16 Peter Dubovsk´ y Sennacherib’s behavior in this sense “represents” Assyria. Sennacherib, and in him Assyria, is charged with blasphemy against the Holy One of Israel, which provokes holy war in return (44). Sennacherib thus becomes an icon, in which all the Assyrian hubris is concentrated. God’s intervention in 2 Kgs 19,35-37 seen through Isaiah’s taunt song then turns out to be a re-establishment of justice. On the other hand, this presentation of data leads the Judahites to reflect on their behavior and to reread their own history in the light of these events. So this historiographic technique makes it possible to insert moral considerations according to the writers’ needs, in our case it is a call to conversion. Finally, employing the historiography of representation the writers can easily insert apologetic aspects into the text in order to defend, explain or support some contested changes (45). In our case God saved Jerusalem because Hezekiah purified the land by removing the high places, cutting down sacred poles, and breaking down pillars and the bronze serpent (2 Kgs 18,4). Thus, this technique of historiography serves as a divine confirmation of Hezekiah’s reform. Pontifical Biblical Institute Peter DUBOVSK Y ´ Via della Pilotta 25 I-00187 Roma SUMMARY In this article I compared Assyrian expansion as presented in the Bible with that presented in the Assyrian sources. Then I pointed out the problems of the historical events presented in the Bible. Combining these problems with the results of source-criticism I argued that the biblical “distortion” of the historical events was intentional. The writers probably did it to offer their interpretation of the downfall of Assyria. This presentation and organization of the events can be explained in terms of the historiography of representation. By applying this concept it is possible to explain several textual and historical problems of these chapters. (44) WATTS, Isaiah, 45. (45) The best known cases of ancient apologies are the Assyrian royal inscriptions, which justify the usurper’s conquest of the throne or some important religious changes. For a discussion of the apologetic dimensions of historiography see H. TADMOR, “Autobiographical Apology in the Royal Assyrian Literature”, History, Historiography, and Interpretation. Studies in Biblical and Cuneiform Literatures (ed. M. WEINFELD) (Jerusalem 1983) 36-57.