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.
As with Hoshea, however, evidence was published a few decades ago that confirms the very real possibility of the necessary redating of Menahem. Previously, debate had centered on the setting of two Assyrian tribute-lists, Ann. 13*:10-14*:2 which contained the only known report of tribute from Menahem in an annalistic text (Ann. 13*:10) and Ann. 21:4-977. The Ann. 13*-14* list is immediately followed by the start of an account of Tiglath-Pilesers 737 campaign and immediately preceded by an account of the aftermath of a campaign against Azriyau (continued from Ann. 19*). The Azriyau campaign is very widely (following Tadmor) and very plausibly dated to 738, based on: (1) its immediately pre-737 position, and (2) resettlement in the course of this campaign of Ulluba (Ann. 19*:12) and Unqi (Ann. 13*:4-5), the conquests of which are highlighted by the Eponym Chronicle entries for 739 and 738, respectively78. On this basis, the Ann. 13*-14* list per se appears to be set in 738 (pace Thiele79: 743).
However the assumption of a like dating for the entire contents of this list can no longer be relied on, due to evidence from an annalistic Iran stele published in 1972-7380. This text concludes, following a break, with a geographical summary of Tiglath-Pilesers conquests, an account of a still on-going 737 campaign, and a