Editing Hezekiah (section)

====Increase in the power of Judah====
According to the work of archaeologists and philologists, the reign of Hezekiah saw a notable increase in the power of the Judean state. At this time, Judah was the strongest nation on the Assyrian–Egyptian frontier.<ref name=Nadav>Na'aman, Nadav. [https://books.google.com/books?id=1RgRPAkLqLUC&dq=Sennacherib&pg=PA141 ''Ancient Israel and Its Neighbors''], Eisenbrauns, 2005, {{ISBN|978-1575061085}}</ref> There were increases in literacy and in the production of literary works. The massive construction of the Broad Wall was made during his reign, the city was enlarged to accommodate a large influx, and Jerusalem's population increased to an estimated 25,000, "five times the population under Solomon."<ref name=Anchor/> Mazar explains, "Jerusalem was a virtual city-state where the majority of the state's population was concentrated," compared to the rest of Judah's cities.<ref name=FinkelMazar>Finkelstein, Israel and Mazar, Amihai. ''The Quest for the Historical Israel: Debating Archaeology and the History of Early Israel''. Leiden: Brill, 2007</ref>

Archaeologist [[Israel Finkelstein]] says, "The key phenomenon—which cannot be explained solely against the background of economic prosperity—was the sudden growth of the population of Jerusalem in particular, and of Judah in general." <ref name=FinkelMazar/> He says the cause of this growth must be a large influx of Israelites fleeing from the Assyrian destruction of the [[Northern Kingdom|northern state]]. It is "[t]he only reasonable way to explain this unprecedented demographic development." <ref name=FinkelMazar/> This, according to Finkelstein, set the stage for motivations to compile and reconcile Hebrew history into a text at that time.<ref name=FinkelMazar/> Mazar questions this explanation since, she argues, it is "no more than an educated guess." <ref name=FinkelMazar/>