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Esar-haddonInsight on the Scriptures, Volume 1
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In his inscriptions Esar-haddon had said: “I am powerful, I am all powerful, I am a hero, I am gigantic, I am colossal.” (Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, Vol. II, p. 226)
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Esar-haddonInsight on the Scriptures, Volume 1
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In one of his inscriptions Esar-haddon confirms the Scriptural account of his father’s death (Isa 37:37, 38), saying: “A firm determination ‘fell upon’ my brothers. They forsook the gods and turned to their deeds of violence, plotting evil. . . . To gain the kingship they slew Sennacherib, their father.”—Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, by D. Luckenbill, 1927, Vol. II, pp. 200, 201.
Esar-haddon states that, prior to his father’s death, he had already been selected as heir apparent, and he seems to have served as viceroy at Babylon before becoming king of Assyria. Following his father’s assassination, Esar-haddon tells of pursuing the murderers to Armenia (“the land of Ararat,” 2Ki 19:37), where he defeated them. His official reign is considered to have lasted 12 years.
Early in his reign Esar-haddon began the restoration of Babylon, which Sennacherib had destroyed. The temple of Esagila was restored and, of the city itself, Esar-haddon says: “Babylon . . . I built anew, I enlarged, I raised aloft, I made magnificent.”—Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, Vol. II, p. 244.
His records recount military operations against the Gimirrai or Cimmerians, believed to be the descendants of Gomer. (Compare Ge 10:2; Eze 38:6.) He also sacked the city of Sidon, setting up a new city on a nearby site, which he named Kar-Esarhaddon. In one of his inscriptions he lists some 20 vassal kings, including Manasseh of Judah (Menasi king of Yaudi).
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