In this way `Ophrah became the centre of the coalition under Gideon in the tribe of Manasseh.
The reaction into idolatry and Babylonian star worship in the long reign of Manasseh synchronized and was connected with vassalage 1 There is some danger in too strictly construing the language of the prophets and also the psalmists.
The idolatrous reaction in the reign of Manasseh appears to have restored all the evils of the past and added to them.
In the long reign of his son Manasseh later writers saw the deathblow to the Judaean kingdom.
Both Esar-haddon (681-668) and Assur-bani-pal (668 - c. 626) number among their tributaries Tyre, Ammon, Moab, Edom, Ascalon, Gaza and Manasseh himself,' and cuneiform dockets unearthed at Gezer suggest the presence of Assyrian garrisons there (and no doubt also elsewhere) to ensure allegiance.