A Closer Look at 2 Kings 19:35

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“And that night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.” — 2 Kings 19:35 (ESV)

At first glance, skeptics may claim that this verse presents a contradiction: How can people “wake up” and find dead bodies if they themselves were dead? However, this misunderstanding stems from a misreading of the passage and a failure to recognize standard Hebrew narrative structure and historical context.

Who Woke Up?

The phrase “when people arose early in the morning” does not refer to those who were struck down but to the survivors who remained in the Assyrian camp or nearby onlookers. The passage does not state that everyone in the camp was slain—only that 185,000 perished. This means that a remnant of the army, perhaps officers, messengers, or camp followers, awoke to the shocking sight of the dead around them.

This reading is supported by the next verse (2 Kings 19:36), which states:

“Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at Nineveh.”

Clearly, Sennacherib and some portion of his forces survived to retreat. These survivors would have been the ones who “arose early in the morning” and discovered the devastation. The verse simply describes the observation of the living.

Hebrew Literary and Linguistic Insights

Hebrew narrative often presents events in a condensed and dramatic manner. The phrase “behold, these were all dead bodies” (וְהִנֵּ֥ה פְגָרִ֖ים מֵתִֽים, v’hinneh pegarim metim) emphasizes the moment of realization—those who awoke were suddenly aware of the magnitude of the destruction. The use of hinneh (“behold”) signals a moment of dramatic discovery, a common literary device in Hebrew Scripture.[1]

Moreover, the word pegarim (פְּגָרִים) for “bodies” and metim (מֵתִים) for “dead” is significant. In ancient Hebrew, repetition serves as an intensifier, emphasizing that these bodies were unmistakably deceased. The text underscores the totality of God’s judgment.[2]

Jewish and Historical Context

The destruction of 185,000 Assyrian soldiers would have been a catastrophic blow to the empire, and evidence outside the Bible aligns with this event. The Assyrian king Sennacherib, who was known for meticulously recording his victories, does not claim to have conquered Jerusalem in his annals. Instead, the Taylor Prism, a historical Assyrian inscription, states:

“As for Hezekiah, the Judean, I shut him up like a bird in a cage.”[3]

This conspicuous absence of a victory statement suggests that something disastrous happened, forcing the Assyrians to abandon their siege. Jewish historian Flavius Josephus also references this event, stating:

“A pestilential distemper came upon the army, and immediately a hundred fourscore and five thousand, with their captains and generals, perished.”[4]

Herodotus, the Greek historian, also records a sudden disaster striking the Assyrian army, attributing it to mice destroying their weapons, which may reflect an embellished account of a real plague.[5] These historical sources provide external corroboration that a supernatural or natural calamity devastated the Assyrian forces.

A Theological and Logical Analysis

This passage underscores God’s sovereign intervention in history. The Assyrian siege of Jerusalem was an existential threat, and King Hezekiah had fervently prayed for deliverance (2 Kings 19:14-19). In response, God acted decisively, demonstrating His power over the greatest empire of the time.

From a logical perspective, the argument can be structured as follows:

1. If God exists and has authority over life and death, then He is capable of miraculously intervening in history.
2. The biblical and historical record both describe an event in which 185,000 Assyrians perished overnight in response to prayer.[6]
3. The absence of Assyrian victory claims, corroborating historical sources, and linguistic analysis align with the biblical account.[7]
4. Therefore, the biblical account of 2 Kings 19:35 is both historically plausible and theologically consistent.

Conclusion: No Contradiction, Only Divine Deliverance

The phrase does not imply that the dead awoke but that those still alive in the camp awoke and found the corpses. The Hebrew structure, Jewish historical context, and external corroboration support this interpretation. Rather than being a contradiction, this passage is a powerful testament to divine deliverance, highlighting that when God acts, even the mightiest armies fall.

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Footnotes:

1. Richard Elliott Friedman, The Hidden Book in the Bible (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1998).
2. John H. Walton, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006).
3. James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969).
4. Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 10, Chapter 1.
5. Herodotus, Histories, 2.141.
6. Kenneth Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003).
7. Gleason L. Archer Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction (Chicago: Moody Press, 2007).
8. Photo above is from the Lachish reliefs at the British museum with Sennacherib seated on his throne.

Addition:

I’ve always been a fan of Lord Byron’s poeity. He highlights this event in one of his poems:

The Destruction of Sennacherib

BY LORD BYRON (GEORGE GORDON)

The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,

And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;

And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,

When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.

   

Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,

That host with their banners at sunset were seen:

Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,

That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.

  

 For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,

And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;

And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,

And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!

   And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,

But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride;

And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,

And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.

  

 And there lay the rider distorted and pale,

With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail:

And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,

The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.

  

 And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,

And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;

And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,

Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!