II Chronicles 33, Manasseh

The kings of Judah, after Solomon, have been 

• Rehoboam, 
• Abijah, 
• Asa, 
• Jehoshaphat, 
• Jehoram, 
• Ahaziah, 
• Joash, 
• Amaziah, 
• Uzziah,
• Jotham, 
• Ahaz,
• Hezekiah, and now
• Manasseh.

The date is about 690 BC. The northern kingdom is gone, conquered by Assyria. Hezekiah has managed to renew the worship of YHWH in the temple initiated the annual feasts. He has also managed to hold off an invasion of Sennacherib of Assyria.

2 Chronicles 33:1-6, Starry host, sacrificed sons

Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, following the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. He built altars in the temple of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever."

In both courts of the temple of the LORD, he built altars to all the starry hosts. He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced sorcery, divination and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger.

Manasseh, 12 years old when he is crowned king, returns to the idolatry of his grandfather and great grandfather. In additions to the Baals and the Asherah poles, he worships stars and starry hosts and builds altars to these hosts even within the temple. He sacrifices children to the fire and is involved in a number of sorcery practices.  

Fifty-five years is the longest reign of a king of Judah or Israel.

The nearby Assyrians and Babylonians studied and worshiped the stars. Just as his grandfather Ahaz had turned to the gods of Damascus (2 Chronicles 28:23), Manasseh appears to have absorbed the astrology of Babylon. Babylon astrology and astronomy (there was no distinction made between those two fields) were highly advanced. (Their mathematics was also quite advanced.) Babylonian astrology introduced the horoscope and the twelve constellations of the zodiac. The Babylonians divided the ecliptic into 360 pieces and so their trigonometry divided the circle into 360 degrees, a division still used today. Their base 60 arithmetic has survived three millenniau to give us 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in a hour. 

2 Chronicles 33:7-9, Desecrated the temple

He took the carved image he had made and put it in God's temple, of which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, "In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever. I will not again make the feet of the Israelites leave the land I assigned to your forefathers, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them concerning all the laws, decrees and ordinances given through Moses."

But Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.

In reporting on the horrendous acts of Manasseh, the Chronicler repeats the strong admonitions of YHWH against these practices and the warnings that disobedience might bring.

2 Chronicles 33:10-11, King of Assyria

The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. So the LORD brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.
 

When Manasseh refuses to listen to the voice(s) of God, God brings against Judah the nation of Assyria. Assyria goes as far as to capture Manasseh, put a hook in his nose and carry him off to Babylon!

2 Chronicles 33:12-17, Repentance

In his distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God.

Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, west of the Gihon spring in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate and encircling the hill of Ophel; he also made it much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah. He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the LORD, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. Then he restored the altar of the LORD and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel.

The people, however, continued to sacrifice at the high places, but only to the LORD their God.

Manasseh pleads to YHWH for help and that prayer is answered. A repentant Manasseh is returned to Jerusalem by the Assyrians. (Surely this return involved paying some type of tribute to Assyria.)

Afterwards, a humbled Manasseh works on rebuilding fortifications in Jerusalem and the surrounding region. This includes restoring the altar. However, the late repentance of a humiliated king has little effect on the religion of the people. The populace apparently continue to sacrifice on their local high places but identify YHWH as the god to whom they are sacrificing.

2 Chronicles 33:18-20, Record of the seers

The other events of Manasseh's reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of Israel. His prayer and how God was moved by his entreaty, as well as all his sins and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself--all are written in the records of the seers. 

Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in his palace. And Amon his son succeeded him as king.

The life of Manasseh described here has a parallel passage in 2 Kings 21:1-18. but there are significant differences between the two accounts. The report in 2 Kings gives more details in YHWH's message to Manasseh and also states the Manasseh "filled Jerusalem from end to end" with innocent blood. The report in Chronicles of Manasseh's late-life repentance does not appear in 2 Kings, so the "records of the seers" is not the scroll of Kings and, whatever that record was, is now lost. (According to Payne, the Masoretic Text instead has "history of Hozai", which is not helpful, for this too -- and the identity of Hozai -- is lost.)

2 Chronicles 33:21-25, Amon and assassination

Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon worshiped and offered sacrifices to all the idols Manasseh had made.

But unlike his father Manasseh, he did not humble himself before the LORD; Amon increased his guilt. Amon's officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace.

Then the people of the land killed all who had plotted against King Amon, and they made Josiah his son king in his place.

Amon is briefly mentioned at the end of Manasseh's reign. He only lasts two years, doesn't change anything and his only contribution is to leave behind a son. The five verses devoted to him here are similar to the eight verses on Amon in 2 Kings 21:19-26.