Isaiah 20:1-2  In the year that the commander in chief [Tartan], who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and captured it—2 at that time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take off your sandals from your feet,” and he did so, walking naked and barefoot.

Ashdod was a Philistine city.  They rebelled in 713 BC, and were defeated by 711 BC by the commanding officer [Tartan] of Sargon II’s army.  The only problem was this story was that there was no extra-biblical evidence of Sargon’s existence.  Scholars once believed that either Isaiah was mistaken, or that Sargon was an alternate name for another Assyrian king.  The mystery was resolved in 1842 when Sargon II’s palace was discovered.  Sargon II was a genuine historical figure.  He reigned from 722-705 BC.  The reason scholars did not find any trace of him in the Assyrian records at Ninevah is because his palace was not located in Ninevah, but in Dur Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad,Iraq).  Sargon had moved the capital there.

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