2 Chronicles 33 is the thirty-third chapter of the Second Book of Chronicles the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or of the second part of the Books of Chronicles in the Hebrew Bible. The book is compiled from older sources by an unknown person or group, designated by modern scholars as "the Chronicler", and had the final shape established in late fifth or fourth century BCE. This chapter belongs to the section focusing on the kingdom of Judah until its destruction by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar and the beginning of restoration under Cyrus the Great of Persia (2 Chronicles 10-36). It contains the regnal accounts of Manasseh and Amon, both kings of Judah.
Text This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language and is divided into 25 verses.
Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Leningradensis (1008).
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century), and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century).
Old Testament references : 2 Chronicles 33 Berean Study Bible. Biblehub : : .
Manasseh, king of Judah (33:1–20) Historically, Manasseh was regarded as an 'exceptionally skilful ruler', reigned on David's throne for 55 years, longer than any other king of Israel and Judah. The books of Kings portray him as the most godless king of all and extensively list his disgraceful behavior which mostly contributed to the downfall of Judah (2 Kings 21:1–18), but the Chronicler records his repentance during his deportation to Babylon, that when he returned to Jerusalem, he removed all foreign images, so the long reign was a result of this God-fearing behavior. The Assyrians' treatment of Manasseh (verse 11) was similar to the Babylonian's treatment of Jehoiachin at a later date (Ezekiel 19:9; 2 Chronicles 36:10). In his distress, Manasseh did as instructed in the temple-consecration prayer (cf. 2 Chronicles 6:36–39; 7:14), that he humbled himself and prayed to God, so .
Verse 1
Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. ESV Cross reference: 2 Kings 21:1 "55 years": according to Thiele's chronology, Manasseh became 'co-regent' with Hezekiah, his father, in September 697 BCE, then reigned alone starting between September 687 BCE and September 686 BCE until his death between September 643 and September 642 BCE. Two seals appeared on the antiquities market in Jerusalem (first reported in 1963), both bearing the inscription, “Belonging to Manasseh, son of the king.”Avigad, Nahman; Sass, Benjamin. (1997) Corpus of West Semitic Stamp Seals. (Jerusalem: The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Israel Exploration Society, and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Institute of Archaeology), p. 55.Windle, Bryan (2021) "King Manasseh: An Archaeological Biography". Bible Archaeology Report. February 12, 2021. As the term "son of the king" refers to royal princes, whether they eventually ascended the throne or not,Avigad, Nahman (1963) "A Seal of ‘Manasseh Son of the King". Israel Exploration Journal. Vol. 13, No. 2, p. 135. the seal is considered to be Manasseh's during his co-regency with his father."The Seal of Manasseh," NIV Archaeological Study Bible (ed. Walter C. Kaiser Jr and Duane Garrett; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 565. It bears the same iconography of the Egyptian winged scarab as the seals attributed to King Hezekiah, recalling the alliance between Hezekiah and Egypt against the Assyrians (; ), and may symbolize 'a desire to permanently unite the northern and southern kingdoms together with God's divine blessing'.Lubetski, Meir (2001) "King Hezekiah's Seal Revisited." Biblical Archaeology Review. 27:4, July/August, p. 48. Jar handles bearing a stamp with a winged-beetle and the phrase LMLK ("to the king"), along with the name of a city, have been unearthed throughout ancient Judah as well as in a large administrative complex discovered outside of the old city of Jerusalem and used to hold olive oil, food, wine, etc – goods that were paid as taxes to the king, dated to the reigns of Hezekiah (cf. "Hezekiah's storehouses"; ) and Manasseh.Chandler, Luke "Gov't complex from time of Hezekiah, Manasseh discovered near US Embassy in Jerusalem." Bible, Archaeology, and Travel with Luke Chandler. July 20, 2020. (Accessed Feb. 10, 2021)' apud Windle 2021.Borschel-Dan, Amanda "Huge Kingdom of Judah government complex found near US Embassy in Jerusalem." Times of Israel. 22 July 2020. (Accessed Feb. 10, 2021); apud Windle 2021"How Ancient Taxes Were Collected Under King Manasseh." Biblical Archaeology Society. Jan. 1, 2019. (Accessed Feb. 10, 2021); apud Windle 2021 These artifacts provide the evidence of 'a complex and highly-organized tax system in Judah' from the time of Hezekiah extending into the time of Manasseh, among others to pay the tribute to the Assyrians.
Verses 11–13
Therefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God. NKJV "Hooks" or more specifically, "nose hooks"Note [a] on 2 Chronicles 33:11 in NKJV "Bronze fetters" or "chains"Note [b] on 2 Chronicles 33:11 in NKJV
"Babylon": Esarhaddon is recorded to spend much time and energy to rebuild Babylon as an effort to quell Babylonian aspirations of independence, after the city had been destroyed by Esarhaddon's father, Sennacherib, in 689 BCE. The restoration of the city, announced by Esarhaddon in 680 BCE, became one of his most important projects. "He implored" or "he besought" (KJV), literally, "stroked the face", a phrase which also occurs in .Ellicott, C. J. (Ed.) (1905). Ellicott's Bible Commentary for English Readers. 2 Chronicles 33. London : Cassell and Company, Limited, [1905-1906] Online version: (OCoLC) 929526708. Accessed 28 April 2019. "Prayed to Him": This could be related to the "Prayer of Manasseh", a short work of 15 verses recording a penitential prayer attributed to Manasseh, which appears in some Christian Bibles, but is considered apocryphal by Jews, Roman Catholics and Protestants. Another work by the same title, written in Hebrew and containing distinctly different content, was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Manasseh was thought to have joined a widespread rebellion (or at least been suspected of having supported it) led by Shamash-shum-ukin, the king of Babylon, against his brother, the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, in an attempt to take the empire for himself, in 652-648 BCE.Study note on 2 Chronicles 33:11, in the ESV Archaeology Study Bible, ed. John Currid and David Chapman (Wheaton: Crossway, 2018), 643.
Verses 18-19 Manasseh's prayer is said to have been recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Israel (verse 18) and in "the records of the seers", also called the "Sayings of Hozai" (verse 19).: NRSV
Amon, king of Judah (33:21–25) The record of Amon's rule is brief (as also in 2 Kings 21) and he is mainly portrayed as a godless king.
Verse 21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. ESV Cross reference: 2 Kings 21:19 "2 years": according to Thiele's chronology, Amon became king starting between September 643 BCE and September 642 BCE until his death between September 641 and September 640 BCE.
Verses 24–25 Then his servants conspired against him, and killed him in his own house. But the people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place. NKJV The assassination of Amon is thought to be related to the rise of an extensive anti-Assyrian rebellion (recorded in Assyrian sources) organized in ʻEber ha-Nahar, the region between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean Sea, against the rule of Ashurbanipal, and at the same time, an attempt of Egypt under Psamtik I to conquer Assyrian territories in the southern Palestine. The faction in Jerusalem that wanted to throw off the yoke of Assyrian, succeeded in killing Amon who was pro-Assyrian, even as worshipping Assyrian gods. However, Assyrian army soon arrived in Syria and Palestine and suppressed the revolt with 'all the usual severity' (all inhabitants were killed or exiled to Assyria'), so the forces in Judah, who wanted to prevent a military clash with Assyria, exterminated the anti-Assyrian nobles.Malamat, A. (1953) "The Historical Background of the Assassination of Amon, King of Judah." Israel Exploration Journal 3, no. 1: 26-29. Accessed April 29, 2021.
Extrabiblical documentation on Manasseh
In rabbinic literature on "Isaiah" and Christian pseudepigrapha "Ascension of Isaiah", Manasseh is accused of executing the prophet Isaiah, who was identified as the maternal grandfather of Manasseh.Berakhot 10a: Manasseh's mother was apparently the daughter of the prophet Isaiah, and married King Hezekiah after his miraculous recoveryYevamot 49b: Manasseh judged Isaiah as a false witness for issuing statements contradicting the Torah. When Isaiah refused to defend himself and was miraculously swallowed within a cedar tree, Manasseh ordered that the tree be sawn in two, causing the prophet's death.
Manasseh is mentioned in chapter 21 of 1 Meqabyan, a book considered canonical in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, where he is used as an example of ungodly king.Book of Meqabyan I - III. Torah of Yeshuah.
Manasseh and the kingdom of Judah are only mentioned in the list of subservient kings/states in Assyrian inscriptions of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal.Gane, Roy (1997) "The Role of Assyria in the Ancient Near East During the Reign of Mannaseh." Andrews University Seminary Studies, Spring 1997, Vol. 35, No. 1, pg. 22. Online: (Accessed Feb. 8, 2021).
Manasseh is listed in annals of Esarhaddon as one of the 22 vassal kings from the area of the Levant and the islands whom the Assyrian king conscripted to deliver timber and stone for the rebuilding of his palace at Nineveh.Pritchard, James B. (1969) "Ancient Near Easter Texts Relating to the Old Testament", (New Jersey: Princeton University Press), p. 291. Quote: "I called up the kings of the country Hatti and (of the region) on the other side of the river (Euphrates) (to wit) : Ba’lu, king of Tyre, Manasseh (Me,-na-si-i), king of Judah (Ia-ti-di)...[etc.]...together 22 kings of Hatti, the seashore and the islands; all these I sent out and made them transport under terrible difficulties, to Nineveh, the town (where I exercise) my rulership, as building material for my palace: big logs, long beams (and) thin boards from cedar and pine trees, products of the Sirara and Lebanon (Lab-na-na) mountains."