The Bible says that “Sennacherib the king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and proceeded to seize them.” Jerusalem’s king Hezekiah, frightened by this threat, “sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish” and offered to buy him off with a heavy tribute.​—2 Kings 18:13, 14.

Of course, haughty Sennacherib would not be expected to boast of this loss of his troops. But what he does say is interesting. His annals, recorded on both the Oriental Institute Prism and the Taylor Prism, say: “As to Hezekiah, the Jew, he did not submit to my yoke, I laid siege to 46 of his strong cities, walled forts and to the countless small villages in their vicinity, and conquered (them) . . . Himself I made a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage.” Sennacherib says that “the terror-inspiring splendor of my lordship” overwhelmed Hezekiah. Yet, he does not say he captured Hezekiah or conquered Jerusalem, as he had said about the “strong cities” and “small villages.” Why not? As the Bible shows, the elite of the troops that Sennacherib had sent to do so had been destroyed!