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Lachish - location profile

Location and Setting

• Lachish was located in the Shephelah, thirty miles southwest of Jerusalem and fifteen miles west of Hebron.
• The city was located along the International Coastal Highway. Situated on a 150-foot mound, it provided a panoramic view of the lower Shephelah region below. The city was known as the defense center and fortress that monitored entrance into the Judean Hill Country from the west and southwest.
• Lachish is considered to be a very important archaeological site. Among the discoveries are the fosse temple, solar shrine, and numerous inscripted artifacts. Dating from between 598-589/88 B.C., the Lachish Letters, describing the Babylonian conquest of Judah, illustrate the kind of Hebrew used at the time of Jeremiah.

Historical and Biblical Significance

• The king of Lachish, Japhia, was incensed that the Gibeonites had established a covenant with the Israelites, who had destroyed Jericho and Ai. Japhia and the Amorite kings of four other city-state coalition members, Jebus (Jerusalem), Hebron, Jarmuth, and Eglon, joined forces to punish the Gibeonites for negotiating with the foreign invaders of Israel. When the Gibeonites realized their danger, they appealed to Joshua for protection. He honored their covenant and attacked the Amorite armies. Joshua then went on to take the cities of these kings and establish Israel’s control of southern Canaan (Josh 10:1-37).
• During his reign, Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, fortified many cities of Judah to defend against invaders, especially from Egypt. Lachish was one of the cities provided with supplies of food, oil, wine, spears, and shields. The city thus became a major defense center in the southern region of the kingdom (1 Chr 11:5-12).
• Lachish came under siege during the invasion of the Assyrians in 701 B.C. The Jehovah-insulting Sennacherib was not able to complete the conquest of Judah, however. An angel of the Lord intervened to destroy "every mighty warrior, commander, and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria" (2 Kgs 18:13-19:37; 2 Chr 32:9-23).
• When Nebuchadnezzar established the Babylonian domination of Judah in 588-587 B.C., the southern outpost city of Lachish was one of the last remaining Judean cities to be taken (Jer 34:6,7). The Jews had arranged for relay communication between Lachish and Jerusalem by means of smoke signals at Azekah, fifteen miles from Jerusalem, and Lachish, thirty-five miles distant. Letter 4 of the Lachish Letters reads: "We were watching for the smoke signals of Lachish…because we do not see Azekah." This indicated that Azekah had already fallen to Nebuchadnezzar. Soon after this, Lachish would capitulate.

Bibliography

1. DeVries, LaMoine F. Cities of the Biblical World. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997.
2. Davey, C.J. "Lachish" The New Bible Dictionary. 2^nd ed. Ed. J.D. Douglas. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1982.
3. Thompson, J. Arthur. "Lachish" The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Ed. Merrill C. Tenney. 5 vols. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976.