Sennacherib's Prism (Taylor Prism)
What Was Found
A hexagonal prism of red baked clay, 38 centimeters high and 14 centimeters wide, inscribed in Akkadian cuneiform with six paragraphs recording the military campaigns of the Assyrian king Sennacherib. Found at Nineveh in 1830 by Colonel Robert Taylor, a British diplomat, and purchased by the British Museum from Taylor's widow in 1855 (catalog BM 91032). The prism's account of the 701 BCE campaign against Judah famously states: "As for Hezekiah the Judahite, who did not submit to my yoke — I shut him up like a caged bird in his royal city of Jerusalem." The inscription also records campaigns against the Kingdom of Israel-Samaria, the siege of Lachish, and the deportation of populations. Notably, Sennacherib boasts of extracting heavy tribute from Hezekiah but never claims to have conquered Jerusalem — consistent with the Biblical account in 2 Kings 18-19 and Isaiah 36-37 that the city was delivered. Three copies of the annals survive: the Taylor Prism (British Museum, London), the Chicago Prism (Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, University of Chicago), and the Jerusalem Prism (Israel Museum).
The Text Itself
As for Hezekiah the Judahite, who did not submit to my yoke — I shut him up like a caged bird in his royal city of Jerusalem.— Original acquisition from Colonel Taylor's widow in 1855; A.K. Grayson, Assyrian Rulers of the Early First Millennium BC II (Toronto, 1996)
Why This Matters
Provides one of the most important extra-biblical corroborations of a biblical narrative. While Sennacherib boasts of shutting Hezekiah "like a caged bird" and extracting tribute, he never claims to have conquered Jerusalem — consistent with the biblical account.
Acceptance Assessment
Universally Accepted
The prism's authenticity, dating, and content are universally accepted. The Assyrian account of the siege of Jerusalem is one of the most important extra-biblical corroborations of a biblical narrative.
What Scholars Debate
The main debate concerns reconciling the Assyrian and biblical accounts of tribute amounts and the siege outcome, and whether there was one campaign in 701 BCE or a hypothetical second campaign.
