Re: [T]he Assyrians
Assyria quickly became the most prosperous, powerful nation of the day.
Abraham Defeats the Assyrians in Genesis 14:1-2:
“And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar,
Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;
That these made war.…” These four kings were allied as a gigantic Assyrian empire,
as Josephus pointed out: “At this time, when the Assyrians had the dominion
over Asia, the people of Sodom were in a flourishing condition …?.
[T]he Assyrians made war upon them; and, dividing their army into four parts,
fought against them. Now every part of the army had its own commander …
Amraphel, Arioch, Chodorlaomer and Tidal.
These kings had laid waste all Syria, and overthrown the offspring of the giants”
(Antiquities, i, ix, 1). Josephus confirmed that the four kings mentioned in Genesis
14 were in fact Assyrian.
Lange’s Commentary says, “According to Ktesias and others,
the Assyrians were the first to establish a world-dominion.”
The last king listed is Tidal, the “king of nations.” He ruled in the region
of Asia Minor. The name Tidal comes from a Hebrew word which means
“to fear, make afraid, dreadful and terrible.” For centuries, Assyria caused
many nations great fear!
These four Assyrian generals came to make war with the kings in Canaan.
The Assyrians routed the people of Canaan, including the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
And in taking captives, they captured Abraham’s wealthy nephew, Lot .
“And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed
his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen,
and pursued them unto Dan.
And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night,
and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on
the left hand of Damascus” (verses 14-15).
Josephus recorded that Abram and his men “marched hastily, and the
fifth night fell upon the Assyrians, near Dan…and before they could arm
themselves, he slew some as they were in their beds, before they could
suspect any harm; and others, who were not yet gone to sleep,
but were so drunk they could not fight, ran away”(Antiquities, i, x, 1).
that Abram also killed the four top leaders of the Assyrian empire,Genesis 14:17
It was a complete rout. The power of Assyria was smashed in one night.
The course of history was changed. Abraham and his descendants were able
to continue living peacefully in the land of Canaan free from Assyrian aggression.
And Egypt, without the Assyrian threat, grew into one of the leading nations in
the ancient world. God wanted Egypt to dominate the Middle East, not Assyria.
Egypt, though the people didn’t know it at the time, was preparing for the arrival
of Joseph and the children of Israel.
For the next 1,200 years, the Bible says little about Assyria.
But the Assyrians did not disappear. Their resurgence around 700 b.c.,
once again as a world power, proved to be yet another thorn in the Israelites’ side.
[Fierceness] Virtually every historian draws attention to the war-like nature of
the Assyrian people. James McCabe, author of History of the World, says they
were a “fierce, treacherous race, delighting in the dangers of the chase and in war.
The Assyrian troops were notably among the most formidable of ancient warriors.
They never kept faith when it was to their interest to break treaties, and were
regarded with suspicion by their neighbors in consequence of this characteristic.
In organization and equipment of their troops, and in their system of attack and defense
and their method of reducing fortified places, the Assyrians manifested a superiority to
the nations by which they were surrounded.”
Dr. Herman Hoeh, historian and author of Compendium of World History, wrote,
“Ancient Assyria was the greatest war-making power in all history”.
James Hastings wrote, “The Assyrians of historic times were more robust, warlike,
‘fierce,’ than the mild industrial Babylonians. The whole organization of the state
was essentially military” (“Assyria and Babylonia,” Dictionary of the Bible).
Leonard Cottrell, in Anvil of Civilization, wrote: “In all the annals of human conquest,
it is difficult to find any people more dedicated to bloodshed and slaughter than
the Assyrians. Their ferocity and cruelty have few parallels save in modern times.”
It’s interesting that Catrell can only compare their ferocity with those “in modern times.”
Many would admit that in the 20th century the Germans were dedicated to much bloodshed.
After 800 b.c., Assyria was poised and ready to take the world by storm.
Its resurgence would soon clash head-on with the powerful Israelites.