Manasseh (2) – Manlius, Titus

Manasseh (2)

1. Son of Joseph:

Following the Biblical account of Manasseh (patriarch, tribe, and territory) we find that he was the eider of Joseph's two sons by Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On (Genesis 41:51). The birth of a son marked the climax of Joseph's happiness after the long bitterness of his experience. In the joy of the moment, the dark years past could be forgotten; therefore he called the name of the firstborn Manasseh ("causing to forget"), for, said he, God hath made me to forget all my toil. When Jacob was near his end, Joseph brought his two sons to his father who blessed them. Himself the younger son who had received the blessing of the firstborn, Jacob preferred Ephraim, the second son of Joseph, to Manasseh his elder brother, thus indicating the relative positions of their descendants (Genesis 48:1–22). Before Joseph died he saw the children of Machir the son of Manasseh (Genesis 50:23). Machir was born to Manasseh by his concubine, an Aramitess (1 Chronicles 7:14). Whether he married Maacah before leaving for Egypt is not said. She was the sister of Huppim and Shuppim. Of Manasseh's personal life no details are recorded in Scripture. Acccording to Jewish tradition he became steward of his father's house, and acted as interpreter between Joseph and his brethren.

2. The Tribes in the Wilderness and Portion in Palestine:

At the beginning of the desert march the number of Manasseh's men of war is given at 32,200 (Numbers 1:34 f). At the 2nd census they had increased to 52,700 (Numbers 26:34). Their position in the wilderness was with the tribe of Benjamin, by the standard of the tribe of Ephraim, on the West of the tabernacle. According to Targum Pseudojon, the standard was the figure of a boy, with the inscription "The cloud of Yahweh rested on them until they went forth out of the camp." At Sinai the prince of the tribe was Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur (Numbers 2:20). The tribe was represented among the spies by Gaddi, son of Susi (Numbers 13:11, where the name "tribe of Joseph" seems to be used as an alternative). At the census in the plains of Moab, Manasseh is named before Ephraim, and appears as much the stronger tribe (Numbers 26:28). The main military exploits in the conquest of Eastern Palestine were performed by Manassites. Machir, son of Manasseh, conquered the Amorites and Gilead (Numbers 32:39). Jair, son of Manasseh, took all the region of Argob, containing three score cities; these he called by his own name, "Havvoth-jair" (Numbers 32:41; Deuteronomy 3:4,Deuteronomy 3:14). Nobah captured Kenath and the villages thereof (Numbers 32:42; Joshua 17:1,Joshua 17:5). Land for half the tribe was thus provided, their territory stretching from the northern boundary of Gad to an undetermined frontier in the North, marching with Geshur and Maacah on the West, and with the desert on the East. The warriors of this half-tribe passed over with those of Reuben and Gad before the host of Israel, and took their share in the conquest of Western Palestine (Joshua 22:1–34). They helped to raise the great altar in the Jordan valley, which so nearly led to disastrous consequences (Joshua 22:10). Golan, the city of refuge, lay within their territory.

The possession of Ephraim and Manasseh West of the Jordan appears to have been undivided at first (Joshua 17:16). The portion which ultimately fell to Manasseh marched with Ephraim on the South, with Asher and Issachar on the North, running out to the sea on the West, and falling into the Jordan valley on the East (Joshua 17:7). The long dwindling slopes to westward and the fiat reaches of the plain included much excellent soil. Within the territory of Issachar and Asher, Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor, Endor, Taanach and Megiddo, with their villages, were assigned to Manasseh. Perhaps the men of the West lacked the energy and enterprise of their eastern brethren. They failed, in any case, to expel the Canaanites from these cities, and for long this grim chain of fortresses seemed to mock the strength of Israel (Joshua 17:11)

Ten cities West of the Jordan, in the portion of Manasseh, were given to the Levites, and 13 in the eastern portion (Joshua 21:5,Joshua 21:6).

Manasseh took part in the glorious conflict with the host of Sisera (Judges 5:14). Two famous judges, Gideon and Jephthah, belonged to this tribe. The men of the half-tribe East of Jordan were noted for skill and valor as warriors (1 Chronicles 5:18,1 Chronicles 5:23). Some men of Manasseh had joined David before the battle of Gilboa (1 Chronicles 12:19).

3. Its Place in Later History:

Others, all mighty men of valor, and captains in the host, fell to him on the way to Ziklag, and helped him against the band of rovers (1 Chronicles 12:20). From the half-tribe West of the Jordan 18,000 men, expressed by name, came to David at Hebron to make him king (1 Chronicles 12:31); while those who came from the East numbered, along with the men of Reuben and Gad, 120,000 (1 Chronicles 12:37). David organized the eastern tribes under 2,700 overseers for every matter pertaining to God and for the affairs of the king (1 Chronicles 26:32). The rulers of Manasseh were, in the West, Joel, son of Pedaiah, and in the East, Iddo, son of Zechariah (1 Chronicles 27:20,1 Chronicles 27:21). Divers of Manasseh humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem at the invitation of Hezekiah to celebrate the Passover (2 Chronicles 30:11). Although not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary, they ate the Passover. Pardon was successfully sought for them by the king, because they set their hearts to seek God (2 Chronicles 30:18).

Of the eastern half-tribe it is said that they went a-whoring after the gods of the land, and in consequence they were overwhelmed and expatriated by Pul and Tiglath-pileser, kings of Assyria (1 Chronicles 5:25 f). Reference to the idolatries of the western half-tribe are also found in 2 Chronicles 31:1; 2 Chronicles 34:6.

There is a portion for Manasseh in Ezekiel's ideal picture (Ezekiel 48:4), and the tribe appears in the list in Re (7:6). The genealogies in Joshua 17:1 ff; Numbers 26:28–34; 1 Chronicles 2:21–23; 1 Chronicles 7:14–19 have fallen into confusion. As they stand, they are mutually contradictory, and it is impossible to harmonize them.

The theories of certain modern scholars who reject the Biblical account are themselves beset with difficulties: e.g. the name is derived from the Arabic, nasa, "to injure a tendon of the leg." Manasseh, the Piel part., would thus be the name of a supernatural being, of whom the infliction of such an injury was characteristic. It is not clear which of the wrestlers at the Jabbok suffered the injury. As Jacob is said to have prevailed with gods and men, the suggestion is that it was his antagonist who was lamed. "It would appear therefore that in the original story the epithet Manasseh was a fitting title of Jacob himself, which might be borne by his worshippers, as in the case of Gad" (EB, under the word, par. 4).

It is assumed that the mention of Machir in Judges 5:14 definitely locates the Manassites at that time on the West of the Jordan. The raids by members of the tribe on Eastern Palestine must therefore have taken place long after the days of Moses. The reasoning is precarious. After the mention of Reuben (5:15,16), Gilead (5:17) may refer to Gad. It would be strange if this warlike tribe were passed over (Guthe). Machir, then probably the strongest clan, stands for the whole tribe, and may be supposed to indicate particularly the noted fighters of the eastern half.

In dealing with the genealogies, "the difficult name" Zelophehad must be got rid of. Among the suggestions made is one by Dr. Cheyne, which first supposes the existence of a name Salhad, and then makes Zelophehad a corruption of this.

The genealogies certainly present difficulties, but otherwise the narrative is intelligible and self-consistent without resort to such questionable expedients as those referred to above.

W. Ewing

Manasseh (3)

A king of Judah, son and successor of Hezekiah; reigned 55 years (2 Kings 21:1; 2 Chronicles 33:1), from circa 685 onward. His was one of the few royal names not compounded with the name of Yahweh (his son Amon's was the only other if, as an Assyrian inscription gives it, the full name of Ahaz was Jehoahaz or Ahaziah); but it was no heathen name like Amon, but identical with that of the elder son of Joseph. Born within Hezekiah's added 15 years, years of trembling faith and tender hope (compare Isaiah 38:15 f), his name may perhaps memorialize the father's sacred feelings; the name of his mother Hephzibah too was used long afterward as the symbol of the happy union of the land with its loyal sons (Isaiah 62:4). All this, however, was long forgotten in the memory of Manasseh's apostate career.

I. Sources of His Life.

The history (2 Kings 1:1–18:37) refers for "the rest of his acts" to "the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah," but the body of the account, instead of reading like state annals, is almost entirely a censure of his idolatrous reign in the spirit of the prophets and of the Deuteronomic strain of literature. The parallel history (2 Chronicles 33:1–20) puts "the rest of his acts" "among the acts of the kings of Israel," and mentions his prayer (a prayer ascribed to him is in the Apocrypha) and "the words of the seers that spoke to him in the name of Yahweh." This history of Chronicles mentions his captive journey to Babylon and his repentance (2 Chronicles 33:10–13), also his building operations in Jerusalem and his resumption of Yahweh-worship (2 Chronicles 33:14–17), which the earlier source lacks. From these sources, which it is not the business of this article either to verify or question, the estimate of his reign is to be deduced.

II. Character of His Reign.

1. Political Situation:

During his reign, Assyria, principally under Esar-haddon and Assur-banipal, was at the height of its arrogance and power; and his long reign was the peaceful and uneventful life of a willing vassal, contented to count as tributary king in an illustrious world-empire, hospitable to all its religious and cultural ideas, and ready to take his part in its military and other enterprises. The two mentions of his name in Assyrian inscriptions (see G.A. Smith, Jerusalem, II, 182) both represent him in this tributary light. His journey to Babylon mentioned in 2 Chronicles 33:11 need not have been the penalty of rebellion; more likely it was such an enforced act of allegiance as was perhaps imposed on all provincial rulers who had incurred or would avert suspicion of disloyalty. Nor was his fortification of Jerusalem after his return less necessary against domestic than foreign aggression; the more so, indeed, as in so long and undisturbed a reign his capital, which was now practically synonymous with his realm (Esar-haddon calls him "king of the city of Judah"), became increasingly an important center of wealth and commercial prosperity. Of the specific events of his reign, however, other than religious, less is known than of almost any other.

2. Reactionary Idolatry:

That the wholesale idolatry by which his reign is mainly distinguished was of a reactionary and indeed conservative nature may be understood alike from what it sought to maintain and from what it had to react against. On the one side was the tremendous wave of ritual and mechanical heathen cults which, proceeding from the world-centers of culture and civilization (compare Isaiah 2:6–8), was drawing all the tributary lands, Judah with the rest, into its almost irresistible sweep. Manasseh, it would seem, met this not in the temper of an amateur, as had his grandfather Ahaz, but in the temper of a fanatic. Everything old and new that came to his purview was of momentous religious value--except only the simple and austere demands of prophetic insight. He restored the debasing cults of the aboriginal Nature-worship which his father had suppressed, thus making Judah revert to the sterile Baal-cults of Ahab; but his blind credence in the black arts so prevalent in all the surrounding nations, imported the elaborate worship of the heavenly bodies from Babylon, invading even the temple-courts with its numerous rites and altars; even went to the horrid extreme of human sacrifice, making an institution of what Ahaz had tried as a desperate expedient. All this, which to the matured prophetic sense was headlong wickedness, was the mark of a desperately earnest soul, seeking blindly in this wholesale way to propitiate the mysterious Divine powers, his nation's God among them, who seemed so to have the world's affairs in their inscrutable control. On the other side, there confronted him the prophetic voice of a religion which decried all insincere ritual (`wickedness and worship,' Isaiah 1:13), made straight demands on heart and conscience, and had already vindicated itself in the faith which had wrought the deliverance of 701. It was the fight of the decadent formal against the uprising spiritual; and, as in all such struggles, it would grasp at any expedient save the one plain duty of yielding the heart to repentance and trust.

3. Persecution:

Meanwhile, the saving intelligence and integrity of Israel, though still the secret of the lowly, was making itself felt in the spiritual movement that Isaiah had labored to promote; through the permeating influence of literature and education the "remnant" was becoming a power to be reckoned with. It is in the nature of things that such an innovating movement must encounter persecution; the significant thing is that already there was so much to persecute. Persecution is as truly the offspring of fear as of fanaticism. Manasseh's persecution of the prophets and their adherents (tradition has it that the aged Isaiah was one of his victims) was from their point of view an enormity of wickedness. To us the analysis is not quite so simple; it looks also like the antipathy of an inveterate formal order to a vital movement that it cannot understand. The vested interests of almost universal heathenism must needs die hard, and "much innocent blood" was its desperate price before it would yield the upper hand. To say this of Manasseh's murderous zeal is not to justify it; it is merely to concede its sadly mistaken sincerity. It may well have seemed to him that a nation's piety was at stake, as if a world's religious culture were in peril.

4. Return to Better Mind:

The Chronicler, less austere in tone than the earlier historian, preserves for us the story that, like Saul of Tarsus after him, Manasseh got his eyes open to the truer meaning of things; that after his humiliation and repentance in Babylon he "knew that Yahweh he was God" (2 Chronicles 33:10–13). He had the opportunity to see a despotic idolatry, its evils with its splendors, in its own home; a first-fruit of the thing that the Hebrew exiles were afterward to realize. On his return, accordingly, he removed the altars that had encroached upon the sacred precincts of the temple, and restored the ritual of the Yahweh-service, without, however, removing the high places. It would seem to have been merely the concession of Yahweh's right to a specific cult of His own, with perhaps a mitigation of the more offensive extremes of exotic worship, while the toleration of the various fashionable forms remained much as before. But this in itself was something, was much; it gave Yahweh His chance, so to say, among rivals; and the growing spiritual fiber of the heart of Israel could be trusted to do the rest. It helps us also the better to understand the situation when, only two years after Manasseh's death, Josiah came to the throne, and to understand why he and his people were so ready to accept the religious sanity of the Deuteronomic law. He did not succeed, after all, in committing his nation to the wholesale sway of heathenism. Manasseh's reactionary reign was indeed not without its good fruits; the crisis of religious syncretism and externalism was met and passed.

John Franklin Genung

Manasses

ma-nas'-ez (Manasses; Codex Vaticanus Manasse):

(1) One who had married a "strange wife" (1 Esdras 9:33) equals "Manasseh" of Ezra 10:33.

(2) The wealthy husband of Judith; died of sunstroke when employed at the barley harvest (Judith 8:2 f,7; 10:3; 16:22 ff).

(3) A person mentioned in Tobit 14:10, who "gave alms, and escaped the snare of death." It must be admitted that Manasses here is an awkward reading and apparently interrupts the sense, which would run more smoothly if Manasses were omitted or Achiacharus read. There is great variety of text in this verse. Codex Sinaiticus (followed by Fritzsche, Libri apoc. vet. Test Greek, 1871) reads en to poiesai me eleemosunen exelthen, where Manasses is omitted and Achiacharus is understood as the subject. Itala and Syriac go a step further and read Achiacharus as subject. But Codex Vaticanus (followed by Swete, the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American)) reads Manasses, which must be the correct reading on the principle of being the most difficult. Explanations have been offered

(1) that Manasses is simply the Hebrew name for Achiacharus, it not being uncommon for a Jew to have a Greek and a Hebrew name;

(2) that on reading Amon, Manasses was inserted for Achiacharus according to 2 Chronicles 33:22 ff;

(3) that Manasses here is an incorrect reading for Nasbas (Tobit 11:18), identified by Grotius with Achiacharus: "It seems impossible at present to arrive at a satisfactory explanation" (Fuller, Speaker's Commentary).

There is as great uncertainty as to the person who conspired against Manasses: Aman, in Codex Alexandrinus, followed by the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American), who is by some identified with the Haman of Esther and Achiacharus with Mordecai; Adam, in Codex Vaticanus, followed by Swete; Itala Nadab; Syriac Ahab (Acab).

(4) A king of Judah (Matthew 1:10 the King James Version, Greek form, the Revised Version (British and American) "Manasseh"), whose prayer forms one of the apocryphal books.

See MANASSES, THE PRAYER OF.

(5) The elder son of Joseph (Revelation 7:6, the King James Version Greek form, the Revised Version (British and American) "Manasseh").

S. Angus

Manasses, The Prayer Of

1. Name

2. Canonicity and Position

3. Contents

4. Original Language

5. Authenticity

6. Author and Motive

7. Date

8. Text and Versions

(1) Greek

(2) Latin

LITERATURE

The Prayer of Manasses purports to be, and may in reality be, the prayer of that king mentioned in 2 Chronicles 33:13,2 Chronicles 33:18 f.

1. Name:

In Cod.

A. it is called simply "A Prayer of Manasses," in the London Polyglot "A Prayer of Manasses, King of the Jews." Its title in the Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) is "A Prayer of Manasses, King of Judah, when He Was Held Captive in Babylon." In Baxter's Apocrypha, Greek and English this Prayer appears at the end with the heading "A Prayer of Manasses, son of Ezekias" (equals Hezekiah).

2. Canonicity and Position:

The Greek church is the only one which has consistently reckoned this Prayer as a part of its Bible. Up to the time of the Council of Trent (1545-1563 AD), it formed a part of the Vulgate, but by that council it was relegated with 3 and 4 (1 and 2) Esdras to the appendix (which included uncanonical scriptures), "lest they should become wholly lost, since they are occasionally, cited by the Fathers and are found in printed copies. Yet it is wholly absent from the Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) of Sixtus V, though it is in the Appendix of the Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) of Clement VIII. Its position varies in manuscripts, versions and printed editions of the Septuagint. It is most frequently found among the odes or canticles following the Psalter, as in Codices Alexandrinus, T (the Zurich Psalter) and in Ludolf's Ethiopic Psalter. In Swete's Septuagint the Psalter of Solomon followed by the odes (Odai), of which The Prayer of Manasseh is the 8th, appear as an Appendix after 4 Maccabees in volume III. It was placed after 2 Chronicles in the original Vulgate, but in the Romanist Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) it stands first, followed by 3 and 4 (1 and 2) Esdras in the apocryphal Appendix. It is found in all manuscripts of the Armenian Bible, where, as in Swete's Septuagint, it is one of many odes. Though not included in Coverdale's Bible or the Geneva VS, it was retained (at the close of the Apocrypha) in Luther's translation, in Mathew's Bible and in the Bishops' Bible, whence it passed into our English Versions of the Bible.

3. Contents:

According to 2 Chronicles 33:1–25 (compare 2 Kings 21:1–26) Manasseh was exiled by the Assyrians to Babylon as a punishment for his sins. There he became penitent and earnestly prayed to God for pardon and deliverance. God answered his prayer and restored him to Jerusalem and to the throne. Though the prayer is mentioned in 2 Chronicles 33:13,2 Chronicles 33:18 f, it is not given, but this lack has been supplied in the The Prayer of Manasseh of the Apocrypha. After an opening invocation to the God of Abraham, Isaac, Judah and their righteous seed, the Creator of all things, most high, yet compassionate, who has ordained repentance, not for perfect ones like the patriarchs who did not need it, but for the like of the person praying, there follows a confession of sin couched for the most part in general terms, a prayer for pardon and a vow to praise God forever if this prayer is answered.

4. Original Language:

The bulk of scholars (Fritzsche, Reuss, Schurer, Ryssel, etc.) agree that this Prayer was composed in Greek. The Greek recension is written in a free, flowing and somewhat rhetorical style, and it reads like an original work, not like a translation. Though there are some Hebraisms, they are not more numerous or striking than usually meet us in Hellenistic Greek. It is of some importance also that, although Jewish tradition adds largely to the legends about Manasseh, it has never supplied a Hebrew version of the Prayer (see VERSIONS; TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT). On the other hand, Ewald (Hist. Isr, I, 186; IV, 217, note 5, German edition, IV, 217 f), Furst (Gesch. der bibl. Lit., II, 399), Budde (ZAW, 1892, 39 ff), Ball (Speaker's Apocrypha) and others argue for a Hebrew original, perhaps existing in the source named of 2 Chronicles 33:18 f (see Ryssel in Kautzsch, Die Apocrypha des Altes Testament, 167).

5. Authenticity:

Have we here the authentic prayer of Manasseh offered under the circumstances described in 2 Chronicles 33:1–25? Ewald and the other scholars named (see foregoing section), who think the Prayer was composed in Hebrew, say that we have probably here a Greek rendering of the Hebrew original which the Chronicler saw in his source. Ball, on the other hand, though not greatly opposed to this view, is more convinced that the Hebrew original is to be sought in a haggadic narrative concerning Manasseh. Even if we accept the view of Ewald or of Ball, we still desiderate evidence that this Hebrew original is the very prayer offered by the king in Babylon. But the arguments for a Greek original are fairly conclusive. Many Old Testament scholars regard the narrative of the captivity, prayer and penitence of Manasseh as a fiction of the Chronicler's imagination, to whom it seemed highly improper that this wicked king should escape the punishment (exile) which he richly deserved. So De Wette (Einleitung), Graf (Stud. u. Krit., 1859, 467-94, and Gesch. Bucher des Altes Testament, 174) and Noldeke (Schenkel's Bibelwerk, "Manasse"). Nothing corresponding to it occurs in the more literal narrative of 2 Kings 21:1–26, an argument which, however, has but little weight. Recent discoveries of cuneiform inscriptions have taken off the edge of the most important objections to the historicity of this part of Chronicles. See Ball (op. cit., 361 ff) and Bissell (Lange's Apocrypha, 468). The likeliest supposition is that the author of the Prayer was an Alexandrian Jew who, with 2 Chronicles 33:1–25 before him, desired to compose such a prayer as Manasseh was likely to offer under the supposed circumstances. This prayer, written in excellent Alexandrian Greek, is, as Fritzsche points out, an addition to 2 Chronicles 33:1–25, corresponding to the prayers of Mordecai and Esther added to the canonical Es (Additions to Esther 13:8-14:19), and also to the prayer of Azarias (The So of the Three Children (Azariah) 1:2-22) and the So of the Three Young Men (The So of the Three Children (Azariah) 1:29-68) appended to the canonical Book of Daniel.

6. The Author and His Motive:

That the author was an Alexandrian Jew is made probable by the (Greek) language he employs and by the sentiments he expresses. It is strange to find Swete (Expository Times, II, 38 f) defending the Christian authorship of this Prayer. What purpose could the writer seek to realize in the composition and publication of the penitential psalm? In the absence of definite knowledge, one may with Reuss (Das Altes Testament, VI, 436 f) suppose that the Jewish nation was at the time given up to great unfaithfulness to God and to gross moral corruption. The lesson of the Prayer is that God will accept the penitent, whatever his sins, and remove from the nation its load of sufferings, if only it turns to God.

7. Date:

Ewald and Furst (op. cit.) hold that the prayer is at least as old as the Book of Chronicles (300 BC), since it is distinctly mentioned, they say, in 2 Chronicles 33:13,2 Chronicles 33:18 f. But the original form was, as seen (compare 4 above), Greek, not Hebrew. Moreover, the teaching of the Prayer is post-Biblical. The patriarchs are idealized to the extent that they are thought perfect and therefore not needing forgiveness (33:8); their merits avail for the sinful and undeserving (33:1) (see Weber, Jud. Theologie, 292). The expressions "God of the Just" (33:8), "God of those who repent" (33:13), belong to comparatively late Judaism. A period about the beginning of the Christian era or (Fritzsche) slightly earlier would suit the character (language and teaching) of the Prayer. The similarity between the doctrines implied in The Prayer of Manasseh and those taught in apocryphal writings of the time confirms this conclusion. There is no need with Bertholdt to bring down the writing to the 2nd or 3rd century AD. Fabricius (Liber Tobit, etc., 208) dates the Prayer in the 4th or 5th century AD, because, in his opinion, its author is the same as that of the Apostolical Constitutions which has that date. But the source of this part of the Apostolical Constitutions is the Didaskalia (3rd century), and moreover both these treatises are of Christian origin, the Prayer being the work of an Alexandrian Jew.

8. Text and Versions:

(1) Greek:

The Greek text occurs in Codices Alexandrinus, T (Psalterium Turicence 262, Parsons). Swete (OLD TESTAMENT in Greek, III, 802-4) gives the text of Codex Alexandrinus with the variations of T. It is omitted from the bulk of ancient manuscripts and editions of the Septuagint, as also from several modern editions (Tischendorf, etc.). Nestle (Septuaginta Studien, 1899, 3) holds that the Greek text of Codices Alexandrinus, T, etc., has been taken from the Apostolical Constitutions or from the Didaskalia. The common view is that it was extracted by the latter from the Septuagint.

(2) Latin:

The Latin text in Sabatier (Bib. Sac. Latin, III, 1038) is not by Jerome, nor is it in the manner of the Old Latin; its date is later.

LITERATURE.

The outstanding literature has been cited in the foregoing article. Reference may be made to Howorth ("Some Unconventional Views on the Text of the Bible," PSBA, XXXI, 89 ff: he argues that the narrative concerning Manasseh, including the Prayer in the Apostolical Constitutions, represents a portion of the true Septuagint of 2 Chronicles 33:1–25).

T. Witton Davies

Mandrakes

man'-draks (dudha'im; mandragoras (Genesis 30:14 Song of Songs 7:13); the marginal reading "love apples" is due to the supposed connection of dudha'im with dodhim, "love"): Mandrakes are the fruit of the Mandragora officinarum, a member of the Solanaceae or potato order, closely allied to the Atropa belladonna. It is a common plant all over Palestine, flourishing particularly in the spring and ripening about the time of the wheat harvest (Genesis 30:14). The plant has a rosette of handsome dark leaves, dark purple flowers and orange, tomato-like fruit. The root is long and branched; to pull it up is still considered unlucky (compare Josephus, BJ, VII, vi, 3). The fruit is called in Arabic baid el-jinn, the "eggs of the jinn"; they have a narcotic smell and sweetish taste, but are too poisonous to be used as food. They are still used in folklore medicine in Palestine. The plant was well known as an aphrodisiac by the ancients (Song of Songs 7:13).

E. W. G. Masterman

Maneh; Mina

man'-e, or mi'-na (maneh; mna, "pound" (English Versions of the Bible)): A weight containing 50 shekels, according to Hebrew usage, but which varied according to the standard adopted. Estimated on the Phoenician, or commercial, standard, it was equal to 11,200 grains, or about 2 lbs. troy, or about 1,6 lbs. avoirdupois. This is probably the weight intended in 1 Kings 10:17; Ezra 2:69 and Nehemiah 7:71 f (see WEIGHTS AND MEASURES). When used in a monetary sense, the maneh of silver was worth about 6 pounds 17 shillings, or $34 (in 1915); the gold maneh was equal to about 102 pounds 10 shillings, or $510 (in 1915).

H. Porter

Manes

ma'-nez (Manes): One of those who put away their "strange wives" (1 Esdras 9:21). It represents the two names Maaseiah and Elijah of the parallel Ezra 10:21. The real equivalent is probably Maaseiah, Elijah being dropped. the Revised Version margin and the King James Version margin give Harim of Ezra 10:21 as identical--apparently incorrectly, for the words "and of the sons of Harim" (Ezra 10:21) are simply omitted. the King James Version blunders strangely here in reading Eanes after a misprint Eanes (for Manes) in the Aldine edition.

Manger

man'-jer (phatne): Properly the place in a stall or stable where the food of cattle is placed (in the Old Testament "crib" (Job 39:9; Proverbs 14:4; Isaiah 1:3)); thus also, apparently, in the narrative of the nativity in Luke 2:7,Luke 2:12,Luke 2:16. In Septuagint, the Greek word, representing different Hebrew words, has also the extended meaning of "stall" (2 Chronicles 32:28; Habakkuk 3:17); thus also in Luke 13:15, where the Revised Version margin has "manger." Old tradition says that Jesus was born in a cave in the neighborhood of Bethlehem; even so, a place for food for cattle may have been cut in the side of the rock.

James Orr

Mani

ma'-ni (Mani): Head of a family (1 Esdras 9:30) equals "Bani" in Ezra 10:29, the form which appears in 1 Esdras 5:12.

Manifest; Manifestation

man'-i-fest, man-i-fes-ta'-shun (phaneroo, phaneros): "To manifest" is generally the translation of phaneroo, "to make apparent" (Mark 4:22; John 17:6; Romans 3:21; 1 Timothy 3:16, "God was manifest in the flesh," the Revised Version (British and American) "manifested"; 1 John 1:2 twice, etc.); also of phaneros, "manifest" (Acts 4:16; Romans 1:19; 1 Corinthians 3:13; 1 John 3:10, etc.); "to make manifest" (phaneroo) (John 1:31; Romans 16:26); of emphanizo, "to make fully manifest" (John 14:21 f); of emphanes, "fully manifest" (Romans 10:20); of delos, "evident," translated "manifest" (1 Corinthians 15:27, the Revised Version (British and American) "evident"); of ekdelos, "very evident" (2 Timothy 3:9, the Revised Version (British and American) "evident"); of prodelos, "evident beforehand" (1 Timothy 5:25, the Revised Version (British and American) "evident"); of aphanes, is "not manifest" (Hebrews 4:13, "There is no creature that is not manifest in his sight"); "manifest," occurs once in the Old Testament as the translation of barar, "to clear," "to purify" (Ecclesiastes 3:18, the Revised Version (British and American) "prove"); of phaneros (2 Macc 3:28, the Revised Version (British and American) "manifestly").

Manifestation is the translation of apokalupsis, "uncovering" (Romans 8:19, "the manifestation of the sons of God," the Revised Version (British and American) "revealing"); of phanerosis, "manifestation" (1 Corinthians 12:7; 2 Corinthians 4:2).

The Revised Version (British and American) has "manifest" for "shew" (John 7:4); "was manifested" for "appeared" (Mark 16:12,Mark 16:14); "was manifested to the," for "shewed himself to his" (John 21:14); "be made manifest" for "appear" (2 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Corinthians 7:12; Revelation 3:18); "became manifest" for "was made known" (Acts 7:13); "gave him to be made manifest" for "shewed him openly" (Acts 10:40); "He who was manifested" for "God was manifest" (1 Timothy 3:16) (margin "The word "God," in place of "He who," rests on no sufficient ancient evidence. Some ancient authorities read which"); "is not yet made manifest" for "doth not yet appear" (1 John 3:2); "by the manifestation" for "with the brightness" (2 Thessalonians 2:8) "be manifested" for "appear" (Colossians 3:4 twice; 1 Peter 5:4); "if he shall be manifested" for "when he shall appear" (1 John 2:28; 1 John 3:2), etc.

W. L. Walker

Manifestly

man'-i-fest-li (mar'eh, "(in) personal presence"): Has the meaning of "by direct vision," as in 1 Corinthians 13:12, "face to face," stating positively (Numbers 12:8) what the next clause states negatively, namely, "not in dark speeches." "Apparently" of the King James Version is ambiguous.

Manifold

man'-i-fold (rabh; poikilos): "Manifold," which occurs only a few times, is in the Old Testament the translation of rabh, "many," "abundant" (Nehemiah 9:19,Nehemiah 9:27; Amos 5:12, where it is equivalent to "many"), and of rabhabh, "to multiply," "to increase" (Psalms 104:24, "O Yahweh, how manifold are thy works"); poikilos, properly, "many colored," "spotted," "variegated," is translated "manifold": 1 Peter 1:6 margin, "manifold temptations"; 4:10, "manifold grace," suggests variety, diverseness; polupoikilos has this meaning more intensely (Ephesians 3:10, "the manifold wisdom of God"). With this may be compared a fine passage in The Wisdom of Solomon 7:22, where it is said that in Wisdom there is "an understanding spirit, holy, one only (the Revised Version (British and American) "alone in kind," margin "Greek: sole-born"), manifold (polumeres)." In like manner, pollaplasion, "manifold more" (Luke 18:30), indicates the varied elements of the reward of him who is faithful to Christ. In Ecclesiasticus 51:3, we have "manifold afflictions" (pleion).

W. L. Walker

Manius; Titus

ma'-ni-us, ti'-tus (Tito Manios, Codex Alexandrinus, Codex Venetus, and the Syriac; Manlios, Swete following Codex Alexandrinus; Manilius, Itala and Vulgate, the King James Version, Manlius): Titus Manius and Quintus Memmius were the legates of the Romans who carried a letter unto the Jewish people consenting to the favorable terms which Lysias, the captain of Antiochus, granted to the Jews after his defeat, 163 BC (2 Macc 11:34). That the letter is spurious appears from the facts

(1) that it is dated in the 148th year of the Seleucidian era adopted by the Jews and not, after the Ro fashion, according to consulates;

(2) that it is also dated the same day as that of Eupator--the 15th of the month Xanthicus;

(3) that the Jews had as yet no dealings with the Romans; Judas first heard of the fame of the Romans a year or two years later (1 Macc 8:1 ff), after the death of Nicanor (1 Macc 7:47);

(4) that no such names are found among the Roman legati mentioned by Polybius as sent to the East.

If Manius is not altogether a fabrication, it is difficult to decide exactly who he is. The reading fluctuates between "Manius" and "Manlius." About the same time a T. Manlius Torquatus was sent by the Romans on an embassy to Egypt to settle a quarrel between Philometor and Euergetes II Physc. on (Polyb. xxxi. 18; Livy xliii.11), but not to Syria, and his colleague was Cn. Merula. Perhaps Manius Sergius is intended, who with C. Sulpicius was sent to investigate the state of Greece and to see what Antiochus Epiphanes and Eumanes were doing (165 BC) (Polyb. xxxi.9). But no such name as Titus Manius or Manlius is otherwise found as legate to Asia with a colleague Quintus Memmius.

See also MEMMIUS.

S. Angus

Manlius, Titus

man'-li-us.

See MANIUS, TITUS.