The meaning of Manasseh (1) in the Bible
(From International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
ma-nas'-e (menashsheh, "causing to forget"; compare Genesis 41:51; Man(n)asse):
(1) The firstborn of Joseph by Asenath, daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On. See next article.
(2) The tribe named from Manasseh, half of which, with Gad and Reuben, occupied the East of Jordan (Numbers 27:1, etc.). See next article.
(3) The "Manasseh" of Judges 18:30-31 the King James Version is really an intentional mistake for the name Moses. A small nun ("n"), a Hebrew letter, has been inserted over and between the first and second Hebrew letters in the word Moses, thus maNesheh for mosheh. The reason for this is that the individual in question is mentioned as priest of a brazen image at Dan. His proper name was Moses. It was felt to be a disgrace that such a one bearing that honored name should keep it intact. The insertion of the nun hides the disgrace and, moreover, gives to the person a name already too familiar with idolatrous practices; for King Manasseh's 55 years of sovereignty were thus disgraced.
(4) King of Judah. See separate article.
(5) Son of PAHATH-MOAB (which see), who had married a foreign wife (Ezra 10:30). Manaseas in 1 Esdras 9:31.
(6) The Manasses of 1 Esdras 9:33. A layman of the family of Hashum, who put away his foreign wife at Ezra's order (Ezra 10:33).
In the Revised Version (British and American) of Matthew 1:10 and Revelation 7:6 the spelling "Manasseh" is given for the King James Version "Manasses." The latter is the spelling of the husband of Judith (Judith 8:2,7; 10:3; 16:22-23,24); of a person named in the last words of Tobit and otherwise unknown (Tobit 14:10), and also the name given to a remarkable prayer probably referred to in II Chronicles 33:18, which Manasseh (4) is said to have uttered at the end of his long, unsatisfactory life. See MANASSES, THE PRAYER OF. In Judges 12:4, the Revised Version (British and American) reads "Manasseh" for the King James Version "Manassites."
Henry Wallace
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