"The Destruction of Sennacherib" is a poem by Lord Byron that tells the story of the downfall of the Assyrian king Sennacherib. The spelling of Sennacherib is marked by its phonetic transcription, which is [ˌsɛn.əˈkɛr.ɨb]. The symbol [ˌ] represents a secondary stress on the first syllable, while [ə] indicates a schwa sound. Meanwhile, the sound [kɛr] is transcribed as it sounds in "care." Overall, the phonetic transcription highlights the irregularities in English spelling, showing how sounds are sometimes represented by letters that may not always correspond to their pronunciation.
The Destruction of Sennacherib, also known as the Fall of Sennacherib, refers to a historical event mentioned in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Kings and the Book of Isaiah. The destruction took place in the 8th century BCE when the Assyrian king Sennacherib's forces besieged the city of Jerusalem, the capital of the Kingdom of Judah.
The biblical account recounts that during the siege, a miraculous event occurred. In a single night, the angel of the Lord smote a large number of Sennacherib's soldiers, resulting in their deaths. This divine intervention is believed to have saved Jerusalem from total destruction and was seen as a manifestation of God's power and protection.
The story of the Destruction of Sennacherib is often interpreted as a metaphorical representation of the triumph of faith and the undoing of the enemies of God. It signifies the deliverance of Jerusalem and its people from the menacing Assyrian threat.
Today, the phrase "the Destruction of Sennacherib" is often used in a broader context to describe any unexpected and dramatic downfall or defeat. It is frequently employed in literature, poetry, and rhetoric to emphasize sudden and overwhelming ruin or failure. The term's historical and biblical connotations lend it a sense of poetic resonance and evoke vivid imagery of a seemingly invincible force being decisively vanquished.