Archaeologists have discovered an old military site that might support a story from the Bible about angels protecting Jerusalem.
Based on the story from about 2,700 years ago, God sent an angel to fight Assyrian soldiers who wanted to take over the Holy Land. The angel reportedly appeared among the enemy soldiers and defeated 185,000 of them in a single night.
Until this time, there has not been any archaeological proof that this extraordinary event, or even the battle itself, really occurred.
Archaeologist Stephen Compton now says that, using advanced mapping methods, he has uncovered further evidence supporting the occurrence of the legendary battle.
King Sennacherib of the Assyrian Empire invaded Jerusalem
The Assyrian Empire existed from 1365 to 609 BC. This was many centuries before Christ’s time. King Sennacherib of the Assyrian Empire led the invasion of Jerusalem to strengthen his control over trade routes through the Syrian Desert to the Mediterranean Sea.
Earlier, researchers found carvings on the walls of King Sennacherib’s palace. These depict his victory over Lachish, a city 42 miles south of Jerusalem.
The carvings provided a layout of the military base, which Compton compared with photographs from the 1910s of the same area, as reported by Daily Mail.
Compton observed a site matching the dimensions depicted on the palace walls. Ruins with remnants of a surrounding wall and pottery fragments were found. Through an extensive archaeological survey, Compton concluded that the site was deserted shortly after Sennacherib’s invasion. It remained uninhabited for over 2,600 years.
Proof of #Bible story about angels killing 185,000 soldiers in a night is uncovered after 2,700 yrs#Researchers have discovered an ancient military base that may corroborate a Bible story about God’s angels fending off an attack on #Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/9gS4r21Zg6
— Hans Solo (@thandojo) June 17, 2024
This discovery opens opportunities for locating additional military sites nearby, potentially revealing ancient cities devastated by the Assyrian Empire.
In 2021, Compton shared on X, previously Twitter, that he had pinpointed the exact locations of Sennacherib’s military camps. He described each camp as circular. These are situated just over a mile north of the old city walls. He also noted that, on historical maps, the camps were referred to as “Mudawwara,” an Arabic name.
The significance of these sites lies in their association with Sennacherib’s strategic planning for the invasion, as reflected by their Arabic name, Khirbet al Mudawwara. The name means “the ruins of the camp of the invading ruler.”
Prior to Compton’s discovery, only one other ancient military campsite had been found in the region.
Bible stories mention angels killing Assyrian soldiers
Three Bible stories—in Isaiah 37:36-38, 2 Kings 19:35, and 2 Chronicles 32:21—describe how Assyrian soldiers were killed the night before their planned attack on Jerusalem. In each account, the Israelite deity Yahweh sent an angel who moved through the camp while the soldiers slept, striking them down for threatening His followers.
Bible passage 19:35 from the book 2 Kings says: “And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred fourscore and five thousand; and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.”
The term “Angel of the Lord,” written in Hebrew as “malak Yahweh,” means “messenger of the Lord.” This angel was sent to protect Jerusalem after its ruler, Hezekiah, prayed to God for safety.
According to another version of the story, a plague killed the Assyrian soldiers. A Greek account claims mice invaded the camp during the night, chewing through the soldiers’ bowstrings and shield straps and leaving them defenseless.