Manasseh

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

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

MANASSEH. The firstborn son of Joseph, and full brother of Ephraim (  Genesis 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   Isaiah 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 (  Genesis 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   Judges 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 ( Judges 5:1-31 ) the name of Manasseh does not appear, though that of Ephraim does. Machir there (  Judges 5:14 ) seems to take the place of Manasseh. In   Genesis 50:23 (E [Note: Elohist.] ) he is the only son of Manasseh; so also   Numbers 26:29;   Numbers 26:34 (P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ), but in   Joshua 17:1 b (perh. J [Note: Jahwist.] ) he is the firstborn of Manasseh. In   Numbers 32:39;   Numbers 32:41-42 (  Numbers 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   Deuteronomy 3:13 , Moses, after completely exterminating the inhabitants, gave North Gilead, all Bashan, and Argob ‘to the half tribe of Manasseh’; cf.   Joshua 13:29 ff. etc. In P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ’s account of the settlement of Reuben and Gad (  Numbers 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   Numbers 32:33 (cf.   Joshua 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   Judges 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 (  Numbers 32:39 ), and if so, he must have operated from his original seat. In   Joshua 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   Numbers 32:41 Bashan is conquered by Jair, who, according to   Judges 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 ( Judges 5:1-31 ). J [Note: Jahwist.] , the next oldest document, includes Ephraim and Manasseh in the phrase ‘sons of Joseph’ (  Joshua 16:1-4 ), ‘house of Joseph’ (  Joshua 17:17 [‘Ephr. and Man.’ is a gloss]   Joshua 18:5 ,   Judges 1:22-23;   Judges 1:25 ). One lot only is consequently assigned to them, the limits of which are roughly sketched in   Joshua 16:1-3 ,   Joshua 17:1-18 gives Gilead and Bashan to Machir (making no mention of Jair and Nobah), and   Joshua 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 (  Joshua 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 (  Joshua 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  Judges 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  Joshua 17:1-2 (J [Note: Jahwist.] ),   Numbers 26:28-34 (P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ),   1 Chronicles 7:14-19;   1 Chronicles 2:21-23 .

The tribe, owing to its situation, had much to endure during the Syrian wars ( Amos 1:3 ,   2 Kings 10:33 ), and, according to   1 Chronicles 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 (  2 Kings 21:1 ). His reign was remarkable for the religious reaction against the reforms which had been made by Hezekiah. The record (  2 Kings 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.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

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.  Genesis 41:51 :  Genesis 48:1-20;  Genesis 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.  1 Chronicles 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.  2 Chronicles 30:11 . In  Psalm 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.   Numbers 2:17-22 . The tribe is called Manasses in  Revelation 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.  2 Kings 20:21;  2 Kings 21:1-20;  2 Kings 23:12,26;  2 Chronicles 33;  Jeremiah 15:4 . He is called MANASSES in  Matthew 1:10 .

3. Father of Gershom, the father of Jonathan, the idolatrous priest in the tribe of Dan.   Judges 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.  Ezra 10:30,33 .

Easton's Bible Dictionary

The only son and successor of Hezekiah on the throne of Judah. He was twelve years old when he began to reign ( 2 Kings 21:1 ), and he reigned fifty-five years (B.C. 698-643). Though he reigned so long, yet comparatively little is known of this king. His reign was a continuation of that of Ahaz, both in religion and national polity. He early fell under the influence of the heathen court circle, and his reign was characterized by a sad relapse into idolatry with all its vices, showing that the reformation under his father had been to a large extent only superficial ( Isaiah 7:10;  2 Kings 21:10-15 ). A systematic and persistent attempt was made, and all too successfully, to banish the worship of Jehovah out of the land. Amid this wide-spread idolatry there were not wanting, however, faithful prophets (Isaiah, Micah) who lifted up their voice in reproof and in warning. But their fidelity only aroused bitter hatred, and a period of cruel persecution against all the friends of the old religion began. "The days of Alva in Holland, of Charles IX. in France, or of the Covenanters under Charles II. in Scotland, were anticipated in the Jewish capital. The streets were red with blood." There is an old Jewish tradition that Isaiah was put to death at this time ( 2 Kings 21:16;  24:3,4;  Jeremiah 2:30 ), having been sawn asunder in the trunk of a tree.  Psalm 497377140,73,77,140 , and 141 seem to express the feelings of the pious amid the fiery trials of this great persecution. Manasseh has been called the "Nero of Palestine."

Esarhaddon, Sennacherib's successor on the Assyrian throne, who had his residence in Babylon for thirteen years (the only Assyrian monarch who ever reigned in Babylon), took Manasseh prisoner (B.C. 681) to Babylon. Such captive kings were usually treated with great cruelty. They were brought before the conqueror with a hook or ring passed through their lips or their jaws, having a cord attached to it, by which they were led. This is referred to in  2 Chronicles 33:11 , where the Authorized Version reads that Esarhaddon "took Manasseh among the thorns;" while the Revised Version renders the words, "took Manasseh in chains;" or literally, as in the margin, "with hooks." (Compare  2 Kings 19:28 .)

The severity of Manasseh's imprisonment brought him to repentance. God heard his cry, and he was restored to his kingdom ( 2 Chronicles 33:11-13 ). He abandoned his idolatrous ways, and enjoined the people to worship Jehovah; but there was no thorough reformation. After a lengthened reign extending through fifty-five years, the longest in the history of Judah, he died, and was buried in the garden of Uzza, the "garden of his own house" ( 2 Kings 21:17,18;  2 Chronicles 33:20 ), and not in the city of David, among his ancestors. He was succeeded by his son Amon.

In  Judges 18:30 the correct reading is "Moses," and not "Manasseh." The name "Manasseh" is supposed to have been introduced by some transcriber to avoid the scandal of naming the grandson of Moses the great lawgiver as the founder of an idolatrous religion.

Copyright Statement These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.

Bibliography Information Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Manasseh'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/m/manasseh.html. 1897.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

the eldest son of Joseph, and grandson of the patriarch Jacob,  Genesis 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,   Numbers 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,   2 Kings 20:21;  2 Kings 21:1-2;  2 Chronicles 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,  2 Chronicles 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,  2 Chronicles 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,  2 Chronicles 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,  2 Kings 21:18 . He was succeeded by his son Amon.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

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.  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.  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,  2 Chronicles 15:9; Hezekiah,  2 Chronicles 30:1;  2 Chronicles 30:11;  2 Chronicles 30:18, and Josiah,  2 Chronicles 34:6;  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,  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.  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.  2 Chronicles 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.  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.  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.  Joshua 17:7-10. They also gained some towns in Carmel within the bounds of Issachar, probably by capturing them from the ancient Canaanites.  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.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Manas'seh. (Forgetting).

1. The eldest son of Joseph,  Genesis 41:51;  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.

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.  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.  1 Chronicles 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.  1 Chronicles 5:25-26. The other half tribe settled to the west of the Jordan, north of Ephraim.  Joshua 17:1. For further particulars See Epfraim .

2. The thirteenth king of Judah, son of Hezekiah,  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.

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,  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 .  2 Chronicles 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,  2 Kings 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.  Ezra 10:30.

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

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

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,  Genesis 41:50,51   48:1-22   Joshua 16:10 .

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,  2 Kings 21:1-26   2 Chronicles 33:24 .

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 41:50-51 Genesis 48:13-20 Genesis 48:13-20

2. King of Judah (696-642 B.C.) who was a son of Hezekiah ( 2 Kings 20:21 ). His was the longest reign of any Judean king. Manasseh's reign was known as one of unfaithfulness to Yahweh. Second Kings blames him for Judah's ultimate destruction and exile ( 2 Kings 21:10-16 ).

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

The eldest son of Joseph. ( Genesis 41:51) 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 20:1-21; 2Ki 21:1-26

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

See Tribes.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. Menahssheh', מְנִשֶּׁה , Who Makes To Forget; see  Genesis 41:51; Sept., Josephus, and N.T. Μανασσῆς; "Manasses" in  Matthew 1:10;  Revelation 7:6), the name of four men and of a tribe descended from one of them; also of another man mentioned by Josephus.

1. The elder of the two sons of Joseph, born in Egypt ( Genesis 41:51;  Genesis 46:20) of Asenath, the priest's daughter of Heliopolis. B.C. 1882. He was afterwards, together with his brother, adopted by Jacob as his own ( Genesis 48:1), by which act each became the head of a tribe in Israel. B.C. 1856. (See Jacob).

The act of adoption was, however, accompanied by a clear intimation from Jacob that the descendants of Manasseh, although the elder, would be far less numerous and powerful than those of the younger Ephraim. The result corresponded remarkably with this intimation. (See Ephraim).

He married a Syrian concubine, by whom he had several children ( 1 Chronicles 7:14). (See Machir). The only thing subsequently recorded of him personally is that his grandchildren were "brought up on Joseph's knees" ( Genesis 1:23). "The ancient Jewish traditions are, however, less reticent. According to them Manasseh was the steward of Joseph's house, and the interpreter who intervened between Joseph and his brethren at their interview; and the extraordinary strength which he displayed in the struggle with and binding of Simeon first caused Judah to suspect that the apparent Egyptians were really his own flesh and blood (see Targums Jerusalem and Pseudojon. on  Genesis 42:23;  Genesis 43:15; also the quotations in Weil's Bibl. Legends, p. 88, note).'