Reference: Manasseh (1)
Fausets
("causing to forget".) Joseph's firstborn by Asenath, whose birth "made him forget all his toil and all (the sorrow he endured through) his father's house" (Ge 41:51). Jacob adopted them as his own, though "horn in Egypt" and by an alien to Israel (Ge 48:5,9); "as Reuben and Simeon they shall be mine," i.e. patriarchal heads of tribes, as Jacob's immediate sons were; Manasseh and Ephraim gave their names to separate tribes. Joseph had the portion of the firstborn by having the double portion, i.e. two tribal divisions assigned to his sons (1Ch 5:1-2; compare De 21:17). When Joseph took Ephraim in his right toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left toward Israel's right hand, Israel put his right upon Ephraim the younger, and his left upon Manasseh wittingly, notwithstanding Joseph's remonstrance. Their name should be a formula of blessing, "God make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh," and they should "grow as fish do increase" (a natural image near the fish abounding Nile): Ge 48:16,20.
The term "thousands" is especially applied to Manasseh (De 33:17; Jg 6:15 margin.) Manasseh's son by an Aramitess (Syrian) concubine, Machir, had children "borne upon Joseph's knees" (Ge 50:23), i.e. adopted as his from their birth. Manasseh, Ephraim, and Benjamin, the three sprung from Rachel, marched W. of the tabernacle. Moses in his last blessing (De 33:13-17) gives Joseph (i.e. Ephraim and Manasseh) the "precious things of the earth" by "the good will of Him that dwelt in the bush, "in contrast to Joseph's past "separation from his brethren," his horns like the two of the wild bull (not "unicorn"), namely, "the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh shall push," etc. At Sinai Manasseh numbered 32,200 (Nu 1:10,35; 2:20-21; 7:54-59), Ephraim 40,500. But 40 years later, at Jordan, Manasseh 52,700, Ephraim 32,590 (Nu 26:34-37).
Manasseh here resumes his place as firstborn (his having two portions of Canaan, one on each side of Jordan, being also a kind of privilege of the firstborn), probably as having been foremost in the conquest of Gilead, the most impregnable portion of Palestine, as Lejah (asylum) the modern name of Argob implies; their inheritance was northern Gilead, Argob, and Bashan (Nu 32:39-42; De 3:4,13-15; Jos 17:1). Gideon, the greatest of the judges, and one whose son all but established hereditary monarchy in their line, and Jephthah, were samples of their warriors. They advanced from Bashan northwards to the base of Mount Hermon (1Ch 5:23). When David was crowned at Hebron western Manasseh sent 18,000, eastern Manasseh with Gad and Reuben 120,000 armed men (1Ch 12:31,37). Moreover, a prince of each of the two sections of Manasseh stands on a level with the princes of entire tribes (1Ch 27:20-21).
But because of apostasy from the God of their fathers to the gods of the people whom He destroyed before them, Manasseh was first cut short by the Syrian Hazael (2Ki 10:32), then God stirred up the spirit of Pul and of Tiglath Pileser of Assyria to carry the eastern half of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad captives to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river Gozan (1Ch 5:25-26). Manasseh failed to occupy all the territory assigned to them. "Geshur and Aram (Syria) took the 23 towns of Jair and the 37 of Kenath and her daughters, 60 in all, from them"; so 1Ch 2:23 ought to be translated In Jg 10:4 we find Jair the judge in possession of 30 of them, recovered from the enemy. Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh successfully warred with and dispossessed the Hagarites with Jetar, Nephish, and Nodab (1Ch 5:18-22). The western half of Manasseh failed for long to dispossess completely the Canaanites (Jg 1:27; Jos 17:11-12).
On their complaining that but one portion had been allotted to them, and that the Canaanite chariots prevented their occupying the Esdraelon and Jordan plains, Joshua advised them to go into the wooded mountain, probably Carmel. Accordingly their towns Taanach, Megiddo, Ibleam, and Endor are in the region of Carmel, within the allotments of other tribes. Bethshean was in the hollow of the Ghor or Jordan valley, the connecting point between the eastern and the western Manasseh. Kerr shows that the land of Manasseh, instead of crossing the country from E. to W., occupied only half that space, and lay along the sea to the W., bounded on the E. by the range of Mount Carmel.
Jos 17:7 defines its coast. En Tappuah is Atuf. The town was given to Ephraim, the land N. of it was Manasseh's. Conder thinks that Asher was separated from Manasseh by Zebulun, and that the Asher in Jos 17:10 is Asherham-Michmethah (now Es Sireh) at the N.W. corner of Ephraim. Issachar lay to the E. of Ephraim and Manasseh, along the entire line of the Jordan, from the sea of Chinneroth to the wady Kelt not far from the Salt Sea: thus it was a triangle, its apex at Jericho, its base N. of the Jezreel plain (Palestine Exploration Quarterly Statement, January, 1877, p. 41-50). In the declension of the nation Isaiah (Isa 9:20-21) foretells that the two sons of Joseph, once so intimately united, should be rent into factions thirsting for one another's blood, "they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm, Manasseh Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh, and they together against Judah."
After the fall of the ten tribes, Psalm 80 expresses Judah's prayer of sympathy for her sister: "give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock. ... Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh (advancing at their head, as formerly in the pillar of cloud in the wilderness) ... come and save us." The book of Numbers (Nu 2:17-24) represents these three kindred tribes together marching after the ark; so in the Psalms. Many out of Manasseh were among the penitents coming southwards to Judah, and joining in the spiritual revivals under Asa (2Ch 15:9), Hezekiah (2Ch 30:1,10-11,18; 31:1), and Josiah (2Ch 34:6-9).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, "For," he said, "God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household."
"Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are.
Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here " So he said, "Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them."
The angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads; And may my name live on in them, And the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."
He blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying, 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!'" Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.
Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim's sons; also the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were born on Joseph's knees.
of the sons of Joseph: of Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud; of Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur;
"Then the tent of meeting shall set out with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; just as they camp, so they shall set out, every man in his place by their standards. "On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim by their armies, and the leader of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud, read more. and his army, even their numbered men, 40,500. "Next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh, and the leader of the sons of Manasseh: Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur,
"Next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh, and the leader of the sons of Manasseh: Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, and his army, even their numbered men, 32,200.
and his army, even their numbered men, 32,200. "Then comes the tribe of Benjamin, and the leader of the sons of Benjamin: Abidan the son of Gideoni, read more. and his army, even their numbered men, 35,400. "The total of the numbered men of the camp of Ephraim: 108,100, by their armies. And they shall set out third.
On the eighth day it was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, leader of the sons of Manasseh; his offering was one silver dish whose weight was one hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; read more. one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; one bull, one ram, one male lamb one year old, for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
These are the families of Manasseh; and those who were numbered of them were 52,700. These are the sons of Ephraim according to their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; of Becher, the family of the Becherites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. read more. These are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites. These are the families of the sons of Ephraim according to those who were numbered of them, 32,500. These are the sons of Joseph according to their families.
The sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. So Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he lived in it. read more. Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its towns, and called them Havvoth-jair. Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah after his own name.
"We captured all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we did not take from them: sixty cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
"The rest of Gilead and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh, all the region of Argob (concerning all Bashan, it is called the land of Rephaim. Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called it, that is, Bashan, after his own name, Havvoth-jair, as it is to this day.) read more. "To Machir I gave Gilead.
"But he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; to him belongs the right of the firstborn.
Of Joseph he said, "Blessed of the LORD be his land, With the choice things of heaven, with the dew, And from the deep lying beneath, And with the choice yield of the sun, And with the choice produce of the months. read more. "And with the best things of the ancient mountains, And with the choice things of the everlasting hills, And with the choice things of the earth and its fullness, And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let it come to the head of Joseph, And to the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers. "As the firstborn of his ox, majesty is his, And his horns are the horns of the wild ox; With them he will push the peoples, All at once, to the ends of the earth. And those are the ten thousands of Ephraim, And those are the thousands of Manasseh."
"As the firstborn of his ox, majesty is his, And his horns are the horns of the wild ox; With them he will push the peoples, All at once, to the ends of the earth. And those are the ten thousands of Ephraim, And those are the thousands of Manasseh."
Now this was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war.
The border of Manasseh ran from Asher to Michmethath which was east of Shechem; then the border went southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah.
The south side belonged to Ephraim and the north side to Manasseh, and the sea was their border; and they reached to Asher on the north and to Issachar on the east. In Issachar and in Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean and its towns and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, the third is Napheth. read more. But the sons of Manasseh could not take possession of these cities, because the Canaanites persisted in living in that land.
But Manasseh did not take possession of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; so the Canaanites persisted in living in that land.
He said to Him, "O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house."
He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities in the land of Gilead that are called Havvoth-jair to this day.
In those days the LORD began to cut off portions from Israel; and Hazael defeated them throughout the territory of Israel:
But Geshur and Aram took the towns of Jair from them, with Kenath and its villages, even sixty cities. All these were the sons of Machir, the father of Gilead.
Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; so that he is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the birthright. Though Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came the leader, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph),
The sons of Reuben and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, consisting of valiant men, men who bore shield and sword and shot with bow and were skillful in battle, were 44,760, who went to war. They made war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish and Nodab. read more. They were helped against them, and the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hand; for they cried out to God in the battle, and He answered their prayers because they trusted in Him. They took away their cattle: their 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep, 2,000 donkeys; and 100,000 men. For many fell slain, because the war was of God And they settled in their place until the exile. Now the sons of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land; from Bashan to Baal-hermon and Senir and Mount Hermon they were numerous.
But they acted treacherously against the God of their fathers and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria, even the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away into exile, namely the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara and to the river of Gozan, to this day.
Of the half-tribe of Manasseh 18,000, who were designated by name to come and make David king.
From the other side of the Jordan, of the Reubenites and the Gadites and of the half-tribe of Manasseh, there were 120,000 with all kinds of weapons of war for the battle.
for the sons of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah; for the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah; for the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah; for Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner;
He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
Now Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to the LORD God of Israel.
So the couriers passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. Nevertheless some men of Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.
For a multitude of the people, even many from Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than prescribed. For Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May the good LORD pardon
Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, broke the pillars in pieces, cut down the Asherim and pulled down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the sons of Israel returned to their cities, each to his possession.
In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, even as far as Naphtali, in their surrounding ruins, he also tore down the altars and beat the Asherim and the carved images into powder, and chopped down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem. read more. Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah an official of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God. They came to Hilkiah the high priest and delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the doorkeepers, had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
They slice off what is on the right hand but still are hungry, And they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied; Each of them eats the flesh of his own arm. Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh, And together they are against Judah In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.