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.
support for Babylonian plotting with the west around this time is provided by the extremely weak role played by Nubia and Egypt during and after the Ashdod affair38. The ability of Babylonia to launch an offensive against Assyria in 712 and not be overcome until 710 also fits very well with Hezekiahs apparently strong post-invasion position in 2 Kgs 20,12-13 (and 2 Chr 32,23)39.
As noted by Hayes and Irvine, dating Isa 22 to 712 finds further support from its contiguity to chapters 2021: a) Isa 20 explicitly refers to the Ashdod affair (v. 1); b) Isa 21, which has a wide variety of links to Isa 2240, prophesies against Babylon (vv. 1-10). If dated to the Assyrian period, this presumably reflects Babylonian participation in anti-Assyrian plotting with Judah41, as all but certain c.712.
Dating Isa 21,1-10 to the Assyrian period is often rejected, based on v. 2s reference to "Elam" and "Medes" fighting (to all appearances) against Babylon i.e. (on such a dating) serving as a euphemism for an Assyrian attack42. However the use of such a euphemism c.712-710 is paralleled remarkably closely by Isa 22s reference to only "Elam" and "Kir" (v. 6) as participants in what is clearly (cf. vv. 8-11 with 2 Chr 32,2-5; also n.16 above) an Assyrian attack on Hezekiah (section 2 so far: to all appearances in 712). Since good numbers of foreigners, apparently including Iranians, appear to have served in the Assyrian royal guard43, the mobilization of only the royal guard in 712 could help greatly in explaining this extremely surprising (but apparently clear) euphemism.
Dating Isa 21,1-10 to c.712-710, as increasingly widely