Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 21:17
Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
17. the rest of the acts of Manasseh ] The compiler of Kings says no word about Manasseh’s repentance, which forms a considerable part of his history in Chronicles (2Ch 33:12-19). There we read that in his distress he besought the Lord and the Lord heard him and brought him back out of Babylon. ‘Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God’. He also built parts of the walls of Jerusalem, and strengthened the cities of Judah. He took away the strange gods and built up the altar of the Lord. Mention is also made of his prayer, of which we have an apocryphal version preserved, and of the seers which spake unto him. There is quoted also as authority the history of Hozai (R.V.). Why the writer of Kings tells neither of Manasseh’s captivity nor of his repentance and return is not easy to understand. Perhaps as these events made no difference in the succession, and as he deals with the political rather than with the religious history of the nation, he preferred to omit any record of either the imprisonment of the king or his release.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The writer of Kings relates in eighteen verses the history of 55 years, and consequently omits numerous facts of great importance in the life of Manasseh. Among the most remarkable of the facts omitted are the capture of Manasseh by the king of Assyria, his removal to Babylon, his repentance there, his restoration to his kingdom, and his religious reforms upon his return to it. These are recorded only in Chronicles (marginal reference, see the note). The writer of Kings probably considered the repentance of Manasseh but a half-repentance, followed by a half-reformation, which left untouched the root of the evil.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 17. Now the rest of the acts] In 2Ch 33:11, c., we read that the Assyrians took Manasseh, bound him with fetters, and took him to Babylon that there he repented, sought God, and was, we are not told how, restored to his kingdom; that he fortified the city of David, destroyed idolatry, restored the worship of the true God, and died in peace.
In 2Ch 33:18-19, His prayer unto God is particularly mentioned. What is called his prayer, is found in the Apocrypha, just before the first book of the Maccabees. There are some good sentiments in it; but whether it be that which was made by Manasseh is more than can be proved. Even the Romish Church have not received it among the canonical books.
Are they not written] There are several particulars referred to here, and in 2Ch 33:11-19, which are not found in any chronicles or books which now remain, and what the books of the seers were, mentioned in Chronicles, we cannot tell.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
10-17. And the Lord spake by hisservants the prophetsThese were Hosea, Joel, Nahum, Habakkuk,and Isaiah. Their counsels, admonitions, and prophetic warnings, wereput on record in the national chronicles (2Ch33:18) and now form part of the sacred canon.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did,…. Both good and bad, for he repented, and was humbled, and did many good things afterwards, though not recorded in this book:
and his sin that he sinned; his idolatry:
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? in which were recorded the most memorable events of their reigns; and in the canonical book of Chronicles are many things concerning Manasseh, which are not written here; see 2Ch 33:11.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Amon’s Reign Commentary on 2Ki 21:17-26 AND 2Ch 33:18-25
The long reign of Manasseh is mostly passed over in silence by the inspired Scriptures. Manasseh had spent most of his reign in sinful practices which brought judgment on his people, and his late conversion can be characterized as “too little and too late” to save Judah. The most important event of his life (and of any life for that matter) was recorded, his conversion and trust in the Lord. Yet the people remembered him most, it seems, for his widespread promotion of idolatry. He was buried at death with honor, in his own house, or the palace garden of Uzza. The identity of Uzza is unknown. He is thought to have been the proprietor or gardener of the burial site.
Manasseh’s young son, Amon, succeeded him and was only twenty-two years of age. He was a man of the world, who followed his father’s evil example. No doubt he was already established in idolatrous worship before his father’s conversion. One wonders what his feeling, and that of the king’s counsellors, must have been when Manasseh returned from Babylonian imprisonment professing a new-found faith in the Lord. It may have been much as some people treat such today, cynicism and sarcastic statements. Perhaps Amon thought his father was mentally unbalanced by his experience. It is pretty evident that few people took him seriously, and he was able to influence few for good.
The saddest thing is that Manasseh influenced these people for evil. This immediately showed up in Amon. He restored the worship of the gods previously worshipped by his father, and refused to follow Manasseh’s late leadership in affairs of religion. He was probably very well liked by the party which was out of favor in the days of Hezekiah. So it is surprising that certain of Amon’s own servants disliked him so much he was assassinated by them in his own house. The people as a whole were outraged, and took all the guilty conspirators and executed them. Amon’s little son, Josiah, was crowned his successor. ‘
The following lessons are notable: 1) The Devil will quickly destroy the good God’s people have done if he is allowed to; 2) it is better to learn the lessons from what was than to speculate on what might have been; 3) God gives fair warning to all under condemnation; 4) following a wicked ruler will destroy a nation; 5) tragedies often result in the salvation of sinners; 6) it is sad when bad deeds cannot be undone, and lead to condemnation of loved ones and friends.
2Ch 34:1-7
Second Chronicles – 34
Reformation – 2Ch 34:1-7
With Josiah Judah gets its last godly king, and again there is the paradox of bad father-good son. He was only an eight year old child when his father died, and he was made king. To the good of Judah he had a relatively long reign of thirty-one years, cut short by his death in battle. He is said to have taken his forefather David as his example and to have walked in his ways, doing right in the sight of the Lord, not turning aside to the right hand or the left.
Josiah turned to the Lord and was saved during his eighth year of rule, when, he was about sixteen years of age. It is said that he then began to seek after the God of David. What influenced this young man to turn from the idolatry of his father and his counselors is unknown, but the question will be examined at more length in a succeeding topic of this commentary. In the twelfth year of Josiah’s reign, when he was twenty years of age, he began a reformation of the land religiously, much like that of his great grandfather Hezekiah, whom he resembles in many respects.
Josiah totally demolished the shrines of idolatry throughout the land. He began with the high places, for this was the basis of most of the idolatrous practices carried on under pretense of worshipping the Lord. The groves were cut down, the carved wooden images and molten ones were destroyed. The numerous altars of Baal were broken down. The king was a personal witness to much of this, his presence lending emphasis to the crusade to turn Judah back to the true God. The pagan practice of raising idolatrous symbols on poles had appeared in Judah. Josiah cut these down. From the ashes of the burned images he took and strewed the dust on the graves of the false priests and prophets. The bones of many of these were taken from their graves and burned to ashes.
Josiah pursued his eradication program thoroughly in Judah and Jerusalem, then ventured into the former tribes of the north. For some eighty years the Assyrians had occupied these lands, since Samaria’s fall. Now they were in their decline because of pressure on them from eastern nations, such as Babylon, Media, and Persia. Josiah took advantage of lax conditions in the former northern kingdom to extend his reformation into that area, particularly the former tribes of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Naphtali. It also extended to the south, to the former area of the tribe of Simeon. Here he broke down pagan altars and cut down the groves just as he had done in his own country, and returned to Jerusalem.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(17) Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh . . .See 2Ch. 33:11-19 for the story of his captivity, repentance, and restoration, which is now allowed by the best critics to be genuine history, though at one time it was the fashion to consider it an edifying fiction of the chroniclers.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
17. The rest of the acts of Manasseh Besides what is here recorded of Manasseh, the parallel history in 2 Chronicles 33 informs us, that as a judgment for his sins he was captured by Assyrian warriors, bound with fetters, and carried to Babylon. There he humbled himself before God, and, in answer to prayer, was restored to his kingdom, whereupon he removed the signs of his idolatry, and sacrificed to Jehovah. He also fortified Jerusalem and strengthened the various cities of Judah. See notes on that chapter.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Concluding Comments ( 2Ki 21:17-18 ).
The account of Manasseh’s life ends with the usual concluding comments, referring us to the annals of the kings of Judah, and describing his death and burial along with information about the succession. But there is added to it the unique phrase for an epitaph, ‘the sins that he sinned’.
2Ki 21:17
‘Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin which he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?’
In contrast with earlier kings the main factor about Manasseh was not his might but ‘the sin that he sinned’ (he was the only king to have this epitaph, but compare 1Ki 15:30; 1Ki 16:19), the details of which, along with his other acts, could be found in the royal annals of Judah.
2Ki 21:18
‘And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza, and Amon his son reigned instead of him.’
And Manasseh died peacefully and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzzah, possibly because there was no room in the sepulchres of the kings. Its proximity to the Temple, along with that of his son’s, were probably in mind in Eze 43:7, And his son Amon reigned instead of him.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
2Ki 21:17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
Ver. 17. And his sin that he sinned. ] Those prodigies of sins afore mentioned, and hardly to be matched in any man, unless it were Nero, that bloody monster: after all which, Manasseh is a convert. Affliction tamed this wild ass, and stopped him in his career; yea, brought him home to God. The viper, when he is lashed, casteth up his poison; the traitor, when he is racked, telleth the truth, which else he had never uttered, &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the rest. Compare 2Ch 33:12-19. His captivity in Babylon, &c.
sin that he sinned = his great sin. Figure of speech Polyptoton.
are they not written . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the rest: 2Ki 20:20, 2Ki 20:21, 2Ch 33:1-20
Reciprocal: 2Ki 21:25 – General