1. The elder of Joseph's two sons by asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the Egyptian priest of Heliopolis (the other son was Ephraim). According to I Chronicles 7:14 Manasseh had an Aramean concubine who bore Machir, the father of Gilead. The biblical account (Gen 41:51) derives the name Manasseh from the root meaning "to forget" and indicative of the joy that the newborn son brought to Joseph's life, causing him to forget the suffering he had endured. Joseph's two sons were awarded an exceptional status by their grandfather Jacob, who adopted them and accorded them equal footing with his own sons, thus making them progenitors of the two tribes named after them, Manasseh and Ephraim (Gen 48:5). Ignoring the prerogatives customarily accorded to firstborn, Jacob furthermore granted a preferential position to Ephraim, the younger son, declaring that he would surpass his brother in greatness (Gen 48:19). It is widely held, however, that this account has an etiological thrust designed to explain future historical realities.
Both tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, hailed in the Blessing of Moses as the horns of the majestic wild ox which gores the nations (Deut 33:17), played a significant role in the history of Israel. In the account of the land of Canaan, there are numerous references to the significant contribution of Manasseh which along with the tribe of Reuben and Gad served as an armed vanguard. As a reward, Moses granted Manasseh permission to settle on the eastern side of the Jordan. It is further related that the tribe settled on both sides of the river, the eastern half north of Gad in the highlands east of Jordan, and the western half in the central highlands, north of Ephraim (Num chap. 32; Josh chaps. 13-14). A city of refuge was located in Golan, in the territory of the Manassites (Deut 4:43). Notable among the heroes listed as belonging to Manasseh are Gilead, Gideon and Jephthah, who subdued the offended men of Ephraim (Judg 12:1-4). Abimelech, who reigned over a short-lived kingdom, was the son of Gideon. Manasseh was among the tribes deported by Assyria to Halah, Harbor, Hara and the River Gozan (I Chr 5:23-26), where they fell into oblivion.
2. Son of King Hezekiah of Judah. His mother was Hephzibah (II Kgs 21:1). Manasseh was 12 years old when he succeeded his father to the throne. His 55-year reign over Judah (c. 698-642 B.C.), the longest recorded in the chronicles of the Hebrew kings, is presented in both biblical accounts (II Kgs 21:1-18 and II Chr 33:1-10), as a period of precipitous religious and moral decline. In addition to abolishing the religious reforms effected by Hezekiah, Manasseh is said to have reintroduced alien cults, particularly the worship of Baal and astral deities. Furthermore, he is accused of having reestablished the rite of child sacrifice to Moloch in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom, where he immolated his own sons by fire; of having persecuted the prophets and their adherents; and of shedding innocent blood. Both account stress that Manasseh misled Judah into deeds of even greater evil than those of the Canaanites in pre-Israelite times.
The Book of Chronicles, however, adds a singular pericope, according to which Manasseh was captured by the Assyrians, and carried shackled in chains, to Babylon, where in his great distress he repented before the Lord, resulting in his restoration to his kingdom (II Chr 33:11-20). The historical validity of this episode is generally held to be precarious, being perhaps an attempt on the part of the Chronicler to justify the length of Manasseh's reign. It should be noted, however, that during Manasseh's time Judah was under Assyrian domination as a tribute-paying province headed by an essentially vassal monarch. This fact is well-attested in Assyrian inscriptions, one of which lists Manasseh along with 22 kings upon whom Esarhaddon imposed forced labor. He is also listed in one of Ashurbanipal's inscriptions pertaining to various armies which accompanied the Assyrian king on his campaign to Egypt. The political subordination of Judah might well account for the enormity of its relapse into idolatrous worship.
The Bible states that Manasseh's enormous sins prompted God's decision to wipe out Judah and Jerusalem (II Kgs 24:3).
3. The grandfather of Jonathan (Judg 18:30). In some Bible translations the name is given as Moses instead of Manasseh.
4. A descendant of Pahath-Moab, he was forced to repudiate his alien wife on the decree of Ezra.
5. A son of Hashum, he was forced to repudiate his alien wife on the decree of Ezra.
Concordance
MANASSEH 1:
Gen 41:51; 46:20; 48:1, 5,13-14, 17, 20; 50:23. Num 1:10, 34-35; 2:20; 7:54; 10:23; 13:11; 26:28-29, 34; 27:1; 32:33,39-41; 34:14,23; 36:1, 12. Deut 3:13-14; 4:43; 29:8; 33:17; 34:2. Josh 1:12; 4:12; 12:6; 13:7, 29, 31; 14:4; 16:4, 9. Josh 17:1-3,5-12, 17; 18:7; 20:8; 21:5-6, 25, 27; 22:1, 7, 9-11,13, 15, 21, 30-31. Judg 1:27; 6:15, 35; 7:23; 11:29; 12:4. I Kgs 4:13. II Kgs 10:33. I Chr 5:18, 23,26; 6:61-62,70-71; 7:14,17, 29; 9:3; 12:19-20, 31,37; 26:32; 27:20-21. II Chr 15:9; 30:1, 10-11,18; 31:1; 34:6,9. Ps 60:7; 80:2; 108:8. Is 9:21. Ezek 48:4-5. Rev 7:6
MANASSEH 2:
II Kgs 20:21; 21:1, 9, 11,16-18, 20; 23:12, 26; 24:3. I Chr 3:13. II Chr 32:33; 33:1,9-11, 13, 18,20, 22-23. Jer 15:4. Matt 1:10
MANASSEH 3:
Judg 18:30
MANASSEH 4:
Ezra 10:30
MANASSEH 5:
Ezra 10:33
