Tirhakah

inquirer; examiner; dull observer

Tirhakah

King of Ethiopia, or Cuch, and of Egypt. This prince, at the head of a powerful army, attempted to relieve Hezekiah, when attacked by Sennarcherib, 2 Kings 19:9, but the Assyrian army was routed before he came up, Isaiah 37:19, B. C. 712. He is undoubtedly the Tarcus of Manetho, and the Tearcho of Strabo, the third and last king of the twenty-fifth or Ethiopian dynasty. It is supposed that he is the Pharaoh intended in Isaiah 30:2; and that Isaiah 19:1-25 depicts the anarchy which succeeded his reign. He was a powerful monarch, ruling both Upper and lower Egypt, and extending his conquests far into Asia and towards the "pillars of Hercules" in the west. His name and victories are recorded on an ancient temple at Medinet Abou, in upper Egypt; whence also the representation above given of his head was copied by Rosselini.

The last king of Egypt of the Ethiopian (the fifteenth) dynasty. He was the brother-in-law of So (q.v.). He probably ascended the throne about B.C. 692, having been previously king of Ethiopia (2 Kings 19:9; Isaiah 37:9), which with Egypt now formed one nation. He was a great warrior, and but little is known of him. The Assyrian armies under Esarhaddon, and again under Assur-bani-pal, invaded Egypt and defeated Tirhakah, who afterwards retired into Ethiopia, where he died, after reigning twenty-six years. TIRHAKAH

ter-ha'-ka, tir-ha'-ka (tirhaqah; Codex Vaticanus in 2 Kings Thara; elsewhere and in Codex Alexandrinus Tharaka; Josephus Tharsikes):

1. Name and Prenomen:

The king of Cush or Ethiopia (basileus Aithiopon), who opposed Sennacherib in Palestine (2 Kings 19:9 Isaiah 37:9). The name of this ruler of Egypt and his native realm appears in hieroglyphics as Taharqa, his prenomen being Nefer-atmu-Ra-chu, "Nefer-atmu-Ra protects." The Assyrian form of Tirhakah is Tarqu or Tarqu'u (inscriptions of Assur-bani-pal).

2. Origin and Length of Reign:

Tirhakah was one of the sons, and apparently the favorite, of Piankhy II. He left his mother, and the city Napata, at the age of 20; and when she followed him northward, she found him crowned as king of Egypt. As he died, after a reign of at least 26 years, in 667 B.C., he must have mounted the throne about 693 B.C.

3. A Chronological Difficulty

The engagement between Tirhakah's army and the Assyrians is regarded as having taken place in 701 B.C. Petrie explains this date by supposing he acted at first for the reigning Pharaoh, his cousin Shabatoka, Tirhakah not having officially become Pharaoh until the former's death in 693 B.C. There is a general opinion, however, that the Assyrian historians, like those of 2 King and Isaiah, have mingled two campaigns made by Sennacherib, one of them being after the accession of Tirhakah.

4. First Conflict with the Assyrians:

According to the Old Testament account, Sennacherib was besieging Libnah when Tirhakah's army appeared in Palestine. In Sennacherib's inscriptions, however, the battle with "the king(s) of Mucuru (Egypt) and the bowmen, chariots, and cavalry of Meruhha" (Meroe or Ethiopia), who had come to Hezekiah's help, took place in the neighborhood of Eltekeh. He claims to have captured the sons of the king (variant, "kings") of Egypt and the charioteers of the king of Meruhha, and then, having taken Eltekeh, Timna, and Ekron, he brought out Padi from Jerusalem, and resented him on the throne of Ekron. The name of Tirhakah does not occur in his account.

5. Struggles with Esar-haddon and Assur-bani-pal. His Death:

It would seem to have been Egypt's interference in Palestinian affairs which caused the Assyrian kings to desire the conquest of that distant country. According to the Babylonian Chronicle, the Assyrian army fought in Egypt in the 7th year of Esar-haddon (675 B.C.), and the country was then apparently quiet until 672 B.C., when Esar-haddon marched thither, and after fighting three battles, entered Memphis. "The king" (Tirhakah) fled, but his sons and nephews were made prisoners. In the latter campaign (670 B.C.) Esar-haddon fell ill and died on the way out, so that the operations were, apparently, completed by his son, Assur-bani-pal (Osnap-par); On hearing of the Assyrian success at Kar-Baniti, Tirhakah, who was at Memphis, fled to Thebes. The 20 petty kings installed in Egypt by Esar-haddon were restored by Assur-bani-pal, but they feared the vengeance of Tirhakah after the Assyrian army had retired, and therefore made an agreement with him. On this news reaching the Assyrian king, he sent his army back to Egypt, and the petty rulers having been abolished, Necho king of Memphis and Sais was set on the throne, with his son, Nabu-sizbanni, as ruler in Athribes. On hearing of the success of the Assyrian armies, Tirhakah fled, and died in Cush (Ethiopia). He was suceeded by TanTamane (Identified with Tanut-Amon), son of Sabaco, whom the Assyrians defeated in the last expedition which they ever made to Egypt (see W. F. Petrie, History of Egypt, III, 294;).

T. G. Pinches

8640. Tirhaqah -- a king of Egypt
... Tirhaqah. 8641 . a king of Egypt. Transliteration: Tirhaqah Phonetic Spelling:
(teer-haw'-kaw) Short Definition: Tirhakah. ... NASB Word Usage Tirhakah (2). Tirhakah ...
/hebrew/8640.htm - 5k

The Power of Assyria at Its Zenith; Esarhaddon and Assur-Bani-Pal
... revolt of vie Mannai, and expeditions against the Medes; submission of the northern
Arabs (678-676 BC)"Egyptian affairs; Taharqa (Tirhakah), his building ...
/.../chapter iithe power of assyria.htm

Concerning those who Asked Him to Show them a Sign from Heaven.
... consider, whether when forces join in opposition which are in disagreement with
one another, as of Pharaoh with Nebuchadnezzar, [5556] and of Tirhakah, king of ...
/.../origens commentary on the gospel of matthew/1 concerning those who asked.htm

Nineveh.
... Accordingly, on the report that Tirhakah, the great King of Ethiopia, was coming
to the aid of the Egyptians, he hurried on to reinforce the army he had sent ...
//christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson ix nineveh.htm

Appendices
... 1. Shabaka (Sabako) Nefer-ka-Ra, son of Kashet, 12 years.2. Shabatoka (Sebikhos)
Dad-ka-Ra. 3. Taharka (Tirhakah) Nefer-Tum-khu-Ra, 26 years. Interregnum. ...
/.../sayce/early israel and the surrounding nations/appendices.htm

Chapter x
... Just because we happen to know (2 Kings 19:9; Isaiah 37:9) that the Ethiopians under
Tirhakah (about 759 BC) clashed with Sennacherib and so definitely came to ...
//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter x.htm

Babylonia and Assyria
... Meanwhile Tirhakah, the Ethiopian king of Egypt, on whose help Hezekiah
had relied, was marching to the assistance of his ally. ...
/.../early israel and the surrounding nations/chapter vi babylonia and assyria.htm

Tirhakah (2 Occurrences)
... The Assyrian armies under Esarhaddon, and again under Assur-bani-pal, invaded Egypt
and defeated Tirhakah, who afterwards retired into Ethiopia, where he died ...
/t/tirhakah.htm - 11k

Tirha'kah (2 Occurrences)
Tirha'kah. Tirhakah, Tirha'kah. Tirhana . Multi-Version Concordance Tirha'kah
(2 Occurrences). ... Tirhakah, Tirha'kah. Tirhana . Reference Bible.
/t/tirha'kah.htm - 6k

Ashurbanipal (1 Occurrence)
...Tirhakah, whom Esarhaddon had vanquished, and who had fled to Ethiopia, had returned,
and had advanced against the rulers appointed by Assyria. ...
/a/ashurbanipal.htm - 12k

Marching (17 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 19:9 When he heard it said of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, "Behold, he has
come out to fight against you, he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying ...
/m/marching.htm - 12k

Cushite (15 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 19:9 And he heareth concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, saying, 'Lo, he hath
come out to fight with thee;' and he turneth and sendeth messengers unto ...
/c/cushite.htm - 14k

Representatives (26 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 19:9 And when news came to him that Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, had made
an attack on him, he sent representatives to Hezekiah again, saying, (BBE). ...
/r/representatives.htm - 14k

Egypt (596 Occurrences)
... The third of them was Tirhakah (2 Kings 19:9). In BC 674 it was conquered by the
Assyrians, who divided it into twenty satrapies, and Tirhakah was driven back ...
/e/egypt.htm - 101k

Cush (31 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 19:9 And when he heard it said of Tirhakah king of Cush, Behold, he hath
come out to fight against thee: he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying ...
/c/cush.htm - 25k

Tireth (1 Occurrence)

/t/tireth.htm - 6k

Sennacherib (13 Occurrences)
... (see TIRHAKAH.) He next sent a threatening letter (2 Kings 19:10-14), which
Hezekiah carried into the temple and spread before the Lord. ...
/s/sennacherib.htm - 18k

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