 It must have been during this three years, probably at its close, that Shalmaneser fought against them and broke up the confederacy, for immediately afterwards Ahab king of Israel made an alliance with Jehoshaphat king of Judah, in order to recover Ramoth in Gilead and take it "out of the hand of the king of Syria." 3 The discovery of this monolith gave an incidental proof of the accuracy with which the cuneiform or wedgeshaped writing of the Assyrian monuments had been deciphered. The stone was found at Kurkh on the right bank of the Tigris, and when sent home was deciphered by Sir Henry Rawlinson. He read that Shalmaneser had set it up by the side of a similar inscription by his father, Ashur-nasir-pal. Word was therefore sent to those who were exploring to dig again in the same place, and the companion monolith was found. It stands opposite the doorway leading to the Assyrian Basement. The celebrated "Black Obelisk" (Plate IV., p. 17) stands in the centre of the Nimroud Saloon; and is of special interest, because it mentions two well-known Bible characters, Jehu and Hazael, the two whom Elijah was commanded to anoint, and to whom Elisha conveyed the news that they should reign over Israel and Syria.* The obelisk represents Shalmaneser receiving the tribute of five different nations, and among them, on the second row, is depicted the tribute of "Jehu the son of Omri"; the figure bowing down being either Jehu himself 3 Vers. 2, 3. 11 Kings 20. 34. 21 Kings 22. 1. THE BLACK OBELISK 21 or his ambassador. The word "son" is used very loosely, or probably the Assyrians had not heard that Jehu had usurped the throne, and so called him "the son of Omri,' as though he had been the son of Ahab his predecessor. Samaria itself was called Bit-Omri the house of Omri, and this agrees with the account of the founding of the city. "Omri bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built after the name of Shemer owner of the hill, Samaria.” 1 The large historical text which runs round the base of the obelisk describes the conquests of Shalmaneser. No mention is made of Jehu, but “it is stated that he captured 1,121 chariots and 470 battle horses, and the whole camp of 'Hazael king of Damascus.' From a paper squeeze in the British Museum, we learn that Shalmaneser II. received tribute from Jehu during the expedition against Hazael." 2 3 In the Book of the Kings we read that "Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin. In those days the Lord began to cut Israel short, and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel." It is therefore very probable that Jehu sought the help of the king of Assyria against Hazael; but, if so, the help received was of no avail, for we see from these passages that Hazael and his son continued to trouble Israel until at last "the Lord was gracious unto them and had compassion on them." 4 The seated figure, the back of which is shown in the illustration (Plate IV., p. 17), represents Shalmaneser himself. The account of the last nine years of his reign is given on the Balâwât Gates in the Assyrian Basement (see p. 32). In the Nimroud Central Saloon there are several inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser III., or Pul. He is associated with several kings of Israel and Judah. "Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath - Pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me. And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and took it. . . And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus," 1 of which he had a copy made. 2 "And Menahem king of Israel also paid tribute. Pul the king of Assyria came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand... so the king of Assyria turned back and stayed not there in the land." This alliance only lasted during the lifetime of Menahem. In the days of Pekah, TiglathPileser carried captive to Assyria the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh. half tribes had begged that Moses would settle on the wilderness side of Jordan. The land first obtained was first lost, and thus began the first stage of the captivity of Israel. The two names for this monarch are given in 1 Chron. 5. 26, but the verb which follows is in the singular, showing that they were different names for the same person. "And the God of Israel stirred 12 Kings 16. 7-18. Reubenites, the The two and a allow them to 22 Kings 15. 19, 20. 32 Kings 15. 29; 1 Chron. 5. 26. |