--- title: "Sennacherib King of Assyria Threatens Jerusalem" description: "After a brutal three-year siege, the northern kingdom of Israel has been dismantled and its people forcibly relocated by the Assyrian empire." image: "" book: "2 Kings" bookId: "2KI" testament: "old" startChapter: 18 startVerse: 9 endChapter: 18 endVerse: 12 coversChapters: [18] aiTitle: "Samaria Falls: A Nation Scattered" aiDescription: "After a brutal three-year siege, the northern kingdom of Israel has been dismantled and its people forcibly relocated by the Assyrian empire." hasAiStory: true location: "Samaria" persons: ["Elah","God","Hezekiah","Hoshea","Israelites","Moses","Shalmaneser"] hashtags: ["covenant","exile","idolatry","judgment","obedience"] genre: "history" readingTime: 1 type: "adaptive" slug: "2KI/sennacherib-king-of-assyria-threatens-jerusalem" canonicalId: "2KI.18.9-18.12" chronologicalOrder: 884 relatedSlugs: [] prevSlug: "2KI/hezekiah-destroys-idolatry-in-judah" nextSlug: "2KI/assyria-invades-judah" --- Breaking news from the border. The city of Samaria, once a stronghold of the northern kingdom, has officially fallen after a grueling three-year siege led by the king of Assyria, [Shalmaneser](/persons/shalmaneser). The collapse came in the sixth year of [Hezekiah](/persons/hezekiah)’s reign. In a massive displacement operation, the Assyrian forces have rounded up the surviving population and marched them into forced exile. The people of Israel are being scattered across foreign territories, including Halah, Gozan, and the distant cities of the Medes. Analysts on the ground are pointing to a fundamental breakdown in national leadership and public duty. Officials state that this catastrophe is the direct result of a total rejection of the [LORD](/persons/god)’s guidance. The nation ignored the foundational laws established by [Moses](/persons/moses) and walked away from their covenant, leading to this current state of total collapse. In the fourth year of [Hezekiah](/persons/hezekiah)’s reign, which was the seventh year of the reign of [Hoshea](/persons/hoshea) son of [Elah](/persons/elah) over Israel, [Shalmaneser](/persons/shalmaneser) king of Assyria marched against Samaria and besieged it. And at the end of three years, the Assyrians captured it.
So Samaria was captured in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel. The king of Assyria exiled the [Israelites](/persons/israelites) to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes. This happened because they did not listen to the voice of the [LORD](/persons/god) their God, but violated His covenant—all that [Moses](/persons/moses) the servant of the LORD had commanded—and would neither listen nor obey.

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