Manasseh

Manasseh was the firstborn son of Joseph and Asenath, born in Egypt. Joseph named him Manasseh because God had made him forget all his hardship. Manasseh became the founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The name also belongs to King Manasseh of Judah, one of the most wicked kings, who reigned for 55 years and later repented after being taken captive to Babylon.

Etymology & Roots

The Hebrew name מְנַשֶּׁה (Menasheh) derives from the root נָשָׁה (nashah), meaning "to forget" or "to cause to forget." The prefix מ (mem) with the piel verb stem creates the causative meaning: "one who causes to forget" or "causing to forget." Joseph explained the name's rationale explicitly in Genesis 41:51, saying God had made him forget his hardship and his father's house. The root נָשָׁה also carries the sense of debt forgiveness in some contexts — to be released from what one owes — enriching the name's semantic range. Cognate roots appear in related Semitic languages with similar meanings of forgetting or releasing.

Biblical Bearers

Manasseh, firstborn son of Joseph and Asenath, was born in Egypt and became the ancestor of one of Israel's twelve tribes (Genesis 41:51). Though firstborn, he received Jacob's lesser blessing when the patriarch deliberately crossed his hands to favor Ephraim (Genesis 48:13-20). King Manasseh of Judah — son of the righteous Hezekiah — reigned 55 years, the longest reign in Judah's history. He was among the most wicked of Judah's kings (2 Kings 21:1-18), yet after Assyrian captivity he repented and was restored (2 Chronicles 33:12-13). A third Manasseh appears as one who divorced his foreign wife under Ezra (Ezra 10:30).

Theological Significance

The name Manasseh — "causing to forget" — traces two very different theological trajectories. For Joseph, God caused him to forget the pain of betrayal and slavery, demonstrating divine healing and providence that transcended suffering. The name embodies the grace of release from the past. King Manasseh's story, however, illuminates a different dimension: his long, wicked reign shows how forgetting one's covenant heritage — Hezekiah's righteous legacy — leads to catastrophe. Yet his extraordinary late repentance (2 Chronicles 33:12-13) and restoration reveal God's mercy even toward the worst offenders. The name ultimately points to a God who can make his people forget their anguish and who extends forgiveness to those who genuinely return to him.

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