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Erich Lessing/Collection of the Israel Museum

THE KING’S BOAST. In this six-sided cuneiform inscription called Sennacherib’s Prism, the Assyrian king proudly tells of his victorious campaign in Judah, adding that he had trapped Hezekiah in Jerusalem “like a bird in a cage.” He does not claim to have conquered the capital city, however, and indeed the Bible relates that Jerusalem miraculously survived the Assyrian siege—but Jerusalem’s success may also have been thanks to Hezekiah’s careful preparation and protection of the city’s water supply.