Inside BAR

Lachish was one of five Canaanite cities that allied themselves against Joshua and the invading Israelites. In a series of lightning attacks, according to the Bible, Joshua conquered these cities.

Excavations at the great 30-acre mound of Tel Lachish have now reached strata from the time of Joshua. In “Lachish—Key to the Israelite Conquest of Canaan?” Tel Aviv University archaeologist David Ussishkin describes his excavations of Late Bronze Age Lachish, the city at the time of Joshua. Ussishkin has uncovered clear signs of a rapid destruction, which fits the description in Joshua 10:31–32 that Joshua “attacked [Lachish and] captured it on the second day.” But should this destruction level be attributed to the Israelites?

Ussishkin’s previous reports in BAR on Lachish focused on the Judean city conquered by the Assyrians in the eighth century B.C. (“Answers at Lachish,” BAR 05:06) and on the counter-ramp thrown up against the Assyrian attackers led by Sennacherib (“Defensive Judean Counter-Ramp Found at Lachish in 1983 Season,” BAR 10:02).