Biblical Hebrew Blog by ClassicalHebrew.com

wheat growing

Biblically speaking the Judean King Hezekiah (along with his grandson Josiah) are the most written about Kings in biblical scholarship and referred to as the “Good King(s)” of Judah. The reason for their infamy is the bible’s account of their great religious works that spurred on the belief of one God. Sandwiched between these pillars of the religious righteous stands a man often forgotten and most definitely black-listed by the biblical writers. This man was Manasseh the “bad king”.

I wish to display in a table the difference between Manasseh and his father and allow you the reader to make your own assumptions as to whom the title “Bad King” truly belongs.

The graph demonstrates that though King Manasseh ruled over the landscape sculpted by his father- a land devastated by military campaigns; burdened with heavy taxes; displaced populations; and no major sources of food- he restored much of what was lost through hard work! This work consisted of opening up agriculture in the Negev areas to replace what was lost in the Shephelah, resettling his population in the Judean hills and opening more trade with the East trade networks.

olive oil press

Turning our attention now to the biblical comments of Manasseh as a bad king (2 Kings 21) we see that these are reports of Manasseh from the perspective of religion alone. He reversed the activities of his father and championed the traditional worship of the common people that involved a great mix of “Canaanite” traditions. It is this reason that he carries, perhaps undeservedly, the characterization of a “Bad King”. I think that if I had been living in Lachish during the reign of Hezekiah and Manasseh- I would have cursed the former and blessed the latter. For he truly was “the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of ways to dwell in” (Isaiah 58:12).

spice route