LACHISH

lachish, a town of great importance in s. palestine, often mentioned in the tell el-amarna tablets. it was destroyed by joshua for joining the league against the gibeonites (joshua x. 31-33) and assigned to the tribe of judah (xv. 39). rehoboam fortified it (2 chron. xi. 9). king amaziah having fled hither, was here murdered by conspirators (2 kings xiv. 19). sennacherib here conducted a campaign (2 kings xviii. 13) during which hezekiah endeavoured to make terms with him: the campaign is commemorated by bas-reliefs found in nineveh, now in the british museum (see g. smith's _history of sennacherib_, p. 69). it was one of the last cities that resisted nebuchadnezzar (jer. xxxiv. 7). the meaning of micah's denunciation (i. 13) of the city is unknown. the _onomasticon_ places it 7 m. from eleutheropolis on the s. road, which agrees with the generally received identification, tell el-hesi, an important mound excavated for the palestine exploration fund by petrie and bliss, 1890-1893. the name is preserved in a small roman site in the neighbourhood, umm lakis, which probably represents a later dwelling-place of the descendants of the ancient inhabitants of the city. see w. m. flinders petrie, _tell el-hesy_, and f. j. bliss, _a mound of many cities_, both published by the palestine exploration fund. (r. a. s. m.)