Nisroch

Nisroch is the Assyrian deity in whose temple Sennacherib was assassinated by his own sons after returning from his failed campaign against Jerusalem. The cult of Nisroch is named only in this single episode, recorded twice in parallel.

The House of Nisroch in Kings

The Kings account closes the Sennacherib narrative with the king's withdrawal to Nineveh and his death at the hands of two of his sons during worship at the shrine: "So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh" (2 Kgs 19:36). "And it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead" (2 Kgs 19:37).

The Parallel in Isaiah

The Isaiah parallel matches the Kings narrative almost word for word, with the small addition that the assassins are explicitly identified as Sennacherib's sons: "So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh" (Isa 37:37). "And it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons struck him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead" (Isa 37:38).