MANASSE. — 1. Elder son (Heb. Mēnašēh, probably Mēnašēh-el = “God makes [the sorrows] forgotten”) of Joseph and Aseneth (Gen. 41, 51), adopted by the patriarch Jacob but subordinated to his brother Ephraim (Gen. 41, 51; 46, 70; 48, 5, 13-20).
The tribe of M. consisted of seven families; one was founded by the only son, Machir. The genealogy of the others, given the fragmentary nature of the texts, cannot be established with certainty, and seems to represent, besides family affinities, political and regional dependencies (Num. 26, 28-34; Ios. 17, 1-2).
In the first census in the desert the tribe of M. numbered 37,000 fighting men (Num. 1, 34-35); in the second it exceeded 52,000 (ibid. 26, 34). After the conquest of the territory of the kingdoms of Sehon and Og in Transjordan, half of the tribe joined that of Reuben and Gad in asking Moses to allow them to settle in the territory of the defeated kings, and obtained his concession on undertaking to participate with all the tribes in the conquest of Canaan (ibid. 32, 33-42; cf. 1, 32; 34, 14-15; Deut. 3, 12-13; 29, 8; Ios. 1, 12-8; 12, 4-6; 18, 7). The territory assigned by Moses Mahanaim (v.) on the Jabbok to the foothills of Mount Hermon in the north, comprising upper Gilead (the Aglūn) and all Bashan (Deut. 3, 13-15; Ios. 13, 29-33).
The other half of M., after the conquest of Canaan, obtained, together with Ephraim, the central part of the region west of the Jordan. A very fluctuating line divided the two tribes. The southern boundary, northern of Ephraim, ran from Ianoe, Tinnath-Silo, near Shechem, and along the Qānah stream reached the Mediterranean (Ios. 17, 5-10); on the west it bordered the tribe of Asher and on the north that of Issachar. It also infiltrated the tribes of Asher and Issachar (ibid. 17, 11; I Par. 7, 29), without, however, succeeding in occupying the fortified cities of Bethsan, Ieblaam, Dor, Thanac, and Mageddo (Ios. 17, 12-13; Iudc. 1, 27-28).
Gideon was a Manassite (Iudc. 6, 14). After Saul’s death the Manassites joined David (I Par. 12, 19). Those east of the Jordan joined other tribes in fighting the Hagrites (ibid. 5, 18), but their history ended with the deportation to Assyria carried out by Theglathphalasar (ibid. 5, 18-26).
2. King of Judah, son and successor of King Hezekiah (II Reg. 21, 1-17; II Par. 33, 4-20). His reign was fatal to the monotheistic religion. Having ascended the throne at the age of 12, under the influence of the anti-Yahwist party, suppressed by his father but still highly popular, and in order to secure the favor of Assyria, he restored “the high places,” built altars to Baal and Astarte, and introduced astral worship, dear to the Babylonians and Assyrians, with altars placed in the Temple courts.
He gave a favorable reception to the Canaanite gods, including Moloch, to whom he sacrificed his own son; he caused the practices of divination and magic to flourish, adding to them great moral corruption, with the sacred prostitution of both men and women. Opposition was ruthlessly crushed (II Reg. 21, 15) and, according to a rabbinic tradition, the prophet Isaiah too was killed on M.’s orders. In the struggle between Assyria and Egypt, M. was for a long time a vassal and tributary of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal;
by the latter, probably, he was taken prisoner to Babylon (II Par. 23, 11-20).
There he repented of his sins and, perhaps demonstrating the loyalty he had always maintained toward Assyria, regained his freedom. Returning to his homeland, he restored the Yahwistic religion, removed “the foreign gods” and “the idol from the Temple” (II Par. 33, 15-17), and, to demonstrate his allegiance to Assyria, fortified Jerusalem and other cities (ibid. 33, 12 ff.). He died after a long reign of 55 years and was buried in the garden of his palace; his son Amon (v.) succeeded him on the throne.
In the atrium of the basilica of Saints John and Paul on the Caelian, among the representations in the cycle that adorned it, Pope Symmachus had King M. portrayed obtaining forgiveness and the kingdom after destroying the idols he had introduced into the Temple of the Lord (II Par. 33, 13). The scene has been lost, but the Cambridge sylloge has preserved the text of the two hexameters that illustrated II.
PRAYER OF M. — A brief hymn in 15 verses, which seeks to express the spirit of the captive King, repentant for his idolatry (cf. II Par. 33, 11-13. 18 s.). It is one of the most appealing apocrypha (v.) of the Old Testament because of its profound piety.
The Prayer of M. begins with a praise of God the Creator, full of predilection and mercy toward the Jewish people (vv. 1-7); then, after a reference to divine generosity in forgiving (v. 8), the King implores mercy also on the strength of the sufferings of his captivity (vv. 9-14). The Prayer of M. ends with the resolve to offer continual praise and thanksgiving (v. 15).
It is commonly held that it was composed by a pious Israelite shortly before the common era, in Greek. Many of the ancients considered it authentic, though not inspired. The Greek manuscripts that contain it likewise usually place it in the appendix of liturgical canticles that follows the Book of Psalms. It is found in almost all the ancient versions of the Bible because of its beauty and because it was included in the very widespread Didascalia and Apostolic Constitutions.
This diffusion is still documented today by the use of certain verses in the liturgy (First responsory on the Wednesday after Trinity Sunday; Seventh responsory on the third Sunday after Pentecost; First responsory on the Wednesday after the Second Sunday after Epiphany).
In the Vulgate the Prayer of M. is printed in an appendix, whereas the Septuagint retains the arrangement of the codices (cf. A. Rahlfs, Septuaginta, II, Stoccarda 1935, pp. 180-81).