{"podcast":{"title":"Oldest Stories","slug":"oldest-stories-518066","podcast_index_feed_id":518066,"rss_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/fddb990/podcast/rss","website_url":"https://oldeststories.net","image_url":"https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_nologo/2561892/2561892-1709903002785-392175a06c3.jpg","author":"James Bleckley","episode_count":235,"summary":"History and myth of the Cradle of Civilization, bronze age Mesopotamia, beginning with the dawn of writing. The show will cover the full history of Mesopotamia, from Gilgamesh to Nabonidas, a span of some 2500 years, with myths of heroes and gods, and tales of daily life peppered throughout. Sumer, Akkad, Old Babylon, Hittites, and Israel have all been covered in depth, current episodes get deep into the Assyrian Empire. New episodes every other Wednesday. Online at oldeststories.net.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-16T06:19:43.696535+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/oldest-stories-518066"},"episode":{"title":"Sennacherib vs Hezekiah in 701 BCE: Isaiah and the Battle of Eltekeh","slug":"sennacherib-vs-hezekiah-in-701-bce-isaiah-and-the-battle-of-eltekeh","published_at":"2026-05-06T17:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/oldest-stories-518066/sennacherib-vs-hezekiah-in-701-bce-isaiah-and-the-battle-of-eltekeh","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/oldest-stories-518066","url":"https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/episodes/Sennacherib-vs-Hezekiah-in-701-BCE-Isaiah-and-the-Battle-of-Eltekeh-e3ivngq","audio_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/fddb990/podcast/play/119577562/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-4-6%2Fbd802ec0-0169-ab01-5051-f9eb5e200f04.mp3","summary":"In 701 BCE, Assyrian king Sennacherib launched his western campaign against Judah, bringing him into direct conflict with King Hezekiah and the political counsel of the prophet Isaiah. The decisive field battle of that year was not at Jerusalem, but at Eltekeh, where Assyrian troops defeated an Egyptian and Kushite force sent to support the rebellious Philistine city of Ekron. This episode reconstructs the full 701 campaign from Assyrian annals and biblical accounts, beginning with the minor 702 operations in the Zagros mountains against Zamua, Parsua, and Ellipi, then following Sennacherib to the Phoenician coast. We cover the flight of Luli, king of Tyre, to Cyprus, the installation of Itobaal at Sidon, and the submission of eight Levantine rulers from Ashdod, Byblos, Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Arwad. We then turn to Philistia: the internal coup at Ashkelon, the Ekronite revolt that handed King Padi over to Hezekiah, and Sennacherib's restoration of Padi after the victory at Eltekeh. The episode explains why Jerusalem faced only a blockade rather than a full siege, examines Isaiah's advice against an Egyptian alliance, and considers the logistical, political, and possible epidemiological reasons Sennacherib withdrew with massive tribute but without taking the city. Music from the show: oldeststories.net/music (or search "Oldest Stories Music") Support the show: Books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS Donate: oldeststories.net Patreon / YouTube members get bonus episodes: patreon.com/JamesBleckley No-AI readings of ancient texts: youtube.com/@osnightreading","meta_description":"In 701 BCE, Assyrian king Sennacherib launched his western campaign against Judah, bringing him into direct conflict with King Hezekiah and the political…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2695,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/oldest-stories-518066/episodes/sennacherib-vs-hezekiah-in-701-bce-isaiah-and-the-battle-of-eltekeh/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/oldest-stories-518066/sennacherib-vs-hezekiah-in-701-bce-isaiah-and-the-battle-of-eltekeh.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}