Excavating Nebuchadnezzar's Destruction at Lachish

The biblical city of Lachish is mentioned 24 times in the Old Testament. Some of the most notable references are: the Israelite conquest of Lachish (Joshua 10:3-35; 12:11; 15:39), the Assyrian siege and destruction of the city by the Assyrian king Sennacherib in 701 B.C. (2 Kings 19:8; 2 Chronicles 32:9), and the destruction of both Lachish and Jerusalem by the Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon, in 586 B.C. (Jeremiah 34:7). Lachish, during the Iron Age, stood as the most important city in Judah after Jerusalem. The biblical site of Lachish, known locally as Tell ed-Duweir, has been excavated in three prior expeditions. A fourth expedition to this site, along with reasons for this new project, serve as the focus of Dr. Michael Hasel’s presentation. Lecture date: October 22, 2013