The 'Archaeology of the Days of Manasseh' Reconsidered in the Light of Evidence From The Beersheba Valley

Abstract

Recent scholarship based on typological studies suggests that the dating of the prosperous Beersheba settlement system should be raised from the 7th to the last third of the 8th century BCE. This change in timeframe offers a new understanding of demographics and presents a number of socio-historical implications. It sheds new light on the nature of Assyrian hegemony in the region during the late 8th century and the beginning of the 7th century and affects the understanding of Judean internal affairs, such as aspects of the reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah, and the archaeology of the reign of Manasseh.