The Contribution of the Hebrew Bible to the Historical Understanding of Nineveh, Asshur, and Babylon

During the centuries of Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian political interference and dominance in the southern Levant, the cities of Nineveh, Asshur and then Babylon came to serve as ciphers for repressive centers of power. This is best reflected in the myriad allusions and traditions concerning these cities in the Hebrew Bible, from the allusions to Nineveh and Babel in Genesis 10 and 11, to the court tales of the book of Daniel. To what extent, though, do the mostly laconic biblical references to these cities contribute to the historian’s appreciation of their particularities in the ancient world? The paper tries to answer this question in two parts. First, it catalogues a few instances where biblical references to Nineveh, Asshur and Babylon may reasonably be understood to enhance or broaden knowledge about these cities gained from native cuneiform traditions or archaeological research. Second, it explores how the native Mesopotamian traditions about these capital cities find reflexes in the biblical portraits of them. The respective rulers of these Mesopotamian royal cities devoted substantial energy to their material and literary glorification. The principle historical contribution of the biblical record lies in demonstrating how these energies paid dividends: a remote, subjugated population reflected and refracted particular images and assumptions about these capital cities in their own literary works. In several cases, especially in such prophetic texts as Isaiah 13-14, Ezekiel 17, Jonah, Habakkuk 1-2, and Jeremiah 50-51, these reflections illuminate our historical understanding of these imperial cities.