The recovery of the king caused great rejoicing in Jerusalem; but it was not unmixed. Doubt and anxiety were still felt in the capital so long as Sennacherib's contest with Egypt remained unended. If he were victorious, the thrones of Judah and David would be lost. How long this war and the siege of Pelusium lasted is not certain. Suddenly the joyful news reached Jerusalem that Sennacherib with the remainder of his army was returning in hot haste to his country (711). What had happened to the numerous host? Nothing definite was known, and the scene of action lay far away. In Jerusalem it was related that a devouring pestilence or the Angel of Death had destroyed the entire Assyrian host, 185,000 men. In Egypt, the priests related that a numberless swarm of field-mice had gnawed to pieces the quivers, bows, and trappings of the army till they were useless, and that the soldiers, deprived of their weapons, were obliged to take to flight. Whatever may have caused the destruction of the mighty host of Sennacherib, his contemporaries appear to have considered it as a miracle, and as a punishment sent to the Assyrian king for his pride and blasphemy. In Jerusalem the joy following on anxiety was increased by the fact that the prophet had repeatedly and, from the very commencement of the attack, predicted that the Assyrians would not cast one arrow against Jerusalem, and that Sennacherib would return on the way by which he had come without having effected his intentions. The exultation over their deliverance found vent in the hymns--beautiful in form and thought--which were composed by the Korahite Levites, and sung in the Temple. (Psalms xlvi. and lxxvi.) Thus Jerusalem was delivered from the Assyrians. Isaiah's prediction that "Assur's yoke shall be removed from the shoulder of Judah" was fulfilled to the letter. The inhabitants of the country, part of whom had been shut up in the capital, and part of whom had fled for refuge to the neighbouring hollows and caves, now returned to their homes, and tilled the land in safety. All fear of the frowning eye of the Assyrian king having passed away, the Judæans, whose territory was but small, could now seek out other dwelling places where they could settle down and spread. Hezekiah's thoughts were not directed towards war; his was the mission of a prince of peace. It appears that the neighbouring people, indeed, called on him as an arbiter in their disputes, and that fugitives and persecuted men sought protection with him. Although Judah could not be said to boast of victories under Hezekiah, it yet attained to an important position amongst the nations.