History · 8 · Josiah and Huldah
The villain king brought a boom
The Bible blames Manasseh, Judah's longest-reigning king, for its destruction. Yet his loyalty to Assyria brought decades of peace and a tenfold population growth around Jerusalem.
Prosperity bought with compliance comes at a price.
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After Assyria ruined Judah's olive-oil heartland, the Philistine city of Ekron became the world's leading oil producer, boosting Judah's economy too. Forts sprang up along the incense caravan routes running from Arabia toward Gaza.
Bible reference: 2 Kings 21
Source: Why the Bible Began, pp. 120–122
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