Adrammelech: Edit history

Biblical Account

Adrammelech appears in 2 Kings 19:37 and Isaiah 37:38. The two passages are nearly identical. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, attacked Judah in the days of Hezekiah, then withdrew and stayed in Nineveh. Later, while Sennacherib was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch (Korean Revised Version: "shrine"), Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped into the land of Ararat. Sennacherib's son Esarhaddon then became king.

Isaiah 37:38 identifies the two men as "his sons." The Korean Revised Version of 2 Kings 19:37 lacks this phrase. 2 Chronicles 32:21 does not name them, recording only that "they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword." Scripture records nothing else about Adrammelech's life.

The same name also appears in 2 Kings 17:31, but there it is the name of a god rather than a person. This was a deity worshiped by the people of Sepharvaim who were resettled in Samaria, and they are recorded as having burned their children in fire to this god. This deity should be distinguished from the person treated in this article.

Significance Within Scripture

The event is presented as the fulfillment of a word previously delivered by the prophet Isaiah, in which God declared concerning Sennacherib, "I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land" (2 Kings 19:7; Isaiah 37:7). Sennacherib had boasted that the gods of other nations had been unable to deliver their peoples. The text focuses on the irony that this same king was killed by his own sons in the very place where he was worshiping his god. The New Testament does not mention Adrammelech.

Interpretation and Issues

• Timing of the event: The biblical text narrates Sennacherib's retreat and his death in succession. However, chronology based on Assyrian records places several years between the two events. Sennacherib's death is generally dated to about 681 BC.
• Comparison with extrabiblical records: Ancient Near Eastern sources such as the Babylonian Chronicles are also understood to report that Sennacherib was murdered by a son. Some scholars identify Adrammelech with the prince Arda-Mulissi known from Assyrian texts. This is a scholarly proposal, not an established fact.
• The name: It is spelled the same as the name of the god in 2 Kings 17:31. The precise meaning and origin of the name are uncertain.
• The land of Ararat: This is understood to refer to the region of Urartu, in the area of present-day Armenia and eastern Turkey. The name of the mountain where Noah's ark came to rest also derives from this place name.

In the Korean Church

Adrammelech is rarely the subject of a sermon in his own right. He is usually mentioned in passing when the end of Sennacherib is explained in sermons or Sunday school lessons on Hezekiah's prayer and the defeat of the Assyrian army.