Manasseh

Manasseh (; Hebrew: Mənaššé, "Forgetter"; Menasî [me-na-si-i]; Manasses; ) was the fourteenth king of the Kingdom of Judah. He was the oldest of the sons of Hezekiah and his mother Hephzibah. He became king at the age of 12 and reigned for 55 years. Biblical account The Hebrew Bible documents Manasseh in and . He is also mentioned in Jeremiah 15:4, where the prophet Jeremiah predicts "four forms of destruction" for the people of Judah because of the evil done by Manasseh in Judah. Manasseh was the first king of Judah who was not contemporary with the northern kingdom of Israel, which the Assyrians had destroyed 720 BC, deporting much of its population. He re-instituted polytheistic worship and reversed the religious changes made by his father Hezekiah - hence his condemnation in several biblical verses. He married Meshullemeth, daughter of Haruz of Jotbah, and they had a son Amon, who succeeded him as king of Judah upon his death. Hezekiah, Manasseh and Amon appear in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew's gospel.