Difference between revisions of "Manasseh"

<p> '''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. &nbsp;Genesis 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. &nbsp;1 Chronicles 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, &nbsp;2 Chronicles 15:9; Hezekiah, &nbsp;2 Chronicles 30:1; &nbsp;2 Chronicles 30:11; &nbsp;2 Chronicles 30:18, and Josiah, &nbsp;2 Chronicles 34:6; &nbsp;2 Chronicles 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, &nbsp;2 Kings 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. &nbsp;2 Kings 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. &nbsp;2 Chronicles 33:1-20. </p> <p> 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. &nbsp;1 Chronicles 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. &nbsp;Psalms 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. &nbsp;Joshua 17:7-10. They also gained some towns in [[Carmel]] within the bounds of Issachar, probably by capturing them from the ancient Canaanites. &nbsp;Joshua 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. </p>

<p> '''Manas'seh.''' ''(forgetting).'' </p> <p> 1. The eldest son of Joseph, &nbsp;Genesis 41:51; &nbsp;Genesis 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. </p> <p> 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. &nbsp;Joshua 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. &nbsp;1 Chronicles 5:23. </p> <p> 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. &nbsp;1 Chronicles 5:25-26. The other half tribe settled to the west of the Jordan, north of Ephraim. &nbsp;Joshua 17:1. For further particulars ''See '' '''Epfraim''' ''.'' </p> <p> 2. The thirteenth king of Judah, son of Hezekiah, &nbsp;2 Kings 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. </p> <p> 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, &nbsp;2 Chronicles 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''' . &nbsp;2 Chronicles 38:15-16. But beyond this, the reformation did not go. </p> <p> 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, &nbsp;2 Kings 21:26, and long afterward, in suite of his repentance, the [[Jews]] held his name in abhorrence. </p> <p> 3. One of the descendants of Pahathmoab, who in the days of Ezra had married a foreign wife. &nbsp;Ezra 10:30. </p> <p> 4. One of the laymen, of the family of Hashum who put away his foreign wife at Ezra command. &nbsp;Ezra 10:33. </p>