Lachish

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

A royal Canaanite city which joined the confederacy against Gibeon for submitting to Israel, and was taken by Joshua ( Joshua 12:11;  Joshua 10:3;  Joshua 10:5;  Joshua 10:31-32) "on the second day," which shows its strength; the other cities were taken in one day ( Joshua 10:35). Assigned to Judah, in the shephelah or "low hilly country" ( Joshua 15:33;  Joshua 15:39). Rehoboam fortified it ( 2 Chronicles 11:9). To Lachish Amaziah fled from the conspirators, and was slain there ( 2 Kings 14:19;  2 Chronicles 25:27). Sennacherib was at Lachish when Hezekiah begged peace. Thence he sent his first message to Hezekiah by Rabshakeh, and then having left Lachish to war against Libnah, from the latter sent again ( 2 Kings 18:14;  2 Kings 18:17;  2 Kings 19:8). The strength of Lachish as a fortress is implied in  2 Chronicles 32:9, "Sennacherib laid siege against Lachish and all his power with him."

It held out against Nebuchadnezzar ( Jeremiah 34:7). Sennacherib's siege of Lachish is still to be seen at Koyunjik represented on the slabs of his palace walls as successful, with the inscription "Sennacherib, the mighty king of Assyria, sitting on the throne of judgment before the city of Lachish, I give permission for its slaughter." The Assyrian tents appear pitched within the walls, and the foreign worship going on. The town, as in Scripture, is depicted as on hilly ground, one part higher than the other. The background shows a hilly country covered with vines and fig trees; but immediately round the town are palms, indicating its nearness to the maritime plain where the palm best flourishes. His boasted success is doubtful from  2 Chronicles 32:1, "Sennacherib encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself";  2 Kings 19:8;  Jeremiah 34:7.

Lachish was foremost in adopting some of the northern idolatry. Hence, Micah ( Micah 1:13) warned the inhabitants of Lachish to flee on the swift beast (there's a play of like sounds between Lachish and rechesh ), Sennacherib being about to make it his head quarters, for "she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion, for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee." The Jews returning from Babylon re-occupied Lachish ( Nehemiah 11:30). Now Um Lakis, on a low round swell, with a few columns and fragments; in the middle of the plain, on Sennacherib's road to Egypt, where he was marching, according to Robinson. Rather it answers to the great mound of Tel el Hesy ("hillock of the waterpit"), ten miles from Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin), and not far from Ajlan (Eglon). Hesy is a corruption of Lachish, the Hebrew caph) being changed into the guttural. Tel el Hesy commands the approach to the hills (Palestine Exploration Quarterly Statement, Jan. 1878, p. 19-20).

Holman Bible Dictionary

The earliest reference to Lachish is in the Amarna letters (about 1400 B.C). It was evidently one of the important Canaanite cities of the time. The Hebrew army under Joshua's command defeated the king of Lachish, killed him and conquered his city ( Joshua 10:5 ,  Joshua 10:23 ,Joshua 10:23, 10:32-33 ). Later, Lachish was apportioned to the Tribe of Judah ( Joshua 15:39 ). The next Biblical reference to Lachish comes in  2 Chronicles 11:9 , from the reign of Rehoboam who “fortified the city.” Lachish was also the city of refuge for Amaziah who fled there from Jerusalem to escape a conspiracy against him ( 2 Kings 14:19;  2 Chronicles 25:27 ).

Lachish is perhaps most well known for the story of its siege and conquest in 701 B.C. at the hands of the Assyrian King Sennacherib ( 2 Kings 18:1;  2 Chronicles 32:1;  Isaiah 36:1 ). Two later brief references appear ( Jeremiah 34:7;  Nehemiah 11:30 ).

The archaeological excavations at Lachish have been extensive and rewarding. They have shown occupation at Lachish from about 4000 B.C. to the time of its conquest by the Persian Empire (539-333 B.C.). The rich and varied finds represent almost all of the periods, but the chief interest for the student of the Bible centers on the periods beginning with the time of the Hebrew invasion of Canaan. Impressive archaeological evidence shows the city was destroyed during the period of the conquest related in the Book of Joshua, but the archaeological evidence does not indicate who the destroyers were. Some scholars date the Lachish destruction layer as late as 1150 B.C. on the basis of a cartouche of Rameses III of Egypt.

The biblical account of Sennacherib's conquest of Lachish in 701 B.C. is supported and amplified by Assyrian records of King Sennacherib's campaign ( 2 Kings 18:1;  2 Chronicles 32:1;  Isaiah 36:1 ). This was graphically recorded in a large and elaborate bas relief on the walls of the royal palace in Nineveh. Presently housed in the British museum in London, these carvings show Assyrian soldiers attacking the walled city, the city inhabitants defending their city, soldiers killing some of the defenders, families with possessions being led away captive, and the king on his throne reviewing the spoils taken from the city. A replica of this relief may be found in the library of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville,

Morrish Bible Dictionary

An Amorite city in the lowlands of Judah. Its king was one of the four called upon by the king of Jerusalem to join him in attacking Gibeon because it had made peace with the Israelites. But the Amorites were smitten, and Lachish was taken by Joshua after a siege of two days. It was a fortified city in the route running from north to south. On the division of the kingdom it was garrisoned by Rehoboam. It was taken by Sennacherib, and among the slabs discovered at Nineveh is one representing the king sitting on his throne, with captives from Lachish kneeling before him, while his troops, passing in review, show the spoils they have taken. The inscription reads, "Sennacherib, king of multitudes, king of Assyria, sitteth upon a lofty throne, and the spoil of the city of Lachish passeth before him." This slab is now in the British Museum.  Joshua 10:3-35;  Joshua 12:11;  Joshua 15:39;  2 Kings 14:19;  2 Kings 18:14,17;  2 Kings 19:8;  2 Chronicles 11:9;  2 Chronicles 25:27;  2 Chronicles 32:9;  Nehemiah 11:30;  Isaiah 36:2;  Isaiah 37:8;  Jeremiah 34:7;  Micah 1:13 . Identified by some with Tell el Hesy, 31 33' N, 34 44' E .

At this mound 60 feet have been dug through and explored. The ruins of as many as eight cities have been discovered, which are judged by the marks on the pottery, etc., to extend back to about 1500 B.C. Nearer the surface have been found scarabs (beetles) and an inscription which makes it evident that at one time it was subject to Egypt. This is proved also by records on the Tell Amarna Tablets, alluded to under 'Egypt'.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

LACHISH . A town in the south country of Judah referred to several times in the Tell el-Amarna tablets. In the Biblical records it first appears as joining the coalition headed by the king of Jerusalem against the Gibeonites (  Joshua 10:3 ), and as being in consequence reduced by Joshua (  Joshua 10:31 ) in spite of the assistance given to it by the king of Gezer (  Joshua 10:33 ). It is enumerated among the cities of the tribe of Judah (  Joshua 15:39 ). Rehoboam fortified it (  2 Chronicles 11:9 ). Hither Amaziah, king of Judah, fled from conspirators, and here he was murdered (  2 Kings 14:19 ). In the reign of Hezekiah, Sennacherib took Lachish, and while he was quartered there Hezekiah sent messengers to him to make terms (  2 Kings 18:13-17 ). Sennacherib’s Lachish campaign is commemorated by a sculpture from Nineveh, now in the British Museum. Lachish and Azekah were the last cities to stand against the king of Babylon (  Jeremiah 34:7 ). Lachish was one of the towns settled by the children of Judah after the Exile (  Nehemiah 11:30 ). Micah’s denunciation of Lachish as ‘the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion’ (  Micah 1:13 ) doubtless refers to incidents of which we are quite ignorant.

Lachish was identified by Conder with Tell el-Hesy , an important mound in the Gaza district, which was partially excavated with success by Flinders Petrie and Bliss for the Palestine Exploration Fund (1890 1893). Another site in the neighbourhood, of Roman date, called Umm Lakis , probably represents a later dwelling of the representatives of the ancient Lachishites, and preserves the name of the city.

R. A. S. Macalister.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Joshua 10:3,5 12:11 Joshua 10:31-33 2 Chronicles 10:9 2 Kings 18:14,17 19:8 Isaiah 36:2Nineveh

Lachish has been identified with Tell-el-Hesy, where a cuneiform tablet has been found, containing a letter supposed to be from Amenophis at Amarna in reply to one of the Amarna tablets sent by Zimrida from Lachish. This letter is from the chief of Atim (=Etam,   1 Chronicles 4:32 ) to the chief of Lachish, in which the writer expresses great alarm at the approach of marauders from the Hebron hills. "They have entered the land," he says, "to lay waste...strong is he who has come down. He lays waste." This letter shows that "the communication by tablets in cuneiform script was not only usual in writing to Egypt, but in the internal correspondence of the country. The letter, though not so important in some ways as the Moabite stone and the Siloam text, is one of the most valuable discoveries ever made in Palestine" (Conder's Tell Amarna Tablets, p. 134).

Excavations at Lachish are still going on, and among other discoveries is that of an iron blast-furnace, with slag and ashes, which is supposed to have existed B.C. 1500. If the theories of experts are correct, the use of the hot-air blast instead of cold air (an improvement in iron manufacture patented by Neilson in 1828) was known fifteen hundred years before Christ. (See Furnace .)

Smith's Bible Dictionary

La'chish. (invincible). A city lying south of Jerusalem, on the borders of Simeon, and belonging to the Amorites, the king of which joined with four others, at the invitation of Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, to chastise the Gibeonites for their league with Israel.  Joshua 10:3;  Joshua 10:5. They were routed by Joshua at Beth-horon, and the king of Lachish fell a victim, with the others under the trees at Makkedah.  Joshua 10:26. The destruction of the town shortly followed the death of the king.  Joshua 10:31-33.

In the special statement that the attack lasted two days, in contradistinction to the other cities which were taken in one (see  Joshua 10:35, we gain our first glimpse of that strength of position, for which Lachish was afterward remarkable. Lachish was one of the cities fortified, and garrisoned by Rehoboam, after the revolt of the northern kingdom.  2 Chronicles 11:9.

In the reign of Hezekiah, it was one of the cities taken by Sennacherib. This siege is considered by Layard and Hincks, to be depicted on the slabs found by the former, in one of the chambers of the palace at Kouyunjik. After the return from captivity, Lachish with its surrounding "fields" was reoccupied by the Jews.  Nehemiah 11:30.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Lachish (lâ'kish), invincible. A city of the Amorites, lying south of Jerusalem, and toward the border of Simeon.  Joshua 10:1-43;  Joshua 3:1-17. It was one of the Canaanitish cities which was subdued by Joshua and included in Judah; fortified by Jeroboam.  2 Chronicles 11:9. King Amaziah was killed there.  2 Kings 14:19. Lachish was besieged by Sennacherib and perhaps taken.  2 Kings 18:13-14;  Isaiah 36:1-2. The siege is considered by some to be depicted on the slabs found in one of the chambers of the palace at Kouyunjik. Lachish has lately (1892) been identified with Tel-el-Hesy on the Mediterranean Sea, where remarkable tablets, records, and letters of the king of Lachish have been found, written before the exodus.

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

The important town of Lachish was located in the mountain pass that led from Hebron down to the Mediterranean coast. It was conquered by Israel in the time of Joshua ( Joshua 10:3-5;  Joshua 10:32) and later became an important military outpost for the defence of Jerusalem and other highland towns ( 2 Kings 18:13-17;  2 Chronicles 11:5;  2 Chronicles 11:9;  Jeremiah 34:7;  Micah 1:13; see PALESTINE). It was resettled after the Jews’ return from captivity, but never regained its previous importance ( Nehemiah 11:25;  Nehemiah 11:30).

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A city in the southwest part of Judah,  Joshua 10:3,5,31; fortified by Rehoboam,  2 Chronicles 11:9 , and strong enough to resist for a time the whole army of Sennacherib,  2 Kings 18:17   19:8   2 Chronicles 32:1,9,21   Micah 1:13 . It was here that king Amaziah was slain,  2 Kings 14:19 . For a wonderful confirmation of the truth of Scripture, see Sennacherib .

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

a city of Palestine,  Joshua 10:23;  Joshua 15:39 . Sennacherib besieged Lachish, but did not make himself master of it. From thence it was that he sent Rabshakeh against Jerusalem,  2 Kings 18:17;  2 Kings 19:8;  2 Chronicles 32:9 .

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

A city south of Judah,  Joshua 10:23. The word signifies, she walks, from Jalac.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Copyright StatementThese files are public domain. Bibliography InformationMcClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Lachish'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/l/lachish.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

lā´kish ( לכישׁ , lākhı̄sh  ; Septuagint Λαχίς , Lachı́s (  Joshua 15:39 ), Μαχές , Machés ):

1. Location:

A town in the foothills of the Shephelah on the border of the Philistine plain, belonging to Judah, and, from the mention of Eglon in connection with it, evidently in the southwestern portion of Judah's territory. Eusebius, Onomasticon locates it 7 miles from Eleutheropolis ( Beit Jibrîn ) toward Daroma, but as the latter place is uncertain, the indication does not help in fixing the site of Lachish. The city seems to have been abandoned about 400 BC, and this circumstance has rendered the identification of the site difficult. It was formerly fixed at Umm Lakis , from the similarity of the name and because it was in the region that the Biblical references to Lachish seem to indicate, but the mound called Tell el - Hesy is now generally accepted as the site. This was first suggested by Conder in 1877 ( Pefs , 1878,20), and the excavations carried on at the Tell by the Palestine Exploration Fund in 1890-93 confirmed his identification. Tell el - Hesy is situated on a wady, or valley, of the same name ( Wâdy el Hesy ), which runs from a point about 6 miles West of Hebron to the sea between Gaza and Askelon. It is a mound on the very edge of the wady, rising some 120 ft. above it and composed of debris to the depth of about 60 ft., in which the excavations revealed the remains of distinct cities which had been built, one upon the ruins of another. The earliest of these was evidently Amorite, and could not have been later than 1700 BC, and was perhaps two or three centuries earlier (Bliss, Mound of Many Cities ). The identification rests upon the fact that the site corresponds with the Biblical and other historical notices of Lachish, and especially upon the discovery of a cuneiform tablet in the ruins of the same character as the Tell el - Amarna Letters , and containing the name of Zimridi, who is known from these tablets to have been at one time Egyptian governor of Lachish. The tablets, which date from the latter part of the 15th or early part of the 14th century BC, give us the earliest information in regard to Lachish, and it was then an Egyptian dependency, but it seems to have revolted and joined with other towns in an attack upon Jerusalem, which was also an Egyptian dependency. It was perhaps compelled to do so by the Khabiri who were then raiding this region. The place was, like Gaza, an important one for Egypt, being on the frontier and on the route to Jerusalem, and the importance is seen in the fact that it was taken and destroyed and rebuilt so many times.

2. History:

We first hear of it in the history of Israel when Joshua invaded the land. It was then an Amorite city, and its king, Japhia, joined the confederacy formed by Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, to resist Joshua. They were defeated in the remarkable battle at Gibeon, and the five confederate kings were captured and put to death at Makkedah ( Joshua 10 passim  ;   Joshua 12:11 ). Lachish was included in the lot of Judah ( Joshua 15:39 ), and it was rebuilt, or fortified, by Rehoboam ( 2 Chronicles 11:5 ,  2 Chronicles 11:9 ). It was besieged by Sennacherib in the reign of Hezekiah and probably taken ( 2 Kings 18:13 ) when he invaded Judah and besieged Jerusalem, but the other references to the siege leave it doubtful ( 2 Kings 18:14 ,  2 Kings 18:17;  2 Kings 19:8;  2 Chronicles 32:9;  Isaiah 36:2;  Isaiah 37:8 ). The Assyrian monuments, however, render it certain that the place was captured. The sculptures on the walls of Sennacherib's palace picture the storming of Lachish and the king on his throne receiving the submission of the captives (Ball, Light from the East , 190-91). This was in 701 BC, and to this period we may assign the enigmatical reference to Lachish in  Micah 1:13 , "Bind the chariot to the swift steed, O inhabitant of Lachish: she was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion." The cause of the invasion of Sennacherib was a general revolt in Phoenicia, Palestine, and Philistia, Hezekiah joining in it and all asking Egypt for aid (Rawlinson, Five Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World , chapter ix). Isaiah had warned Judah not to trust in Egypt ( Isaiah 20:5 ,  Isaiah 20:6;  Isaiah 30:1-5;  Isaiah 31:1 ), and as Lachish was the place where communication was held with Egypt, being a frontier fortress, perhaps even having an Egyptian garrison, it would be associated with the "sin" of the Egyptian alliance ( HGHL , 234).

The city was evidently rebuilt after its destruction by Sennacherib, for we find Nebuchadnezzar fighting against it during his siege of Jerusalem ( Jeremiah 34:7 ). It was doubtless destroyed by him, but we are informed by Nehemiah ( Nehemiah 11:30 ) that some of the returned Jews settled there after the captivity. It is very likely that they did not reoccupy the site of the ruined city, but settled as peasants in the territory, and this may account for the transference of the name to Umm Lakis , 3 or 4 miles from Tell el - Hesy , where some ruins exist, but not of a kind to suggest Lachish (Bliss, op. cit). No remains of any importance were found on the Tell indicating its occupation as a fortress or city later than that destroyed by the king of Babylon, but it was occupied in some form during the crusades, Umm Lakis being held for a time by the Hospitallers, and King Richard is said to have made it a base of operations in his war with Saladin ( HGHL ). The Tell itself, if occupied, was probably only the site of his camp, and it has apparently remained since that time without inhabitants, being used for agricultural purposes only. See further, Palestine (RECENT Exploration ), III, 1.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

La´chish, a city in the south of Judah, in the plain between Adoraim and Azekah . It was rebuilt and fortified by Rehoboam , and seems after that time to have been regarded as one of the strongest fortresses of the kingdom of Judah, having for a time braved the assaults of the Assyrian army under Sennacherib (;; ). Eusebius and Jerome place it seven Roman miles from Eleutheropolis towards the south. There has not been any more recent notice of the place, and no modern, vestige of the name or site has been discovered.