Nadav Na'aman, «New Light on Hezekiah's Second Prophetic Story (2 Kgs 19,9b-35)», Vol. 81 (2000) 393-402
The article re-examines some elements in Account B2 (2 Kgs 19,9b-35) in an effort to shed more light on the date and place in which the story was composed. It is suggested that the list of cities mentioned in vv. 12-13 reflects the conquests of Nabopolassar and Nebuchadrezzar in the late seventh century BCE. It is also suggested that vv. 17-18 may reflect the Babylonian practice of destroying cult statues during their conquest of Assyria. The author of Account B2 was probably a descendant of a Judean deportee who lived in eastern Babylonia in the second half of the sixth century BCE. It is further suggested that the Deuteronomist combined chronistic and narrative early texts (Accounts A and B1) and integrated them into his composition of the history of Israel.
the time of Sargon II than the Deuteronomist (the author of 2 Kgs 17,6.24) is unconvincing. Moreover, the text of vv. 12-13 refers to conquests rather than deportations, although deportees could have arrived from/at these places.
S.W. Holloway suggested that Harran must be treated separately from all the other places mentioned in vv. 12-1318. He discussed at length the history and cult of Harran in the Neo-Assyrian period, and concluded that it is unlikely that an Assyrian referred to the cult centre of Harran as a city destroyed by his forefathers. Harran was conquered by the Babylonians in 610-609 BCE, and this is the background for its inclusion in the list of conquered places19. Adopting Hardmeiers suggestion that the description of Sennacheribs blockade of Jerusalem was patterned on the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 588 BCE20, Holloway suggested that the inclusion of Harrans name in Rabshakehs speech should be interpreted in the context of the 588 BCE war against the Babylonians.
As for the other places, Holloway adopted the widely held view that Sennacherib boasted of the victories of his forefathers over them. He offered no explanation for excluding Harran from the list of places. Nevertheless, I believe that he was on the right track in suggesting that the conquest of Harran reflects the Babylonian campaigns of the years 610-609 BCE. It seems to me that the list of cities in vv. 12-13 reflects the conquests of Nabopolassar and Nebuchadrezzar in the late seventh century BCE, and that some of these conquests are mentioned in the Babylonian chronicles, the only source that we have for the emergence of the Babylonian Empire.
Following is a discussion of the list of towns in light of this suggestion.
(a) Harran held an important place in the late Assyrian empire. Sargon, Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal built the city and its temple, and Ashurbanipal (668-631) nominated his younger brother as high priest (s$es$gallu) in the temple of Sin of Harran21. Ashur-uballit[, the last king of Assyria, ascended the throne in Harran in 611 BCE22. In the following year (610), the Babylonian army under Nabopolassar and the Median troops besieged Harran and captured it, and carried off the vast booty of the city and the temple. In the next year (609), the Babylonian garrison stationed in Harran was attacked by Assyrian-Egyptian troops, but fought back until the withdrawal of the attacking force23.