📖 Biblical Definition
Major Canaanite-then-Judean fortified city in the Shephelah (lowland) of southern Judah (Joshua 10; 12:11; 15:39; 2 Kings 14:19; 18:14, 17; 2 Chronicles 11:9; 32:9; Jeremiah 34:7; Micah 1:13). Lachish was one of the principal cities of the Joshua conquest: King Japhia of Lachish was part of the five-king Amorite coalition that attacked Gibeon after its treaty with Israel; Joshua's forced-march night attack defeated them at Beth-horon; Lachish itself was besieged for two days and captured (Joshua 10:31-32). Rehoboam later fortified Lachish as one of his strategic strongholds (2 Chronicles 11:9). The most consequential later episode is the Assyrian siege under Sennacherib in 701 BC: Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them (2 Kings 18:13), with Lachish as Sennacherib's southern command-base for the campaign against Jerusalem. The famous Lachish Relief from Sennacherib's palace at Nineveh depicts the Assyrian siege and capture of Lachish in vivid stone-relief detail and stands as one of the most important extra-biblical archaeological confirmations of the OT historical narrative. Micah 1:13 condemns Lachish as the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion, suggesting Lachish was an early adopter of the northern-kingdom idolatries that spread to Judah. The patriarchal-Reformed reader values Lachish as one of the most archaeologically attested OT cities and as a witness to the LORD's faithfulness in delivering Hezekiah and Jerusalem while permitting the lesser cities of Judah (Lachish included) to fall under the Assyrian judgment.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Major Canaanite-Judean fortified city in southern Judah's Shephelah; Joshua conquest (Joshua 10); fortified by Rehoboam; Sennacherib's siege 701 BC (the famous Lachish Relief at Nineveh).
expand to see more
LACHISH, proper n. (OT place) Major Canaanite-then-Judean fortified city in the Shephelah of southern Judah. Joshua conquest: King Japhia of Lachish in the five-king Amorite coalition; Joshua besieged and captured Lachish in two days (Joshua 10:31-32). Rehoboam fortified Lachish as Judean stronghold (2 Chronicles 11:9). Sennacherib's 701 BC campaign: Lachish as the Assyrian southern command-base; the famous Lachish Relief from Sennacherib's palace at Nineveh depicts the siege and capture in detailed stone-relief. Micah 1:13 condemns Lachish as the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion.
📖 Key Scripture
Joshua 10:31-32 — "And Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, unto Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it: And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, which took it on the second day."
2 Kings 18:13-14 — "Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them. And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear."
2 Chronicles 11:9 — "And Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah."
Micah 1:13 — "O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
No major postmodern redefinition. The principal contemporary mishandling is the modern reader's missing of the Lachish Relief's archaeological confirmation of the OT historical narrative.
expand to see more
Lachish as a place name does not undergo lexical corruption. The principal contemporary mishandling is the modern reader's missing of Lachish's significance as one of the most archaeologically attested OT cities. The Lachish Relief from Sennacherib's palace at Nineveh (now in the British Museum) depicts the 701 BC siege and capture in vivid detail, providing extraordinary extra-biblical confirmation of the OT historical narrative. Lachish letters (Ostraca) from the period of Jeremiah and the Babylonian siege further attest to the historical reality of the OT period. The patriarchal-Reformed reader recovers Lachish as both biblical narrative and archaeological witness, a substantive confirmation that the OT records real history.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Joshua 10; 2 Kings 18; Micah 1:13; Lachish Relief at Nineveh; major fortified city of Judah's Shephelah.
expand to see more
['Hebrew', 'H3923', 'Lakhish', 'place-name']
['Hebrew', 'H8219', 'Shephelah', 'lowland']
['Hebrew', 'H2396', 'Chizkiyyah', 'Hezekiah (the king who paid tribute at Lachish)']
Usage
"Lachish: major fortified Judean city in the Shephelah."
"Joshua's two-day siege (Joshua 10:31-32); Rehoboam's fortification; Sennacherib's siege 701 BC."
"Lachish Relief at Nineveh: extraordinary archaeological confirmation of OT history."