How did the Assyrian withdrawal from Jerusalem affect views of Isaiah’s prophecy?

The sudden and unexpected withdrawal of the Assyrian army from Jerusalem in 701 BCE, which the Hebrew Bible attributes to a miraculous epidemic, was widely viewed as a vindication of the prophet Isaiah’s faith.12

During the siege, while King Hezekiah faced pressure to surrender, Isaiah had stood firm in his conviction that Jerusalem’s destiny precluded its fall into the hands of a foreign power, provided the nation placed its trust in God rather than in military alliances or Egyptian aid. This deliverance reinforced the prophet’s theological stance that God shapes history and intervenes to protect his people.324

Consequently, the event fostered a lasting belief in Judah that Jerusalem was inviolable—a conviction that persisted until the city’s eventual fall to the Babylonians a century later. Furthermore, this unlooked-for survival served as an inspiration for later generations, including those who rebelled against Babylonian rule.52