The Kushites Come to Jerusalem's Aid

While watching a show on the History Channel, there was story that caught my attention, a story about how in ancient Jerusalem while under siege from the Assyrians, the Hebrews were miraculously saved by God. The bible says that in the night an Angel comes down and slays the Assyrian Army while they lay sleeping. the Bible also says that when the people of Jerusalem awoke the next morning they found that the Assyrians were all corpses. They believed this to be a miracle Of God. .The Greek historian Herodotus tells a different story, he tells how mice eat the strings of the Assyrians bows.

Thus rendering their war machine severely impotent. Theologians also speculate the Assyrian Army was besieged by pestilence.

The Assyrians led by the King Sennacherib had an army of 185,000 soldiers, did indeed return home without taking Jerusalem, but Assyrian records also conflict the Hebrew accounts. The Assyrian army was not destroyed and, in fact, that sometime later Sennacherib was assassinated by his sons. The bible corroborates this In 2 Kings 20:37. This account Contradicts the account in 2 Kings 19:35, But the bible was Not meant to be a historical account but one of faith and traditions. While researching the story I found that other traditions Told of similar accounts, while others had a different take all together, however, they all agreed that the Assyrians moved on to take Jerusalem and after a time returned home. Another Historical account tells of an alliance between the Hebrew King Hezekiah and the Kushites. In 701 B.C. knowing that he would need assistance if he were to last through The siege of the Assyrian army, Hezekiah calls on his allies the Kushites. Taharqa on behalf of his brother and Reigning king, Shabitqo comes to his aid. The Ancient Kushites were in power from around 3100 BC to about 400 AD controlling a region Known as Nubia, now in the northern Sudan in North Africa. Catching the Assyrians by surprise the Kushites engaged them and was able to push them back and they returned to their empire leaving Jerusalem intact. This account does seem to fill in some of the blanks in the Biblical account. I personally found it interesting that in almost all accounts the importance that the Kushites played in 701 B.C. was either absent or only a minor foot note. This could be due in part to how the early Hebrew view people of Darker complexions as the children of Cain, also referred to as the Curse of Cain in The some traditions., after Cain left the Garden of Eden he wandered the earth to pay for his sins. Cain did marry and his children were bad, and all the decedents were bad. This little bit of the Bible has been interpreted in a few different ways, mostl have been derogatory. The influence of the Catholic Church in the 18 century and their irresponsible Interpretation of the Bible led to this view of dark skinned people, and the justification of their subjugation. This is the reason that I believe that the fathers of the various churches have used to delete the Kushites from the historical record and the key part they played in the siege of the Assyrians at Jerusalem. Most historians agree that had the Assyrians conquered Jerusalem; the world would be a much different place. So in leaving out the part the Kushites played, is a slight on the great cultures color and the role they played in securing the three great Religions that we all observe and enjoy today.