Firstborn son of Joseph, blessed by Jacob.
Manasseh
Named in 112 verses across 13 books, first in Genesis 41:51.
מְנַשֶּׁהManasseh
מְנַשִּׁיManassite
ΜανασσῆςManasseh
Also called Manassite.
The name means “forgetfulness; he that is forgotten.” Hitchcock's Bible Names, 1869
About Manasseh Written by AI
Manasseh was the firstborn son of Joseph and Asenath, born in Egypt before the famine. When Israel (or 'Jacob') blessed Joseph's sons, he gave the greater blessing to Ephraim, the younger son, despite Joseph's objection. The tribe of Manasseh, along with Ephraim, became one of the twelve tribes of Israel. During the Exodus, the tribe of Manasseh was counted in the census and arranged in the camp under their standard. They had a significant population and contributed to the army. Notable descendants of Manasseh include Gaddi, who was among the twelve spies sent to explore Canaan, and Zelophehad's daughters, who received an inheritance among their uncles due to their father's lack of sons. When the Promised Land was divided, half of the tribe of Manasseh settled east of the Jordan River, while the other half settled west of the Jordan. The eastern portion of Manasseh, along with Reuben and Gad, assisted in the conquest of Canaan before returning to their inheritance. The western portion of Manasseh received cities and territories, including the city of refuge, Golan. Throughout Israel's history, the tribe of Manasseh played significant roles. They participated in the conquest of Canaan, fought alongside Gideon against the Midianites, and joined David's army. However, they also faced challenges, such as incomplete conquest of their territories and occasional conflicts with other tribes. In later prophecies, Manasseh is mentioned as part of the restored Israel. The tribe is also listed among the sealed servants of God in the Book of Revelation. Manasseh is also used to refer to the territory allotted to the tribe of Manasseh. The tribe's inheritance was divided between the eastern and western portions of the Promised Land. The eastern portion of Manasseh's territory was conquered by Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, and was named Havvoth-jair. This region was known for its small towns and villages. The western portion of Manasseh's territory was located in the heart of Canaan. It included cities such as Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor, En-dor, Taanach, and Megiddo, along with their villages. However, the Manassites were unable to drive out the Canaanites from these cities completely. Manasseh's territory also included the city of refuge, Golan, in the region of Bashan. This city was designated as a place of asylum for those who unintentionally caused the death of another person. The territory of Manasseh is mentioned in the context of the conquest of Canaan, the division of the land among the tribes, and the establishment of cities of refuge. It is also noted in the description of the regions that remained loyal to the house of David during the reign of King Pekah of Israel.
Drafted by an AI model for STEPBible's TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Check it against the verses below.
Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897
This entry is on the name Manasseh, and may cover more than one person or place by that name.
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.
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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 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 Chr. 33:20), and not in the city of David, among his ancestors. He was succeeded by his son Amon.
In Judg. 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.
M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, third edition (1897), public domain, from CrossWire. Shown as written; its Scripture quotes are from older translations.
Where the Bible names him
- Genesis 41:51
Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.”
- Genesis 46:20
Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.
- Genesis 48:1
Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he set out with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
- Genesis 48:5
And now your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here shall be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.
- Genesis 48:13
And Joseph took both of them—with Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand—and brought them close to him.
- Genesis 48:14
But Israel stretched out his right hand and put it on the head of Ephraim, the younger; and crossing his hands, he put his left on Manasseh’s head, although Manasseh was the firstborn.
- Genesis 48:17
When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he was displeased and took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s.
- Genesis 48:20
So that day Jacob blessed them and said: “By you shall Israel pronounce this blessing: ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’” So he put Ephraim before Manasseh.
- Genesis 50:23
He saw Ephraim’s sons to the third generation, and indeed the sons of Machir son of Manasseh were brought up on Joseph’s knees.
- Numbers 1:10
from the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud, and from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;
- Numbers 1:34
And from the sons of Manasseh, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,
- Numbers 1:35
those registered to the tribe of Manasseh numbered 32,200.
- Numbers 2:20
The tribe of Manasseh will be next to it. The leader of the Manassites is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur,
- Numbers 7:54
On the eighth day Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, the leader of the Manassites, drew near.
- Numbers 10:23
Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was over the division of the tribe of Manasseh,
- Numbers 13:11
from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;
- Numbers 26:28
The descendants of Joseph included the clans of Manasseh and Ephraim.
- Numbers 26:29
These were the descendants of Manasseh: The Machirite clan from Machir, the father of Gilead, and the Gileadite clan from Gilead.
- Numbers 26:34
These were the clans of Manasseh, and their registration numbered 52,700.
- Numbers 27:1
Now the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. These were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They approached
- Numbers 32:33
So Moses gave to the Gadites, to the Reubenites, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan—the land including its cities and the territory surrounding them.
- Numbers 32:39
The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and drove out the Amorites who were there.
- Numbers 32:40
So Moses gave Gilead to the clan of Machir son of Manasseh, and they settled there.
- Numbers 32:41
Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured their villages and called them Havvoth-jair.
- Numbers 34:14
For the tribes of the Reubenites and Gadites, along with the half-tribe of Manasseh, have already received their inheritance.
- Numbers 34:23
Hanniel son of Ephod, a leader from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph;
- Numbers 36:1
Now the family heads of the clan of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh, one of the clans of Joseph, approached Moses and the leaders who were the heads of the Israelite families and addressed them,
- Numbers 36:12
They married within the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained within the tribe of their father’s clan.
- Deuteronomy 3:13
To the half-tribe of Manasseh I gave the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og. (The entire region of Argob, the whole territory of Bashan, used to be called the land of the Rephaim.)
- Deuteronomy 3:14
Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites. He renamed Bashan after himself, Havvoth-jair, by which it is called to this day.
- Deuteronomy 4:43
Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau belonging to the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the Gadites, or Golan in Bashan belonging to the Manassites.
- Deuteronomy 29:8
We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
- Deuteronomy 33:17
His majesty is like a firstborn bull, and his horns are like those of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations, even to the ends of the earth. Such are the myriads of Ephraim, and such are the thousands of Manasseh.”
- Deuteronomy 34:2
all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea,
- Joshua 1:12
But to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said,
- Joshua 4:12
The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over before the Israelites, armed for battle as Moses had instructed them.
- Joshua 12:6
Moses, the servant of the LORD, and the Israelites had struck them down and given their land as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
- Joshua 13:7
Now therefore divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”
- Joshua 13:29
This is what Moses had given to the clans of the half-tribe of Manasseh, that is, to half the tribe of the descendants of Manasseh:
- Joshua 13:31
half of Gilead; and Ashtaroth and Edrei, the royal cities of Og in Bashan. All this was for the clans of the descendants of Machir son of Manasseh, that is, half of the descendants of Machir.
And 72 more
Joshua 14:4, 16:4, 16:9, 17:1, 17:2, 17:3, 17:5, 17:6, 17:7, 17:8, 17:9, 17:10, 17:11, 17:12, 17:17, 18:7, 20:8, 21:5, 21:6, 21:25, 21:27, 22:1, 22:7, 22:9, 22:10, 22:11, 22:13, 22:15, 22:21, 22:30, 22:31
Judges 1:27, 6:15, 6:35, 7:23, 11:29, 12:4
1 Kings 4:13
2 Kings 10:33
1 Chronicles 5:18, 5:23, 5:26, 6:61, 6:62, 6:70, 6:71, 7:14, 7:17, 7:29, 9:3, 12:19, 12:20, 12:31, 12:37, 26:32, 27:20, 27:21
2 Chronicles 15:9, 30:1, 30:10, 30:11, 30:18, 31:1, 34:6, 34:9
Isaiah 9:21
Revelation 7:6
From STEPBible's TIPNR, Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0): names, family, references and the AI written article. Verse text is the BSB.