Manasseh
Manasseh, Joseph's firstborn, was blessed by Jacob and became a tribe of Israel (Gen.41.51; 46.20; 48; 50.23; Num.1.10,34,35; 2.20,20; 7.54; 10.23; 13.11; 26.28,29,34; 27.1,1; 32.33,39,40,41; 34.14,23; 36.1,12; Deu.3.13; 33.17; 34.2; Jos.1.12; 4.12; 12.6; 13.7,29,29,31; 14.4; 16.4; 17; 18.7; 20.8; 21.5,6,25,27; 22; Jdg.1.27; 6.15,35; 7.23; 11.29; 12.4; 1Ki.4.13; 1Ch.5.18,23,26; 6.61,62,70,71; 7.14,17; 9.3; 12.19,20,20,31,37; 27.20,21; 2Ch.15.9; 30.1,10,11,18; 31.1; 34.6,9; Psa.60.7; 80.2; 108.8; Isa.9.21,21; Ezk.48.4,5; Rev.7.6).
Biography
Manasseh was the firstborn son of Joseph and his Egyptian wife Asenath, born during the years of plenty in Egypt before the great famine (Gen. 41:51). His name, meaning "causing to forget," reflected Joseph's declaration that God had made him forget the hardship of his father's house. When the aged patriarch Jacob blessed Joseph's sons, he deliberately crossed his hands to place his right hand on the younger Ephraim rather than Manasseh, prophetically indicating that the younger brother's tribe would become greater (Gen. 48:13-20). Manasseh became the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel, receiving territorial allotments on both sides of the Jordan River. The half-tribe east of the Jordan settled in Gilead and Bashan, while the western half-tribe received land in central Canaan (Josh. 17).
Significance
Manasseh's story embodies the recurring biblical theme of divine reversal, in which God's sovereign choices override human expectations of primogeniture. Jacob's crossed-hands blessing (Gen. 48) foreshadowed the pattern seen throughout Scripture where the younger or lesser is elevated according to God's purposes. Yet Manasseh was by no means diminished; his tribe produced mighty warriors, received abundant territory, and is included among the 144,000 sealed in Revelation 7:6. The tribe's split inheritance across the Jordan illustrates both blessing and the complexities of divided loyalties. Manasseh's name itself encapsulates the gospel in miniature: God's ability to transform suffering into fruitfulness and to grant His people a future that transcends their painful past.
Verse Appearances (112)
Genesis
Numbers
Josh
1Kgs
2Kgs
1Chr
Isaiah
Revelation
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]