Jeremy Goldberg, «Two Assyrian Campaigns against Hezehiah and Later Eight Century Biblical Chronology», Vol. 80 (1999) 360-390
The massive Assyrian invasion of Judah in 701 (reflected in 2 Kgs 18,13b; 18,1719,37) has apparently been confused with an earlier, limited invasion in Hezekiahs 14th year (reflected in 2 Kgs 18,13a.14-16; 2 Kgs 20; 2 Chr 32; Isa 22). Historically, this earlier campaign can best be dated to 712, when Sargon II apparently led the Assyrian royal guard on a Palestinian campaign. Chronologically, this dating fits perfectly with e.g. recent dating of the definitive fall of Samaria (2 Kgs 18,9: in Hezekiahs 6th year) to 720. 2 Kgs 18,9s parallel dating to Hosheas 9th year agrees with his apparent accession in 731 or 729. Dating Menahems death to 743 (as required, following biblical data, to avoid a triple overlap among Uzziah, Jotham and Ahaz) agrees with Eponym Chronicle evidence for this dating of 2 Kgs 15,19-20s presumably already desperate fiasco, and is consistent with a plausibly composite 738 tribute-list naming Menahem. Combining these datings produces a workable later 8th century biblical chronology.
tribute-list (including Menahem) which is clearly81 a composite involving tribute from more than one year (Stele III A 1-30). This evidence makes a composite list in Ann. 13* -14* very attractive by providing: (1) a clear parallel, set just one year later, for the use of a composite tribute-list in an annalistic text, and (2) a parallel (the steles geographic summary) for a composite record immediately preceding an account of the 737 campaign.
Ann. 21:4-9, together with a description of tribute which continues through Ann. 25:2, further supports this possibility by supplying what appears to be a distinct tribute-list restricted to tribute received during the 738 campaign. A setting of Ann. 21+25 in 738 / at the time of the Azriyau episode appears highly likely (see likewise Tadmor)82 due to the total conquest of Unqi in Ann. 25:3-12, as also indicated by the Eponym Chronicle entry for 738 and presumably by Ann. 13*:4-5s resettlement of Unqi for the Azriyau episode. But the broken tribute-list in Ann. 21,4-9 (not [now] naming Menahem or Samaria) was considerably shorter (even originally) than the list in Ann. 13*:10-14*:2, treats Rezin separately and in much more detail, is specified as dealing with tribute received in Arpad, and was apparently followed immediately (after a description of the tribute in question) by a reference to another campaign in the same year (rather than by a year-break)83. All of these factors support a distinction between the Ann. 21+25 list as an original record of tribute received in 738 and the Ann. 13*-14* list (which includes all extant tributaries from the Ann. 21+25 list) as a composite.
Even more surprising than the composite nature of the Iran stele list (set in 737) is its probable reflection, in part, of an earlier situation than the Ann. 13*-14* list (set in 738)84. This further substantiates the existence of chronological laxness in tribute-lists attached to annalistic texts (as required for a 743 dating of Menahems death). On the other hand, this situation indicates that the Ann. 13*-14* list (including Menahem) has been updated. However this updating involved (as far as known) only replacement of a vassal by his successor as vassal and addition of a new vassal