Thematic Bible: Siege


Thematic Bible



On the ninth day of the fourth month, the store of food in the town was almost gone. There was no food for the people of the land.

I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they will eat one another's flesh in the siege and in the distress with which their enemies and those who seek their life will cause them.' Verse ConceptsBad ChildrenCannibalismAttacks On Jerusalem Foretold

After that King Benhadad of Syria led his entire army against Israel in siege of the city of Samaria. The siege caused a great food shortage in the city. It was so severe that a donkey's head cost eighty pieces of silver, and half a pound of dove's dung cost five pieces of silver. The king of Israel walked by on the city wall when a woman cried out: Help me, Your Majesty! read more.
The king replied: If Jehovah will not help you, what help can I provide? Where can I get you help from the threshing floor or the wine press? The king asked: What is your trouble? She answered: The other day a woman suggested that we eat my child. Then we could eat her child the next day. So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I told her that we would eat her son, but she had hidden him!

They slice off what is on the right hand, but they will still be hungry. In the end they will even eat the flesh of their own arms (offspring) (turn upon themselves). Verse ConceptsStomachs

However the field commander asked: Did my master send me to tell these things only to you and your master? Did he not send me to the men sitting on the wall who will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine with you? Verse ConceptsMonotonyRepulsive FoodDefecationUrinatingpoop

Now in the ninth year of his rule, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked Jerusalem with all his army. He took his position and laid siege to it. They built earthworks all round the town. They surrounded the town and laid siege till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. On the ninth day of the fourth month, the store of food in the town was almost gone. There was no food for the people of the land.

It was during his reign that the Babylonian army, commanded by King Nebuchadnezzar's officers, marched against Jerusalem and besieged it. During the siege Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem in person.

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked Judah. It was in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah. Verse ConceptsActual Attacks On Jerusalem

King Benhadad of Syria mustered his entire army, accompanied by thirty-two other kings with their horses and chariots, he laid siege on Samaria, and launched attacks against it. Verse Conceptsenemies, of Israel and JudahAttackingChariotsHorsesSiegesThirty SomeNations Attacking Israelsyria

Then the king of Assyria invaded the land and advanced to Samaria. He besieged the city for three years. Verse ConceptsThree YearsNations Attacking Israel

It was the fourth year of King Hezekiah, the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel. Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and laid siege to it. It was captured at the end of three years. Samaria was taken in the sixth year of Hezekiah's rule, which was the ninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel. The king of Assyria took Israel away as prisoners into Assyria. They placed them in Halah and in Habor on the river Gozan, and in towns of the Medes.

After that King Benhadad of Syria led his entire army against Israel in siege of the city of Samaria. Verse ConceptsSiegesNations Attacking Israelsyria

I will surround you with a military blockade and attack you from all sides. Verse ConceptsAttacks On Jerusalem Foretold

This is what you must do whenever you blockade a city for a long time in order to capture it in war. Do not harm any of its fruit trees with an ax. You may eat the fruit. Never cut those trees down, because the trees of the field are not people you have come to blockade. You may destroy trees that you know are not fruit trees. You may cut them down and use them in your blockade until you capture the city.

Therefore this is what Jehovah says concerning the king of Assyria: He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield, or build a siege ramp against it. Verse ConceptsAttacks On Jerusalem Turned Back

After everything Hezekiah had done so faithfully, King Sennacherib of Assyria came to invade Judah. He set up camp to attack the fortified cities. He intended to conquer them himself. Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come to wage war against Jerusalem, He and his officers and military staff made plans to stop the water from flowing out of the springs outside the city. They helped him do it. read more.
A large crowd gathered as they stopped all the springs and the brook that flowed through the land. They said: Why should the kings of Assyria find plenty of water? Hezekiah worked hard. He rebuilt all the broken sections of the wall. He built the towers taller and built another wall outside the city wall. He strengthened the Millo in the City of David, and made plenty of weapons and shields. He appointed military commanders over the troops and gathered the commanders in the square by the city gate. He spoke these words of encouragement: Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened or terrified by the king of Assyria or the crowd with him. Someone greater is on our side. Jehovah our God fights on our side. The Assyrians must rely on human power alone. These words encouraged the army of Judah. Sennacherib and his troops were camped at the town of Lachish. He sent a message to Hezekiah and the people in Jerusalem. It said: I am King Sennacherib of Assyria. I have Jerusalem surrounded. Do you think you can survive my attack? Hezekiah your king is telling you that Jehovah your God will save you from me. But he is lying! You will die of hunger and thirst. Did Hezekiah not tear down all except one of Jehovah's altars and places of worship? And did he not tell you people of Jerusalem and Judah to worship at that one place? You have heard what my ancestors and I have done to other nations. Were the gods of those nations able to defend their land against us? None of those gods kept their people safe from the kings of Assyria. Do you really think your God can do any better? Do not be fooled by Hezekiah! No god of any nation has been able to stand up to Assyria. Believe me, your God cannot keep you safe!' Sennacherib's officers said more against Jehovah God and his servant Hezekiah. Sennacherib wrote letters cursing Jehovah the God of Israel. These letters said: The gods of the nations in other countries could not rescue their people from me. Hezekiah's God cannot rescue his people from me. Sennacherib's officers shouted loudly in the Judean language to the troops who were on the wall of Jerusalem. They tried to frighten and terrify the troops so that they could capture the city. They spoke against the God of Jerusalem as if he were one of the gods of the peoples of the earth, the work of the hands of man. King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, prayed about this and called to heaven. Jehovah sent an angel who exterminated all the soldiers, officials, and commanders in the Assyrian king's camp. Sennacherib was humiliated and returned to his own country. When he went into the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him with a sword. So Jehovah saved Hezekiah and the people living in Jerusalem from King Sennacherib of Assyria and from everyone else. Jehovah gave them peace with all their neighbors. Many people still went to Jerusalem to bring gifts to Jehovah and expensive presents to King Hezekiah of Judah. From that point in history he was considered important by all the nations.

When you go to attack a city, first give its people a chance to surrender. If they open the gates and surrender, they will all become your slaves and do forced labor for you. If the people of that city choose to fight and will not surrender, surround it with your army.

The king asked: What is your trouble? She answered: The other day a woman suggested that we eat my child. Then we could eat her child the next day. So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I told her that we would eat her son, but she had hidden him!

And Baasha, the son of Ahijah, of the family of Issachar, made a secret design against him, attacking him at Gibbethon, a town of the Philistines. Nadab and the armies of Israel were making war on Gibbethon. Verse ConceptsConspiraciesKilling KingsThe Nations Attacked

The king and his men went to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived in that region. The Jebusites told David: You will never get in here. Even the blind and the lame could turn you away. In other words he could not enter there. Verse ConceptsdisabilitiesZion, As A PlaceEntering Cities

David lived in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built the city of Jerusalem around it from the stronghold (citadel) to the palace. Verse ConceptsFortressesCity Of DavidStrongholdsZion, As A PlaceFortsPeople Naming ThingsRebuilding Jerusalem

Then Omri went up from Gibbethon, with all the army of Israel, and they attacked Tirzah, Israel's capital. Verse ConceptsPeople Attacking Their Own

Joab and his troops surrounded Abel, so no one could go in or come out. They made a dirt ramp (rampart) up to the town wall. Then they used a battering ram to knock the wall down. Verse ConceptsBattering ramsSiegesWallsSiege MoundsPeople Attacking Their Own

Rezin king of Aram, and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came to Jerusalem to make war. They attacked Ahaz but could not conquer him. Verse ConceptsActual Attacks On JerusalemList Of Kings Of Israelsyria

In the spring, at the time of the year when kings usually go to war, David sent out Joab with his officers and the Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged the city of Rabbah. David stayed in Jerusalem. Verse ConceptsJerusalem, History OfSpringSiegesNature Of KingsReady For WarThe Nations Attackedspringtime

The children of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They put it to the sword and set the city on fire. Verse ConceptsConquestBurning Jerusalem