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Manasseh


Muh-nas´uh

The son of Hezekiah and king of Judah 698–642 BCE; he reigned longer than any other king of the house of David, fifty-five years. Manasseh is roundly condemned for his aberrant ways by the author of the book of Kings. He is accused of cancelling the altar reform of his father, allowing local “high places” to be rebuilt, and fostering the reintroduction of foreign cultic practices (2Kgs 21:3-6). The sin of Manasseh was directly to blame for the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of Judah (2Kgs 21:12-15; 2Kgs 22:16-17). This, however, is somewhat in tension with the story of Manasseh’s repentance in (2Chr 33:10-16). In the NT, Manasseh appears in the genealogy of Jesus (Matt 1:10).

  • Powell, Mark Allan, ed. HarperCollins Bible Dictionary. Abridged Edition. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2009.