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Kings of Judah: 14th - Manasseh and 15th - Amon 1–9. The time of accession and duration of the reign of Manasseh; general - wicked - character of the first half of his reign; mixing true worship of God with idolatry. 10–13. The punishment of Manasseh by captivity, his repentance and the return of the kingdom to him. 14–20. The strengthening of Jerusalem, the destruction of idols, the resumption of legal worship and the death of Manasseh. 21–25. The two-year wicked reign of Amon and his violent death. 2 Chronicles 33:1 . Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 33:2. and he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, imitating the abominations of the nations, whom the Lord drove out from before the children of Israel, 2 Chronicles 33:3. and he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and erected altars to Baal, and built groves, and worshiped and served all the host of heaven, 2 Chronicles 33:4. And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said, In Jerusalem shall my name be forever; 2 Chronicles 33:5. and he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 33:6. He led his sons through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and told fortunes, and cast spells, and cast spells, and established conjurers of the dead and magicians; He did many things that were displeasing in the sight of the Lord, to anger Him. 2 Chronicles 33:7. And he set up the carved idol which he had made in the house of God, of which God spoke to David and to Solomon his son: In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will set my name forever; 2 Chronicles 33:8. and I will never again allow the foot of Israel to go out of this land, which I have established for their fathers, unless they strive to do all that I have commanded them, according to all the law and statutes and commandments given by the hand of Moses. 2 Chronicles 33:9. But Manasseh brought Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to the point that they acted worse than those nations whom the Lord destroyed from before the children of Israel. 2 Chronicles 33:10. And the Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they did not listen. Wed. (2 Kings 21:1-16); The Explanatory Bible, vol. II, p. 559–561. “In both courts of the house of the Lord” (v. 5), i.e. external and internal (see comments to (1 Kings 6:36); The Explanatory Bible, vol. II, p. 392). In (2 Chronicles 33:6) added (in comparison with v. 2 Kings 21:6): “in the valley of the son of Hinnom” (LXX: ἐν γέ (ge – untranslated Hebrew word, meaning “valley”, Βενεννόμ, Vulgata: in valle Benennom, Slav.: “in udoli Vehennomli "). The highest manifestation of the religious syncretism of Manasseh was the installation of a carved idol of Astarte in the church itself (v. 7), and at the same time, apparently, the ark of the covenant was taken out of the holy of holies, placed back there already under the grandson of Manasseh, the pious Josiah (2 Chronicles 35:3). Jer. 3:16), they even recognize it as probable that Manasseh destroyed the Ark of the Covenant, but (2 Chronicles 35:3), obviously, presupposes its existence during the reign of Josiah (see Prof. A. Smirnov, New construction of the history of the Jewish people and new judgments about its historical figures. Addendum to the edition of the Works of the Holy Fathers in the Russian translation of 1887, part 40, s, 217). An expression of the same broad religious syncretism of Manasseh was also his introduction of the Assyrian cult of luminaries into the Temple of Solomon (v. 5). The latter is associated with the penetration of Babylonian mythology, cosmogony and cosmology into Judea under Manasseh (see Prof. A. Smirnov, pp. 221–224). Such a betrayal of the king and the people of Judah towards the religion of Jehovah inevitably had to lead to the destruction of the kingdom of Judah, as the contemporary prophets of Manasseh clearly spoke about this (vv. 10, 18; cf. (2 Kings 21:10–16)). But these denunciations not only did not produce the desired effect on the king and the people (v. 10), but also caused bloody persecution of the prophets on the part of the former (2 Kings 21:16). 2 Chronicles 33:11. And the Lord brought against them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, and they put Manasseh in shackles and bound him with chains, and took him to Babylon. 2 Chronicles 33:12. And in his distress he began to plead with the Lord his God and deeply humbled himself before the God of his fathers. 2 Chronicles 33:13. And he prayed to Him, and God bowed to him and heard his prayer, and returned him to Jerusalem for his kingdom. And Manasseh knew that the Lord is God. 2 Chronicles 33:14. And after this he built the outer wall of the city of David, on the west side of Geon, along the valley and to the entrance of the Fish Gate, and ran it around Ophel and raised it high. And he appointed commanders over all the fortified cities of Judah, 2 Chronicles 33:15. and he cast down the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the high places which he had built on the mount of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and threw them out of the city. 2 Chronicles 33:16. And he restored the altar of the Lord, and offered sacrifices of peace and praise thereon, and told the Jews that they should serve the Lord God of Israel. 2 Chronicles 33:17. But the people still offered sacrifices on the high places, even to the Lord their God. What prophetic preaching could not accomplish in Manasseh was accomplished by God’s grave admonition to this king in the form of his captivity by the Assyrian king and his taking to Babylon: there, amid the trials and tribulations of captivity, Manasseh deeply humbled himself before Jehovah, repented of the sins of idolatry and, through the prayer of faith, was returned to the kingdom of Jerusalem, where he spent his last days strengthening the city, destroying some accessories of idolatry and in restoring the worship of Jehovah in all purity and correctness (vv. 14-16) 9 . This message, found only in 2 Chronicles and absent in 2 Kings, has been repeatedly doubted and denied in modern times in Western European biblical scholarship as allegedly devoid of not only historical evidence, but also internal probability. They say that the absence of news about the captivity and return of Manasseh in 2 Kings, as well as from the prophet Jeremiah, makes this news of 2 Chronicles very suspicious: if something similar had been known when writing 2 Kings, then the author of 4 Kings, of course, would have included this event in his narrative; and the prophet Jeremiah not only knows nothing about the admonition and conversion of Manasseh, but indirectly denies the very possibility of this fact when he testifies that it was mainly the idolatry of Manasseh that caused the captivity of the Jews in Babylon and the destruction of the kingdom of Judah (Jer. 15:4). The internal inconsistencies of the evidence under consideration of 2 Chronicles include partly the mention in it of Babylon as the place of captivity of Manasseh, and partly especially the fact that, according to this evidence (vv. 15-16), the reform of the cult was not started by Josiah, as evidenced by (2 Kings 22-23) and (2 Chron. 34), but by Manasseh. The whole story (2 Chronicles 33:11–16), they say, is a simple allegory of the fate of Israel, who was taken into captivity for their sins and then returned to their homeland. Personally, there was nothing like this with Manasseh, and there could not have been: a serviceable tributary of the Assyrian kings, he reigned peacefully for over half a century in Jerusalem on the throne of the kings of Judah. The latest Jew is the writer of the book. Chronicles - could not reconcile with his belief in bribery the fact that the most criminal of the Jewish kings reigned longer than all the kings and died unpunished. This antinomy was resolved for the writer of 2 Chronicles by the story under consideration, the reason for which, however, could have been the prediction of the prophet Isaiah Hezekiah about the taking of his sons to Babylon (2 Kings 20:18); (J. Wellhausen, Prolegomena zur Geschichte Israels. 3-te A. Berlin 1886, p. 213; B. Stede, Geschichte des Volkes Israel, 1-ter Bd. Berlin, 1897, S. S. 639–664; cf. Prof. A. P. Smirnov, pp. 228–229). But all these objections have only apparent validity. In fact, the lack of mention in the books of Kings about the fact of the captivity and return of Manasseh cannot at all speak against the historical reliability of this fact: in very numerous cases, the book of Chronicles supplements the narratives of the books of Kings with new factual data drawn from chronicle documents; in particular, the story (2 Kings 21:1–16) about the reign of Manasseh is so noticeably fragmentary (cf. 2 Kings 21:17–18) that it naturally requires completion, which it provides (2 Chronicles 33:11–18). The prophet Jeremiah, in his harsh verdict on Manasseh (Jer. 15:4), could have been referring to the first, most part of his reign, the harmful consequences of which extended to the time following the death of Manasseh. As for the supposed internal inconsistencies of the story, they are only the fruit of a misunderstanding of biblical critics, a misunderstanding that is completely eliminated by the new data of Assyriology: according to the testimony of the latter, the captivity of the Jewish king Manasseh by the king of Assyria, and precisely in Babylon, is a historical fact that stands above doubt (Ewald, Geschichte des Volkes Israel, 3 A. Bd. 1852, S. 729). According to Assyrian news, among the tributaries of the Assyrian king Assarhaddan (689–661) was Manasseh, the king of Judah (Minasi sar Jahudi); Asargaddon's son and successor, Asurbanipal, brutally suppressed the coalition of West Asian kings that had formed against him, led by Samug, Asurbanipal's brother, and with the participation of the Egyptian pharaoh. Among these kings, vassals of Assyria, but rebelling against Asurbanipal, it is natural to assume Manasseh of Judah, who was captured by the winner of the alliance, and since the center of the latter was Babylon (after Merodach-Baladan, which again became an Assyrian province under Asargaddon), occupied by Samug, it is clear that Asurbanipal, who settled in Babylon, ordered bring Manasseh not to Nineveh, but to Babylon. The event of the captivity of Manasseh usually dates back to 647 BC, and therefore occurred in the 51st year of the reign of Manasseh, 4 years before his death (the years of the reign of Manasseh, according to the accepted chronology: 698–643). It is more difficult to understand, judging by the historically known relations of the Assyrian kings towards the defeated and captive kings, the fact of Manasseh’s return from captivity (the duration of the captivity cannot be imagined as significant; it is speculatively believed to be no more than a year); however, there is nothing impossible here either. 2 Chronicles points (vv. 12–13) to the repentance and conversion of Manasseh (the monument of which remains his prayer, cf. v. 18) as the internal reason for the pardon and return of Manasseh; Along with this, there could have been an external, favorable confluence of circumstances for him in the form, for example, of some kind of political coup in Assyria. That, in any case, the return of Manasseh was not a matter of favor of the Assyrian king is evident from the fact that the first thing Manasseh did upon his return was to strengthen Jerusalem and other cities of Judah (v. 14). On the subject of the captivity and return of Manasseh, see, for example, Kleinert in Riehm. Handwörterbuch des biblischen Alterthums. Bd. II, s.s. 962–963 (see The Interpretive Bible, vol. II, p. 561). About the “second” wall of Jerusalem, begun by Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 32:5) and only completed and strengthened by Manasseh (v. 14), see comments to (2 Chronicles 32:5). The part of the city embraced by this wall was called the “second” (Hebrew mishne), (2 Kings 22:14). Regarding Gione, see comments on (2 Chron. 32:30). About Ophel - see note. ko (2 Chronicles 27:3). “Fish Gate” (Heb. shaar (gad) dagim), cf. (Neh.3:3,12:39; Zeph.1:10), were located in the middle of the second wall of Jerusalem, in the north of the city, approximately on the site of the current Damascus Gate; were named so, perhaps, because through them the Tyrians transported fish to Jerusalem (Neh. 13:16). Along with the external strengthening of his capital and his kingdom, Manasseh, upon returning from captivity, took special care to remove the paraphernalia of idolatry from the temple and Jerusalem (v. 15) and to restore correct and reverent service to Jehovah in His church (v. 16). But it goes without saying that for half a century the masses of the people, stifled in idolatry, could not be sufficiently receptive to the pious undertakings of the king and continued to gravitate towards the cult of heights, even Jehovah (v. 17). And the reform of Manasseh itself - already due to the shortness of the period (from the return of Manasseh to death) - could not be any complete, much less profound, which is why a new radical reform of Josiah was soon required (cf. v. 15 with (2 Kings 23:5-15)). 2 Chronicles 33:18. The rest of the deeds of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, are found in the records of the kings of Israel. 2 Chronicles 33:19. And his prayer, and the fact that God bowed to him, and all his sins and his iniquities, and the places on which he built high places and placed images of Ashtoreth and idols before he humbled himself, are described in the records of Chozai. 2 Chronicles 33:20. And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his house. And Amon his son reigned in his stead. Here in Art. 18 and 19, the sources of information for the history of the reign of Manasseh are named, namely: a) a general source - “the records of the kings of Israel”, which contained the denunciations of the seers against Manasseh (see 2 Kings 21:10–15); b) a private source - “the records of a certain prophet Hozai,” depicting all the manifestations of the wickedness of Manasseh (v. 19). LXX and the Slavic text, instead of one person, see here in the name Khozai a collective: seers (Heb. Khozim); LXX: ἐπὶ τῶν λόγων τῶν ὁρώντων, glorified: “in the words of all those who see.” But it is more likely to see here a reference to a source of a private nature - the work of an individual prophet, just as we encountered the same references to the writings of individuals earlier in 2 Chronicles, such as Ahijah and Joel (2 Chronicles 9:29); Samea and Addo (2 Chronicles 12:15); Adda (2 Chronicles 13:22). The Syriac translation is Napal, the Arabic is Saphan; c) finally not preserved in Hebrew. The Bible's "prayer" (Hebrew: tefillah, Greek: προςευχή, Latin: oratio, obsecratio) of Manasseh is obviously of a repentant nature ("his prayer and the fact that God listened to him", v. 19). Instead of the original text of this prayer that has not been preserved, Greek, etc. Bible translations have the non-canonical prayer of Manasseh placed in the Greek. The Bible at the end of the Psalter includes 14 songs extracted from various places of Holy Scripture, and in the Slavic-Russian - the following immediately after the last 36th chapter of 2 Chronicles. In this form, the prayer of Manasseh is of later origin (it notes as inconsistent with the biblical view and teaching the idea (v. 8) that the patriarchs had no need for repentance). But its composition was timed to coincide with this mention of “prayer” in (2 Chronicles 33:18–19). Prof. A.A. Olesnitsky instead of Hebrew. tefillah (prayer), reads here: tifla (madness, insolence) and notes: “As for the prayer of Manasseh, mentioned in the quotation according to the accepted reading (thephillah), it was included in the quotation according to a later proofreading, after the appearance of the famous apocryphal prayer of Manasseh” (“State Chronicle of the Kings of the Jews.” Proceedings of the Kyiv Theological Academy, 1879, No. 8, p. 455). But the amendment allowed here has no support in the textual tradition and it seems more natural to explain the composition of the prayer on the basis of the general mention of it in the Bible than to explain the tendentious correction of the text on the basis of the composed prayer. Despite its non-canonical nature, the prayer of Manasseh is an expression of ardent religious feeling, deep repentance and humiliation, and therefore in the worship of the Orthodox Church it is used as a model of repentant prayer (Sequence of Great Compline). Manasseh was buried (v. 20) in the garden of a certain Uzzah, whom some identify with King Uzziah (cf. (2 Kings 21:18); The Explanatory Bible, vol. II, pp. 561–562). 2 Chronicles 33:21. Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem for two years. 2 Chronicles 33:22. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, even as Manasseh his father did; And to all the images that Manasseh his father made, Amon sacrificed and served them. 2 Chronicles 33:23. And he did not humble himself before the Lord, as Manasseh his father humbled himself; on the contrary, Amon multiplied his sins. 2 Chronicles 33:24. And his servants conspired against him and killed him in his house. 2 Chronicles 33:25. But the people of the land killed all those who were conspiring against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead. About the reign of the 15th king of Judah, the son and successor of Manasseh - Amun (according to many codes LXX and Josephus: Ἀμώς), very short-lived and obviously meaningless, 2 Chronicles reports the same information as (2 Kings 21:19–26); see The Interpretive Bible, vol. II, p. 562–563. Blessed Theodoret notes “such benefit is brought by punishment to those who wish. For what (Manasseh) did not have while reigning, he acquired as a slave.” (Quaestiones in II Paralipomenon. Patrologia Graeca. t. LXXX, col. 854, 856) You might be interested in: