The cuneiform inscriptions and the Old Testament - The Search For ...

138 THE CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS AND THE 0. T.
In the second passage X. 6, to which reference has been
made, "presents" nn^O are mentioned which were given to
the Great King. How far this involved a recognition of the
supremacy of Assyria, we do not know, since the contem-
porary Assyrian records are missing. It may be readily
understood from the way in which the Assyrians were
accustomed to regard such "presents" or "gifts" (Assyr.
mandat(t)u, raad(d)atu), that these despatches of
tribute were not altogether unaccompanied by such a
440 recognition of supremacy. Nevertheless we perceive from
this passage that the ties of dependence which united Nor-
thern Palestine to Assyria, and which had been reestablished
by Ramm^nnirar about 800 B. C, had meanwhile become
considerably relaxed; see above Vol. I, pp. 206 — 208.
6. ^b Memphis; see note on Is. XIX. 13, p. 82.
X. 14. and all thy fortresses will be laid waste, as
Shalman laid waste Beth- Arb' el on the day of battle. It seems
natural to understand by "Shalman" (]P^tt') an Assyrian
ruler, that is to say a Salmanassar, Assyr. Salmanu-
of Juda" may refer to the losses sustained by the Southern kingdom,
in the overthrow by Tiglath-Pileser of the confederacy supported by
king Uzziah (Azariah) ; see Vol. I, pp. 209 foil. This we might refer
to the year 740 B. C. The subservient conduct of Ephraim, on the
other hand, would correspond with the payment of tribute by Menahem
(2 Kings XV. 19), to which the eponym- canon enables us to assign
the date 738 B. C. Nothing is said about subservience on the part
of Juda. It is true that Juda suffered by the brunt of war, but
honour was not sacrificed. This is exactly in accordance with what
we otherwise know respecting Uzziah (Azariah) ; comp. Vol. I, p. 245.
—Lastly, the reader will observe that in the comment on X. 14
Di\ Schrader expresses doubts as to the identification of "Shalman"
with Salmanassar III, thus invalidating one of the grounds on which
his hypothesis, that Jareb = Asurdanilu, is made to rest.—There can
be little question that no Assyrian monarch better deserved the epithet
of "combatant" or "struggler-king" than Tiglath-Pileser U.— Translator.]