Take Sennacherib, the Assyrian king who dared to threaten Jerusalem. His story takes a wild turn after his army's miraculous defeat.
According to Legends of the Jews, Sennacherib, brimming with confidence, marched towards Jerusalem with an enormous army. His astrologers warned him that timing was crucial. He had to capture the city by a certain date, or he would fail. Making record time, he arrived at Nob, where a platform was set up for him to view Jerusalem.
Can you imagine the scene? Sennacherib, puffed up with pride, looks at Jerusalem and scoffs. "Is this the city I conquered nations for? It looks smaller, weaker!" He dismisses the Temple Mount with a wave. His warriors, eager for battle, urge him to attack. But Sennacherib, in a moment of fatal hubris, decides to wait until morning.
Big mistake.
As Ginzberg retells it, Sennacherib should have attacked immediately. the sin of Saul against the priests at Nob hadn't been fully atoned for yet. Had Sennacherib attacked then, he might have succeeded. But that night, Passover night, as Hezekiah and the people sang the Hallel Psalms – hymns of praise – disaster struck the Assyrian camp.
The archangel Gabriel, usually tasked with ripening fruit, was given a new assignment: annihilate the Assyrians. And he did it with extreme prejudice. Of the millions in Sennacherib's army, only Sennacherib himself, his two sons, his son-in-law Nebuchadnezzar, and Nebuzaradan were spared. How? The angel allowed the Assyrians to hear the "song of the celestials." The sound was so powerful, it burned their souls, leaving their garments untouched.
But Sennacherib's story wasn't over. Death by celestial song was too merciful for him. A more humiliating fate awaited.
As Sennacherib fled Jerusalem, he encountered a divine apparition disguised as an old man. This "old man" questioned Sennacherib about what he would tell his allied kings about the fate of their sons. Terrified of facing them, Sennacherib confessed his fear. The old man suggested a disguise: cut off his hair to be unrecognisable. Sennacherib agreed, and the old man directed him to a nearby house for shears.
What happened next is almost comical. At the house, angels disguised as people were busy grinding grain. They offered Sennacherib the shears if he would grind a measure of grain for them. By the time he finished, it was late and dark. As he tried to light a fire to cut his hair, a spark singed his beard, forcing him to sacrifice that as well.
Talk about adding insult to injury!
Sennacherib eventually returned to Assyria, where he worshipped a plank he believed was part of Noah's Ark. He vowed to sacrifice his sons to this idol if his future ventures prospered. His sons overheard this vow and, understandably, weren't thrilled. So, they killed their father and fled to Kardu, releasing a large number of Jewish captives.
Here's where the story takes an even more surprising turn. These sons, now free from their father's influence, marched to Jerusalem with the freed captives and converted to Judaism. And who were their descendants? None other than the famous scholars Shemaiah and Abtalion.
So, the story of Sennacherib isn't just a tale of a boastful king brought low. It's a story of unexpected twists, divine intervention, and ultimately, redemption. It reminds us that even from the most unlikely sources, good can emerge. The very sons of the man who sought to destroy Jerusalem became pillars of the Jewish community. A humbling thought, isn't it?
With this vast army Sennacherib hastened onward, in accordance with the disclosures of the astrologers, who warned him that he would fail in his object of capturing Jerusalem, if he arrived there later than the day set by them. His journey having lasted but one day instead of ten, as he had expected, he rested at Nob. A raised platform was there erected for Sennacherib, whence he could view Jerusalem. On first beholding the Judean capital, the Assyrian king exclaimed: "What! Is this Jerusalem, the city for whose sake I gathered together my whole army, for whose sake I first conquered all other lands? Is it not smaller and weaker than all the cities of the nations I subdued with my strong hand?" He stretched himself and shook his head, and waved his hand contemptuously toward the Temple mount and the sanctuary crowning it. When his warriors urged him to make his attack upon Jerusalem, he bade them take their ease for one night, and be prepared to storm the city the next day. It seemed no great undertaking. Each warrior would but have to pick up as much mortar from the wall as is needed to seal a letter and the whole city would disappear. But Sennacherib made the mistake of not proceeding directly to the attack upon the city. If he had made the assault at once, it would have been successful, for the sin of Saul against the priest at Nob had not yet been wholly expiated; on that very day it was fully atoned for. In the following night, which was the Passover night, when Hezekiah and the people began to sing the Hallel Psalms, the giant host was annihilated. The archangel Gabriel sent by God to ripen the fruits of the field, was charged to address himself to the task of making away with the Assyrians, and he fulfilled his mission so well that of all the millions of the army, Sennacherib alone was saved with his two sons, his son-in-law Nebuchadnezzar, and Nebuzaradan. The death of the Assyrians happened when the angel permitted them to hear the "song of the celestials." Their souls were burnt, though their garments remained intact. Such an end was too good for Sennacherib. To him a disgraceful death was apportioned. On his flight away from Jerusalem, he met a Divine apparition in the guise of an old man. He questioned Sennacherib as to what he would say to the kings allied with him, in reply to their inquiry about the fate of their sons at Jerusalem. Sennacherib confessed his dread of a meeting with those kings. The old man advised him to have his hair cut off, which would change his appearance beyond recognition. Sennacherib assented, and his advisor sent him to a house in the vicinity to fetch a pair of shears. Here he found some people angels in disguise busying themselves with a hand-mill. They promised to give him the shears, provided he ground a measure of grain for them. So it grew late and dark by the time Sennacherib returned to the old man, and he had to procure a light before his hair could be cut. As he fanned the fire into a flame, a spark flew into his beard and singed it, and he had to sacrifice his beard as well as his hair. On his return to Assyria, Sennacherib found a plank, which he worshipped as an idol, because it was part of the ark which had saved Noah from the deluge. He vowed that he would sacrifice his sons to this idol if he prospered in his next ventures. But his sons heard his vows, and they killed their father, and fled to Kardu where they released the Jewish captives confined there in great numbers. With these they marched to Jerusalem, and became proselytes there. The famous scholars Shemaiah and Abtalion were the descendants of these two sons of Sennacherib.
