Who is King Manasseh in the Bible?

Quick Facts

Father: King Hezekiah, 2Ki 20:21
Mother: Hephzibah, 2Ki 21:1
Predecessor: King Hezekiah, 2Ki 20:21
Succession: 14th king
Length of reign: 55 years, 2Ki 21:1
Successor: King Amon, 2Ch 33:20
Age when made king: 12 years, 2Ki 21:1
Kingdom: Kingdom of Judah
Reign: 697 B.C – 643 BC
Age when he died: 67, 2Ki 21:1
Morality: evil king, but repented, 2Ki 21:2
Biblical history: 2Ch 33:1-20, 2Ki 21:1-18

Manasseh became king of Judah

The name Manasseh means ‘causing to forget‘. Manasseh succeeded his father King Hezekiah. Sadly, Manasseh was nothing like his pious father, for he chose a sinful course of life. Manasseh was 12 years old when he became a king and he reigned for 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. Manasseh was one such evil king who exceeded all the other kings of Judah in wickedness for he followed the detestable practices of the Canaanites and their likes whom God had driven out of the land. King Manasseh, after a long eventful reign of 55 years, died of natural causes and his son Amon became king in his place.

Manasseh’s bad deeds

King Manasseh perpetuated evil deeds such as: 

(1) He rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed (2Ki 21:3). (2) He raised up altars for Baal, made a wooden image, and worshiped all the hosts of heaven as his gods (2Ki 21:3). (3) He also built altars in the temple of God for his gods (2Ki 21:4). (4) He built altars for all the hosts of heaven in the two courts of the temple of God (2Ki 21:5). (5) He burnt his son as a sacrifice to his gods (2Ki 21:6). (6) He practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums (2Ki 21:6). (7) He carved an image of Asherah and set it in the house of God (2Ki 21:7). (8) Manasseh led his kingdom astray to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed from the land of Canaan (2Ki 21:9; 2Ch 33:9). (9) Manasseh shed innocent blood in Jerusalem to such an extent that it is figuratively said that he filled Jerusalem from end to end with the blood of the innocent (2 Kings 21:16).

Manasseh’s capture, repentance, and restoration

Upon refusing to hear the warning of God’s prophets, God caused the Assyrians to invade the Kingdom of Judah. The commanders of the Assyrian army captured Manasseh, bound him with chains of bronze, and sent him to Babylon. Having been captured and imprisoned, he humbled himself greatly and prayed to God for help. God was moved by his prayer, delivered him, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. King Manasseh returned from Babylon as a changed man, for he repented from evil and feared the Lord.

Manasseh’s reforms

Upon returning, he began to undo some of the evil things he had done such as:  

(1) He took away the foreign gods and the idol that he put in the temple of God (2Ch 33:15). (2) He removed all the altars that he had built on the mount of the house of God and in Jerusalem and threw them out of the city (2Ch 33:15). (3) He repaired the altar of God and sacrificed peace offerings and thanksgiving offerings on it (2Ch 33:16). (4) He commanded his kingdom to serve God – the God of Israel (2Ch 33:16).

The effects of Manasseh’s sin

To punish the sins of Manasseh, God threatened to reject Jerusalem and the Temple of Solomon which he had chosen for himself (2Ki 23:27). God threatened to bring calamity upon the Kingdom of Judah and deliver them into the hand of their enemies to be plundered (2Ki 21:10-15). He would have them go into exile like Israel (2Ki 23:27; Jer 15:4). Many years later, during the reign of the great-grandchildren of Manasseh, God sent a multinational army, led by King Nebuchadnezzar II, to the Kingdom of Judah to destroy it. Eventually, King Nebuchadnezzar II broke into Jerusalem, killed as many as he desired, looted the Temple of Solomon, set fire to Jerusalem, and carried the people of Judah to Babylon as captives. This fulfilled what God said that He would reject Jerusalem and the Temple of Solomon because of the evil that Manasseh had done (2 Kings 23:24-27).

Achievements of Manasseh

When King Manasseh returned from captivity, he built an outer wall for the city of David west of Gihon, in the valley, and for the entrance into the Fish Gate, and carried it around Ophel, and raised the wall to a very great height. He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah. 2 Chronicles 33:14

Manasseh’s contemporaries

King Manasseh did not have a contemporary king of Israel because, during his reign, the Kingdom of Israel was defunct. In the biblical account of King Manasseh, no other king’s name was mentioned. However, it appears the king of Assyria whose army captured Manasseh was Ashurbanipal.

Major events during Manasseh’s reign

  • Manasseh defiled the Temple of Solomon and Jerusalem, the city of God, with his idols and his grove. (2Ch 33:4-7; 2Ki 21:4-7)
  • The Assyrians captured Manasseh, exiled him, and imprisoned him in Babylon. (2Ch 33:11)
  • God restored Manasseh to his kingdom after he humbled himself, repented, and prayed. (2Ch 33:12-13)
  • Upon returning from captivity, Manasseh undo the evil he had done. (2Ch 33:15-16)
  • Manasseh built a high wall of defense for Jerusalem west of Gihon. (2Ch 33:14)

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