Their kingdom came to an ignominious end.
Then began a period of terrible suffering.
Twenty-seven-thousand two-hundred-and-eighty families (about a hundred thousand people)were driven into exile.The country,terribly devastated by endless years of war,was repopulated with settlers from five Assyrian provinces,together with the remnants of the ten Jewish tribes.These immigrants formed a new race which became known as the Samaritans.At first,they were Assyrian subjects.Afterwards they were ruled by the Babylonians and the Macedonians and the Romans.They never again formed an independent state.
Judah survived her sister nation by a century and a half and only maintained a nominal independence by a most abject servility towards all her neighbours.When Sennacherib came to the throne of Assyria and began his ill-fated expedition against Egypt,Hezekiah,the King of Judah,bought immunity for his country with a gift of thirty talents of gold.
To obtain this amount,the last remnant of gold had to be scraped off the walls of the Temple.
It is curious that even then,the people of Jerusalem did not feel the utter humiliation of their country's position.They ate and drank just as merrily,while foreign officers and soldiers insolently sauntered down the streets of their home city.
Suddenly,however,their indifference was turned into abject fear.
It was rumoured (and upon good grounds)that Sennacherib had repented of his leniency and was about to destroy the Jewish capital to remove the possibility of an attack from the rear.
In the panic which followed this announcement,the Judaeans at last turned to one of their prophets.
Their King had failed them,but Jeremiah spoke eager words of encouragement and promised his people the support of Jehovah,if they would only make up their minds that Jerusalem should (and could)be defended until the end.
It seemed that he had foretold the truth.The armies of Assyria were caught in the marshes of the Nile delta.The greater part of the soldiers died from fever and the others,frightened by this mysterious disease (and by an even more mysterious attack of mice,which ate the strings of their bows),refused to continue the war and returned home.
Jeremiah rejoiced,but it was too soon for jubilation.The enemy was making ready for a terrible revenge.
Early in the middle of the sixth century,Zedekiah came to the throne of Judah.He was completely under the influence of several foreigners.His own comfort was his chief interest.The independence of his country meant nothing to him.
Assyria had gone the way of all empires and in turn had been conquered by the Chaldeans (another Semitic tribe)who had founded a new country,of which the old city of Babylon became the capital.
This change in masters made little difference to Zedekia Provided that he himself was left in peace,he was willing topay tribute to a Chaldean as cheerfully as to an Assyrian or an Egyptian.Such cowardly people,however,are apt to be rash,when for once in their lives,they ought to be cautious.