34:7 Lachish and Azekah. These were fortified cities of Judah (2 Chr. 11:5, 9). The verse gives a glimpse of the last days of Judah. Jerusalem knew the enemy was closing in as the outlying cities fell one by one. A pottery fragment dating from 588 b.c. carried this message to the commander at Lachish: “we are watching for the signals of Lachish . . . we cannot see Azekah.”