2Ki 19:37 | NET2full | STEP | One day , as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch , his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword . They escaped to the land of Ararat ; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king .

‏ 2 Kings 19:37

37 One day, ^{▼▼sn The assassination probably took place in 681 b.c.} as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, ^{▼▼sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name Nisroch is a textual variation of Nusku, the Mesopotamian god of light and fire. Other proposals have tried to relate the name to Ashur, the chief god of the Assyria, or to Ninurta, the Assyrian god of war.} his sons ^{▼▼tc Although “his sons” is absent in the Kethib, it is supported by the Qere, along with many medieval Hebrew mss and the ancient versions. Cf. Isa 37:38.} Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. ^{▼▼sn Extra-biblical sources also mention the assassination of Sennacherib, though they refer to only one assassin. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 239-40.} They escaped to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.