Manasseh

The eldest son of Joseph. (Gen. xli. 51.) His name was given him by his father, because, he said, God had made him forget all his toil, and all his father’s house. The word in the margin of the Bible is forgetting, from Nahash, to forget. There was another Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, whose history we have, 2 Kings xx. xxi.

the eldest son of Joseph, and grandson of the patriarch Jacob, Gen 41:50, was born, A.M. 2290, B.C. 1714. The name Manasseh signifies forgetfulness, because Joseph said, “God hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house.” When Jacob was going to die, Joseph brought his two sons to him, that his father might give them his last blessing, Genesis 48. Jacob, having seen them, adopted them. The tribe of Manasseh came out of Egypt in number thirty-two thousand two hundred men, upward of twenty years old, under the conduct of Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur, Num 2:20-21. This tribe was divided in the land of promise. One half tribe of Manasseh settled beyond the river Jordan, and possessed the country of Bashan, from the river Jabbok, to Mount Libanus; and the other half tribe of Manasseh settled on this side Jordan, and possessed the country between the tribe of Ephraim south, and the tribe of Issachar north, having the river Jordan east, and the Mediterranean Sea west, Joshua xvi; 17.

2. MANASSEH, the fifteenth king of Judah, and son and successor of Hezekiah, was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty- five years, 2Ki 20:21; 2Ki 21:1-2; 2Ch 33:1-2, &c. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. He did evil in the sight of the Lord; worshipped the idols of the land of Canaan; rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; set up altars to Baal; and planted groves to false gods. He raised altars to the whole host of heaven, in the courts of God’s house; made his son pass through the fire in honour of Moloch; was addicted to magic, divinations, auguries, and other superstitions; set up the idol Astarte in the house of God; finally, he involved his people in all the abomination of the idolatrous nations to that degree, that Israel committed more wickedness than the Canaanites, whom the Lord had driven out before them. To all these crimes Manasseh added cruelty; and he shed rivers of innocent blood in Jerusalem. The Lord being provoked by so many crimes, threatened him by his prophets, “I will blot out Jerusalem as a writing is blotted out of a writing tablet.” The calamities which God had threatened began toward the twenty-second year of this impious prince.

The king of Assyria sent his army against him, who, seizing him among the briers and brambles where he was hid, fettered his hands and feet, and carried him to Babylon, 2Ch 33:11-12, &c. It was probably Sargon or Esar-haddon, king of Assyria, who sent Tartan into Palestine, and who taking Azoth, attacked Manasseh, put him in irons, and led him away, not to Nineveh, but to Babylon, of which Esar-haddon had become master, and had reunited the empires of the Assyrians and the Chaldeans. Manasseh, in bonds at Babylon, humbled himself before God, who heard his prayers, and brought him back to Jerusalem; and Manasseh acknowledged the hand of the Lord. Manasseh was probably delivered out of prison by Saosduchin, the successor of Esar-haddon, 2Ch 33:13-14, &c. Being returned to Jerusalem, he restored the worship of the Lord; broke down the altars of the false gods; abolished all traces of their idolatrous worship; but he did not destroy the high places: which is the only thing Scripture reproaches him with, after his return from Babylon. He caused Jerusalem to be fortified; and he inclosed with a wall another city, which in his time was erected west of Jerusalem, and which went by the name of the second city, 2Ch 33:14. He put garrisons into all the strong places of Judah. Manasseh died at Jerusalem, and was buried in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza, 2Ki 21:18. He was succeeded by his son Amon.

1. The eldest son of Joseph, born in Egypt. His descendants constituted a full tribe. This was divided in the promised land: one part having settled east of the Jordan, in the country of Bashan, from the river Jabbok northwards; and the other west of the Jordan, between Ephraim and Issachar, extending from the Jordan to the Mediterranean. It was far inferior to Ephraim in wealth and power, according to the prediction of Jacob, Gen 41:50,51 48:1-22 Jos 16:10 .\par 2. The son and impious successor of the good Hezekiah, king of Judah. He began to reign at twelve years old, B. C. 698, and reigned fifty-five years. For his shocking idolatries, tyranny, and cruelties, God suffered him to be carried as a prisoner to Babylon in the twenty-second year of his reign, probably by Esarhaddon king of Assyria. Here, however, he so humbled himself that God moved the Assyrians to restore him to his throne, as a tributary; and thenceforth he set himself to undo the evil he had done. He abolished the idols he had worshipped and the diviners he had consulted; accomplished many reforms for the spiritual and material good of his kingdom; repaired the defenses of Jerusalem, enclosing with Ophel on the southeast; and strengthened the walled cities of Judah. After a reign longer than that of any other king of Judah, he died in peace and was buried in Jerusalem, 2Ki 21:1-26 2Ch 33:24 .\par

Manas’seh. (forgetting).

1. The eldest son of Joseph, Gen 41:51; Gen 46:20, born 1715-10 B.C. Both he and Ephraim were born before the commencement of the famine. He was placed after his younger brother, Ephraim, by his grandfather Jacob, when he adopted them into his own family, and made them heads of tribes. Whether the elder of the two sons was inferior in form or promise to the younger, or whether there was any external reason to justify the preference of Jacob, we are not told.

In the division of the Promised Land, half of the tribe of Manasseh settled east of the Jordan in the district embracing the hills of Gilead with their inaccessible heights and impassable ravines, and the almost impregnable tract of Argob. Jos 13:29-33. Here they throve exceedingly, pushing their way northward over the rich plains of Jaulan and Jedur to the foot of Mount Hermon. 1Ch 5:23.

But they gradually assimilated themselves with the old inhabitants of the country, and on them, descended the punishment which was ordained to be the inevitable consequence of such misdoing. They, first of all Israel, were carried away by Pul and Tiglath-pileser, and settled in the Assyrian territories. 1Ch 5:25-26. The other half tribe settled to the west of the Jordan, north of Ephraim. Jos 17:1. For further particulars See Epfraim.

2. The thirteenth king of Judah, son of Hezekiah, 2Ki 21:1, ascended the throne at the age of twelve, and reigned 55 years, from B.C. 608 to 642. His accession was the signal for an entire change in the religious administration of the kingdom. Idolatry was again established to such an extent that every faith was tolerated, but the old faith of Israel.

The Babylonian alliance, which the king formed against Assyria, resulted in his being made prisoner and carried off to Babylon in the twenty-second year of his reign, according to a Jewish tradition. There his eyes were opened and he repented, and his prayer was heard and the Lord delivered him, 2Ch 33:12-13, and he returned after some uncertain interval of time to Jerusalem. The altar of the Lord was again restored, and Peace Offerings and thank offerings were sacrificed to Jehovah. 2Ch 38:15-16. But beyond this, the reformation did not go.

On his death, B.C. 642, he was buried as Ahaz had been, not with the burial of a king, in the sepulchres of the house of David, but in the garden of Uzza, 2Ki 21:26, and long afterward, in suite of his repentance, the Jews held his name in abhorrence.

3. One of the descendants of Pahathmoab, who in the days of Ezra had married a foreign wife. Ezr 10:30.

4. One of the laymen, of the family of Hashum who put away his foreign wife at Ezra command. Ezr 10:33.

("causing to forget".) Joseph’s firstborn by Asenath, whose birth "made him forget all his toil and all (the sorrow he endured through) his father’s house" (Gen 41:51). Jacob adopted them as his own, though "horn in Egypt" and by an alien to Israel (Gen 48:5; Gen 48:9); "as Reuben and Simeon they shall be mine," i.e. patriarchal heads of tribes, as Jacob’s immediate sons were; Manasseh and Ephraim gave their names to separate tribes. Joseph had the portion of the firstborn by having the double portion, i.e. two tribal divisions assigned to his sons (1Ch 5:1-2; compare Deu 21:17). When Joseph took Ephraim in his right toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left toward Israel’s right hand, Israel put his right upon Ephraim the younger, and his left upon Manasseh wittingly, notwithstanding Joseph’s remonstrance. Their name should be a formula of blessing, "God make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh," and they should "grow as fish do increase" (a natural image near the fish abounding Nile): Gen 48:16; Gen 48:20.

The term "thousands" is especially applied to Manasseh (Deu 33:17; Jdg 6:15 margin.) Manasseh’s son by an Aramitess (Syrian) concubine, Machir, had children "borne upon Joseph’s knees" (Gen 50:23), i.e. adopted as his from their birth. Manasseh, Ephraim, and Benjamin, the three sprung from Rachel, marched W. of the tabernacle. Moses in his last blessing (Deu 33:13-17) gives Joseph (i.e. Ephraim and Manasseh) the "precious things of the earth" by "the good will of Him that dwelt in the bush, "in contrast to Joseph’s past "separation from his brethren," his horns like the two of the wild bull (not "unicorn"), namely, "the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh shall push," etc. At Sinai Manasseh numbered 32,200 (Num 1:10; Num 1:35; Num 2:20-21; Num 7:54-59), Ephraim 40,500. But 40 years later, at Jordan, Manasseh 52,700, Ephraim 32,590 (Num 26:34-37).

Manasseh here resumes his place as firstborn (his having two portions of Canaan, one on each side of Jordan, being also a kind of privilege of the firstborn), probably as having been foremost in the conquest of Gilead, the most impregnable portion of Palestine, as Lejah (asylum) the modern name of Argob implies; their inheritance was northern Gilead, Argob, and Bashan (Num 32:39-42; Deu 3:4; Deu 3:13-15; Jos 17:1). Gideon, the greatest of the judges, and one whose son all but established hereditary monarchy in their line, and Jephthah, were samples of their warriors. They advanced from Bashan northwards to the base of Mount Hermon (1Ch 5:23). When David was crowned at Hebron western Manasseh sent 18,000, eastern Manasseh with Gad and Reuben 120,000 armed men (1Ch 12:31; 1Ch 12:37). Moreover, a prince of each of the two sections of Manasseh stands on a level with the princes of entire tribes (1Ch 27:20-21).

But because of apostasy from the God of their fathers to the gods of the people whom He destroyed before them, Manasseh was first cut short by the Syrian Hazael (2Ki 10:32), then God stirred up the spirit of Pul and of Tiglath Pileser of Assyria to carry the eastern half of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad captives to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river Gozan (1Ch 5:25-26). Manasseh failed to occupy all the territory assigned to them. "Geshur and Aram (Syria) took the 23 towns of Jair and the 37 of Kenath and her daughters, 60 in all, from them"; so 1Ch 2:23 ought to be translated In Jdg 10:4 we find Jair the judge in possession of 30 of them, recovered from the enemy. Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh successfully warred with and dispossessed the Hagarites with Jetar, Nephish, and Nodab (1Ch 5:18-22). The western half of Manasseh failed for long to dispossess completely the Canaanites (Jdg 1:27; Jos 17:11-12).

On their complaining that but one portion had been allotted to them, and that the Canaanite chariots prevented their occupying the Esdraelon and Jordan plains, Joshua advised them to go into the wooded mountain, probably Carmel. Accordingly their towns Taanach, Megiddo, Ibleam, and Endor are in the region of Carmel, within the allotments of other tribes. Bethshean was in the hollow of the Ghor or Jordan valley, the connecting point between the eastern and the western Manasseh. Kerr shows that the land of Manasseh, instead of crossing the country from E. to W., occupied only half that space, and lay along the sea to the W., bounded on the E. by the range of Mount Carmel.

Jos 17:7 defines its coast. En Tappuah is Atuf. The town was given to Ephraim, the land N. of it was Manasseh’s. Conder thinks that Asher was separated from Manasseh by Zebulun, and that the Asher in Jos 17:10 is Asherham-Michmethah (now Es Sireh) at the N.W. corner of Ephraim. Issachar lay to the E. of Ephraim and Manasseh, along the entire line of the Jordan, from the sea of Chinneroth to the wady Kelt not far from the Salt Sea: thus it was a triangle, its apex at Jericho, its base N. of the Jezreel plain (Palestine Exploration Quarterly Statement, January, 1877, p. 41-50). In the declension of the nation Isaiah (Isa 9:20-21) foretells that the two sons of Joseph, once so intimately united, should be rent into factions thirsting for one another’s blood, "they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm, Manasseh Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh, and they together against Judah."

After the fall of the ten tribes, Psalm 80 expresses Judah’s prayer of sympathy for her sister: "give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock. ... Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh (advancing at their head, as formerly in the pillar of cloud in the wilderness) ... come and save us." The book of Numbers (Num 2:17-24) represents these three kindred tribes together marching after the ark; so in the Psalms. Many out of Manasseh were among the penitents coming southwards to Judah, and joining in the spiritual revivals under Asa (2Ch 15:9), Hezekiah (2Ch 30:1; 2Ch 30:10-11; 2Ch 30:18; 2Ch 31:1), and Josiah (2Ch 34:6-9).

Manasseh (ma-năs’seh), forgetting. 1. The first-born of Joseph. When he and his brother Ephraim were boys, and Jacob, their grandfather, was about to die, Joseph took them into the patriarch’s presence to receive his blessing. Gen 48:5-20. Nothing further is known of the personal history of Manasseh. The eastern part of the tribe of Manasseh prospered much and spread to Mount Hermon, but they finally mixed with the Canaanites, adopted their idolatry, became scattered as Bedouins in the desert, and were the first to be carried away into captivity by the kings of Assyria. 1Ch 5:25. The western Manasseh, of which only a few glimpses are visible in the later history of Israel, always showed itself on the right side; as, for instance, in the cases of Asa, 2Ch 15:9; Hezekiah, 2Ch 30:1; 2Ch 30:11; 2Ch 30:18, and Josiah, 2Ch 34:6; 2Ch 9:2. Son and successor of Hezekiah, king of Judah, ascended the throne at the age of twelve years, b.c. 696. The earlier part of his reign was distinguished for acts of impiety and cruelty, 2Ki 21:1-26, and he succeeded in drawing his subjects away from the Lord to such an extent that the only kind of worship which was not allowed in Judah was that of Jehovah. 2Ki 21:2-9. Having supported the Babylonian viceroy in his revolt against Assyria, he was at last taken captive by the Assyrian king and ignominiously transported to Babylon. Upon his repentance, however, he was liberated, and returned to his capital, where he died b.c. 641, after having done much to repair the evils of bis former life. 2Ch 33:1-20.

3. The territory of Manasseh occupied by a tribe descended from Joseph, and divided into two portions—one east of the Jordan, and the other west of it 1. East of the Jordan.— The country of Manasseh east of the Jordan included half of Gilead, the Hauran, Bashan, and Argob. 1Ch 5:18-23. The extensive pastures of Gilead and Bashan gave the best scope for the half-nomad and herdsman’s life led by this portion of the tribe. Psa 68:15. The people were powerful and brave, taking a leading part in the wars of Gideon, of Jephthah, and of David. See also Gilead and Bashan. 2. West of the Jordan.— The portion of the half-tribe of Manasseh on the west of the Jordan extended from the Mediterranean to the Jordan, and lay between Asher and Issachar on the north and Ephraim on the south. Jos 17:7-10. They also gained some towns in Carmel within the bounds of Issachar, probably by capturing them from the ancient Canaanites. Jos 17:11-18. The dominant position of Ephraim seems to have obscured the power of Manasseh, and this portion of their country is frequently joined with Ephraim in the biblical allusions.

[Manas’seh]

1. Eldest son of Joseph and Asenath, and head of one of the tribes of Israel. When Jacob blessed the two sons of Joseph he crossed his hands so that Ephraim the younger son should have the chief blessing. And when Moses blessed the twelve tribes he spoke of the ten thousands of Ephraim, but the thousands of Manasseh. Nothing personally is recorded of Manasseh. Gen 41:51: Gen 48:1-20; Gen 50:23.

The tribe numbered at the first census 32,200 and forty years later they were 52,700. Being a numerous tribe they had a large possession in the north on the east of the upper Jordan and of the Sea of Galilee. They conquered the mountaineers of Gilead, Bashan, and Argob; but with the Reubenites and Gadites were the first to be carried away captive by Pul and Tiglath-pileser. 1Ch 5:18-26. Those on the east of the Jordan are often called the half-tribe of Manasseh; the other half were on the west of the Jordan, about the centre of the land, between Ephraim and Issachar.

When Hezekiah invited the twelve tribes to join him in keeping a passover to Jehovah, certain of the tribe of Manasseh humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem. 2Ch 30:11. In Psa 80:2 we read, "Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us," in allusion to these three being the tribes that immediately followed the ark of God in the wilderness. Num 2:17-22. The tribe is called MANASSES in Rev 7:6.

2. King of Judah: he was son of Hezekiah and father of Amon. He began to reign when twelve years of age, and reigned 55 years: B.C. 698-643. The records concerning him are few, but very sad. He worshipped the host of heaven and built altars for them in the courts of the house of the Lord. He made his son to pass through the fire, and dealt with familiar spirits. Of him it is said that he exceeded the heathen in wickedness! and shed much innocent blood. He was warned by God’s prophets, but ceased not to do evil. As he began to reign when young, it is probable that he had not been under good instructors.

God brought the king of Assyria against Manasseh, who took him ’among the thorns,’ or ’bound him with chains of brass,’ and carried him to Babylon. There Manasseh, in his affliction, greatly humbled himself, and prayed to the Lord his God. His prayer was heard, and he was restored to Jerusalem. Then he knew that Jehovah was God. He removed the idols, repaired the altar of the Lord, and sacrificed to Him. He commanded Judah to serve Jehovah the God of Israel. Thus God gave repentance to this wicked king, for His mercy endureth for ever. He is often held up as a trophy of God’s marvellous grace in Old Testament times, as Saul of Tarsus and the thief on the cross are given under the New Testament dispensation. 2Ki 20:21; 2Ki 21:1-20; 2Ki 23:12; 2Ki 23:26; 2Ch 33; Jer 15:4. He is called MANASSES in Mat 1:10.

3. Father of Gershom, the father of Jonathan, the idolatrous priest in the tribe of Dan. Jdg 18:30. Jerome, the Vulgate, three Hebrew MSS, and two or three ancient copies of the LXX read Moses instead of Manasseh. In many Hebrew MSS the letter nun (N) is written over or between the letters mem (M) and shin (S), so as to alter the name of Moses to Manasseh. The reason alleged by the Rabbis for the supposed correction is that the copyists desired to clear the name of Moses from the obloquy of having a descendant among idolaters in Israel. We have no other trace of a Gershom being the son of Manasseh; but there was one well known as the son of Moses. Doubtless Moses should be read instead of Manasseh.

4, 5. Two who had married strange wives. Ezr 10:30; Ezr 10:33.

MANASSEH.—The well-known king of Judah, mentioned as a link in our Lord’s genealogy, Mat 1:10.

By: Joseph Jacobs, William Rosenau, Frank Knight Sanders, Richard Gottheil, M. Seligsohn

1. The elder of two sons born before the famine to Joseph and Osnath, daughter of the priest of Heliopolis (Gen. xli. 50-51, xlvi. 20). Biblical etymology, deriving his name from (= "to forget"), makes it signify "He who causes one to forget," and explains it in the passage "God . . . hath made me forget all my toil" (ib. xli. 51). According to Gen. xlviii. 5, Manasseh and Ephraim were put by the patriarch Jacob on an equality with Reuben and Simeon as progenitors of separate tribes. In the blessings invoked by Jacob on the heads of Manasseh and Ephraim, Manasseh, although the elder, was made subordinate to Ephraim (ib. xlviii. 14). Tradition does not tell what caused Jacob's preference for Ephraim (see Ephraim and Junior Right). Notwithstanding his subordination, Manasseh's blessingwas not to be despised. Manasseh, like Ephraim, was to be protected by "the Angel which redeemed" Jacob "from all evil," and was to grow into a great people (ib. xlviii. 16, 19). Because Gen. xlviii. 20 reads, "in thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh," the phrase "God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh" has been given a place in the benediction Jewish parents pronounce over their sons on the eves of Sabbaths and holy days. I Chron. vii. 14 reports that Manasseh was married to a Syrian concubine. Targums Jerushalmi and pseudo-Jonathan to Gen. xlii. 23 make the statement that Manasseh was steward in Joseph's house, acted as interpreter for Joseph when the latter talked to his brothers, and possessed extraordinary physical strength, which he displayed at the imprisonment of Simeon.J. W. R.

2. One of the twelve tribes of Israel which received a portion in the land of Canaan; its eponym was a son of Joseph. While at the time of the Exodus Manasseh numbered 32,200 (Num. i. 35, ii. 21) against Ephraim's 40,500 (Num. i. 32-33, ii. 19), before Israel's entrance into Canaan forty years later Manasseh had increased to 52,700 (Num. xxvi. 34), and Ephraim had fallen to 32,500 (Num. xxvi. 37). This made Manasseh rank sixth in numerical importance, the tribes more numerous being Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, and Asher.During the march through the Sinaitic desert Manasseh's position was, with Ephraim and Benjamin, on the western side of the Tabernacle (Num. ii.18-24); the chief of the tribe was Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur (Num. i. 10, ii. 20, vii. 54).The Targums of Jerusalem and pseudo-Jonathan to Num. ii. 18 report that the standard of the three Rachel tribes revealed the figure of a boy, with the inscription: "The cloud of the Lord rested on them until they went forth out of the camp"; and the Talmud mentions that Manasseh's tribal banner, during the journey to the Promised Land, consisted of a black flag with the embroidered figure of a unicorn. Among the twelve spies sent by Moses to report on Canaan, Manasseh was represented by Gaddi, son of Susi (Num. xiii. 11). Manasseh is recorded as prompting the enactment of laws regulating the possession of property in Canaan by daughters where the father had died without a son; the particular case in question was that of the daughters of Zelophehad (Num. xxvii. 1-8).Manasseh was valorous. It took a prominent part in the defeat of the natives encountered on both sides of the Jordan. Reference is made to its prowess in Num. xxxii. 39; Deut. iii. 14; Josh. xvii. 1; and particularly in I Chron. v. 18-22. Its warriors Machir, Jair, and Nobah conquered the most difficult districts, Argob and the hills of Gilead. The fearless chieftains Gideon, who with a small army defeated the Midianites (Judges vi. 15), and Jephthah, who vanquished the Ammonites (Judges xi.), belonged to Manasseh.

Territory of Manasseh.

The territory inhabited by Manasseh lay on both sides of the Jordan. The part east of the Jordan was acquired after the conquest of Gilead (Num. xxxii.), and was requested on the ground of being specially adapted for the grazing of cattle—the same argument as that urged by Reuben and Gad for preferring that section of Canaan. The boundaries of Eastern and Western Manasseh can not be given with exactness. Eastern Manasseh probably extended from the Jabbok to Mount Hermon (its northern portion consisting of Argob and Bashan), while Western Manasseh extended from Ephraim, lying directly south, to the slopes of Mount Carmel (comp. Josh. xvii. 15: "Get thee up to the wood country")

Although more numerous than Ephraim shortly before the conquest of Canaan, Manasseh did not compare with Ephraim in wealth, power, and population in later times; Western Manasseh never completely expelled the natives (Josh. xvii. 12; Judges i. 27).

At the time of David's accession to the throne, Western Manasseh sent to Hebron 18,000, and Eastern Manasseh 120,000—Reubenites and Gadites included. After this event Eastern Manasseh gradually disappears and Western Manasseh lacks prominence, although both sections had separate rulers; Joel, son of Pedaiah, governed the latter, and Iddo, son of Zechariah, governed the former (I Chron. xxvii. 20-21).

Manasseh is heard of in the revival under Asa; in the Passover celebration in the days of Hezekiah; in the subsequent attack on idolatry; in the reform instituted by Josiah; and in the restoration of the Temple (II Chron. xv. 9; xxx. 1, 10-11, 18; xxxi. 1; xxxiv. 6, 9).

Like Reuben and Gad, Manasseh ultimately lost its identity; it became assimilated with the inhabitants of the country, whose idolatries it practised. The children of Manasseh "transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went a-whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them" (I Chron. v. 25). In Ps. lx. 9 (A. V. 7) and cviii. 8 Manasseh is called a most precious possession.

3. According to II Kings xxi. 1, Manasseh, the successor of Hezekiah upon the throne of Judah, was but a boy of twelve at his father's death. His reign of fifty-three years is the longest recorded in the annals of Judah. There can be no doubt that Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, departed to his capital in the days of Hezekiah (II Kings xix. 36), regarding Judah as a conquered and tribute-paying province; and so it remained during the reigns of Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal, his successors upon the throne of Assyria. In their published inscriptions Manasseh of Judah is distinctly mentioned as a vassal king (Schrader, "K. B." ii. 148, 238). That these sovereigns cherished a real interest in their western domain is shown by their settlement of colonists in Samaria (Ezra iv. 2, 9-10). Each of them invaded and plundered Egypt and maintained protracted sieges of the strong cities of Phenicia.

Relations with Assyria.

In II Kings, written within a century or so of Manasseh's death, there is no hint of revolt. The Chronicler, however, declares (II Chron. xxxiii. 11) that in consequence of the deliberate unfaithfulness of Judah God brought upon the nation "the captains of the host of the King of Assyria," whotook Manasseh in chains to Babylon. Thence, having truly repented, he was restored to his throne, where he demonstrated the genuineness of his change of heart by giving himself to measures of defense, administration, and religious reform. To harmonize the Chronicler's testimony with that of the Hebrew contemporary writings is even more difficult. The crying need in the days of Josiah, Manasseh's immediate successor, was religious reform; Jeremiah declared (xv. 4; comp. II Kings xxiii. 26) that Manasseh's sins had yet to be expiated.

The writer in Kings emphasizes three deplorable details of the reign of Manasseh: the religious reaction which followed hard upon his accession; its extension by the free adoption of foreign cults; and the bitter persecution of the prophetic party. During Manasseh's half-century the popular worship was a medley of native and foreign cults, the influence of which was slow to disappear (Ezek. viii.).

Such a reaction involved the persecution of those who had bitterly condemned the popular syncretism. The prophets were put to the sword (Jer. ii. 30). "Innocent blood" reddened the streets of Jerusalem (II Kings xxiv. 4). For many decades those who sympathized with prophetic ideas were in constant peril.

4. Son of Johanan the high priest and brother of Jaddua; married Nicaso, daughter of Sanballat (Josephus, "Ant." xi. 7, § 2). In Neh. xiii. 28 he is referred to as "one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest," but is not mentioned by name. It is further said (ib.) that, owing to his being Sanballat's son-in-law, Nehemiah had deposed him from the priesthood.Josephus describes this fact at greater length. He says that the high priest Jaddua, Manasseh's brother, was himself indignant at Manasseh on account of his marriage with a foreign woman, and, joining the people of Jerusalem, he gave Manasseh the alternative of divorcing his wife or of leaving the priesthood. Manasseh went to Sanballat, and declared to him that in spite of his love for his wife he gave the preference to the priesthood. Whereupon Sanballat promised him that if he would retain his wife he would obtain for him from the king the dignity of a high priest. He further promised that he would build with the king's approval a temple upon Mount Gerizim, where Manasseh should officiate as high priest. Manasseh, accordingly, remained with his father-in-law and became high priest in the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim ("Ant." xi. 8, §§ 2-4). Still, Josephus says (ib. xii. 4, § 1) that Manasseh officiated as high priest at Jerusalem between the priesthood of his nephew Eleazar and that of Onias II. (see Sanballat).

Bibliography:

Gräatz, Gesch. ii. 161, 167, 242;

Schürer, Gesch. 3d ed., i. 182.

MANASSEH.—1. In MT [Note: Massoretic Text.] and AV [Note: Authorized Version.] of Jdg 18:30 Manasseh is a scribal change for dogmatic purposes, the original being Moses (see Gershom, 1). 2. A son of Pahath-moab (Ezr 10:30 [1Es 9:31 Manasseas]). 3. Son of Hashum (Ezr 10:33). 4. 5. See next two articles.

MANASSEH.—The firstborn son of Joseph, and full brother of Ephraim (Gen 41:51 f. [E [Note: Elohist.] ]), by Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On (v. 48 [J [Note: Jahwist.] ]).

The popular etymology makes the name a Pi’çl ptcp. of the verb nâshâh, to forget.’ Josephus (Ant. II. vi. 1) adopts this without criticism, as do our Hebrew Lexicons. In the Assyrian inscriptions the name appears as Minsç, Menase. In Isa 65:11 the god Meni (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘Destiny’) is associated with Gad, the god of Fortune. Some scholars, consequently, equate Manasseh with Men-nasa = ‘the god Men seized.’ ‘Apparently Manasseh succeeded in establishing friendly relations with the Canaanites at an early date. His name points to such influences’ (Niebuhr, Gesch. d. Ebr. Zeit. p. 252; cf. Siegfried, ‘Gad-Meni u. Gad-Manasse’ in Ztschr. f. prot. Theol., 1875, p. 366 f.). Hogg, who in EBi [Note: Encyclopædia Biblica.] , s.v., discusses the name at length, appears to favour the participial form, but (following Land) connects it with the Arahic nasâ, ‘to inflict an injury.’ He thus brings it into relation with the story of Jacob’s wrestling with the angel (Gen 32:1-32). ‘It would appear,’ so runs the conclusion, ‘that in the original story the epithet Manasseh was a fitting title of Jacob himself, which might be borne by his worshippers as in the case of Gad.’ But it is extremely unlikely that Jacob was originally regarded as a deity, as Luther (ZATW [Note: ATW Zeitschrift far die Alttest. Wissenschaft.] xxi. p. 68 ff.) also holds. The Babylonian form Ya‘qub-ilu found in the contract tablets of the period of Hammurabi (23rd cent. b.c.) and Jacdb-el (or -her) found on the scarab of an Egyptian king of the Hyksos period, is not to be translated ‘Ya‘kub is god.’ As forms like Yakbar-ilu, Yamlik-ilu, etc., render probable, ilu is subject. Nevertheless, there may have been some original connexion between Manasseh and Jacob. Jacob’s name, we are told, was afterwards changed to Israel, and Manasseh is said to have been the elder brother of Ephraim, the name which later became almost synonymous with Israel, and, finally, in Jdg 1:27-28 Manasseh and Israel appear to be used as equivalents. But where no better data are obtainable, we must confess ignorance as frankly as we reject the etymologizing tales of our sources.

In our oldest source bearing upon the early tribal settlement (Jdg 5:1-31) the name of Manasseh does not appear, though that of Ephraim does. Machir there (Jdg 5:14) seems to take the place of Manasseh. In Gen 50:23 (E [Note: Elohist.] ) he is the only son of Manasseh; so also Num 26:29; Num 26:34 (P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ), but in Jos 17:1 b (perh. J [Note: Jahwist.] ) he is the firstborn of Manasseh. In Num 32:39; Num 32:41-42 (Num 32:40 is not original) we have an excerpt from JE [Note: Jewish Encyclopedia.] added to P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ’s story of Reuben’s and Gad’s settlement on the East Jordan, which tells us that the children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, went to Gilead and took it. Jair, it is said, and Nobah, two other descendants of Manasseh, also look towns in Gilead, to which they gave their own names. But, according to Deu 3:13, Moses, after completely exterminating the inhabitants, gave North Gilead, all Bashan, and Argob ‘to the half tribe of Manasseh’; cf. Jos 13:29 ff. etc. In P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ’s account of the settlement of Reuben and Gad (Num 32:1-42) there was nothing said originally of this half-tribe being associated with them. The whole story is told before the Manassites are brought in in Num 32:33 (cf. Jos 13:21 ff. and ch. 17). The story of their early settlement on the East side is discredited by many scholars, who hold that the East was later conquered from the West. As we have seen in Jdg 5:14, where Machir takes the place of Manasseh, he appears to be in possession on the West; and Machir, the son of Manasseh, is said to have gone to Gilead and taken it (Num 32:39), and if so, he must have operated from his original seat. In Jos 17:14-18 we read of the complaint of the ‘children of Joseph’ to Joshua that he had given them (‘him’) only one lot, despite the fact that he was a great people. Nothing is said about any previous allotment by Moses on the East. Further, in Num 32:41 Bashan is conquered by Jair, who, according to Jdg 10:3, was a judge of Israel. The argument is strong but not cogent.

As we have already seen, the tribe on the West was represented by Machir (Jdg 5:1-31). J [Note: Jahwist.] , the next oldest document, includes Ephraim and Manasseh in the phrase ‘sons of Joseph’ (Jos 16:1-4), ‘house of Joseph’ (Jos 17:17 [‘Ephr. and Man.’ is a gloss] Jos 18:5, Jdg 1:22-23; Jdg 1:25). One lot only is consequently assigned to them, the limits of which are roughly sketched in Jos 16:1-3, Jos 17:1-18 gives Gilead and Bashan to Machir (making no mention of Jair and Nobah), and Jos 17:2 begins to tell of the assignments to the remainder of the Manassite clans, but fails to do so. But the ‘clan’ names, Abiezer, Shechem, and the names of the cities appended show that they were on the West. It is clear from what is said of the cities which were in Issachar and Asher (Jos 17:11 ff.) that they were only ideally in Manasseh’s territory, and that the latter was confined on the north to the hill-country. Like the rest of the tribes, they ‘were not able to drive out the Canaanites.’ When they made their complaint to Joshua (Jos 17:14-18) that they were too cramped in their abode to better themselves, he sententiously replied that being a great people as they boasted, they could clear out the mountain forests and develop in that way, and so ultimately get the upper hand of the Canaanites in the plains. It should be said that the names of the rest of the sons of Manasseh, Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, Shemida, as well as the five daughters of Zelophehad, the great-grandson of Machir, are probably all place-names, as some of them certainly are, and not personal names.

Whether Joseph was a tribe has been doubted, because there is no mention of it in Jdg 5:1-31, and the fact that the name Machir appears to be from the root mâchar, ‘to sell,’ has raised the question whether the story of Joseph’s sale into Egypt did not arise in connexion with it.

For the clans see Jos 17:1-2 (J [Note: Jahwist.] ), Num 26:28-34 (P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ), 1Ch 7:14-19; 1Ch 2:21-23.

The tribe, owing to its situation, had much to endure during the Syrian wars (Amo 1:3, 2Ki 10:33), and, according to 1Ch 5:25, the eastern half was deported (b.c. 743) by Tiglath-pileser iii. (see Gad). See also Tribes of Israel.

James A. Craig.

MANASSEH, son of Hezekiah, reigned longer than any king of his line—fifty-five years, according to our sources (2Ki 21:1). His reign was remarkable for the religious reaction against the reforms which had been made by Hezekiah. The record (2Ki 21:2-9) is that he built again the altars which Hezekiah had destroyed, and erected altars for Baal, and made an ashçrah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and that he worshipped the host of heaven and served them. In restoring the old altars he doubtless thought he was returning to the early religion of the nation, and the Baal whom he worshipped was probably identified in the minds of the people with the national God Jahweh. The ashçrah was a well-known accompaniment of the altars of Jahweh down to the time of Hezekiah. In all this Manasseh’s measures may be called conservative, while his worship of the ‘host of heaven’ was no doubt a State necessity owing to the Assyrian rule. The sacrifice of his son and the practice of witchcraft and magic, of which he is accused, were also sanctioned by ancient Israelitish custom. The reaction was accompanied by active persecution of the prophetic party, which can hardly surprise us, toleration being an unknown virtue. On account of these sins, Manasseh is represented by later writers as the man who filled the cup of Judah’s iniquity to overflowing, and who thus made the final catastrophe of the nation inevitable.

H. P. Smith.

ma-nas´e (מנשּׁה, m^enashsheh, “causing to forget”; compare Gen 41:51; Μαν(ν)ασσή, Man(n)assḗ):

(1) The firstborn of Joseph by Asenath, daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On. See next article.

(2) The tribe named from Manasseh, half of which, with Gad and Reuben, occupied the East of Jordan (Num 27:1, etc.). See next article.

(3) The “Manasseh” of Jdg 18:30, Jdg 18:31 the King James Version is really an intentional mistake for the name Moses. A small nûn (n), a Hebrew letter, has been inserted over and between the first and second Hebrew letters in the word Moses, thus מנשׁה for משׁה. The reason for this is that the individual in question is mentioned as priest of a brazen image at Dan. His proper name was Moses. It was felt to be a disgrace that such a one bearing that honored name should keep it intact. The insertion of the nūn hides the disgrace and, moreover, gives to the person a name already too familiar with idolatrous practices; for King Manasseh’s 55 years of sovereignty were thus disgraced.

(4) King of Judah. See separate article.

(5) Son of PAHATH-MOAB (which see), who had married a foreign wife (Ezr 10:30). Manaseas in 1 Esdras 9:31.

(6) The Manasses of 1 Esdras 9:33. A layman of the family of Hashum, who put away his foreign wife at Ezra’s order (Ezr 10:33).

In the Revised Version (British and American) of Mat 1:10 and Rev 7:6 the spelling “Manasseh” is given for the King James Version “Manasses.” The latter is the spelling of the husband of Judith (Judith 8:2, 7; 10:3; 16:22, 23, 24); of a person named in the last words of Tobit and otherwise unknown (Tobit 14:10), and also the name given to a remarkable prayer probably referred to in 2Ch 33:18, which Manasseh (4) is said to have uttered at the end of his long, unsatisfactory life. See MANASSES, PRAYER OF. In Jdg 12:4, the Revised Version (British and American) reads “Manasseh” for the King James Version “Manassites.”

See Tribes.

1) Son of Joseph. Ancestor of one of the tribes of Israel; 2) The tribe that bears his name.