Manasseh son of Hezekiah son of Ahaz was born when Hezekiah was 42 years old. His father, Hezekiah died at the age of 54, when Manasseh was 12 years old.
Manasseh (-710 to -643)
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A portrait of Manasseh, the King of Judah
One of Judah’s worst kings, but turned to God
Manasseh was king of the kingdom of Judah and son of Kings Hezekiah and Hefzibah. Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. During his long reign, Manasseh eliminated all the good that his father Hezekiah had done. As the conquered king of Assyria, he included the idolatry of Assyria and the people were allowed to return to worship the Canaanite god. Even Manasseh offered his children as sacrifices in the fire, and an idol was placed in the Temple. He was the reason God's patience ran out so that God banished Judah to Babylon. However, even though Manasseh was one of Judah's worst kings, he turned to God and was saved.
Government Period (-697)
Map of Kingdom of Judah and Israel
Manasseh was the king of Judah who ruled the longest and the first without experiencing any connection with the Kingdom of North Israel which had been destroyed by the Assyrian Kingdom during his father Hezekiah's lifetime. During his long reign, Manasseh eliminated all the good that his father Hezekiah had done. He worshiped Baal and Asherah, even building an altar to idols in the Lord's temple. He also summoned spirits and asked fortune-tellers about the future. The Bible says that God even stated that Manasseh acted even more evil than the Canaanites that God had removed.
Manasseh's bad influence caused the Israelites to fall into great irreversible apostasy, though Manasseh later tried to correct, and then Josiah also tried to clean up idols. God said through the prophet Jeremiah regarding the consequences of Manasseh's actions in the Book of Jeremiah 15:4:
"Then I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, because of all what Manasseh son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem."
Capture and repentance (-642)
Manasseh's repentance
During the reign of Manasseh, the king of Assyria ordered Manasseh to be tied in chains and brought to the city of Babylon, which was still under Assyrian control at that time. In Babylon, Manasseh began to humble himself before the Lord. After returning to Jerusalem, he tried to eradicate the evil that existed, and revive the worship of God. However, he did not succeed and the people continued to worship on the high places.
Embedded Videos
King Manasseh
Story of Manasseh
Comments & Conclusions
Irreversible destruction caused by Manasseh
Manasseh's crimes exhausted God's patience. When Manasseh did all these things, he had already made God decide to throw them out. The conversion of his and his grandson, Josiah, could not change what God had ordained. Even though the book of 2 Chronicles says that he truly repented of his sins, it has become clear that the profound effects of his sin did not go away. Manasseh has been the cause of all the damage the people of Judah have done. And even though in 2 Chronicles 33 Manasseh tries to turn the hearts of the people of Judah from idols back to God, it turns out that after that Judah still fell back to idolatry under the rule of Ammon, son of Manasseh.
Simultaneous events, periods or persons of Manasseh
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Author: Ryan | First published: 2021-01-06 | Last update: 2022-03-29
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