Manas'seh (Heb. Menahssheh', מנִשֶּׁה, who makes to forget; see Ge 41:51; Sept., Josephus, and N.T. Μανασσῆς; "Manasses" in Mt 1:10; Re 7:6), the name of four men and of a tribe descended from one of them; also of another man mentioned by Josephus.
1. The elder of the two sons of Joseph, born in Egypt (Ge 41:51; Ge 46:20) of Asenath, the priest's daughter of Heliopolis. B.C. 1882. He was afterwards, together with his brother, adopted by Jacob as his own (Ge 48:1), by which act each became the head of a tribe in Israel. B.C. 1856. SEE JACOB. The act of adoption was, however, accompanied by a clear intimation from Jacob that the descendants of Manasseh, although the elder, would be far less numerous and powerful than those of the younger Ephraim. The result corresponded remarkably with this intimation. SEE EPHRAIM. He married a Syrian concubine, by whom he had several children (1Ch 7:14). SEE MACHIR. The only thing subsequently recorded of him personally is that his grandchildren were "brought up on Joseph's knees" (Ge 1:23). "The ancient Jewish traditions are, however, less reticent. According to them Manasseh was the steward of Joseph's house, and the interpreter who intervened between Joseph and his brethren at their interview; and the extraordinary strength which he displayed in the struggle with and binding of Simeon first caused Judah to suspect that the apparent Egyptians were really his own flesh and blood (see Targums Jerusalem and Pseudojon. on Ge 42:23; Ge 43:15; also the quotations in Weil's Bibl. Legends, p. 88, note).'
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More