Textual Analysis of Duplicates of the Sources of Sennacherib’s Campaigns

Koot van wyk (DLitt et Phil; Thd)

Visiting Professor

Department of Liberal Education

Kyungpook National University

Sangju Campus

South Korea

Conjoint lecturer of Avondale College

Australia

Introduction

We owe thanks to Rykle Borger, Babylonische-Assyrische Lesestücke 2^nd edition Vol. I (Rome: Pontificium Institutum Biblicum, 1979) for the presentation of the texts of Sennacherib and other kings and their textual variants.

The texts were presented in the same way as one would find the texts of BHS or the Göttingen Edition of the Septuagint presented or the Greek Texts of Metzger, Aland or Nestle for the New Testament. The advantage is that one can see how the texts are differing in detail.

One of the noteworthy differing aspects in the detail regarding same events in the life of Sennacherib, is the differences in numbers between the texts.

Number variations in the sources of Sennacherib

The First Campaign is presented by Borger from the Chicago Taylor Prism (dating to 691 BCE [Borger 1976: 87]) as chief text. Borger is convinced that the text developed

In Column I line 36 bēlī (EN)-ia 75 ālānī (URU.MEŠ)-šú dan-nu-ti bīt (É) dūrānī (BÀD.MEŠ[-ni]) was presented differently by the Rassam Cylinder as 88/89 ālānī (URU.MEŠ)-šú dan-nu-ti bīt (É). Rassam Cylinder is dating to 700 BCE.

In Column I line 37 ša māt (KUR) Kal-di ù 420 ālānī (URU.MEŠ[-ni]) şehrūti (TUR.MEŠ) is given in the Rassam Cylinder as ša māt (KUR) Kal-di ù 820/620 ālānī (URU.MEŠ[-ni]) şehrūti (TUR.MEŠ).

In Column I line 51-52 there are no numbers given for the livestock brought back as a result of the war in the Chicago-Taylor Prism and also not in the copy mentioned by Bezold in K3752. But, in the Bellino Cylinder (dating to 702 BCE [Borger 1976: 87]) and Rassam Cylinder the exact numbers are given: 7200 sīsī ^anšeparî 11073/11173 imērī 5230/5233 ^anšegammalī 80050/80100/200100 alpī 800100/800600/600600 şēnī ša la ni-bi.

Dating of the Campaigns issues

The first campaign was in 705/704 BCE and the second campaign took place in Simanu of 703 BCE until Tishri of 702 BCE (Koot van Wyk, Squatters in Moab [Berrien Springs, MI: Louishester Publications, 1993], 171). We are operating with the counting systems that allow for two or more counting systems as legitimately operating from two centers: Assyria and Babylon (Van Wyk 1993: 172). The Babylonian Kinglist will count the years of Sennacherib not from his father’s death, but from the year a ruler ruled over Babylon. His father made him ruler over Babylon two years before his death.

Isolated paragraph inserted(?) in various campaigns

A certain paragraph containing numbers of the booty is inserted again and again in other Campaigns and scholars are thinking that it is an error. However, there is an alternative explanation here possible. Let us look at the facts first. There are a number of cuneiform texts and each placed this paragraph in nearly identical format at the following places:

Rassam Cylinder (dating to 700 BCE [Borger 1976: 87]) placed it after the 3^rd Campaign of Sennacherib in 701 BCE (not the date of Stefan Timm since we demonstrated that his date is calculated with a monotonous system for that area).

Cylinder C (dating to 697 BCE [Borger 1976: 87]) placed it after the 4^th Campaign.

Catalogue Supplement nr. 3330 placed it after the 5^th Campaign.

BM 103000 (Borger 1976: 65 and dating to 694 BCE [Borger 1976: 87]) also placed it after the two Eponym Campaigns.

Bull 4 Inscription (A. Paterson 1915) it is placed after the 6^th Campaign.

In K3752 there are no numbers for this paragraph.

The Rassum Cylinder line 59 read:

i-na šal-la-at/la-ti/lat mātāti (KUR.MEŠ) šá/ša-ti-na ša áš-lu-la 10000 ^gišqaštu (PAN) 10000

^giša-ri-tú/tu ina/i-na lib-bi/libbī (ŠÀ)-šú-nu ak-şur-ma eli (UGU) ki-şir šarru (LUGAL)-ti-ia ú-rad-di

 Cylinder C read

15000 ^gišqaštu (PAN) 15000  ^giša-ri-tú/tu

BM 103000

30000 ^gišqaštu (PAN) 20000  ^giša-ri-tú/tu

Bull 4 Inscription

30500 ^gišqaštu (PAN) 20200  ^giša-ri-tú/tu

Conclusion

What should we do with these apparent contradictions? Many scholars work with an error theory so that they are considered errors. One is considered right and all the others are misreading of some kind. Slips of all kinds were a common phenomenon in those days but we have to first ask if there is not an alternative explanation for these discrepancies. Anyone who is familiar with the Tsunami in Japan in 2011 will know that the CNN reports started out with hundreds may have died, then thousands, and so the number climbed in days until today we have a very near correct number of the casualties. The booty counting in war was done carefully but the process took time. To bring the statistics together takes time. Thus, the war scribes would get an estimate and run to Assyria to report and others would follow as the numbers climb day by day. Finally a correct total is available and that would probably be the highest number. Later scribes who do not realize there is a chronology in the reports on the numbers that came in, will grab one of these statistic reports and list it as if that was the ultimate data not realizing it was somewhere on the way to the ultimate data.

Biblical Application of the alternative principle

A very similar phenomenon is found in the doublets between Samuel and Chronicles. On the life of David the 970 BCE report in 2 Samuel 10:18 lists 700 whereas the exilic 1 Chronicles 19:17 lists 7000.

In 2 Samuel 24:25 it seems as if David bought the threshing floor and the oxen he paid for 50 shekels of silver. In 1 Chronicles 21:25 it is said that David paid 600 shekels of gold probably for the site and he also got oxen.

In 2 Samuel 24:9 in 970 BCE it reads 800 000 and 500 000 whereas in 1 Chronicles 21:5 in 586 BCE it reads 1 100 000 and 470 000.

Final conclusion

Does this mean that there are discrepancies in the Word of God? The alternative is exactly the same as supra for the texts of Sennacherib. Scribes working in the palaces left the scene with exact data whether estimate or near-exact at the point of time they leave and since they leave the counting scene at different points, the numbers will vary.