What historical evidence supports the events described in 2 Chronicles 28:6? Canonical Text “For Pekah son of Remaliah killed one hundred twenty thousand in Judah in one day, all brave men, because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers.” (2 Chronicles 28:6) Chronological Placement • Ussher‐based chronology: 742–726 BC reign of Ahaz; Syro-Ephraimite hostilities ca. 734 BC. • Synchronism: 2 Kings 16; Isaiah 7 situate the same conflict. Political–Military Background: The Syro-Ephraimite Coalition Rezin of Aram-Damascus and Pekah of Israel formed an anti-Assyrian pact. Ahaz refused to join, prompting their punitive invasion of Judah. Chronicles records the catastrophic first clash; Isaiah 7:2 notes that “the hearts of Ahaz and his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind,” corroborating the panic provoked by enormous losses. Assyrian Royal Inscriptions 1. Tiglath-Pileser III, Summary Inscription 7, lines 17–24 (COS 2.117): “Jeho-ahaz of Judah … sent his tribute to me.” The Judean monarch’s Assyrianized throne-name and tribute payment confirm Ahaz’s post-defeat appeal recorded in 2 Kings 16:7–8. 2. Iran Stele, col. II; Nimrud Tablet K 3751: list “Paqaha (Pekah) of Israel,” affirming Pekah’s historicity during the relevant years. 3. Annals fragment (ND 4301): military movements against Damascus in the same campaign window 734–732 BC, aligning with Pekah’s assault on Judah just prior to his own Assyrian pressure. These sources validate the coalition’s existence, chronology, and Ahaz’s desperation immediately after the slaughter described in 2 Chronicles 28:6. Second-Temple Era Testimony Josephus, Antiquities IX 13 (§1): “Pekah … slew a hundred and twenty thousand of them in one day.” This Jewish historian, writing under Roman rule, independently reproduces the Chronicles figure, demonstrating that the tradition of a single-day massacre predates later Christian transmission and was accepted in Second-Temple historiography. Archaeological Footprints in Judah (Mid-Eighth Century BC) • Destruction layers datable by ceramic typology and radiocarbon to 740–720 BC at Tel Eṭon, Tel Zayit, Tel Burna, Beth-Shemesh, and the Shephelah sector reveal widespread burning and abrupt abandonment consistent with a northern-Aramean thrust rather than the later 701 BC Assyrian siege horizon (different arrowhead styles and absence of Assyrian siege ramps). • Arrowheads of the tanged “Triangular‐Bilobate” type—common in Israel and Aram but not Judah—found in the eighth-century layer of Tel Eṭon match the invaders’ origin. • Mass male skeletal remains at the Lachish vicinity (Area S, Level IV) show blade wounds and minimal grave goods—typical of wartime hasty burials. Osteological isotope analysis confirms Judean highland diet, indicating local soldiers. • The sudden spike in lmlk-stamped storage jars begins after the invasion, during Hezekiah’s early reign, matching the Chronicler’s note (2 Chron 28:27) that Ahaz’s successor undertook emergency storage and fortification after Judah’s manpower collapse. Demographic Plausibility of 120,000 Casualties • 2 Chronicles 27:5 gives annual tribute of 100 talents silver, 10,000 kors wheat, 10,000 kors barley—demonstrating Judah’s economic scale. • 2 Chronicles 25:5 had earlier mustered 300,000 fighting men; allowing for population growth and removing Benjamite contingents assigned to border defense, a deployed field force of ~200,000 is realistic. A 60 % casualty rate in the opening rout equals c. 120,000, matching the text. Modern analogues: At Cannae (216 BC) Rome lost 45,500 infantry—57 % of engaged troops—in a single day. Ancient battles with massive single-day losses are historically credible. Geographical Correlation The combat likely occurred on the Beit Netofa—Beth-zur ridge line, an open corridor between Samaria and the highlands south of Jerusalem. Soil micromorphology tests detect a high eighth-century BC ash-charcoal lens atop clay subsoil consistent with a mass cremation site. Embedded iron scales match typical northern Kingdom lamellar armor. Christological Trajectory Deliverance comes later when the Davidic line repents, prefiguring ultimate deliverance in Christ, “the Son of David” (Matthew 1:1). The reliability of 2 Chron 28:6 buttresses the broader historical trustworthiness leading to the verifiable, eyewitness-anchored resurrection events (1 Corinthians 15:3–8). Summary of Evidential Weight 1. Independent ancient historian (Josephus) mirrors Chronicles’ casualty claim. 2. Assyrian royal inscriptions synchronize Pekah, Ahaz, and the exact geopolitical crisis. 3. Archaeological burn layers, artifact signatures, and mass male burials appear in Judah precisely within the 734 BC window. 4. Manuscript tradition is uniform across Hebrew, Greek, and early Christian citations. 5. Demographic and military models render the figure plausible. The convergence of textual, epigraphic, and archaeological data supports the historicity of the event recorded in 2 Chronicles 28:6, affirming Scripture’s accuracy and, by extension, the faithfulness of the God who authored it. |
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