Who Conquered Samaria?

THE BIBLE AND INTERPRETATION:

Who Conquered Samaria? Reconstructing the Northern Kingdom’s Final Years

The final years of the northern kingdom of Israel have long been debated, especially the date of Samaria’s fall and the identity of its conqueror. Related questions concern Shalmaneser V’s siege of Samaria, Hoshea’s imprisonment, the extent of the city’s destruction, Sargon II’s claims regarding its conquest, and the regnal synchronisms in Kings. A reevaluation of the relevant biblical and Assyrian evidence supports the argument that Shalmaneser V captured Samaria in 723 BCE after a three-year siege and that Sargon II’s later claims reflect his suppression of a renewed western revolt in 720 BCE. A concluding historical synthesis reconstructs the events leading to the fall of the northern kingdom.

See also A History of Ancient Israel (Zondervan Academic, 2026).

By Todd Bolen
Professor of Biblical Studies
The Master’s University
September 2026

Cross-file under New Book. Todd Bolen is well known to PaleoJudaica readers from his Bible Places Blog.

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