Manasses

MANASSES. - 1. Eldest son (Heb. Mēnašēh, probably Mēnašēh-el = "God makes one forget" [one's sorrows]) of Joseph and Asenath (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. was made up of seven families; one was founded by the only son, Machir. The genealogy of the others, given the lacunae in the texts, cannot be established with certainty, and seems to represent, besides kinship of families, also political and regional dependencies (Num. 26:28-34; Josh. 17:1-2).

In the first census in the desert the tribe of M. counted 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 Sihon and Og in Transjordan, half of the tribe joined that of Reuben and Gad in asking Moses to be allowed to settle in the territory of the defeated kings and obtained the concession, undertaking to take part 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; Josh. 1:12-8; 12:4-6; 18:7). The territory assigned by Moses in Transjordan extended from the south from Mahanaim (v.) on the Jabbok, as far as the slopes of Mount Hermon in the north, including upper Gilead (the Aglūn) and all of Bashan (Deut. 3:13-15; Josh. 13:29-33).

The other half of M., after the conquest of Canaan, obtained to the west of the Jordan, together with Ephraim, the center of the region. A very fluctuating line divided the two tribes. The southern boundary, the northern one of Ephraim, ran from Janoah, Tinnath-Silo, near Shechem and along the brook Qānah reached the Mediterranean (Josh. 17:5-10); to the west it bordered on the tribe of Asher and to the north on that of Issachar. It also infiltrated into the tribes of Asher and Issachar (ibid. 17:11; I Chron. 7:29), without however succeeding in occupying the fortified cities of Bethshan, Ibleam, Dor, Taanach and Megiddo (Josh. 17:12-13; Judg. 1:27-28).

Gideon was a Manassite (Judg. 6:14). After the death of Saul the Manassites rallied to David (I Chron. 12:19). Those of the east of the Jordan joined other tribes to fight the Hagrites (ibid. 5:18), but their history ended with the deportation to Assyria carried out by Tiglath-Pileser (ibid. 5:18-26).

2. King of Judah, son and successor of King Hezekiah (II Kings 21:1-17; II Chron. 33:4-20). His reign was fatal for 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 very popular, and in order to secure the favor of Assyria, he re-established "the high places," built altars to Baal and Astarte, introduced the astral cult, dear to the Babylonians and Assyrians, with altars placed in the courts of the Temple.

He gave a favorable welcome to the Canaanite gods, including Moloch, to whom he sacrificed his own son, caused the practices of divination and magic to flourish, adding to them great moral corruption, with sacred prostitution of both men and women. The opposition was ruthlessly crushed (II Kings 21:15) and, according to a rabbinic tradition, even the prophet Isaiah was put to death by order of M. 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 Babel (II Chron. 23:11-20).

There he repented of his sins and, perhaps demonstrating the loyalty he had always maintained toward Assyria, regained his freedom. Returned to his homeland, he restored the Yahwistic religion, removed "the foreign gods," the "image from the Temple" (II Chron. 33:15-17), and to show his adherence to Assyria he 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.) succeeding him in the kingdom.

In the atrium of the basilica of Sts. John and Paul on the Caelian, among the representations of the cycle that adorned it, Pope Symmachus had King M. portrayed obtaining pardon and the kingdom after having destroyed the idols he had introduced into the Temple of the Lord (II Chron. 33:13). The scene has been lost, but the Cambridge sylloge has preserved the text of the two hexameters that illustrated it.

Donato Baldi

PRAYER OF MANASSEH

A short poem in 15 verses, which seeks to express the soul of the King imprisoned and repentant for his idolatry (cf. 2 Chron. 33:11-13, 18f.). It is one of the most appealing apocrypha (v.) of the Old Testament for its profound piety.

The Prayer of M. begins with a praise of God the creator, full of predilection and mercy for the Jewish people (vv. 1-7); then, after a mention of divine generosity in forgiving (v. 8), the King implores mercy also by virtue of the sufferings of his imprisonment (vv. 9-14). The Prayer of M. ends with the resolve of continual praise in thanksgiving (v. 15).

It is commonly held that it was composed by a pious Israelite shortly before the Christian era in Greek. Many ancients believed it authentic, but not inspired. Even the Greek manuscripts that contain it usually report it in the appendix of liturgical songs 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 widely circulated Didascalia and in the Apostolic Constitutions.

This diffusion is still documented today by the use of certain verses in the liturgy (first responsory on the Wednesday after Trinity; 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, while the Septuagint maintains the arrangement of the codices (cf. A. Rahlfs, Septuaginta, II, Stuttgart 1935, pp. 180-81).

Angelo Penna