Manasseh

Who makes to forget. “God hath made me forget” (Heb. nashshani), Gen. 41:51. (1.) The elder of the two sons of Joseph. He and his brother Ephraim were afterwards adopted by Jacob as his own sons (48:1). There is an account of his marriage to a Syrian (1 Chr. 7:14); and the only thing afterwards recorded of him is, that his grandchildren were “brought up upon Joseph’s knees” (Gen. 50:23; R.V., “born upon Joseph’s knees”) i.e., were from their birth adopted by Joseph as his own children. The tribe of Manasseh was associated with that of Ephraim and Benjamin during the wanderings in the wilderness. They encamped on the west side of the tabernacle. According to the census taken at Sinai, this tribe then numbered 32,200 (Num. 1:10, 35; 2:20, 21). Forty years afterwards its numbers had increased to 52,700 (26:34, 37), and it was at this time the most distinguished of all the tribes. The half of this tribe, along with Reuben and Gad, had their territory assigned them by Moses on the east of the Jordan (Josh. 13:7-14); but it was left for Joshua to define the limits of each tribe. This territory on the east of Jordan was more valuable and of larger extent than all that was allotted to the nine and a half tribes in the land of Palestine. It is sometimes called “the land of Gilead,” and is also spoken of as “on the other side of Jordan.” The portion given to the half tribe of Manasseh was the largest on the east of Jordan. It embraced the whole of Bashan. It was bounded on the south by Mahanaim, and extended north to the foot of Lebanon. Argob, with its sixty cities, that “ocean of basaltic rocks and boulders tossed about in the wildest confusion,” lay in the midst of this territory. The whole “land of Gilead” having been conquered, the two and a half tribes left their wives and families in the fortified cities there, and accompanied the other tribes across the Jordan, and took part with them in the wars of conquest. The allotment of the land having been completed, Joshua dismissed the two and a half tribes, commending them for their heroic service (Josh. 22:1-34). Thus dismissed, they returned over Jordan to their own inheritance. (See ED.) On the west of Jordan the other half of the tribe of Manasseh was associated with Ephraim, and they had their portion in the very centre of Palestine, an area of about 1,300 square miles, the most valuable part of the whole country, abounding in springs of water. Manasseh’s portion was immediately to the north of that of Ephraim (Josh. 16). Thus the western Manasseh defended the passes of Esdraelon as the eastern kept the passes of the Hauran. (2.) 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 (Isa. 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; Jer. 2:30), having been sawn asunder in the trunk of a tree. Psalms 49, 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 Chr. 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.” (Comp. 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 Chr. 33:11-13). He abandoned his idolat

(forgetting). (forgetting), the eldest son of Joseph, (Genesis 41:51; 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 he 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 Ephraim, Ephraim.

MANAS'SEH (forgetting), the territory 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. It extended from the middle of Gilead, on the south, to Mount Hermon and Damascus, on the north, 1 Chr 5:18-23, and from the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee, on the west, to the Arabian desert, on the east. It is even now the granary of Syria. 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. Jud 5:15. 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. 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. Josh 17:7-10. They also gained some towns in Carmel within the bounds of Issachar, probably by capturing them from the ancient Canaanites. Josh 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. For further notice see Palestine and Samaria.

MANAS'SEH. 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. On this occasion he adopted them into his own family as his own children, and predicted the superiority of Ephraim over Manasseh. Gen 48:5-20. Nothing further is known of the personal history of Manasseh. His oldest, and as it would seem his only, son was Machir, whose children were embraced by Joseph. On their way to Canaan the Israelites conquered a large territory east of the Jordan, and some of them whose possessions were chiefly in cattle desired to have their portion assigned them among the rich pastures and fruitful hills of Bashan and the surrounding country. This request was granted, and half the tribe of Manasseh received the territory stretching from near to Caesarea-Philippi along the Jordan down nearly to Mahanaim. The other half had its portion on the west of the Jordan, between Ephraim and Issachar, across the country from the Jordan to the Mediterranean. Several great men, such as Gideon, and probably also Jephthah, issued from Manasseh. The eastern part of the tribe 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 Chr 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 Chr 15:9, Hezekiah, 2 Chr 30:1, 2 Chr 30:11, 2 Chr 30:18, and Josiah. 2 Chr 34:6, 2 Chr 34:9. Son and successor of Hezekiah, king of Judah, ascended the throne at the age of twelve years, b.c. 696. The former part of his reign was distinguished for acts of impiety and cruelty, 2 Kgs 21, 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 Kgs 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 his former life. 2 Chr 33:1-20.

forgetfulness; he that is forgotten

MANAS'SEH (forgetting), the territory 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. It extended from the middle of Gilead, on the south, to Mount Hermon and Damascus, on the north, 1 Chr 5:18-23, and from the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee, on the west, to the Arabian desert, on the east. It is even now the granary of Syria. 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. Jud 5:15. 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.